Winter in Florida
After nearly two months in Texas for Christmas and Thanksgiving with family we returned to the boat at Halifax Harbor in Daytona for the next leg of our journey.
Best laid plans…
We set out to spend time in the Florida Keys then the Bahamas and then back to Florida and have the boat shipped by land to the Chesapeake. This was our plan but the wind and weather had a different plan.
We left Daytona and headed south to an anchorage just west of Cape Canaveral to watch a SpaceX launch. We had a front row seat to the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket that carried the four member Axiom space crew to the International Space. There was some cloud cover that hampered our view slightly however in addition to seeing the launch we heard the sonic boom associated with the reentry of the booster section.
Starlink is Game Changer
Up until this point on our journey we had relied on cellular data via our Peplink router however on more than one occasion we ran out of highspeed data in the middle of the month.
We had Starlink at our home in Texas so we decided to carry it to the boat and it worked great. We even have coverage moving up to 10 knots.
From Cape Canaveral we made the 60 NM run down to Vero Beach. We had stopped at Vero Beach on our way north and really enjoyed our stay and wanted to do more exploring.
Windy Anchorage inside Jupiter Island
From Vero Beach we made our way south and anchored on the inside of Jupiter Beach. Overnight winds were blowing 20 mph and gusting to 30 mph and even though we were in a protected anchorage we swung on anchor all night.
After Jupiter we continued south to Pompano Beach, which is just north of Fort Lauderdale. We spent two nights in Pompano Beach and took the opportunity to visit with a long time friend that lived across from our marina.
Getting to know Pompano Beach and other towns along out route is one of our favorite parts of our journey.
The trip south from Pompano Beach through Fort Lauderdale and Miami was all about bridges and no wake zones. From Daytona to south of Miami there are 63 bridges split in three categories, fixed bridges with 50-65 feet clearance, draw bridges with approximately 25 feet clearance and draw or swing bridges with less than 20 feet clearance. The third group is the only group we had to be concerned with as we have a 18 1/2 foot height.
Once we made it though Miami we spent a couple of days at Coral Reef Yacht Club in Coconut Grove. This is our second visit to Coconut Grove and we truly enjoyed the town with its different shops and restaurants and added bonus of walkability from the yacht club.
As we leave Coconut Grove through Biscayne Bay we enter the Florida Keys. Our first night in the Keys was at anchor off the north west shore of Key Largo, inside Pumpkin Key. We were anchored just offshore of the exclusive Ocean Reef Club so we could hear the music from the club and were woken early the next morning as boats headed out early to fish offshore Key Largo.
From Pumpkin Key we traversed Angel Fish Creek to Hawk Channel and then south to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We picked up a mooring ball in the park for two nights and dinghied to shore to explore the park and surrounding area. We had hoped to also snorkel on one of the park’s coral reef however the high winds and weather changed our plans.
While at the mooring we dinghied to breakfast at The Hideout, a great breakfast diner just south of the mooring field. Also close by was the underwater hotel, Jules’ Undersea Lodge, www.jul.com. We dinghied in to the cove near the hotel and saw people coming and going from the hotel via an air-lock.
From John Pennekamp we traveled south to Marina Del Mar in the heart of Key Largo. This was a great marina for a number of reasons including its facilities and proximity to restaurants and shops.
We especially enjoyed sunset drinks at the Caribbean Club on Key Largo’s sound side. The Caribbean Club was a key location for the filming of the 1948 film Key Largo starring Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.
From Key Largo we made our way south to the ICW side of Islamorada and anchored just off of the famous Lorelei’s Restaurant and Cabana Bar. While in Islamorada I rigged up the dinghy for a sail. One of the benefits of our dinghy is it can be motored, rowed or sailed.
We truly enjoyed the anchorage off Islamorada however to be honest our ability to visit shore was limited by the lack of dinghy docks. The only public dock was closed and the businesses that did have docks were unfriendly and did not allow docking for persons other than their customers.
After a couple of nights off Islamorada we moved south to Banana Bay resort in Marathon. At this point in our journey we had planned to travel to the Bahamas for a few weeks however high winds every few days forced us to cancel these plans and extend our stay in Marathon.
We settled in to Marathon for about a month and truly enjoyed exploring the area including a trip on the $1 bus to Key West. One of the highlights of our time in Marathon was a Sunday morning breakfast at the American Legion.
From Marathon we eased south to Bahia Honda State Park where we snorkeled from the beach on the near shore coral reef. We were pleasantly surprised by the varied sea life.
Bahia Honda - Everglades
After two nights at Bahia Honda we made a 78 NM run due north to Everglades City, the gateway to Everglades National Park
In Everglades City we stayed at the Everglades Isle marina, which is connected to a luxury motor coach resort. On Sunday evening we enjoyed a gospel concert with local musicians at First Baptist Church.
During our stay we explored the area on rented bikes and a highlight was lunch at HavAnna Cafe on Chokoloskee Island, south of Everglades City.
I was also able to charter a boat to go fishing and caught a number of Mangrove Snapper plus countless catfish. Not the best day fishing but great to be on the water.
After our long weekend in Everglades City we took the short cruise to Marco Island and stayed at the Marco Island Yacht Club. On Marco Island we were enamored by the island’s Burrowing Owls
From Marco Island we made the short run north to Naples Yacht Club for the weekend. We loved our stay in Naples and were lucky to attend church in the park and enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
After Naples we cruised to Sanibel Island and on the cruise caught a number of Spanish Mackerel, which we enjoyed as ceviche and grilled filets. In Sanibel we enjoyed collecting shells on the beach.
From Sanibel we made our way north to Uncle Henry’s on the north end of Boca Grande. Hands down the most memorable part of our stay was dinner at the prestigious Gasparilla Inn. We were treated to old world elegance in this 115 year old resort. This was our first visit to Boca Grande and we are definitely going to go back.
After our stay on Boca Grande we cruised west across Gasparilla Sound to Laishley Park Marina in Punta Gorda.
Road Trip!
Our cruise through Florida ended in Punta Gorda, which is where we loaded Odysea II on a truck to be transported to Oxford on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. We decided this was the most efficient way and best location to restart our Great Loop journey at the beginning of June.
Maintenance in Oxford
I made a short trip to the boat in Oxford in mid May to get the boat ready for the next leg. Projects included changing the oil and replacing a bilge pump that has failed for the second time in 9 months.