Marathon, Fl.

We are in Marathon. It was not a very good trip as we had to be towed in by Felicity. (Thanks Jim and Teri). The raw water impeller came apart and the engine overheated but we are here and well anchored in the mooring field. I've changed the impeller and bought a couple of spares.
Teri had to fly back to Texas and return to work. She will be missed and we look forward to meeting up again later down the line.
We will try to post more pictures before we depart for the Bahamas.

Dinghy dock at the City Marina.

Bahia Honda cont.

This is a small island/shoal just off the the park. The two dots just under and to the left of the trees on the island is Jim and me. We were trying to catch a lobster or two. No luck but had lots of fun.

Left to right: Robert, Carolyn, Teri and Jim ( Ocean 4).

These iguana were sunning themselves on a pillar on the railroad bridge.

The pelicans are almost tame.

A beautiful sunset from Moondance's cockpit.

Bahia Honda

The entrance to Bahia Honda State Park is through an open section in the old railway bridge.

Opening in old bridge.

Part of bridge in the park. You can walk on it for a ways.

Bahia Honda anchorage.

Beach

Lagoon and marina, it was way too shallow for Felicity's and Moondance's draft.

Key West to Bahia Honda

We have a few more pictures of Key West and our sail to Bahia Honda State Park.

We ate breakfast one morning at the Blue Heaven, very good.

The waite staff at the Blue Heaven.


Sunset over the mooring field.

Cruise ships in Key West bight on our way out of Key West.

Sailing to Bahia Honda.

More of Key West

More of Key West.

Iguanas like sunning themselves.

We ate , drank and listened to the band at the orginal Sloppy Joe's, reportedly one of Hemmingway's hang outs.
Dogs, cats and chickens have the run of the place.

The four of us enjoying the Southernmost Bar and Grill.

They are everywhere you least expect. It is great here in Key West, but it's time to move on.

We will start wacthing weather for our sail to Marathon.

Key West

Well we are in Key West as you know and we have a few pictures for everyone.

This is the dinghy dock at the city marina. It's a about a 1 1/2 mile dinghy ride to the docks. That's Jim Selman of Felicity in the background.

This is the southern most point in the US with Cuba 90 miles to the south.

Jim and Teri on their way back to Felicity.



Here I am getting diesel at a gas station, there are chickens all over Key West. No one seems to know why or care. It is very laid back here.

Boat houses are plentiful here. This one was along our dinghy ride to and from the city docks and the city mooring fields.

Ft. Myers to Key West

Finally got good speed internet to upload a few pictures. Enjoy.

This is the mooring field in Ft. Myers. We are in the middle somewhere !

Caralyn and I were baffled at this thing we saw in the shower room and we finally remembered that it's called a "bathtub", it's been a long time since we've seen one. Showers are the norm.


This is a huge sea turtle that we saw on the way to Key West,it wound not have fit in the trunk of a VW (where the hood of the car should be).

It was very weird and calm most of the trip.

You can see how eerie it was with the fog banks rolling in and the color of the water etc. We should have some pictures of Key West next time.

Key West

Hello everyone,
We made it to Key West. Fl. The internet connection today is not good so pictures will have to follow. The trip over was wierd, lots of thick fog and inky waters, just really weird. Key West is fun, kinda like a grownup's carnival city with really good food. Anyway, we get in touch with pictures as soon as we can.

Sarasota

A band was playing at O'Leary's where we dinghied to the docks after anchoring in the cove.

The band at O'Leary's.

Having a pitcher of beer. The couple behind us are from Nova Scotia.


Moondance anchored in Sarasota. (In the center between the trees)

Banyon trees.

Sarasota skyline.

Along the way.

Along the way to Sarasota we stopped to spend the night at the American Legion dock in Madeira Beach. It got very windy and rough and the tide fell 3 feet, so we couldn't leave till the next day. So being cruisers we did what cruisers do, we went in and had chicken wings and cold beer.

American Legion Hall and docks (free).

Dolphins visit the boat regularly.

The Skyline bridge on the way to Sarasota. (175 ft. tall)

An actual Coast Guard rescue in Tampa Bay. A single person was hoisted up by sling and the boat continued on toward Tampa. We hailed several times and was there to assist but got no reply. It was over by the time we got really close and they went on their way so we did the same.

The ICW is very shoal here. The lite blue water next to the boat is 6-8 ft. deep, the darker shade of blue/black is 2-3 ft. and the lite tan is sand about 1 ft. deep. This is about 15-20 feet away on either side of us.

Tarpon Springs

More pictures of Tarpon Springs.

This is a statue of Saint Michael, a very special saint to the Greek Orthodoxs.

The shrine we visited while in Tarpon Springs.


Saint Michael Shrine.

This is the largest Greek Orthodox church in the US.

Greek style "Whole Foods".