These are marriage savers! \240😝

Matt made a new friend.

Hello Fred!

The whole family.

Sunset on River Camps, Panama City, FL

Carrie and Matt join us for sundowners. \240

Heron Now at night. Gorgeous.

River Camps pier.

Day 2 of our shake down cruise. Foggy morning, glassy water, no wind. Motored through the ditch to Panama City to join up with family. Sundowners and dinner at Boondocks rounded out the day. \240Thanks to Carrie and Matt for the stunning pictures of Heron Now and night time silhouette.

Food Prep…chicken curry!

dry goods and first aid

Bird Cabin and beach gear

The start of my vanity

Jim’s vanity

Freezer empty

Fridge empty

My one and only cabinet for pots and pans.

My ONLY drawer for cooking utensils

A handy hole for quick grab dry stuff

Lots of little odd sized cabinets for spices and things like that.

After all the provisioning and loading and planning and waiting…(for the AIS)…we were underway at approx. 3:05PM.

The day was chilly and cloudy. \240We had some rain, but the the zipper extensions were doing their job keeping the cockpit nice and warm.

Lucy and the birds joined us up top briefly…but since it was getting dark, Jim put the birds to bed at dark. \240Lucy spent most of her time on my lap. \240She really doesn’t like it when we run the engine. \240Still getting queasy but dealing with it in her own way. \240

We continued on until we arrived at Alaqua Bayou. \240The weather held and we only had a little misty rain. \240The winds kicked up a bit, but the boat handle it very well. \240We finally \240anchored out \240around 8:00pm on the north east side of Choctawhatchee Bay outside of Alaqua Bayou . \240It was a Long day but happy to be out on the water.

Jim tried out the new anchor bridle and it seemed to be doing the trick nicely.

We had a nice dinner of turkey tacos and we were both ready for bed.

We decided to run the space heater Jim’s son Mike gave us to keep the birds warm but it drained the battery and we woke up at 5:30am to get the generator going. \240Lesson learned. \240Continued on the next page….

Heron Now…on it’s way!

Huddled up in the dinghy…brrr!

Beautiful picture of us driving off in the dinghy…courtesy of Carrie.

Jim’s buddies…they follow him everywhere!

Fred and Mike

Ricky is learning to navigate…. \240We are in trouble!

The birds Joining us for breakfast

Hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and sourdough toast.

After Breakfast I did some cleanup and organizing. \240This was good, because little did I know it would be such a rough day out in the gulf.

The stern berth. This is where Jim and I sleep.

A somewhat organized closet in our spare head.

We were joined on our journey by a few Christmas gnomes.

We left St. Andrew’s pass at about 12:30pm. \240The winds and waves were much higher than anticipated. \240We decided it would be good to reef in sooner than later. \240Jim reefed in to the 2nd reef and we rolled up the jib and let out the stay sail.

This evening it was rough sailing. \240Wind about 20-25 kts. Swells 8-10 all day and night. \240They continued into Tuesday.

We did see dolphin surfing our bow, stern and waves around the boat. \240The sunset was stunning.

Dolphin joining us for some fun

Birds handling it very well. \240Me and Lucy were a bit seasick and after taking some Dramamine, my stomach calmed down. \240The only time it affected me was when went down below. \240SO, Lucy and I tried to stay topside as much as possible until the meds kicked in.

Ricky enjoying the day. \240Loves to play! \240Mike at the helm.

St. Andrew’s pass, Panama City, FL

Lucy is not happy…she does feel better in her thunder vet though.

Lucy and I hanging out topside. \240Trying to fight the queasiness.

Feeling better now.

Lunch was turkey sandwiches and banana. \240 Dinner was more of the same.

Jim and Mike drove all of the first day and night because I was still not up to snuff and Lucy was scared and not doing well. \240I holed up with her and tried to sleep but I never really got any sleep because it was so rough down below. \240

Dinghy and damaged life sling

Mike 4-6am

No report. \240Still heading toward Egmont channel.

6-8am we shifted around. \240Beautiful sunrise.

No report

8am Breakfast of protein bars and hot coffee.

Around 12:00pm Jim went up front to adjust the sail so we could maintain a better easterly direction.

While he was out he adjusted the anchor bridal that was making noise. \240He also hauled in one of the fenders that was hanging overboard.

The birds stayed in their cages most of the day. We brought them out around 3:30pm. \240They spent the day with us and then went to bed at sunset.

It was a gorgeous sunny day. \240Lighter winds but still some pretty rocky waves.

We approached the Egmont pass and made it into Tampa bay about noon. \240 Mary made lunch or taco salads. \240Our first “real” meal since leaving P’ma City.

Finishing lunch

Approaching the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

Ricky at the helm. \240

At 3:30pm We found a place to dock the boat at Little Harbor Marina in Ruskin, FL. \240A nice sheltered place to stay. \240They have showers, ice, power, fuel, pump out. \240Not laundry service.

After we secured the boat, We showered and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. \240Drinks of course. \240A nice sundowner for \240Heron Now and Mary’s \240first gulf passage.

We walked to Dinner. \240Ate at a nice little restaurant, the Sunset Grill. \240Food was Very good. \240 Then walked back and hit the hay. \240We were all super tired.

Jim and I had breakfast and then went to West Marine and Walmart to get things for repairs and improvements.

Later I took Lucy to the vet and started her on some antibiotics. \240Jim stayed with the birds and the boat and did some chores and repairs. \240He got the antenna (we have not idea what it does) next to the dinghy off and repaired it with some JB Weld. \240Then took off the mounting hardware to the life sling. \240Took off the bolts on the crossbar to the Davits.

After the vet I picked up Jim and we went to Mallorie’s and she fed us. \240Thankfully. Then Dan took us to look at Christmas lights….on the golf cart with Mallorie and the boys.

Back on the boat…we were beat and went straight to bed.

Snowy Egret

I’m not sure what he is yet.

Jim worked on the dinghy davits which we ended up needing longer screws to get the hardware attached.

I puttered around the boat straightening and stashing things. \240One thing I really need to do is inventory where everything is once we settle where things are going to go.

We spent the morning on the boat and then when it was time we drove to Lowe’s in Riverview on the way to Mallorie’s house for Christmas Eve festivities.

Kari met us at the door. \240She is Mallorie’s stepmom. \240This would be my first time meeting her.

(Backstory)

Kari is married to Mark Johnson. \240He is Mallorie’s biological father.

Lunch a was a lovely Greek gyro salad.

After lunch, Jim was tasked with helping Dan, Mark and a neighbor put together the trampoline for the boys big gift.

While they were doing that, Mallorie and occasionally Emma sat at the piano and sang Broadway songs. \240It felt really nice to sit and play.

When the guys finished the “project”, they joined us for Christmas Carols. \240 Dinner was chili.

The boys opened one gift and then went to bed. \240We drove back to the boat and the kids. \240Showered and then Tucked ourselves into bed for an early morning the next day.

It was a nice day.

After all the gifts were opened I helped Emma start the sourdough bread. \240Then we all got ready for Mass. \240The boys really did not want to go. \240(This made me sad). But once we got there, Hudson had a million questions! \240😂

Mass was at St. Stephen in Riverview. \240And as much as I like the church, I just want to put some pep in the music. \240The organist plays sooooo slow. \240😳

Lunch was Chicken Curry on the boat.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the boat with the kids since we had left them so early that morning. \240They enjoyed the day in the cockpit. \240Jim worked on securing the life sling and I started a new crochet project and watched a Christmas movie.

I took Lucy for a walk later in the afternoon before the sun went down. \240Then we went back to Mallorie’s for dinner and games. \240Dinner was Chicken and Dumplings. \240(More carbs!)

