AAHH here we are, waking up in paradise is awesome. Beautiful teal water i can see to the bottom under the boat whoo hoo! Caretta moved over behind us this morning inside the anchorage area designated by the park. SO today we go to a snorkeling point called Little Africa. We got all our snorkel gear and headed out to the site on the lee side of Loggerhead Cay about a mile or two from Fort Jefferson. We stopped and dropped our little dinghy anchor into the sandy spot between the coral heads. Dont want to damage the coral heads! Donned our mask (after putting a drop of johnsons baby shampoo on each side of lens)rinsing it out and putting on my fins (looking like that leopard video where he falls out of the tree while trying to hold on HAHAHA). AND im in! Surrounded by hundreds of fish and so many coral heads hiding spiny sea urchins grouper and other jewels in its many openings and holes. Being underwater is so peaceful and another world full of bright colorful fish and some sinister looking predators too! There is a small silver fish with a yellow stripe down its middle on both sides and a yellow tail,called a yellowtail snapper, they follow you around as if you need a tour guide and they know all the hot spots. Such cool little guys as well as the barracuda following me around like that 2 foot long fish is going to be able to eat me! Now his other 4 foot and longer family members make me a little nervous they stare you down and then POOF they are gone just like they disappeared into thin air. i call them sea ghosts,because they are there one minute and the next nowhere to be seen! The scary thing is they appear just as fast. I love to watch the trunkfish they are shaped like a triangle and swim upside down while picking at the sea floor or good tasting coral, bouncing up and down vertically lol. I saw black grouper,goliath grouper, tiger grouper, pufferfish, ( i am going to take a picture and post it of the fish name card). I saw way too many to list. After we snorkeled that site for several hours we decided to take a break and go eat lunch. On the way in we had picked a beach spot by a washed up tree trunk and left our chairs and lunch cooler there. After we ate the homemade fresh chicken salad i had made that morning on some cuban sweet bread and had tea with our sandwiches. I got in the water with my goggles and decided to snorkel the little narrow ledges and troughs in front of the beach. I heard someone yelling barracuda and looked back and there was a little 1.5 ft long barracuda following me as i was snorkeling along, hahaha. He stayed after me for a few minutes and then he decided i was boring, and poof he disappeared. Andrea Steve and Barry decided to come in too and we snorkeled for a while more. Steve got a great video of a baby nurse shark about 2 ft long and two lobster under a ledge. I also had a little gray and silver fish follow me around, i think he was a young snapper. We saw a lot of conch and tons of little silver minnows swimming in large schools with the sun glinting off of their bodies. We decided to explore the lighthouse and the house for the researchers on the island. The house is of course locked up tight, but we could see through the windows and we tried to knock a coconut off the tree outsidet the house. That was fun, looked like we were trying out for the island Olympics haha. After our snorkeling and exploring we got i our dinghys and headed back to the boat and took off through some rough seas bouncing and slamming into the waves like a rollercoaster but without the safety belt, but we made it with no issues. Like i said the winds don’t stop they just get heavy or light, so we try to go out on light wind days. We AHH the end to another exciting day at the Dry Tortugas!!

Moderate winds 2-3 wave height, decreased winds on lee side of Loggerhead Cay.

Anchorage holding great.

