Category: Videos

The route to the Florida Keys required another deep into the Gulf of Mexico journey, this time around the Everglades National Park.  Weather planning is crucial to a safe and comfortable journey and we fortunately picked two great days.   We anchored at Little Shark River in the Everglades the first night and then made the last leg to the Keys the next day. The Everglades region has no cell service and no signs of civilization for many, many miles.   Our 100 mile or so travel to the Everglades was one our best days on the water, following seas, light winds and great temps in wide open clear water made for a perfectly serene cruise.  Our anchorage revealed nature at its finest, from sting-rays and dolphins jumping out the water, to the most unbelievable sunset/sunrises, all surrounded by lush green shorelines and beauty.

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The final 50-mile leg of the Journey was just as magnificent as the first, with the exception of the ~10,000 crab pots we had to dodge along the way (no direct hits!).  With Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes radio blaring, and no land in sight, we decided that this was the perfect time to become one with nature and donned our birthday suits.  Yep, we went naked boating (sorry for the visual thoughts) for much of the day…very freeing.   Don’t worry, we were appropriately clothed by the time we safely arrived at Marlin Bay, Marathon. 

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We are safe, we are healthy, we are having fun and our boat still floats! Our last post was about a month ago, not because we haven’t had anything to write about, we have just been very, very busy throughout the holidays.   We arrived at Legacy Harbor Marina, Fort Myers, Florida on December 9^th and have had a whirlwind of visitors and activity.   Downtown Fort Myers and the surrounding areas have a ton to offer,  from the cool shops, Art & Seafood festivals,  New Years events and other attractions we always had something to do.  Fabulous restaurants, with heavy influence from the Edison, Ford, Firestone, trio who put this place on the map many years ago.

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Pam’s Mom, Nancy, stayed with us for several days over Christmas.  She was our FIRST overnight guest on the boat and we enjoyed a different, but wonderful, Christmas. 

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Our friends the Gaskins from Tipp City, Ohio visited for a few days after Granny and then Samantha, Tyler and Scott visited for a week over New Years. 

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In addition, we had a steady stream of fellow loopers that we hung with much of the time.

We took several day trips and one-over-night trip while our guests we here.  Our overnighter was to Pink Shell Resort on Fort Myers Beach with Sam, Ty and Scott.   We all slept on the boat and had full access to the Resort’s amenities.  Great resort with lots to do.  Sleeping five on the boat was another FIRST.   Guest sleeping comfort levels were probably marginal.  

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Legacy Harbor is another amazing place with an awesome group of people.  We had regular docktails, Christmas events and made some great friends on Dock C.   The place certainly lives up to its reputation when it comes to location, service, and an overall great place to stay.

Headed to the Keys tomorrow mornin!

Anchoring is part science, part art.   Our experience and confidence is growing every time we set the hook.  Sea C is equipped with a Windlass system which allows us to lower and retrieve the bow anchor from three different locations with the push of a button.  We carry 160 ft of rode made up of 40’ of chain and the rest rope. The main anchor is a plow style and our secondary is a Danforth.   Our most sleepless night at anchor was at Boston Bar, on the Mississippi, when currents were running fast and partial trees knocked into the hull throughout the night.   We would leap out of bed from a dead sleep to check for what sounded line a collision with another boat or cement wall. 

The alarm on our anchor app has also sounded a couple times.  The alarm sounds when you travel beyond  a predetermine perimeter to indicated that the anchor may be dragging.  .  The sound is obnoxious and has also caused us to leap out of bed a couple times.

Overall, we love to anchor overnight.  The anchor locations provide an entirely unique view of life.  The sunsets and stars, the wildlife, the smell of the ocean, and waking up to the peaceful sunrise and sounds of birds is why we will continue to seek out some ‘off the beaten path’ anchorages.

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This past week we anchored at Stump Pass, Ana Marie Island, Caya Costa, and  Pelican Bay.  We enjoyed these with another couple, Tom and Angie, on another Mainship~Maggie Jo.  We also met a couple from Arlington Heights who’ve just begun their loop here in FL on a Defever named Seabatical ~ thank you Christine and Joe for a nice cocktails & dinner!  Part of the fun of this loopin’ thing is the people that you meet along the way to share these amazing experiences with.

