Hanging out in Marathon, middle of the Keys

On Saturday our weather was not favorable for going down the keys so we decided to move from the Marathon Yacht Club to Boot Key Harbor, the City Marina Mooring Field. There are hundred of mooring balls and we picked up our ball on Row R number 8. We then take our dinghy to shore to go wherever we want! Yesterday, we had a fun time visiting our friends, Diana and Joe, on s/v Cavalier. We had a wonderful swim in their saltwater pool over at Marathon Marina and then had a great early dinner at a nice restaurant. Our boat was moving really s l o w so we decided to have a diver check out the prop and the bottom of the boat. He scraped off some gunk on the prop blades. Today we tested the boat by motoring it around the marina and sure enough, it was going much faster. So we are all set for our trip down to Miami. When will that be? We think the weather will improve on Friday or Saturday. We hope to motor that way and spend some time in Coconut Grove, Miami while we wait for the north winds to abate for our crossing over to West End, Bahamas. Bleu Kitty is having fun on the boat and is quite a good little cat. He seems to be enjoying his trip on Eagles Wings!

Cruising down the west coast of Florida

Richard, Joanne, Diana and Joe 

It's March 21st, the first day of spring (and my 65th birthday!)  We are docked at Marathon Yacht Club in the middle of the Keys and its a gorgeous day. 

Since our last posting, we spent a few days waiting out a nasty storm that finally hit us on Tuesday.  The wind howled over the water, but our anchor held firm.  Unfortunately, our friends on s/v Can't Agree had dinghy motor problems and decided to return home to Punta Gorda to fix the problem.  We are hoping that they will catch up to us in a few days as we meander down the coast and then over to Miami's Mooring Field at Coconut Grove.  We spent a lovely night anchored at Little Shark River, in the Everglades.  There is no cell phone or wifi coverage in this remote part of Florida, but we enjoyed the peacefulness of the place before we sailed down to Marathon yesterday.


We're planning on having a nice birthday dinner here and then heading over on the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) to Islamorada and then onto Miami.  We heard from some other sailing friends on s/v Yorkshire Rose that are also heading over our way and we hope to meetup with them too! 

Photos

PS We are having trouble inserting photos into the blog.  May not have internet computer access for a while but will still get email on our phones.

Cruising

We're sailing to the Abacos.

It all started last fall when we attending a Punta Gorda Sailing Club meeting. The speaker showed drop-dead gorgeous pictures of the Abacos, Bahamas! Sitting next to us were our friends, Diana and Joe. We looked at each other and said, “Let's do it!” Sitting a few rows away were cruising buddies, Maureen and Tom. They also chimed in and before we knew it, we were all going!

Fast forward to Friday, March 14, the Day of Departure! Whew, as we pulled away from the dock, we rechecked our “lists” - did we remember our passports?, did we have all our meds?, what about enough food for Bleu Kitty, our 3-year old Persian sailing cat? As we locked the doors to the house, Joanne remembered that we still had cold food in the refrigerator to load on the boat!

 After strong North winds blowing the day before, the water was lower than normal by 6 inches but rising.  Tom and Maureen decided to head out slowly.  Whoops - first exciting moment! Tom and Maureen in s/v Can't Agree (they couldn't agree on the name of their boat!) ran aground in the Ponce Channel.  Ten minutes later, they were free. Coming along behind them, we bumped once before passing the Ponce Park dock.

Next, a boisterous sail down Charlotte Harbor with an East wind sometimes gusting to 20 knots approached the Channel Five Marker the died and the motor came on. We anchored off of Ding Darling under a beautiful moonlit sky. Our first night aboard we cooked up a wonderful spagetti dinner and collapsed into a sound sleep. 

Up at first light, we motored through the Miserable Mile out to San Carlos Bay before we hoisted the sails. Crab Pots ahead! They come up on you fast when you are not looking and wrap around your prop. We expect many many more in Florida Bay. 

An East wind that clocked to South throughout the morning forced the motor on first for motor sailing and then to motoring. We took a free slip at the Marco Island Yacht Club for the night to enjoy the pool and a shoreside shower. Sunday we move over to Smokehouse Bay a mile or so away to join s/v Can't Agree while we wait for a weather window to move down to Little Shark River or Cape Sable and then down the Florida Yacht Channel to the Keys. 

Our friends in s/v Cavalier, Diana and Joe, sail and motor a lot faster so they elected to go from Fort Myers Beach all the way to Indian Key near the Everglades. Tomorrow they expect to be in Marathon.