We played a game called the SOUND GAME. \240It was not well received. \240While all this was going on, I fluffed laundry, gathered our presents and other stuff and prepared the sourdough for it’s final rise.

We baked the bread and when it was done we headed back to the boat and bed.

Long day but a nice day.

The nav desk still needs some work.

I had to return Amazon items and found the drop off just down the road on College avenue (?). \240There is a UPS drop off for amazon purchases. \240This was easy. \240Going to Walmart was not! \240It took me an hour and a half just to get a few items. \240Ugh.

I also drove over to see the boys one more time before we left Tampa. \240Dan was doing yard work and taking down Christmas decorations. \240Mallorie and Emma were at a movie and the boys were just playing. \240It was a quick little visit and then back to the boat.

Rainbow Scarab Beetle

Mark and Kari headed back to Opp, AL and made it home safely.

While sitting at Mal’s I made some calls to check on our next marina options. \240Most marinas are pretty booked up this time of year. \240So we are talking about our next destination. \240We have to leave the Marina tomorrow so we are preparing for that. \240More on this later….

We both needed a shower and mine unfortunately was a cold one! \240Dinner tonight was at the Sunset Grill. \240I had the seafood bisque and a salad. \240I really needed some veggies after such a carb heavy week. \240The soup was so thick that I just got it to go. \240I will add some milk to it later and have it for lunch.

We stayed up and watched the movie THE SOUND OF FREEDOM. \240Really good movie…just very sad. \240We got to bed late tonight for the first time since we got here. \240A good day.

Making Banana Bread

Used the oven for the first time!

Muffins for the marina office.

Poor little dinghy

All fixed!

I paid a short visit to Mallorie one more time and we went for a short walk.

Alligator

Bunny Rabbit

Pacific Reef Heron/ Eastern Reef Egret

Dinner was chicken enchilada casserole and salad. \240We watched a bit of TV and went to bed.

Lucy found a new place to hide.

Lunch was PBJ sandwiches.

We arrived a Davis Island Yacht Club at 4:45pm and tied up to the west T dock at 5:35pm.

We ate dinner at the bar because there was a party going on at the table area. \240Food was ok. \240Pub fair. \240Jim’s sweet potato fries looked barely cooked. \240My coleslaw was warm and lacked flavor. \240But the burger was good.

Eating at the bar

We watched a bit of TV and went to bed about 10:00pm.

Heading out for a walk to stretch the legs!

We went to the club to watch a beautiful sunset and that just didn’t happen. \240So, instead we had a delicious bowl of clam chowder, a few drinks and did some research on our next destination.

Back on the boat, Dinner was Chicken enchilada casserole and salad.

Watched TV and called it a night. \240We are planning to leave out tomorrow for Boca Ciega Bay and try living on the hook for a few days. \240Should be fun!

Fred is sporting a new doo! \240He’s got bangs. \240🤣

We arrived at our anchorage and settled in at 4:59pm. \240No real sunset tonight….maybe tomorrow. \240Temperature is a chilly 60 degrees. \240Dinner tonight is chili or chicken tortilla soup and crackers. \240Not sure which one I pulled out to thaw. \240Either one will feel nice tonight to ward off the chill.

Fred impatient to eat

Weather today was beautiful and clear as you can see from the pictures. \24056 degrees/barimetric pressure 30.28.

After Mass we tidied up the cabin and galley and got the dinghy ready to go out to the beach. \240We had some trouble with the connections from the battery to the motor. \240We suspect it got some salt water in it from the Gulf crossing. \240Jim sprayed some WD40 on it and soon we had it running like a champ.

We were able to get over to the dock, but it was not easy finding a spot to tie up to. \240We found an old dilapidated boat that was just sitting there and tied up to it, climbed aboard and headed to town.

We found the PUBLIX, but decided to just walk about a bit to see what we could see. \240We talked to the bike rental agent and he suggested a great place on the beach for a good burger. \240So we walked to the beach and then down the road to lunch. \240The place was called SANDBAR BILLS…tucked away in back of the Bon-Aire Motel. \240Cute little place. \240Obviously family friendly. \240Two heated pools!

After lunch we went to PUBLIX to pick up some provisions. \240$5.35 for a roll of Bounty paper towels! \240Yikes. \240Definitely beach front prices! \240Grapes were $9. \240Gonna have to cut back on this extravagant eating….or starve. \240😳

We loaded up to dinghy and drove back to the boat. \240After unloading, we got back on the dinghy and I got a chance to drive her for the first time. \240It was lots of fun! \240We headed over to the cat that “next” to us in the cove and turned out the guy was stuck in the shallows there. \240He had tried to get into the cove to go to PUBLIX, but got stuck on the sandbar. \240The name of his boat was ARIEL! \240I can’t remember his name, but he was from Tampa.

After talking to him, we decided to do some more exploring and drove the dinghy around the little island. \240We caught the motor in the sand under this low bridge, but were able to row ourselves out. \240Lots of grassy areas in this little cove and lots of shallows.

Finally out of the grass, we were able to get back to the boat and get her back on the davits.

The rest of the day was just relaxing…reading…crocheting…and trying the figure out where we will go tomorrow.

Dinner is tortellini and spaghetti sauce with a nice salad. \240I wanted to have a nice, fancy meal for New Year’s Eve. \240

More good things to come in the New Year. \240Stay tuned!

Happy 2024!

After breakfast we are motoring to Dunedin. \240This is a quaint little town that Mallorie told me about. \240We had an uneventful and peaceful motor all the way to the Dunedin Municipal Marina. \240We had intended to dock there for the night but anticipated that we might not find a slip. \240This was the case…they were not open and the dock master was not working today. \240So, we ended up anchoring out with all the other long term sailboats just west of the channel. \240But, in front of the marina.

We went through 3 bascule bridges on our journey north up the ICW.

This is where we anchored out. \240We are basically in the Clearwater area. \240

After we got settled in we dinghied to the marina. \240We walked a bit and looked around the Main Street area. \240First impressions showed a vibrant arts scene and typical upscale tourist fair. \240I did see a stained glassed gallery that caught my attention. \240I will definitely want to go there if they are open. \240We continued to wander until we found a place open for dinner. \240We ended up at the CROWN AND BULL in Dunedin. \240Food was good. \240Jim has a fried chicken and kimchi burger. \240I had crab toast. \240We shared some collard greens and hoppin’ john. \240 \240We also brought some butter pecan ice cream home from a local ice cream parlor.

Crab Toast. \240

Fried Chicken Sam w/ Kimchi and sweet potato fries

After a short dinghy back to the boat, we watched a little TV, ate or ice cream and went to bed. \240Tomorrow we meet up with Mallorie and her family and explore a bit more of what Dunedin has to offer.

View of Main Street

View of Broadway

This was cool. Each lock has a couple’s wedding date or some other date commemorating something important. \240

These dolphin statues were everywhere.

Declan

Hudson

Dunedin Brewery

Lots of murals around as well. \240A very vibrant art scene.

Me, Emma, Mallorie at lunch

You know who this guy is!

Jim, Hudson Kenobi, and Dan

The whole gang

One of the many quaint little streets with unique little boutiques.

Peace out man!

(L to R) Jim, Hudson, Dan, Emma, Declan, Mary

And for you history buffs…

10 Fun Facts about Dunedin’s History:

1. In the 1800s, it was discovered that today’s Dunedin was the seasonal home of the Tocobaga Indians, a Safety Harbor culture, who inhabited the area from 900 to 1500 AD.

