Log 109; Day 299; Mar. 16th, 2009; Anchorage Marina in Key Largo

This is a typical shot of the ICW on the Gulf side of the Keys...even in the picture you can almost see the bottom

The ICW winds between lots of mangroves

It has narrow channels...followed by wide open spaces

And crab pots are EVERYWHERE

Our destination today was Anchorage Marina...that bridge is Route 1 that goes to Key West

Just across from Anchorage is Gilbert's Marina...where we could hear a great band playing

Just to the north...the Shuttle Launch at 7:43 pm last night

Log 109
Day 299
Monday, March 16, 2009

7:00 AM EST
Location: Anchorage Resort and Marina, Key Largo, FL.
Weather: 73 with light winds...going to 85 today.

It only got down to 73 last night, and for the 5th night in a row, we had to run the A/C in the bedroom. This morning on the back deck, it is very humid, and you can tell it will be a hot and humid day.

Yesterday...after 28 days at Sombrero Resort in Marathon, we untied the lines and headed out about 9 am. Even in the harbor you could tell it was windy, and we had made a good decision to go the ICW on the Bay side of the Keys. When we got to the 7 mile bridge, we certainly confirmed it. The several days of constant winds (even though not that great) had developed a hard chop to the waves, and we were really rolling side to side, as we made our way under the large span of the bridge to enter the Gulf side. Once through the bridge though, it was not bad, with only a moderate chop on our starboard bow. Winds out of the ESE...we were heading E. We joined the ICW at MM1200 (which means it is 1200 miles from there to Norfolk, where the numbers start again as they head North) and were heading for MM1135 at Anchorage Marina, North of Key Largo. The first 30 miles or so of the ICW in that area range between 1/2 mile, to 2 miles off the Keys. You are in very open water, and it is very shallow...ranging from 5 to 8 feet. Most of the time you can see bottom, which makes it very nerve racking for us to travel in. About 2 hours into the day, all of a sudden, we heard a loud bang on the boat, like we had hit something. I was right in the middle of the channel, so I knew I was ok there, but as we looked behind us we could see, what looked like, 2 or 3 crab pot balls broken up. After hearing the noise, I had immediately put it into neutral, and when I put it back in gear, we had a vibration on the starboard side. Not knowing what was wrong...I assumed somehow I had hit a crab pot. That’s bad news, because we were in the middle of nowhere. The good news was, last winter I had installed line cutters, that are designed to cut crab pot lines. If they were working...then I might just have the crab pot line wrapped around my shaft (not caught between the strut and the propeller which would be bad), which was causing the vibration...and by putting the engines in reverse, and backing down on the throttles it might (should) unwrap the line and we’d be ok. That’s exactly what happened. When I put the transmissions back in forward...no vibration. Crisis averted.

The further we went, the better the cruising, and the better the scenery. The ICW would get close to shore in some places, and wind through mangroves in others. It was also a sunny, beautiful Sunday, so there was lots of big center consol boats running up and down the water. A couple of times we’d be in the mangroves, coming around a blind corner, and be met by a very fast (25 to 40 foot) boat loaded with folks flying past us, going the other way. It was very cool. We finally got to Anchorage Marina (MM1135) at 5:15 pm. It was hot and sunny, and the boat was loaded with salt, so the first order of business was to wash it off. This was also when I made a stupid mistake and decided to jump from the dock to the swim platform, and slipped and got my feet tangled in the dock line. To catch myself, my left arm reached out for the dingy. The good news was I caught it...the bad news was it extended my arm WAY beyond where it had been extended before. It hurt bad, and I knew it would hurt worse later...so I immediately applied Ibuprofen and alcohol (the kind you drink) and kept on working. (it was hard sleeping last night, and it hurts like hell this morning...more Ibuprofen today). The cool thing was, that just across the harbor at Gilbert’s Resort, was one of the best sounding bands that I have heard in a long time. Normally I am not a big fan of loud music, disrupting what would otherwise be a nice peaceful afternoon...but this was an exception. They were great. Great songs, great voices, and they played the songs EXACTLY as the originals. Songs from everyone like, Janice Joplin to the Four Tops to Bobby Darin to the Rolling Stones...and lots more in between. Each song better than the last...Deb and I were loving it. More good news...they quit at 7 pm...so we could enjoy our dinner (awesome pasta) and a movie (Ocean’s 13...again). Perfect. Also...during dinner we looked up and saw the trail of bright orange exhaust trail from the launch of the Space Shuttle. Very Cool.

Today we are headed to Miami. Our trip will take us east this morning, and then a turn to the north as we enter Biscayne Bay, which are the waters on the southern side of Miami. We don’t have a reservation anywhere yet, but there are lots of options. The last time we did the Loop in 2000 we spent time in this area, so the waters will be much more familiar now. The weather is supposed to be sunny, with a high of 85 and winds out of the ESE at 5 to 10. Again. Perfect.


I’ll keep you posted.

Bob