Great day to sail today. Pulled anchor at 7 AM came up clean and gave it a sea water wash to keep her chain clean(wash the fish smell off). Beautiful sky this morning for a calm sail. I took pictures of the beacon at Rebeccah shoals as this was a rough ride for us back in January of 2012 when we were headed from the Dry Tortugas to Key West in the 32 Hunter! GOOD TIMES GOOD TIMES! I sat in my bean bag chair in the hot tub and read a book as it was a beautiful day for it. Not any boats near us today just ocean tapping our boat with the waves. Put the bean bag chair on the top of the roof and and had some amazing views. The sails were lufting at times with a gentle pop, like your popping a dishrag. So i really enjoyed my YETI of tea and a book and the sunshine. BUT i got so engrossed in my book i forgot the sunshine shining down on my white skin and boy did that make for an interesting pattern hahahaha. Wish my grandson Jett was here to help me sail this big boy, he would love the dolphins, fish, turtles, and crocs! Seeing that big old Fort Jefferson come into view really brought back some amazing memories from 2012. The winds were high the whole 9 days we were here in 2012 lets see what they are in 2022. We started to anchor out in the upper anchorage to the lighthouse side of the fort but decided on the opposite anchorage, BUT at about 1:40 AM we were rolling side to side so bad i was ready to sleep in the hot tub on the deck! Steve beat me to it he got up started the engine and we motored into the anchorage in front of the fort and it was like heaven NO more 160 rolls! hahaha. Let me get this straight though you are always moving in the Tortugas just enough to rock you to sleep and get you wet going to shore(depending on wind direction). OK more tomorrow stay tuned peeps!

Calm seas 1-2 with light winds.

Heavy rollers at night in anchorage to west of the Fort.

Today we headed out to Marquesas Cay for an overnight stay and then on to Dry Tortugas the next day. So we let loose of our mooring ball in key west for the last time. I pulled up the hook, pulled the pin and BOOM we are off to the dry Tortugas! The sky looked a little cloudy with dark skies to the starboard side but no bad weather actually hit us. Sitting on the lboat watching the patches of grass float by in a line like they were all connected. It is really cool to see how the sea currents work out here. We arrived at the island and picked a good place to anchor and i ran on deck to unlock anchor chain and watch that big ole 65 pound mantis II roll out like a huge chain snake and strike bottom and grab an immediate hold as we drifted back on it. I love this anchor! We just stood and stared at the beautiful sunset slowly headed down to disappear from our sight leaving a beautiful glow behind for us to enjoy.

The seas were around 2-3 today, light winds for a good sail.

Great anchorage no problem with dragging and anchor came up clean.

Weather was gusting 28 knots with steady 15-20 knots today. Went in to shore around 4:30 to walk the fort and grounds. We met some great people that just completed a 15 month tour of the southern carribean with their children. Three couples in three catamarans! One was named Chinook one was chocho(Japanese for butterfly), and the last one was “ Sunday waffles”. All three couples had never met before they started their journeys! They were so pleasant even the children were polite. They were all from Oregon. I asked what they loved and hated about the boats and the little one said she hated “the throwing up” bless her heart. Her mother said she gets seasick on the long crossings. Her name is Cecily( I don’t know the correct spelling), and we talked about the sooty turns colony and the frigate birds as we stood on top of the fort looking at the colony. . She then told her mom what I had told her. Love me some well mannered children. The top of the fort is still very nice. It’s no longer well manicured but I still love it! Walking the path I remembered running it every morning when we were her ten years ago. Every turn twist and narrow area of the path. There is one section that is closed because it runs over the housing for the park personnel. Park Ranger, game warden and research personnel and employees. Looking out through the unfinished windows at the beautiful sea is very relaxing. Ended my visit today with the very wet ride back to the boat. Fair winds my friends! Stay tuned.

So we arrived in key west on February 10 and found a place to anchor next to the mooring field. No mooring balls available and 4000 a month to go into marina. So we anchored out hoping a ball would become available. Andrea and Barry went into Boca Chica military base marina. Much cheaper there. We stayed in for the night and planned our trip into town for tom Feb 11.