Postcard of Oak Street (today’s Main Street) Dunedin circa 1913 | Photo from the Dunedin Historical Museum

2. Dunedin is the oldest town in Pinellas County and began as a remote settlement in 1852. Originally named, Jonesboro, two Scottish immigrants renamed the settlement to Dunedin in 1882 (The name comes from the Scottish-Gaelic form of Edinburgh, Scotland, Dùn Èideann).

3. Hogs and farm animals used to roam free, until Dunedin was incorporated in 1899.

4. Caladesi and Honeymoon Island used to be one island, until a hurricane separated the two in the 1921.

5. Cereal King, W.K. Kellogg, became wealthy after making Corn Flakes, and purchased a mansion in 1934 to call Dunedin his winter home. During WWII, the mansion was used as a Marine barrack.

6. Dunedin has always been a tourist destination and recreation area. Adding to Dunedin’s hospitality history, Bon Appétit Restaurant, has been operating on the Dunedin waterfront for over 40 years, under the same owners.

St. Andrews Chapel in 1888 | Photo from SavingPlaces.org

7. Andrews Memorial Chapel was once located downtown, but was moved to its current location in the 1970s (at the edge of Hammock Park on San Mateo Drive).

Honeymooners in 1940 standing outside of their cottage on Honeymoon Isle (Honeymoon Island)

8. Honeymoon Isle, aka Honeymoon Island, received national attention after Clinton M. Washburn, owner of the Island, invited newlyweds to come honeymoon on the island. Newlyweds participated in recreational activities, visited with other couples and stayed in wooden thatched huts built on the beach!

9. Donald Roebling, an American inventor and engineer, is known for inventing the Landing Vehicle Tracked, or Alligator. The LVT could operate in water and on land and was used by both the American and British forces in WWII. Today, one of the last remaining LVTs lives right here in Dunedin – located at the VFW Post 2550 (South on Douglas Avenue towards the Blue Jays Stadium).

10. Fan of the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones? Well, you can thank Dunedin High School for educating David Nutter, the Emmy Award winning director. Nutter graduated from DHS in 1978.

Pretty cool, eh? And these 10 facts only scratch the surface.

After we said our goodbyes, we left \240town and dinghied back to the boat. \240Our next destination is Clearwater Yacht Club and we wanted to make that before it got dark. \240We left the anchorage at about 3:30pm and anchored outside of Clearwater YC at approximately 5:54pm

Surprisingly enough it only took about an hour to motor there. \240When we arrived, someone else was in our space. \240And since the office was closed, Jim dinghied over to the boat in question and found out that this guy was also offered the same slip for the night. \240Being the patient negotiator that he is, Jim found out this person was only there for the night. \240So, we anchored out for the evening and will take the slip tomorrow morning. \240In the meantime, we had a nice dinner and the club and then headed back to the boat for a bit of TV and digestion before bed.

Side note:

TRAVELING WITH PETS ON A BOAT

The biggest issue for having any pet of board is that we can never leave the boat overnight. \240The animals take daily care. \240That limits some of the time we can spend away. \240And if someone does have to leave overnight, one of us always has to stay with the boat. \240The only other solution is to take all the animals with us.

Things that we deal with: (BIRDS)

1. Lots of shit! \240Birds poop when they want and where they want. \240We keep napkins and paper towels in every place they are. \240Plus, if you are not careful, they will poop on you. \240Or, you might put your hand in Someplace they pooped. \240Anyway you look at it…..it ..is …just….GROSS! \240And a constant battle.

2. \240They get excited at any thing and every thing that passes by the boat. So if another bird 🦅 flies by (and there are many) we know about it because Ricky screeches to let us know.

3. \240They like to eat with us. \240And when they eat, they fling and scatter whatever they eat all over the place. \240So the amount of seed and crumbs we sweep up everyday is huge. \240And since I don’t like sitting on crumbs, we swept up all the time. \240

4. \240The cages get poopy too…but not nearly as bad since they are outside most of the time.

5. \240They chew on everything from shirts to pillows and woodwork. \240Watching out for this is constant. \240We do have some toys for them and it helps.

Things that are nice about birds on board:

1. \240They offer great companionship and are fun and enteraining to watch.

2. \240They have great personalities.

3. \240They like to cuddle.

4. \240Other than poop and seeds, they are pretty easy to have as pets and have acclimated to boat life very well. \240We do our best to give them social time with us and keep them on some sort of routine. \240Doing this had made it easy to get them to bed and back in their cages when WE want them to go.

Things that we deal with: (CAT)

1. \240The litter box situation is gross too. \240The only advantage is that her poop and pee is confined to the box. \240We had to get a larger, covered litter box, but still she manages to get some pee on the floor! \240She did pee on our sheets after the gulf crossing, but she was also sick and had a UTI so she was only trying to tell us she was not feeling good. \240Thankfully she is doing better and peeing where she is supposed to be peeing now. \240Regular scooping keeps the smells down. \240Also using a good litter is important.

2. \240Lucy does not like the motor. \240I think it is the noise that bothers her. \240And since we motor a lot she gets stressed each time the motor is on. \240I have tried putting her in a thunder vest, but now she just equates that vest to terrible stuff. \240I have tried giving her this CBD anti-anxiety drops, but that just gives her the shitkies. \240So, now we just try to get her to come above board where it is quieter and there is fresh air. \240That helps some…but mostly she just hides down below until we stop the engine and anchor or dock somewhere.

3. \240She sheds when she is stressed. \240Luckily I clean about every other day and this had kept down the cat hair. \240

4. \240She sometimes tracks cat litter. \240This is a pain because then I step on it. \240Kinda grosses me out. \240Like bird seed, it’s constant stuggle.

5. \240She needs to scratch. \240We have two scratching pads for her but apparently that is not enough because she likes to scratch on the fabric covered mast post.

6. \240She likes to explore. \240There is constant fear at this point that she will explore herself off the boat. \240To combat this, I try to take her for walks when we are at the marinas. \240I bought a great harness and leashe that seems to be working and staying on her. \240She likes it outside, but she does not like being carried off the boat. \240I have some ideas that I plan to try to help with that issue when we dock next.

Things that are nice about cats on board:

1. \240Even with all this stress issues aside she is a very sweet kitty. \240She doesn’t try to attack the birds and is very chill. \240As long as the boat is quiet and she is fed, she is pretty happy.

2. \240She likes to cuddle and enjoyed lap time. \240This is great on cold evenings. \240

3. \240She is good companion and we are hoping she will continue to adapt to boat life and the routine.

Clearwater YC

BELLE and HERON NOW…together on the dock

After shower and chores we basically just hung around the boat having a down day. \240I watched a movie and read my book. \240I took Lucy for a walk. \240Jim worked on reading up some of the electrical systems on the boat. \240Most of the manuals are a poor translation from Dutch or German and it’s been a puzzle for him trying to work through some of these manuals. \240(Any electrical engineers out there feel free to contact us!)

This is Lucy’s idea of going for a walk. \240Find a place to sit…then just watch.

Lunch was really late but delicious! \240Tortellini, Josh’s spaghetti sauce, and salad. \240We had sundowner cocktails in our cockpit with the guests from the BELLE (Sam, Jennifer and Leslie). \240Talked until dark then settled into watch the rest of FINAL episode of season 6 THE CROWN. \240I didn’t feel like cooking, so dinner was PBJ sandwiches.

Sam & Jennifer Grant (Ricky photobombing), Leslie Hanley

Both of us were tired after doing pretty much nothing today (tongue in cheek) so we went to bed.

We then took the Jolly Trolley and the bus to West Marine. Jim needed to pick up some new shore power cables. While he was there I went to Aldi and got a few groceries.

