We abandon ship.......for a vacation from our vacation!

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The wind had been blowing a steady 20 - 25 knots from the north-east forever, or so it seemed to us. The seas surrounding the Keys were a white-capped five to eight feet. Not a boat had stirred from the harbour for days, and if any boats had arrived they were out of luck, as not one of the 250 or so moorings in the harbour was free. But the sun usually kept on shining, and the temperatures topped out at around 28C each day. We were still in paradise.....if a bit worn around the edges. Then we had a bright idea- we would abandon ship and have a few days respite visiting some good friends who were wintering on the west coast of the sunshine state. No sooner said than done! Arrangements were made to visit Gloria and Frank in Siesta Key and Garth & Linda in Port Charlotte.
Our drive took us about six hours. As we crossed the state on 'Alligator Alley' we listened to an interesting broadcast about the Everglades - its' creatures, and the efforts being made to preserve this unique ecosystem.
Gloria & Frank's lovely condo was right on the beach in the quiet end of Siesta Key, just south of Sarasota. Siesta Key's beach has been voted #1 beach in America, so we were keen to try it out! We were not disappointed. We spent our days swimming, beach walking, exploring the sights of this lovely area, and enjoying every minute of the wonderful warm hospitality of good friends.
The second part of our 'escape' took us a short way south to 'Riverwood' in the Port Charlotte area, and Garth & Linda's winter home. 'Riverwood' is a large, gated community. Each home looks out on to a lake, river or golf course, and the homes are beautiful. A large portion of the residents are snowbirds from the northern states and Canada, and it is a very friendly place with lots going on. While we were there, Garth & Linda took us on a drive to the little village of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island - a charming village with a beautiful and very accessible beach. We had a memorable lunch at the 'Pink Elephant' restaurant beside a creek - just one of many lovely eating establishments in this very special corner of Florida.
We enjoyed our five day break very much, and found it interesting to see the winter homes and observe the habitat of other snowbirds!
And so back to 'Southern Vectis'. We found her still afloat - some friendly neighbours had watched over her during our absence, so all was well. What was even better was that the wind had gone down and changed direction towards the south. This meant that, over the past few days there has been a huge exodus of boats, either to the north, or to the Bahamas. There are actually empty mooring balls around us now, though there was a small hiatus a few days ago when a tall mast knocked down a cable at the entrance to the harbour and we were all trapped on our sheltered pond for a few days. But that has been fixed now, and the 'boat drain' from the harbour continues as 'the season' winds down.
We have decided that our exercise regime each day will be cycling far and wide! We have to do this in the morning as it gets too hot later, but we usually aim for a tiki bar at some point during our trip! A couple of days ago we cycled out over the old railway bridge to Pigeon Key, which was the base for workers building Henry Flager's 'railroad to the sea' exactly 100 years ago. Flagler, with money from oil and saw mills, was responsible for turning this previously steamy, uninviting and mosquito-ridden state into the tourist mecca it is today. Once the 'Florida East Coast Railroad' was completed in 1912, it was possible to travel in comfort from New York to Key West, and from their to Havana, in 48 hours.
We will be moving 'Southern Vectis' off her mooring to a dock at the 'Sombrero Key Boatman Marina' on Sunday in preparation for Louisa, Steve and the boys' visit on Monday. We have made a long list of things to do and see for the five days they are here .....but maybe they will just want to sit on a beach and swim! We'll play it by ear, and enjoy our time in the sun with them all.

Waiting for dinner!

City Marina, Marathon

Orchids and bromeliads abound in the gardens of Marathon

Bill admires 'Sting Ray House' on the Marathon Garden Tour

Beware the winds of March

After the storm - Red sky at night promises a better day tomorrow.



