January 12th, 2003
Today we left the frigid temperatures of the North and headed
by plane for the sunny South once again. Mind you when we got
here it was only 50 degrees, but there was no white slushy stuff to walk
through....this was good! As we pulled up in the parking lot
of the marina we could see that the boat was still sitting
there floating......also good! Since we had the rental car till the
next day it was the perfect time to restock after being away for
a whole month.
January 13th, 2003
We set out today in hopes of finding the wood to build the interior
doors for the boat. Our search was unsuccessful. We picked
up a few things that we had forgotten yesterday and then returned
the rental car and got a cab ride back to the marina. Everything
is stowed and ready for us to continue our journey tomorrow. Although
we have no pictures, Tarpon Springs is a really neat place to visit,
in the older area of town down by the Sponge Docks.
January 14th, 2003
We left the dock in Tarpon Springs around 1:00 PM and went as
far as Clear water. Not far but for the first day out that was fine.
It feels so good to be out on the water again and on the move.
January 15th, 2003
We pulled anchor at about 9:00 AM. It was a beautiful sunny warm
day about 70 degrees. We crossed Tampa Bay with no difficulties.
This is definitely a more built up area than where we have been.
Huge homes with huge boats parked in front and either huge bank account
or huge mortgages to pay for them! Around dusk we attempted
an anchorage recommended in one of our books, but it was just too difficult
to get into. We turned around and anchored just South of the Ringling
Causeway Bridge off the Shoreline of Sarasota. On the way to this
spot we noticed a definite drop in the speed of the boat.
Something was wrong.....uh oh! It was too dark to see,
so we had to wait for the morning to find out what the problem was.
This is what happens when you wash a boat in hot water
January 16th, 2003
Upon closer inspection we discovered that one of the propellers
had fallen off. Oh make my day! We called the fellow
who did the work and he ordered a new one for us and said it would likely
be in tomorrow. We decided to take the dingy to shore and see
what there was to see there. We wanted to go to the library and the
Trolley driver said they went right past it. What they didn't
tell us that it was only 2 blocks away....boy did we feel dumb. He's
probably still laughing.
After we got back we put the first coat of Varnish on the door
trim. During the night it got real windy so we had to get up and
go up to the fly bridge where we had it all laid out and put the wood down
flat on the floor so it would not blow away. That was fun!
January 17th, 2003
High winds this morning and a little rough in the Bay. By 11:00
we received a call to say that the new propeller was in and we could
pick it up. We went to shore, rented a car and drove to Tarpon Springs.
It took us most of the afternoon to drive there and back.
January 18th, 2003
It was much calmer today so Colin put on the new propellor and tightened
everything up on both sides. Just before noon we took the rental
car back, made one more stop at the Library and then had lunch at a quaint
little Mexican café on the way back to the boat. When we got
back to the boat Colin did oil changes on both engines and on the generator.
I put the second coat of varnish on the trim, cleaned up the boat and made
dinner.
Three fishermen
January 19th, 2003
We pulled up our anchor this morning along with about 900 pounds of
clay stuck to the chain and anchor. Yuk, what a mess! We went
about 30 miles today and stayed in a small anchorage just north of Charlotte
Harbor. Lat 26 Deg 55.555 Min N Long 82 Deg 21.269 Min
W
Just another bird
Another sailboat thought he had the right of way
January 20th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
We managed a good run today and ended up just outside the JN “Ding”
Darling Bird Sanctuary and Wildlife preserve. We have been here by
land before so it will be neat to see it from the water side.
Fish came out and fish went in--- Sorry missed the fish
Tree crab
January 21st, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
We packed the cooler bag with snacks and drinks, as well we loaded
up all the camera gear. After ending up grounded with the dingy in
various locations ie. 3-4" of water, we finally found our way to the nature
trail that runs through the park. We took pictures of the Roseate
Spoon Bills and many of the other birds there. By the time we got
back to the boat it was dinner time.
January 22nd, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
Another great sunny day as we got up this morning and headed out towards
Naples. We pulled into a small bay surrounded by these beautiful
huge houses. We had the company of a sail boat from B.C. It
seemed like such a fancy neighborhood I felt self conscience hanging out
my laundry on the back deck, while those on shore were having their lawns
manicured by professionals with tweezers. We took a 3 mile dingy
ride into Naples, where we found more of the same affluence in the water
at the Marinas. Disgusting displays of wealth, (when can I have mine?)
