Exploring the Keys

With strong winds in the forecast, we would not be crossing the Gulf Stream to The Bahamas anytime soon. This gave us the opportunity to spend some time in the Florida Keys.

Marathon—Boot Key Harbor

What a crazy place Boot Key Harbor in Marathon is! At night the sky is full of little lights. No, not stars. These are anchor lights. Each one representing a boat at anchor in the harbor. It is really a city of liveaboard boats. The harbor is conveniently located near grocery, marine, and hardware stores. There are plenty of restaurants and happy hours to choose from. You can take your dinghy to the beach, the gas station, or to do laundry. There’s even the Cruisers Net that meets on the VHF every morning to announce daily events, welcome new arrivals, and barter. Marathon has it all. Well, everything expect solitude.

We love cities. So much to do, eat, see. Rob and I have chosen to live in cities for most of our adult lives. But this journey is about getting away from it all. It’s about choosing a different lifestyle in order to challenge ourselves, self reflect, and grow. It’s about spending uninterrupted time with each other and unplugging. Marathon was not a place we wanted to spend a lot of time, but it was still the most convenient place to get spare parts and work on some boat projects. We spent a week in Marathon. We fixed the engine, met up with some old dock mates for dinner, and provisioned. All in all it was a productive week, but we were ready to move on.

Islamorada—Lorelie-Morada Bay

We cruised UP the ICW to Islamorada and anchored in Lorelie-Morada Bay. Along the way we gave boat potty training another shot. It’s not going very well. Baxter despises the pee pad and Jaela thinks it makes a better bed.

We took a break from boat maintenance and relaxed a bit here. We celebrated my birthday at Lorelie’s restaurant and watched a gorgeous sunset. This anchorage was quiet, but still conveniently located near some shops and restaurants.

Key Largo—Tarpon Basin

A couple of days later we continued up the ICW to Tarpon Basin in Key Largo for a couple of nights. We hadn’t even dropped the anchor yet and we saw manatees swimming near our boat. Rob and I hopped into the dinghy to get a closer look. Baxter was very intrigued by the strange animal, but Jaela was not impressed.

This anchorage was even calmer and quitter than the last. We were able to take the dinghy to shore and walk up the road a mile to pick up some produce at a Publix. We also stopped and grabbed some bait and spent the remainder of the day exploring the mangroves and fishing (fishing, not catching).

Key Largo—Angelfish Creek

After reviewing the weather forecast on Sunday morning (2/28), we decided to pack up and prepare to cross the Gulf Stream the next day. We pulled up the anchor and headed north to Angelfish Creek. Along the way we stopped to top off our gas and water tanks. We would be leaving early Monday (3am) for the Bahamas. We took advantage of the remaining day light and exited through the creek to the Atlantic. By practicing this exit during the day, it would make it easier to do it at night. We turned around and headed back into the creek for protection and dropped our anchor. We spent our last night in the US eating Ramen noodles and watching Netflix. We were both nervous and excited about crossing the next day. We just hoped that the weather would actually match the forecast.

Neither of us hit the snooze button when our alarms went off at 2am. We hopped out of bed and started putting on our safety gear. I made coffee, but was so full of adrenaline, I didn’t need it. The weather forecast looked even better than the day before. We were doing this. We were REALLY doing this. We doubled checked all of our safety gear (jacklines, life jackets, harnesses, and personal beacons) and pulled up the anchor. We sailed away from the Miami lights and into the darkness, hoping for the best and prepared for the worst. Gulf Stream, here we come.