Valentine's Day Cruise to Boca Grande



IYC Cruisers/Bikers pause for a picture on Boca Grande Beach


Valentine's Day - Time for Cruising!   We led a cruise of 11 boaters (24 people in all) from the Isles Yacht Club to the newly renovated Boca Grande Marina.  What wonderful spring weather and fun motor sailing on a gorgeous day!  We ate dinner at the Eagle's Grill, their newly renovated restaurant. We dined under a full moon on their beautiful weather-protected porch area.  We also led a  bike ride through the island enjoying the golf carts, tourists and sights along the way.  Clayborne Young paid us a visit as he did research for his website, Salty Dog Cruiser's Net.  Clayborne is also the author of books about cruising the Florida coast and it was a pleasure meeting him.  Check out our photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/100014425150092582097/IYCCruiseToBocaGrande#

Clayborne Young



Sunrise over IYC Boats at Boca Grande Marina





Joanne - President of Friendship Force of SW Florida

Joanne on a Friendship Force Exchange in Australia

We joined Friendship Force of Southwest Florida a few years ago when our friends, Sue & Rob Linehan, told us about this neat travel exchange club.  Guess what?  Joanne recently became its President in a landslide victory!  (OK, so not many people wanted to run, but Joanne lept at the chance to lead this wonderful group.)

Sure, you can book a cruise or a trip with a travel agency or on your own...but why not, have a deeper experience by actually meeting the people of the country you are visiting? Friendship Force (FF) makes this a reality!  

Here's how - You travel with your club members or go on-line (to find other clubs) that are traveling to a country that you may want to visit.  You'll stay with a club member at their home and their club will take you to see the sights of their local area. 

For example, when we visited FF's 2 clubs in Australia, we saw kangaroos in the wild on club member's land not available to the public, unless of course you are in FF.  One club member even took us for a ride in his private plane.  These experiences don't happen with a travel agency! 

The lifelong friends you make and the experiences you have traveling with FF are unique, memorable and unbeatable.  You have the opportunity to be an "ambassador" for the US as you talk about our country and come to a deeper understanding of their homeland.

What else? Our FF club hosts exchanges (people coming in from countries outside the US and from other states in the US).  This spring we are welcoming 12 people from Costa Rica and this fall, a group from Nebraska is scheduled.  Our club members volunteer to let them stay in their homes and other club members take them to see the sights of SW Florida.  We host a Welcome Party and many events for them.  It's fun for everyone and gives you an appreciation how others view our country.

Check out our club website at www.friendshipforceswfl.org  Hope you'll join our club if you are in Florida or if not, check out one in your area of the country.  There are 380 clubs worldwide.

Commodore Richard, PGIslanders

When a boat club changes its officiers, it's called a "Change of Watch."   Our wonderful boat club, the PGIslanders celebrated its Change of Watch on Friday, January 10th, with 165 members gathering for a terrific celebration complete with BBQ dinner and lots of thank yous for past officers and current ones!

Here's a picture of Richard being presented the club burgee complete with the 3-star flag of Commodore!  He ran the first meeting with a slide show to keep members interested and on track.  He is excited to lead this wonderful group in 2014.

Photos

New Year's Eve

The PGIslanders bent the needle on the Fun Meter down in Pelican Bay on New Year's Eve!         

Four large catamarans rafted to form a huge party platform to host a record number of people, 58 PG Islanders and their guests. Recent new members Bruce & Marilyn Conklin, Dave & Diane Commens and Tom & Joyce Mack joined the fun. The host boats Linehan's Catalyst, Johnson's Chat-eau, Rommel's Desert Fox and Hilke's Dues Paid were festively decorated and lit. 

The weather was perfect, breezy and pleasantly warm.

The Islanders gathered just before dusk and were delighted by a surprise event, dinghies that danced to the Blue Danube sans tutus before everyone in the attentive anchorage. Nine Islanders dinghies performed many precision maneuvers in close proximity, including the Demolition Derby Figure 8, all without incident. The conclusion was an awesome red and white pinwheel finale complete with a Happy New Year's wave. The Blue Angels would have been proud. 

The clever Dinghy Ballet was envisioned and choreographed by the Haswell's and Clark's. Dinghy pilots included the Brandt's, Terry Clark, Richard Collins, Toby Haswell, Steve Johnson, the Lennon's, Rob Linehan, Chuck Millburg and the Oberle's. 
 

On New Years Eve the food was both plentiful and delicious and the holiday mood was high. The party started early so a champagne toast was celebrated at Punta Gorda midnight of 9 pm. We also celebrated the incoming Commodore Richard's birthday with a homemade carrot cake.

The following morning the Islanders and guests welcomed the New Year with a lavish breakfast feast. Some Islanders stayed to enjoy the beach of Cayo Costa while the others headed for home.   What a great way to start the New Year! 

Click Photos

Watch the Dinghy Ballet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKAfv9JyJg