Feb11 Friday we got ready and dropped the dinghy and headed in to town. I had already scoped out the fabric store in Key West when I was in marathon.Hehehe😁 We ate at the boat house at the turtle kraal right beside the dinghy dock. Briggs and Tess were walking past us on the dock with their gorgeous Rottie , Nymeria! After we spoke for a while they continued on their Key West exploration. I left Steve to hang out while I walked the 15-20 minutes down the street past the beautiful orchids, quaint gorgeous houses and past the cemetery to Truman street. Talk about a beautimous fabric store…..I fell in love. They have everything from outdoor fabric, phifertex, knitting crocheting, and all kinds of notions. Beautiful fabrics of all kinds! Check out the pics,oh and a place (waiting area)with drinks and snacks for waiting husbands! I spent an hour or two there then headed back down the quaint streets the lovely island houses picked up Steve and headed back to boat with my backpack FULL of treasures! Aargh.😂

We visited Boca Grande Key for 4 days of exploring sandbars and a little cut through on the island. Steve and I went back in the cut heard what sounded like baby gators then we heard this really close really menacing growl close by and found out it was a saltwater crocodile! The next week (Mar 22 I think).We left for Marquesas key from our mooring ball in key west while we have a good weather window. Enjoy the pictures. We spent 4 days there enjoying the sand sun and snorkeling! Oh those sunsets and moonrises were awesome too!

Alright I have more pics for you guys! These pictures are from our trip going from Johnson Key to Tarpon Belly Key.

We have been in key west for a while now. We came from Marathon to Johnson Key to Tarpon Belly Key to Key west. I am staying so busy this trip I haven’t had time to write or the internet to keep a written daily post. Most of my posts will be pics. Enjoy and Fair winds my friends! If you have any questions feel free to leave a message. I will try to check for them daily.

Jan 29

Today i spent working on a pattern for my windless cover and Barry has requested one too so i am going to make a couple for our boats. I took apart an old winch cover and copied it, added pieces and measured the one on Barrys boat for his cover. They are two totally different covers. I really am so glad Steve bought me this Sailrite sewing machine it has been a great addition to the boat.

Jan 30

I continued my sewing projects and completed the windless cover for our boat today. We went to the Steak and Lobster restaurant tonight. And it was fantastic, i recommend this restaurant if you go to Marathon.

Jan 31

Today i worked on the cover for Barry’s windless. I did not have any elastic for it, so i picked some up at the west marine on the 28th and it worked great for the bottom of the cover creating a pull cord to tighten it and will add snaps and a cloth tab to secure it to the windless around the chain.

Woke up to another beautiful day in paradise and enjoyed the quiet and peacefulness in our little cubby hole in the mangroves. Sewed and cut out patterns for the Summit Sling bag. That took most of the day. I love my table where i can set my sewing machine cut material and use my hot knife to cut sailrite material. My own little “floating sewing shop”. After sewing on the boat our boat gang decided to hit the restaurant at Fat Deer Key under the two bridges and by the hotel there. They have a place to actually tie up so you can eat. They have so many outdoor spaces to eat and the inside is actually open to the outside so you can see the bay and the boats moored nearby. Sailboats trawlers all waiting on a chance to hit the bahamas or head on up north around the great loop! We sat outside on a bar type table with just stools looking out into the water, great seats. We had a good meal met some fellow boaters from up north and headed back to the boat in the darkness of the night.

Today we get to all go to the MARATHON TURTLE HOSPITAL, one of my favorite places to visit. So we got up dinghied in and called the 8 dollar cab into Marathon. Arrived at the turtle hospital and got to see all the turtles rescued that can go back and the ones that have to stay there and cant be released. The turtle hospital used to be a1950s hotel and club that was bought and renovated in the 1980s by Richie Moretti and turned into a turtle hospital and rehab center. After we toured the Turtle Hospital we traveled down the street checked out the little shops and found a place to eat lunch by the Marathon Boot Key Harbor where everyone is anchored or on mooring balls waiting to launch to Bimini Bahamas, and some live there on their boats. That is a nice marina it has a huge activity area with washer and dryer area that is being renovated this year. Very nice place to be.But it is so crowded you have to be on a waiting list for weeks or months to get a spot. The restaurant is cool and used to be the bomb 10 years ago. but i wouldn’t recommend it today. Went to several places around town and the town seems to be going down. Just a sign of the times i reckon.

Ok and back to the boat after our excursion into dirty marathon.