We're Home!

From: Tarpon Basin, Key Largo, FL MM 1140.0
To: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keys, Mooring Ball D2, MM 1195.0
L/L: 22 42 43N 081 05 40W
Distance Traveled: 63.5 miles
Elapsed Time: 9.9 hours
Average Speed: 6.4 mph

Weather: After last night’s T’storms, the day dawned mostly sunny; the cold front brought an overnight low of 80 degrees and it reached 90 again during the heat of the day (so much for the cold in cold front, but we know cold from last year so we’re not complaining!); E @ 15 knots most of the day

Comment: The predicted wind materialized as forecast, but for the first part of the trip, we couldn’t take advantage because we were winding our way through narrow, twisty channels that would have caused numerous jibes. Rather than that, we continued under motor power until we reached Channel Five, where the bay opens up a bit. Given these wind conditions, we chose to stay on the gulf side and motor sailed toward the Seven Mile Bridge and Moser Channel at over seven mph.

Along the way, we saw a sea turtle and several dolphins. Unlike last year, there were no dead fish (remember the cold spell that killed a lot of fish?).

We made it to our mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor at 1800 hours. Because the marina office closes at 1800 hours, Anna Marie secured our ball assignment via the telephone.

Entering Boot Key Harbor (the old bascule bridge has been removed)