Riding the Jolly Trolley

Jim worked on things around the boat. I mended the winch covers. But generally we just hung around the boat. It was wet and chilly outside.

Lunch was chicken curry. Dinner at the club and then a bit of TV and bed. A good down day.

Bridge to the Gulf. CWYC entrance to the right of bridge.

Temp 54, feels colder/ wind NE 9 kts / bar-Pres 30.16

After a nice hot breakfast of Oatmeal and fixings, we motored the ICW south to Little Harbor Marina, Ruskin.

Winds kicked up a bit when we got Boca Ciega Bay. Changed direction to the SE.

Lunch was sandwiches and cut up veggies and grapes.

Trip was uneventful and low stress. As usual Lucy hid under the nav desk and the birds enjoyed the cockpit.

Ricky taking a shift at the helm

Fred on watch

We arrived at Little Harbor Marina in Ruskin. This is the same marina we stayed at in mid-December. Mary will hole up here for a week while Jim heads home for appointments.

Dinner was tortellini and salad.

We called it an early night.

Fried shore power receptacle 😳

It’s quite maddening how these types of things happen the night before you have to get out of town. \240Jim is leaving to head home for a few days of appointments. \240His plan was to leave out tomorrow morning, but that is not going to happen. \240Unfortunately he can’t just leave me to work on this…I wouldn’t know where to start. \240AND we NEED the toilet and power! \240Two things that would be hard to work without…not impossible…but very inconvenient to do without.

We ate out for dinner at a place called the FISH HOUSE. \240Reminded me a little of STEWBY’S back home. \240Jim enjoyed his grouper. \240My meal was ok, but no comparison to what we get at STEWBY’S.

Hopefully heading to bed soon.

Lunch was soup and sandwiches.

On to the toilet. \240This is a tale of 😮 fer sure! \240Last night he attempted to replace the Joker valve. \240I thought he was calling it a “Choker” valve. \240I thought this was kind of a funny name for something that allows “human waste” to flow through, but not back up. \240Hence the reason I thought it was “choker” not “joker”. \240Some of the names of parts on a boat are really funny. \240But this “joker” valve did not do the trick. \240So, on to trying to replace the entire pump. \240Luckily we had two pumps on board in the spare parts. \240(One rebuilt and one new)

This did not work either. \240This went on last night up to about midnight. \240I fell asleep during some of this, but when he finally showered and came to bed he thought that he figured out the issue.

So this afternoon he set out to work on what he said was a clogg in the line. \240First he tried a plumber’s snake. \240That didn’t work. \240Then he opened the floor and tried working on the plumbing lines. \240(I may not be telling this accurately, but this is what it looked like to me.)

Anyway, he found the lines to the toilet system and also the line that the macerating pump sends out to the water outside. \240Now this line says NOT to open! \240This is a warning issued by the Coast Guard. \240Essentially, when the macerator is on it chops and grinds up the waste and shoots it out of the boat and into the water. \240There is some sort of distance you have to be in open water, off shore to “legally” dump your sh——. \240Well….Jim had the thought that maybe if we turn on the macerator, the clog would clear!

So he went up top and yelled at me to turn it on. \240I did….nothing came out. \240Hmmm? \240He tried a few other things…not sure what….then went up top again….and we tried again. \240Nothing. \240Hmmmm? \240Then he came down to where the floor was open and we tried ONE MORE TIME.

As he is watching the pipes in the floor…all of a sudden I hear Jim say….”HOLY SHIT!!!” \240 Well this can’t be good…I think.💩😳. Next thing I know, I stop the macerator and he says that the poop and god knows what else is coming out of the toilet and pipes in the head!!!!! \240Eeek! \240 I can’t give justice with words to describe the mess and the smell that this made. \240It was just plain AWFULL!!!

We spent the next hour or so cleaning it up and mopping it up and sanitizing the surfaces and the air. \240Did I say that it was awfull? \240 I wish I had pictures…but you can imagine it I’m sure. \240😂

We laugh and gagged our way through this. \240Jim was a mess, but he was happy that the clog was fixed and he was finished and could get on the road.

He finally got out of here by 4:35pm EST and made it home at 11:10pm CST. \240A very long day for him.

leak!

Lunch was leftover lentil soup and salad. Fresh tangerine as well.

I took a short 2.5 mile walk. Checked out the neighborhood.

Lucy was super cuddly today.

Th

cuddly 🐈‍⬛

e temp raised to about 71 degees and it was a bit warmer heading to bed.

Dinner was yummy conucah sausage, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.

Spent my evening crocheting and watching my trash tv.

A pretty chill day.

The boat is really rocking. We are expecting pretty stong winds this afternoon, early evening. Rain should be hard as well. I’m in a very sheltered marina with floating docks, but the area is a flood zone just off Little Manatee River. Should be interesting to see how the area fares.

future forecast

Breakfast was banana bread and grapefruit.

Morning spent tidying up, making tuna pasta salad for lunch. Can’t wait! \240Looks deeeeelicious!

The weather did as predicted. \240Wind gusts up to about 35-40 knots. \240Rain came around 4:30pm. \240 Other than the lines creaking and some leaks in the cockpit and rocking and rolling….it was pretty quiet. \240No lightning. \240Thankfully.

Dinner, crochet, TV….then bed.

The Dali mustache!

After the museum we walked along the river to lunch at Cassis. \240A French restaurant. \240I was a beautiful day so we sat outside and reminisced about when we went to Paris. \240The food was outstanding and we just ordered the appetizers!

A short walk back to the car and a modest drive back to the boat where we hung out with the animals before heading back to Mallorie’s house for dinner. \240Dinner was delicious pasta and brussels sprouts.

Too tired to read or do anything else, so off to bed!

The LP gas red DANGER light has come on and I don’t know what that is so I wait until Jim gets back to take care of that. \240In the meantime it will be cold meals. \240No worries…I have that handled. \240Lunch was cold rotisserie chicken and salad.

I continued to puzzle through the WI-FI extender install. \240No resolution yet, but tech support is great. \240It’s just that we are now going into the weekend and I don’t expect I will get any further until Monday.

Temperatures got up to 74 today! \240It was rainy…then really humid.

Jim made it back to the boat at approx. 4:30pm. \240It’s good to have him home. \240We walked to dinner at HOOKS in the marina neighborhood. \240It was ok food.

Because of the humidity we decided to run the air conditioner. \240This was a welcome break from the damp. \240Unpack, bed….getting ready to head out tomorrow for Bradenton. \240😎

She feels safer surrounded by something when the waves roll.

Birds love this!

Waves were around 2-3 feet and rolled us from side to side for most of the trip until we approached the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. \240Then the wind died down a bit and the trip was calmer.

We put up the staysail after entering the bay and it helped a bit. \240Once the winds died down we put the jib up at 3:40pm. \240Just before going under the bridge.

Goodbye Tampa Bay!

We were able to hold a steady speed of 4.2 knots.

We arrived at our anchorage at 6:08pm…just as the sun was going down over Desoto Point. \240Unfortunately the windlass was not working. \240(One more thing to look at 🙄) Jim had to lower the anchor by hand.

Dinner was cold chicken and left over tuna pasta salad. \240We watch some tv as we digested and then went to bed early. Temperature dropped to about 53 and it was chilly.

We had plans to go to Desoto Monument, but the weather was not going our way. \240So Jim lazed around reading up on boat stuff and doing small chores. \240I played my ukulele for the first time in months, read and made cookies.🍪

Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. \240

Using my silicone cooking sheets for the first time. \240Works like a champ!

Lunch did not happen because we decided to pull up the anchor and head to Bradenton Yacht Club.