The calm before the storm - Boot Key Harbour


On our return trip to Marathon we spent a night at anchor in Newfound Harbour, beside Big Pine Key. The harbour is very shallow, and it's best to enter on half-tide or higher. We had anchored here last year, but each year the sandbars shift and it's hard to decide which way to jump when the sand rises to meet your keel. On our way into the harbour we cast an envious glance at the luxurious resort of 'Little Palm Island', perched on the tip of Munson Island, and only accessible by launch or float plane. However, our destination for the evening was not to be a five-star restaurant, but a waterfront restaurant we had loved last year which goes by the wonderful name of 'Parrotdise', in honour of the musician who has done more than most to put the Keys on the tourist map - Jimmy Buffet. After ensuring the anchor was secure, and saying 'hello' to Frank on a neighbouring boat, we dinghied up under the Highway 1 road-bridge and joined in the Happy Hour festivities at our destination!
When we had anchored the previous evening we had been a long way from any other boat - in fact there were only about five in the whole of the huge harbour. The wind had got up during the night, but we didn't stir. However, when we awoke and looked out, we found that the large Nordhaven tug which had been anchored at least 300 metres from us was now about 2 metres from our stern. While Southern Vectis has had a few incidents of dragging anchor, we figured that, for once, we weren't at fault this time. As we watched, the tug continued it's slow and stately progress backwards. There was no sign of anyone on deck, and the boat wasn't in any danger, so we watched its' progess until the owner came on deck, gave us a wave, and calmly went below to cook breakfast! Maybe it was all part of the plan. It was certainly a good way to save on the fuel bill!
We decided to head off back to Marathon as the weather for the weekend was looking a little stormy and we wanted to be sure to get a mooring ball in Boot Key harbour. We waited until midday for the tide, and, after a very fast sail, made it into the harbour by 5 p.m. The rule for getting a mooring ball is that you cannot request one until you are entering through the gap in the old bridge. When we called Anne at the City Marina office on our VHF radio she was pleased to welcome us back, and we were relieved that she still had a mooring ball for us. It turned out to be one of the last ones available for a long time. Many boats have had to anchor either outside or inside the harbour during the stormy days and gale force winds that arrived in force on Sunday 4th March. Though our boat has rocked and rolled
during the past ten days of 20 - 35 knot winds, we have slept soundly knowing that we are tied securely to a large piece of concrete buried in the sea-bed!
Since we've been here we have become the proud owners of yet another bargain ($15) bike - so now we have three. The reason for this is that my little boat bike, though handy to pack up and store on the boat, has wheels smaller than our granddaughters' bikes. This has meant that I was just arriving at a destination when Bill was ready to turn around! Now we can see the sights together.
Last Saturday we cycled to view the homes on the Marathon Garden Club's 'House and Garden Tour'. We had done this last year and found it interesting to see some of the lovely homes in this area.
Boot Key Harbour is a very friendly place and we've met up with old friends and made new ones. There are at least five boats in the harbour from Toronto.
Last weekend Bill & I worked as volunteers at Marathon's annual 'Seafood Festival', put on by the 'Organized Fishermen of Marathon'. Apart from working a shift at the entrance gate, we ate lobster dinners, snacked on shrimps fresh from the Florida Straits, and oysters freshly plucked from the rocks! The band that played on Saturday evening, 'The Regs', put on a fantastic 'act' and had everyone dancing on the stage at the end of the show! A wonderful weekend.
And now for the weather! Well, it is very warm, but still very windy and blowing in the wrong direction for most sailors who would like to head back to Miami and ports north, or sail over to the Bahamas. Once the winds change direction and the seas die down a bit there will be a huge exodus. There's no real sign of this happening yet. We are happy to be here for the next few weeks, and looking forward to the arrival of Louisa, Steve, Leo, Orson and Simon at the beginning of April.

Farewell to Key West

We set sail from Key West for our trip back to Marathon on Thursday 1 March. Our celebratory farewell meal took place at the lovely 'Azur' restaurant on Grinell Street, just a short walk from the Old Seaport. It was the most delicious food we'd tasted since we'd been there...and we'd certainly tasted a lot, most of it deep fried! Just to be presented with a plate artistically filled with things green and/or fresh was a novel experience - and to be able to distinguish the mouth-watering taste of each delicious morsel was a rare treat!
The weather had been extremely hot during our visit, so much so that, for the very first time, we used our air-conditioning! It felt strange to resort to this on a sailboat open to the balmy breezes of the ocean, but for a few days the breezes seemed to blow from a hot oven rather than the ocean! So we closed up the hatches and breathed a sigh of relief and cool air.