January 23rd, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
Today is a working day (yes we do have working days on the boat ).
We hauled everything out of the V-Berth and reorganized, then prepared
to finish the plywood on the one side.
I was really cold and windy today and before the day was over we had
to haul our anchor up and reset it as we were drifting back. We spent
a very nervous night with the chain clanking and us getting up every so
often to make sure that we had not landed on someone's tweezered lawn.
January 24th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
This morning I painted the one side of the V-Berth while Colin installed
a new high capacity alternator. This will allow me to This
will allow me to run major appliances while we are traveling We left
later on in the afternoon and made the short run to Factory Bay off Marco
Island.
January 25th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
We got up early to trek into town for groceries. No Milk! No
Salad! No lots of Stuff! Margaret Not happy!! We had both of
our bags totally stuffed when we came back. Even Dog food for Splash!
As we were loading everything on board we met the people from one of
the sail boats anchored in the same bay. Mom, dad and 3 little girls,
6,5 and 1, sounds like fun (for them) Nice people though. We got
fuel and water and headed for our next anchorage in Goodland.
January 26th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
We were going to have breakfast in town, but the place was less than
desirable:
#1 because it was in a trailer park where everyone looked like they
came in one day and just never left.
#2 There were a lot of old people walking their cats on leashes.
#3 The open air bar out front was just scary looking.....period!
We opted to go back to the boat, do some work and then go to a different
place for lunch.
Lunch was great! Sitting out on the deck overlooking the water
and watching he boats going by listening to Reggae music. If the
waitress hadn't been bitchy it would have been perfect.
This anchorage had its own special charm. There was a huge old
wood boat probably about a 60 footer anchored out in the water. He
had several other runabouts tied to him and we had noticed when we came
in the night before that he was sitting a bit bow down. The next
thing we know, he is pumping water off his bow like there is no tomorrow.
I think he was sinking. I think this guy should be heading for higher
ground !
We left after lunch and headed out for Everglades National Park.
We pulled in, in the dark.
Another...
January 27th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
We got up and had to move the boat immediately as the tide was going
out and there was a definite water shortage!
We had to let Colin have his way all day because it was his birthday.
We loaded up and took the dingy into Everglade, bought some Conch meat
and had a late lunch by the ranger station in Chokoluski Bay. It
was here I saw it.....the car of my dreams.....suddenly I knew what had
caused me to come all this way. A white Cadillac by the name of Elvis
1. I think I’m in love (not!)
Had to get a picture of it though just for laughs.
January 28th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
We left this morning and headed for Little Shark River.
Oh this sounds like a good place to go, even if they are little I don’t
want to meet up with one. As we pulled into the boat, we were surrounded
instead by about 10 Dolphins. They were jumping and swimming around
the boat like a welcoming committee. One of them had a chopped up
fin so I think he had been playing with a propellor.....not cool.
The current in this anchorage is really strong and the tie difference
is almost 6 feet. You can come in thinking you have 6 feet of water
and find out that at low tide you have no feet of water!
Colin decided to go fishing off the bow and caught among other things,
a cat fish with a huge spike and a toad fish...one of those ...... a face
only a mother could love. It was huge... (see picture)
Sunset At Little Shark River
Sunset At Little Shark River
January 29th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
We did some more work on the V-Berth this morning and then took a dingy
ride up the river to check things out. Met some people on a steel
boat from Ottawa and talked to them for a little while.
January 30th, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
Headed out this morning for Flamingo, our last stop before Marathon.
We have a reservation for a dock here. It is located in the Flamingo
National Park. This place is famous for its mosquitos. Oh joy!
The camp ground actually rates the severity of the mosquitos on any given
day.
Pelican on a post Flamingo
Pelican on a stick
Stalker -- Flamingo
Bird Sanctuary Flamingo
Bird Sanctuary Flamingo
Bird Sanctuary Flamingo
Mr Cardinal Bird Sanctuary Flamingo
Mrs Cardinal Bird Sanctuary Flamingo
Did anyone tell hime its a Bird Sanctuary
Hawk Flamingo
Sunset Cruise
January 31st, 2003 (Admiral’s Log)
Spent the morning cleaning the dingy and doing some other stuff.
Got changed and went for about a 5 mile hike through the campground, along
the coast line and checked out the Eco Pond. In places you had to
keep moving or the mossies would swarm you. We did however
see lots of neat birds and a Crocodile (an alligator--Colin). We
were both really tired when we got back.