One funny story….Jim was at the bow trying to get the anchor bridle hook off the anchor chain but his arms were too short to reach it. \240It’s out on the end of the bow sprit and he was fighting the current and there was not enough slack in the chain to allow him to unhook the bridal that was attached to the anchor chain. \240 I would have been able to help by manuvering the boat in the direction needed to allow for some slack, but his headset got turned off and whatever he was saying to me….I could not hear. 🙄 Eventually I heard him shouting at me and I realized we were disconnected. \240I hit the button to connect us again and he told me to come get him…NOW! \240He was STUCK! 😳. He had wriggled his body between the railing of the bow pulpit while trying to reach the hook and his body was stuck between the roller furler (sp?) and the railing. \240Half of his body was between the railing, hanging over the side of the boat and his legs were stuck between the furler. 😂 After undoing the pretzel🥨 that was his body, we were able to get him untangled and back to work on the anchor. \240Needless to say, we need a better plan for that bridle!

We \240got underway and arrived at Bradenton Yacht club about 4:45pm. \240Dockmaster gets a “C”, but the club itself is fantastic. \240They have a heated pool and pickleball courts! The grounds and views are stunning as so are the sunsets. They also have bikes that we can use to tour around if we desire.Dinner was at the club. \240I continue my comparison of French Onion soup. \240So far Clearwater YC is in the lead.

Lots of cool bird life here. \240Pelicans and osprey galore. \240Shore birds and Cormorants and a few turkey buzzards. \240One dolphin…but no manatee….yet. \240I am still waiting. \240I did see this really cool bird called a Black-crowned Night-Heron. \240Apparently a threatened species. \240This was one gorgeous bird. \240I watched it for a long time as I sat by the pool.

Played a bit of ukulele, watched some of the Iowa Caucasus, ate dinner (chicken enchiladas) and went to bed. \240Tomorrow we move out again. \240Heading to Longboat Key.

Leaving Anna Maria Island Bridge

We did change our destination to the Sarasota Yacht Club instead of Bird Key Yacht Club. \240We couldn’t get anyone on the phone at Bird Key to secure dockage for the night so we motored on across Sarasota Bay to the Sarasota YC.

We entered Sarasota Bay at 2:28pm just as the rain was clearing up. \240The bay was calm and we had no problems at all. \240In fact, the current was pushing us along and giving us some more speed and that was nice.

We had to go around Bird Key and up the Lido channel to reach the marina at the SYC. \240The marina sign was underwater, but even so, we had not issues getting the the club. \240There were so GINORMOUS houses surrounding the area. \240A whole different level of swank here! \240 I wish I had my camera up on the bow because Jim spotted a pure white pelican! \240Dang….

The two glass structures are one house.

These houses are just across the channel from where our boat is docked. \240The picture does not show the scale or size. \240But they are HUGE!

We got docked at very easily by 4:15pm. \240Jim backed in like a champ. \240Ate dinner at the Spinnaker Bar and Grill just off the heated pool. \240We were definitely underdressed to enter the dining room, but maybe we will venture in there tomorrow. \240The bartender said that they serve complimentary coffee and pastries in the morning so we are gonna do that in the morning!

Just the entrance.

Bed early for me…Jim stayed up. \240It’s dropped about 5 degrees and getting colder. \240More tomorrow.

High carb meal at the SYC

Back to the boat to gather laundry and get a shower. \240This club offers free towels, shampoo etc and even a sauna. \240It’s like being at a hotel. \240Very convenient. \240One negative for me was that the shower was just Luke warm. \240In fact, I have forgotten to mention this about Bradenton YC. \240The lady’s shower did not even turn on!! \240I had to take my shower in the men’s bathroom.

Meanwhile, Lucy escaped off the boat and Jim had to go get her. \240She definitely has developed the itch to wander. \240We now have to watch her like a hawk or she might wander off. \240😳🐈‍⬛. I did take her for a walk and she did more wandering, so she is getting the hang of what “going for a walk” means.

Lucy is on house arrest

Who me?

You still love me though????

I thought so.

Speaking of walks, Jim and I walked to St. Armand Circle just up the road. \240It’s an interesting tourist trap with all the shops and restraurants that would expect in a upscale beach town. \240We also walked to Lido Beach and saw the Gulf of Mexico. \240It had a cool nature trail, but we did not walk it. \240Maybe next time? \240🤷‍♀️

Lunch at Cha Cha Coconut in St. Armand

Just over the footpath is the Gulf

Beautiful Club.

I did find some postcards to send out to the grandkids and I got those written and sent off. \240We had a relaxing evening and then it was bed.

Look who came to visit while I waited. \240This is a Great Heron…sometimes called a White Heron or Egret.

I love his tail feathers!

I thought this was a pretty part of the ICW. \240Lots of mangrove swamps and large houses….but very peaceful. \240Most of the area we went through was populated by large flocks of white heron and pelicans. \240It was funny to see these large birds perched up top of the bushes. \240This area is also a slow speed zone to protect manatees. \240And no, I STILL have not seen a manatee yet!

White Pelicans. \240We saw LOTS of these on the way.

Jim got it in his mind that we would anchor out, but that proved to be more difficult that he thought. \240There was very little area with enough depth that we felt comfortable in to anchor out for the night…so we called the Venice YC at the 11th hour and were able to secure dockage for the night.

We had a visit from some sailing neighbors from Minnesota and they were heading south to the keys as well. \240Nice couple, had a little dog with them. \240They told us about their traveling along parts of the Loop. \240By circumstance, we caravanned on our way here with another Island Packet (Dream Chaser). \240 It looked like they were outfitted for ocean sailing. \240When they passed we saw that they hailed from Maine. \240No idea where they will end up, but I bet they are heading south to the keys too!

Dinner at the club was good. \240Great black and blue salad. \240No French onion soup, but they did have a wonderful, savory Scotch Broth Orzo soup that was deeelisheeous!

We saw this cute little bunny on the YC lawn as we headed back to the boat.

As usual, back on the boat to relax, digest and head to bed. \240We are going to stay here for a few days and maybe Jim will get to kite board, I will back some bread and swim and who knows what else! \240That is the beauty of this life.

Back side of the club

Front signage

Front of the club building

Tiki bar welcoming committee

Heated pool

One of the locals

Jim and I took the dinghy to North Venice Beach and tried our luck at looking for prehistoric shark teeth. \240I found a few very very small ones. \240There is a lot of history in this inlet. \240See link if you are interested in reading more! \240https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/venice/index.htm

It was interesting how foggy it was in the gulf. \240The water was a modest temperature and very clear. \240The beach was nothing but shells upon shells. \240Made for hard walking with my sensitive footsies. \240😉

Jim checking out the wreck across the way

Our boat and the ginormous boat next to us.

VYC from the water

North Venice jetty

Hunting for shark teeth on Venice Beach

I made bread and we had lentil soup (I made this and froze it before leaving home) and my fresh baked bread. \240Absolute Heaven!

We took a swim and showers after. \240Jim took advantage of the quiet late afternoon to get a quick nap. \240I just read and drank my coffee.

Dinner and drinks at the club bar, then digest and bed. \240Another gorgeous day.

I made eggs Benedict for breakfast and it was very yummy.

Eggs Benedict w sourdough focaccia

Left Venice YC at 10:20am. Fair wind so we raised the jib at 12:22pm. We were able to bring the throttle back and enjoy a somewhat quiet journey. This part of the GICW is very narrow and shallow in parts. We ran aground briefly but were able to continue.

We secured dockage at Palm Harbor Marina and arrived at 2:40pm. It’s a small marina. Clean and with a pool and showers. They also have a hot tub.