We received a job offer yesterday… and we didn’t even apply! The Park Ranger (Steve) at Caladesi Island State Park asked if we would be interested in filling the ‘Marina Host’ position – a job that allows you to dock for free in exchange for 20 hours of random work per week…..not a bad gig. Apparently he felt we looked like the type of nomads that might just bite on the opportunity. Although tempting, we politely declined but said we may reconsider at some point in the future…

Caladesi Island is a incredible nature area with one of the premier beaches in Fl. A 4 mile mangrove kayak tunnel/trail is fantastic…as long as you don’t mind tree crabs, jumping fish and the occasional branch knock on the head. One of the locals told us we could walk about 5 miles to Clearwater Beach. This required some wading into the gulf to maneuver around rocky areas but turned out to be a great hike. We are trying to take advantage of every opportunity we get to move our bodies because there is not much physical movement while cruising and anchoring out.

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Prior to Caladesi we became sponge experts in Tarpon Springs and biked the fabulous Pinellas Bike Trail, a Rail Trail Hall of Fame path that runs along old train lines connecting many of these gulf coast towns. Pam’s old bud Dutch, Watersports dive-master from Camp One Step, and his gal, Joni, came down to spend the day with us and share a meal at Rusty Bellies on the water.

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We anchored out one night right offshore of Dunedin and dinghy-ed in for the day. Quite the happening town with a great mix of unique restaurants, Parks, breweries and shops. We stumbled upon a restaurant called Sea Sea Riders !! Thinking about going back to ask for a sponsorship in return for promoting the place along our way. LOVE Florida….

We are now back in society, where the towns we encounter are popular vacation towns on beaches with all the amenities rather than searching for necessities among minimal civilization Traveling along the GIWW is fun but offers new challenges.

The waterway is very clear when marked well but it is easy to veer off the narrow channel into shallow water. There are numerous reports of grounding along this route over the past few days. Dolphins love to swim in these areas and watching the cormorants and pelicans is amazing.

Visiting Flora-bama was a must. Sam had a spring break trip here back in College and as we explored this enormous establishment with 5 stages and a myriad of bars and food services, we could just imagine this place crawling with spring breakers. This week the place was hopping with locals attending the Frank Brown songwriters festival and we were able to dock for free on a public dock right out front of Old River Bar – within walking distance of everything ‘bama. We walked the white sandy shores until it started raining. The perfect thing to do now was to post up along an upstairs rail overlooking a stage filled with awesome talent.

A short cruise east was the annual Pensacola Blue Angel homecoming air show where we anchored for the night. This is just like tailgating – Florida style: beaches and waterways filled with boaters, campers, tents etc. There was a bonus night show (planes flying low in formation with blinking lights) to cap off the night.

We found another couple free town walls down the GIWW at Fort Walton Beach and White City. We pulled our bikes down and cruised around town. There was this cute oasis of food trucks, complete with healthy bowls & smoothies and cute little sitting nooks. We found Fockers, home of the mother focker, with a great happy hour special to watch the 1st half of the Alabama and LSU game. Since we were getting hungry we left in search of the sign for 99 cent tacos and 99 cent drafts. Lo and behold it was a gem of a place: a Cruse Thru liquor store/drive thru taco joint. We ordered and ate outside watching the rest of the game. Met some guys in the ‘palm tree business’ – these hurricanes certainly keep these guys busy. Learned a little bit about the care and maintenance of palms including how to truck them safely.

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Next up is the much anticipated Gulf crossing. Some choose to take the big bend route hugging the Fl shoreline while others choose to cross the roughly 170 mile from Carabelle Island to Tarpin Springs, which we plan to do. We are just waiting for a weather window i.e. low winds and wave. Many boats have attempted this crossing but few have survived to tell………..no just kidding. We will leave at around 4 pm and arrive around 9 or 10 am. See ya on the other side!

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