Feb 14-21, 2015 Key Largo

Feb 14-21
We rented a car (what a luxury- we haven't driven in 2 months!) and picked up Dana, Chad, and Charlie at the Miami airport. So great to see them, especially little 7 1/2 month old Charlie who is now sitting alone and has the cutest smile!

Stopped at our favorite gateway to the Keys restaurant, Alabama Jacks, for lunch and their yummy conch fritters.
The Kazaba family stayed at the Hampton Inn Bayside here in Key Largo. Close to our marina too.  There was a heated pool and beautiful beach with great sunset views.

Even the manatees stopped by to say hi to Dana, Chad and Charlie.

We encouraged the parents to go out to dinner alone a few nights so we could babysit Charlie.

Enjoyed hanging out at the hotel and facilities there as a respite from the boat. We explored John Pennekamp Park.
Dana and Carol went to water aerobics one morning and Chad and Bob went fishing one afternoon.  They caught a bunch of little fish, but nothing worth cleaning and cooking.

Charlie loved the swimming pool and his parents enjoyed playing with him and watching him kick.

We did a lot of eating- sushi, stone crab claws at the local fishery, extra hot pepper-infused burgers at Category III, hogfish, key lime pie.  This was our first sushi boat,,,

Real Key Lime pie - yummy!

Charlie visited our boat for the first time….

Visit was too short of course! Glad the kids could thaw out down here for awhile!

The weather turned and we got the cold front that blasted in. Had our lowest temp overnight in Florida of 45 degrees!  Fortunately the cold snap was short lived - back to warm weather now.
Back to boat chores!
Did go to a big event here in the Keys- the annual Nautical Flea Market in Islamorada.  Caught a ride with some new friends, Connie and Mike.  They live here in Key Largo and just bought a 35 ft Island Packet and hope to start cruising soon.

Feb 5-13 Pilot House Marina Key Largo

Feb 5-13
We are enjoying staying at Pilot House Marina this month. We continue to use the pool nearby, doing water aerobics and master's swim practice. Biking to the grocery store.

Larry and Millie Midash, Bob's brother's bother in law stopped by for a visit while RV'ing through the Keys.  Had a nice lunch out!

Something we don't talk about much in this blog is boat maintenance.
Its Carol's job to defrost the refrigerator monthly. What- why don't we have a frost free frig ? We paid $1500 for the unit and Bob installed it himself. Bob explained we have to use a type of refrigeration that our solar panels can supply sufficient power to. Defrosting the frig involves removing all items then diving down into the countertop about chest deep with hot cloths to melt the ice on the plate. Doesn't take too long, but its a workout!

We have also been working on refinishing our exterior teak.   Hours of hand scraping, stripping, sanding and "bleaching" the teak in preparation for days of multi-layers of varnish - a true labor of love.

bow sprit ready for new varnish

Basically, everyday there is something broken or leaking on a boat. Seriously! Right now its the hot water heater with a slow leak.  To get to it, the cockpit lazarette has to be completely emptied out, the water heater drained and the fittings retightened.

 Love to go scuba diving! We have been several times, its chilly, but the reefs are very nice.  Bob has a GoPro camera he is learning to use.  Even attended a 2hr GoPro class at the local Divers Direct store.  Hopefully the future pictures will be better.

Heading out diving

Carol "down under"

4ft nurse shark - we love to find sharks!

3ft southern string ray

File fish with divers in background

I took about 125 underwater shots but won't bore you with so many.






Dana, Chad and Charlie arrive tomorrow for a visit!

Jan 30- Feb 5 Marathon to Key Largo

Jan 30- Feb 1
We biked over to Sombrero Beach to watch the Turtle Hospital do a planned release of a large loggerhead turtle.  "Dorothy" had surgery after being hit by a propeller and recuperated at the hospital.  She was in her late teens/early twenties.  The staff was hopeful she would head out to catch the Gulf Stream towards the Sargossa Sea and maybe find a boyfriend.

Dorothy arrives at Sombrero Beach

Dorothy is ready to go to sea...

Dorothy is carried to water's edge

Boot Key Marina had a Superbowl party in the large gymnasium with a potluck dinner.  Always meeting new friendly cruisers.
Good bye Boot Key Harbor, what a great place!

300+ boats in the mooring field

Feb 2
We waited for a favorable weather window to sail up to Key Largo on the outside, called Hawk Channel.   We left Boot Key Harbor via Sister Creek and when we passed by the massive "Radio Free America" radio towers that are pointed towards Cuba, all of our electronic navigation systems went haywire.  The knot meter said we were going 45.0 knots instead of 4.5.  The wind meter direction started spinning around and the wind speed read _ _ _!  About a mile or two past the towers the boat speed and wind speed meters recovered but the wind direction remained 180 degrees off all day.

Today was forecast for light winds. But when we got out there it was 4-8 ft beam seas and 18-22 knots of wind. Carol was seasick for the first time this trip.  She used the anti seasick bracelet to help somewhat.  Bob had to man the helm most of the trip. We zoomed up the 54 nautical miles to Key Largo in 7 1/2 hours. Checked into Pilot House Marina and pulled into our slip.  Docked 100 yards from a bar/restaurant (having to get used to live music everynite).

Green roof is Pilot House Restaurant

We immediately went over for a drink, a late lunch and Carol indulged in an Ice Cream Sundae for enduring the rough trip.

The dive boats from Scuba Do Diving are in the slips right next to us.  That will make diving really easy!

Feb 3-5
We bicycled around Key Largo and located some points of interest to investigate during our month long stay. Joined the public pool here, Jacobs Aquatic Center. It is beautiful!  And just a 5 minute bike ride away. The city of Key Largo operates this in a huge public park facility. Includes playground, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, and walking trails.

The water aerobics instructor kicked our butts one morning.  And Carol decided to try the Master's swim team program. 7-8:30am. Wow- what a workout! We are signed up to start diving this weekend and hope the wind settles down.