Lucy took several walk abouts without permission. She is getting very ballsy. She always comes back, but she is sneaky. And now that she has a taste of freedom, she is vocal about getting outside.

I took a short walk to this quaint little convenience store that has a deli and fresh cooked takeaway meals. I got us a few of those for dinner. I chose chicken Parmesan with ziti. We managed to only finish half. So leftovers for dinner or lunch tomorrow!

I was apparently tired and fell asleep at 8:30pm.

Left PalmHarbor Marina docks 10:15am and landed aground just inside the channel during low tide. \240Got unstuck at 11:56am. \240Lesson learned today is to always check when low/hide tide is going to be and plan accordingly. \240😉

We plotted a route to Pelican Bay. \240This part of the GICW is pretty shallow. \240But it is a pretty quiet path. \240Very little traffic at all…partly because of the cold…but still the area itself is mangroves and houses on the beach. \240Very pretty.

A note about this route. \240After Placida Harbor there is a swing bridge called Boca Grande Causeway Bridge. \240CAUTION!! \240There are 3 bridges on this causeway. \240The swing bridge is located on the northern end. \240Thankfully it opens on demand, BUT after the bridge there is an old derelict pier that has a section missing. \240This is hard to see on the satellite map. \240When you come through the bridge, stay in the channel and head in between the small space between the two sections of pier. \240Then you swing right and continue to follow the channel. \240I’m glad we weren’t traveling my night, because we might not have seen this!

A swing bridge

Once we got into Gasparilla Sound we put up the jib and turned off the engine. \240It was a nice quiet sail until we had to start the engine again to get into Pelican Bay.

We arrived at Pelican Bay at 3:30pm. \240We had some problems with depth getting into the anchorage. \240This was not really a surprise because all the reviews said it could be tricky. \240We made it in but did not go as far in as we would liked too. \240Once we got settled we took a dinghy for a bumpy, windy ride to the sandbar beach behind us. \240We walked around a bit and then took the dinghy over to the state park dock to check it out. \240Unfortunately, the park is closed because it sustained damage during Hurricane Ian and they have not repaired the docks yet. \240So, we went back to the boat for a nice quiet evening on the hook. \240Since cellular and Wi-Fi were non-existent, we read and listened to music after dinner and then went to bed.

I love this picture! \240Sunbeams and all.

Temp is 57/winds 10kts NE/ Partly cloudy/ BP 30.37

The weather is forecast to be sunny and mild up until Thursday. \240We did have nice sunny skies…but it was still chilly. \240We reached high temp of 62.

It was a lazy day, and we really didn’t do much. \240I lazed around with the birds, read my book and Jim researched more about our navagation station. \240Cleaned up a bit. \240Had a nice lunch of lentil soup and grilled cheese.

Ricky is about to fall asleep and so am I!

Later in the day, we decided it might be nice to take the dinghy to the beach; the winds were up enough for Jim to kiteboard. \240It was a production to get all the gear on board the dinghy with the winds rocking us all around…but we did it! \240He got in about an hour before we needed to get going back to the boat before sundown.

While we were on the beach we met a couple that are “loopers” from Virginia. \240Mike and Barbara Bruhn. \240They rescued Jim’s board and then came over to say hello. \240Turns out that Mike is a kiteboarder too! \240Their boat is a 2006 455 cruisers yacht named THE JACKIE B III. \240Really nice people. \240 (Blog info: \240jackiebiiigoingloopy.blogspot.com )

I got to use the indoor shower for the first time. \240Dinner was simple and I was so tired that I went bed early. \240Jim joined me and it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

Jim doing his best GRumpa Norm imitation. \240

Moon above the club. \240

The club was hosting a whiskey and cigar night and it forced us inside to eat at the bar. \240This was ok, because I could not stand the cigar smell. \240🤢. We met a few more members and this club IS really friendly, as advertised. \240So far this has been the most comfortable and welcoming club. \240Sarasota YC was nice and had good amenities, but IYC really has been quaint and welcoming.

The food was good and we took our leftovers and headed back to the boat. \240I decided to bake a shortcake for our trip (forgot to take picture of this as well!) \240while Jim watched our newest TV series (The English Game). \240 I baked and then joined him to watch TV, digest and relax before bed.

Bocce Ball area (see links below on how to play)

https://youtu.be/mJV-nWmrIqc?si=hCEh8tmum0uY__4F \240 https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Bocce-Ball

Jim spent the day sprucing up the outside of the boat and cleaning the cockpit area. \240 I worked on cleaning the inside of the boat and taking care of trash and other things down below. \240 The area was on a boil water notice so we were unable to get our water tank filled…but no worries, we still have water. \240It’s just very convenient to have it filled at a nice dock.

We left the Isles Yacht Club at 1:35pm and Made it to our anchorage at 3:50pm. We puttered around Charlotte Harbor before anchoring. \240We wanted to see what we could see. \240We also found the entrance to Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club. \240We had originally planned to dock there for a few days, but they did not have room for us.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and even a far off visit from some dolphin. \240Leftovers for dinner and then digest and bed. \240This is a very peaceful spot to hang out.

INSTACART and GROCERY delivery notes:

I am not sure about this food delivery system yet. \240I would prefer to be able to pick out my own produce. \240It feels very stressful to have to depend on someone else to choose your fresh veggies and fruit for you, especially since the prices are really crazy right now. \240I spend a lot of time shopping sales and this takes time when you are doing it online. \240I was not happy with this latest shopping experience. \240My order was picked up twice and then dropped. \240When it was finally picked up again, the order I placed at 11am did not get delivered until 5pm. \240AND there were produce issues and also issues with items I was charged for but did not receive. \240I have spent part of my evening and then next morning STILL working out the credit and refund. \240That is still pending as I type this. \240So far I am not too happy with Instacart. \240But the alternative is booking a LYFT or UBER for $40 round trip to the grocery store. \240That is crazy too. \240So Instacart is the more economical thing right now, even though there are headaches in dealing with them. \240Such is boat life. I knew there would be challenges, but this one IS a challenge. \240At times.

Jim with Ponce

A bit of history

A Barred owl….super cool looking

Saw this spider with a fresh kill on my walk. \240The worm was still wriggling. \240Ew!

Back at the boat it was relaxing and another great sunset. \240Dinner was a light chicken and mixed salad, but I did make dessert! \240Strawberry shortcake. \240I had leftover buttermilk and had to do something with it. \240😉🍓

Digest, tv, bed….another day over.

Strawberry Shortcake

Lucy napping on my bed. \240I couldn’t resist.

Cabbage Key Inn

Apparently they have Gopher turtles…but the wind was up so they were in hiding.

They store 6000 gallons of water in this tower

These are some of the cottages for rent.

Twinkle lights!

Boat house and dock

Osprey or hawk

Cool air plants

A raccoon…running away

Funky looking spider. \240Wish I could have captured the colors.

We think these are raccoon tracks.

A break in the mangroves.

Shells placed in random spots all along the path.

Red Sea grass…I think?

Evidence of Hurricane Ian damage.

Fiddler crab holes. \240

Strangling fig.

Cool spider web in the sunlight.

After checking out we bought a few t-shirts and left the dock at 11:04am. Weeelllll…let me say that we attempted to leave the dock. \240The wind had really picked up out of the NE. \240(In hindsight, we should have waited). As we were backing up, we had the help of the dockhand but we still caught the anchor on the piling. The wind just kept pushing the stern over making it difficult to push off the bow. \240As we were attempting to disconnect the anchor from piling the stern got grounded in the shallow water and we were StUCK! \240Long story short….we had to call Tow Boat US. (Thankfully Jim has been paying for this for years!) \240We sat in the shallows and waited, had lunch…and waited some more. \240Finally at 2:17pm the tide was high enough to get us off the sand and we were towed out of the Cabbage Key channel and back on our way.

SIDE NOTE: \240My job was to change the towing bridal. \240I have to say that I was very nervous about doing this. \240I didn’t want to screw up and get us stuck again or damage the tow boat or our boat. \240But cooler hearts prevailed and both drivers were so chill and very professional, that even though it was an awkward task, it was done cleanly and without loss of fingers, anyone falling over board or damage to either boat.

The rest of the drive was quite lovely. \240We raised the staysail and were able to maintain a speed of 4.8-5.5 knots without having to use the engine at full speed. \240This made for a much less noisy journey. \240The winds at this time were up about 20kts with the occasional heavy gust. The lovely things about the HERON NOW is that she performs beautifully in waves and chop. \240We rock and roll, but she is a sturdy, heavy vessel and it is not hard to handle her when the things are rough. \240Very reassuring.

We \240entered the area on Captiva Island and saw the slip we were assigned at Captiva Yacht Club and it was not ideal at all! \240We did not want a repeat of this morning, so we attempted to just find a place to anchor. \240This proved to be impossible. \240Every place was either full of boat already, or too shallow. \240Or…too far away.

The sun was going to set soon and we didn’t want to be out searching for anchorage in the dark so we deliberated and decided that we would choose the slip at the club based on what was best in the conditions. \240The winds had not died down yet and they were still blowing hard from the north. \240The slip we were assigned would put our starboard on the north side of the dock with nothing but a few piling on the south side. \240There were 2 other slips that would allow the wind to blow our port side onto the dock, making a much easier attempt at docking this big girl. \240We chose slip #1. \240You might be wondering why this is even a problem?? \240Well, it was stated in our contract with the club that we would only use the assigned slip. \240We didn’t want any ill will with the club. \240But, with the conditions as they were, we chose to ask forgiveness after the fact. \240I did leave an email and if we need to move tomorrow, we will. \240Even in this slip, it was very shallow and more than likely we will be on the bottom again. \240Thankfully the tide does rise. \240We finally got her tied down and settled at approx. 5:30pm. \240Just in time for a shower an the sunset.

Captiva Island YC is a small club. \240We only saw 3 slips. \240Lots of kayaks though. \240The Gulf of Mexico is just across the street. \240Sweet! \240I see a walk on the beach in my future. \240🐚

Captiva Island Yacht Club

We will stay here a few days until we travel to the St. Charles Yacht Club in Fort Myers. \240Jim will then be able, we hope, to secure a marine electrician to help with the battery charging issues.

More tomorrow….

We had Breakfast, then took a nice walk on the beach and collected some shells. \240Later we had lunch at the Green Flash and dinner at the club. \240Jim continued to research the battery problem. \240I updated the maps for navionics on my laptop. \240I also created the first version of our boat cards. \240I have to do some editing, but I think they are pretty good.

The Green Flash signature sandwich.

Strangling fig. \240Pretty impressive looking.

Captiva Island Beach

Later, we had a very nice dinner at the club. \240This club has a beautiful sea foam green and teal interior. \240Very coastal in design. \240Much different than the other YC’s we have visited. \240The food was outstanding and you can tell this clientele are a bunch of foodies. \240I had the Crab Louie salad and the crab cakes. \240It was wonderful.

They had our club flag ready at our table. \240

Impressions of the club and area:

1. Not a sailing club. \240More a social club. \240Just a few places for dockage and no regular boats seen. \240Just kayaks.

2. Small, quaint, quiet…but exclusive, just like the area. \240Lots of large homes, rental cottages that cater to seniors, retirees and the top 1-3% that can afford to stay here.

3. The people are very nice. \240The staff are well taken care of and are professional. \240Our waiter said that they are compensated very well for their work.

4. The beach is a great place for Jim to kite. \240So, we would probably return.

We entered the Okeechobee waterway about 2 hours into our journey and had the current working for us. \240We reached 6-7 knots at times! \240Woo hoo!

Once we made the turn into the Tarpon Point marina entrance though, the current was against us. \240Even so, the depths were good and we anchored at Glover Blight with no issues. \240There were 4 other boats in that hole, but we finally got our anchor set at 4:30pm. \240Watched a lovely sunset and headed down to dinner.

Dinner was leftover spaghetti, which I turned into a lasagna casserole with leftovers.

Putting this baby in the oven!

After breakfast I can’t say I did anything productive. \240Jim dug through all the storage lockers in the settees and took inventory of all spare parts and supplies.

Just enjoying the morning.

Left Glover Bight at 1:15pm and headed toward the St. Charles Yacht club. \240It was easy getting out there. \240The depths were pretty good. \240Real deep in some places, 1-2ft under the keel in others. \240We were assigned a slip and also staying there until the 12th so Jim can work on repairs. \240We arrived and docked at 2:15pm.

We got a full pump out, filled water fresh water tank and topper the fuel tank as well. \240 The Dockmaster, Andre, is a real nice guy. \240He hails from South Carolina…but his accent sounds very Cajun. \240He was super helpful. \240A+ for the Dockmaster.

I took Lucy for a walk and explored the surrounding area. \240Later she decided to hop off the boat and hop on and sit on the neighbors boat. \240She is sneaky that way. \240All I had to do was tell her it was dinner time and she got right off. \240I’m sneaky too! \240😼

We went for a nice swim in the pool after securing the boat; showered after. \240Then it was a nice dinner at the bar in the club lounge. \240There was a guy singing and playing his guitar. \240His set of songs were from our playlist, so we really enjoyed it. \240We met some nice club members. \240One was the owner of the monstrous 130 foot yacht parked behind the club. \240I forget their names now…really interesting people. \240The man made his way in the world digging holes and building wells. \240It’s something called inversion drilling. \240Really interesting. \240(See link)https://floridadep.gov/water/aquifer-protection/content/uic-wells-classification

He developed the machinery and method and made a killing digging all over Florida and the eastern seaboard. \240His wife (of six years) owns and manages 6 restaurants on Captiva Island; is self made as well. \240She also just bought Useppa Island. \240This island is part of a chain of islands owned by the family that runs and owns Cabbage Key Inn and Marina. \240We stayed there about a week ago.

Anyway, nice chat with them. \240Also chatted with a couple from South Dakota who sat and ate with us a the bar. \240He is a past commodore of the club and was a wealth of information. \240She was very friendly too. \240Jim was very popular with the wealthy old ladies. \240 I’m leaving him for a week so this should be interesting. \240😂

Back to the boat….same old same ol’. \240I am thankful we are in a quiet harbor.

The boat, DRILLER, is own by the fella who drills wells. \240

Sunset in St Charles Harbour. \240

Pics of St Charles Yacht Club

Bocce Ball courts

Shuffle Board courts

Tennis Courts

Heated Pool

Isn’t she purdy???

Capt Jim at the wheel!

Staying at the St Charles YC in Ft. Myers. \240Since we arrived, I went home from Feb 3-9. \240I had doctor appointments and had to play the piano for Lewis School. \240The drive and trip was uneventful, except to say that when I got home I had to remember where I put everything in the new kitchen. \240I felt just a little out of sorts. \240🙃. \240 I split the drive up into two days up and back. \240I stayed at Mallorie’s each time and it was nice to be able to just pop in and see the grandkids on a semi regular basis.

I was just able

Back on the boat….

While I was in FWB, Jim stayed on the boat with the animals. \240Lucy has definitely adapted well to marina living. \240She will get off the boat, do a bit of wandering and then come back. \240Ricky has laid her 3rd, and we “hope” her final egg. \240Once she is done laying it will be 3 weeks of her sitting on her nest chittering away waiting for babies that will never arrive. \240Fred is her ever vigilant guard and just sits with her. \240He has to be bored out of his goard! (Sp) \240He does come out and join us when there is food, but mostly he just sit with her and poops in her water dish. \240🤷‍♀️

But seriously…Jim has been working on many things while I was away.

1. \240We had a marine electrician over to fix the battery charging issue. \240He worked only on the generator and was able to get the batteries charging on generator power. \240Woot! \240He said the issue was with the governor of the generator. \240It was sticking and would increase the RPM and the frequency of the output and would not come back down. \240He freed it up and tested it and it worked. \240He suggested that Jim change the oil, because the cleanliness of the oil might be a factor.

2. \240Jim changed the oil and filter (motor only) and just the oil in the generator. \240They were due.

3. \240Changed the fresh water filter, and the seagul filter.

4. \240Polished most of the stainless. \240The boat is so shiny.

5. We went to the U-HAUL and filled one tank of propane.

6. Jim also found the external water filter that attaches to the garden hose that fills the fresh water tank on the boat. \240We have been looking for that since Day 1.

We went to Wally World and provisioned for the long trip to the Keys. \240I didn’t have a really long list because I was able to get many of the dry provisions at the commissary back home. \240This save some money. \240Prices for food here are high. \240While I was home, I made freezer meals and delivered them in a cooler with dry ice. \240Worked great! \240The meals were rock hard still when I arrived 2 days later at the boat.

We went to eat Feb 9 (Friday) at Bonita Bills Waterfront Cafe. \240Food was ok. \240Large fish and shrimp portions, piddley sides. \240Great view under the Matansas Pass bridge and we saw the lights of the masts in the mooring field.

Saturday (Feb 10) I was sick most of the day with one of my bad migraines. \240Jim had to return the rental car. \240Later on, after I was feeling better, we worked on planning the next leg of our trip. \240Jim was able to secure us a dockage at the Boca Chica Marine on NAS Key West. \240This is exciting! We will stay there for a week or two. \240We are finally going to the Keys! \240While he did that I researched Key West and bike rentals and places to go and things to do.

I started some large item laundry and we went for a swim. \240Then showers and a nice hot dinner. \240It’s been a very productive week.

Made banana nut muffins and bread.

All is ready as can be expected for the trip. \240We took one last swim, had a great lunch and light dinner. \240 Digest, TV, bed. \240Early morning.

Our hero of the day

We made it under the Sanibel Causeway Bridge at 9:50am. \240Current was going out and in our favor, thankfully. \240We raised the jib at 10:17am as we entered San Carlos Bay. \240By 10:22am we were sailing under the jib only and speeding along at 5.2 knots. \240At 10:52am we raised the main up to the 2nd reef. \240Winds dropped at 11:33amd and Jim messed around trying the rig the whisker pole on the jib to allow for a better purchase on the wind. \240We set our course at about 197 and headed dead down wind. \240We ended up having to start the engine at 1:15pm because the wind had dropped to 2 knots. \240We put the jib away and throttled the engine up to maintain a speed of 5+knots. \240We ate lunch (chicken salad sandwiches, veggies and sweet pickele) and \240by 3:00pm, the wind was up and we throttled down, turned off the engine and had a quiet journey under the main alone. \240We maintained our speed of 5+knots.

At 5:15pm the wind shifted to the NW, and we altered course a bit to help us along. \240We picked up speed and at times were going over 6 knots. \240Sunset was at 6:16pm. \240Then the wind slacked off around 7:00pm and we limped along at 3+knots. \240By 8:00pm we were back up to 6.8knots!

We didn’t really have a shift schedule. \240We basically took turns driving and watching after 8pm. \240I would drive while Jim slept and until either I needed a break or I would need to pee. \240Jim drove while I “tried” to sleep. \240Or if I needed to get us something to eat or drink. \240In between our faithful crewmate “George” (the autopilot) would drive.

We tacked to a more easterly course at 8:30pm. \240The wind has shifted to the NW and this would get us back closer to our course line. \240Lesson learned here was never let George tack in the dark or under high wind. \240He lost his brain and the compasses were going wacky. \240I could not tell which direction to steer because all 3 compasses were saying something different. \240Anyway, it was a cluster of a tack and we eventually got it right and back under way. \240🙄🤷‍♀️.

I made dinner at 10:30pm (chicken Marsala) and it was nice to have a hot meal to get us through until morning. \240By midnight we were approximately outside of the Everglades and we no longer had cell coverage.

The moon followed us until it went down at 11:34pm. \240It was so far, a beautiful night to sail. \240Not a soul around for miles. \240Very quiet.

Log continues on next date entry.

You can’t tell in these shaky pictures, but it a waxing crescent (God’s thumbnail). \240Hard to take clear pictures on a rocking boat.

Entering the NW channel. \240I may have said NE channel on the video. \240(Sleep deprived lol)

At 10:45am we dropped all sails just before entering the south side of Key West. \240Once the sails were down we turned east and pounded against the hard waves and wind blowing directly in our face! \240

First glimpse of Key West. \240This is Truman Annex, Ft Zachary Taylor Park.

We arrived at Boca Chica Marina on NAS Key West at 1:00pm. After getting some help securing the boat from some the “locals” (Will and Mike), we went to the cafe for lunch. \240Then it was back to the boat for a nap. \240I zonked out HARD and so did Jim. \240He woke me at 6:00pm and I limped over to the showers to wake up. \240After a bit of puttering and light reading, I was so tired that I did not eat dinner and went straight back to bed. \240Jim stayed up a bit longer and joined me. \240Both of us were exhausted but happy to finally be here in KEY WEST! \240

BIG Tarpon under our dock…right next to the boat.

Sunset at Boca Chica Marina

Today’s forecast

NAS Key West is a very noisy place! \240Lots of jet noise on the runway, which BTW, is right next to the marina. \240This noise goes on all day long. \240I could care less yesterday, I was so tired. \240Lucy does not like it all!! \240Every time the jets roar, she runs back into the boat or someplace to hide.Lucy is doing great, the birds are doing great. \240The people here are friendly and we can let Lucy loose while we are here at the dock and no one seems to mind. \240She likes having a bit of freedom and does not go too far. \240She met up with a nice dog and didn’t even care! \240She is just so sweet!

The flight line on NAS Key West, Boca Chica

This morning we were picked up by a taxi and taken to pick up our rental car. \240(Thank you Meghan…again!). They upgrade our ride…not sure why…and it’s nice to have wheels to get around. \240We decided to just drive around until we wanted to park somewhere and walk. \240We drove to the Truman Waterfront Park. \240We walked around the area where the cruise ships disembark and there is an old coastguard cutter, and amphitheater and the Ft Zachary Taylor. \240We went on a tour of the fort and it was really neat. \240We learned a lot about munitions from the civil war to WW1 and WW2. \240After that we went to lunch at the Key West Yacht Club. \240Lunch was great. \240After lunch we headed back to the boat for a much needed nap…that did not happen. \240Grrrr (see note on jet noise) 🙄

Roosters and chickens everywhere at Truman Waterfront Park.

Cruise ships disembark here.

Coast Guard cutter museum.

Some snaps of Fort Zachary Taylor.

This guy was really working! \240He was making the links on this chain and some other things when we walked over to talk to him.

Our Ranger guide, Rigby.

300 lb Civil War cannonballs.

At one time, there were 200 cannons aimed out at the water.