The Cruise - Week 10, Turning Around - March 2-8, 2015

This is our last week at Harbour Cay Club in Marathon.  We have enjoyed being here; the best part being all the other cruisers we have come to know, but we are looking forward to moving again.  When we leave here, we will be moving back in the direction of home, although we will not be in a hurry.  Our plan has been to stay here for one more week which would make our departure next Saturday or Sunday, but weather will likely be the deciding factor and we may go earlier.  Our next stop will be an anchorage at  Shell Key then on to Plantation Yacht Harbor on Plantation Key where we may stay for a couple of weeks.

Relaxing

Most of the week we have been "relaxing", preparing for the second half of our cruise, and hanging out with our new friends.  Cruising also consists of a lot of "relaxing" which much of the time means doing nothing.  I am not good at doing nothing and will need to cultivate this skill for future cruising.  Preparations have included filling our propane tank, buying souvenirs for family, and groceries.  Dom and Caroline were kind enough to loan us their car for the day Wednesday.  We continue to eat large, especially as we have to have "farewell" meals with friends.  Of course every time we meet up with folks, we have to  have drinks, no matter what time of day!  Moving on will definitely be good for my health.

Critical Provisions

The weather has been perfect; sunny and warm but a little breezy.  It looks like the weather may cooperate over the next few days so we can get away Saturday.  We are ready.  "Ships and seamen rot in harbor"  Nelson.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Departed Marathon, Florida                                   0855

Harbour Cay Club Marina

Arrived Shell Key mooring                                     1430

Near Islamorada

Total day’s run 35 statute miles (30 nm), 841 miles total.

Leaving Harbour Cay Club

We had a blast at Harbour Cay and met a lot of people, some of whom are now friends and we expect to see again.  But it is time to move on.  We departed Habrour Cay with little fanfare and headed east into a stiff northeast wind.  We first stopped at a mooring on the west side of Lignumvitae Key but the wind was too far from the north and the waves were too big for comfort.  We moved on a couple of miles to the west side of Shell Key which had somewhat more north protection and picked up a mooring.  Both Lignumvitae and Shell Keys are near Islamorada and are owned by the state of Florida which provides the moorings for free.  I didn’t like this mooring but decided to stay the night anyway…it turned out to be a long one.  The wind did not turn to the east as predicted and it strengthened more than predicted.  Fairly large waves built up and it was quite uncomfortable, but by then it was dark and we had to stay put.  There are way too many crab traps to be moving around at night. 

The worst part was that I was unsure of the condition of the mooring.  If the mooring pendent or some piece of hardware broke during the night, we would be in a bad situation, so I was up most of the night keeping watch.  I will never commit myself to a mooring overnight unless I can be sure SURE of its condition.  On the positive side, I saw a fantastic fireworks display in the distance near Islamorada about 11:00 pm.

This is what can happen if you don't pay attention or break loose in the night.  We saw this boat on the side of the ICW shortly after leaving our mooring.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Departed Shell Key mooring                                 0945

Near Islamorada

Arrived Plantation Key                                          1115

Yacht Harbor

Total day’s run 8 statute miles (7 nm), 849 miles total.

Daylight was very welcome even if it came with overcast skies and rain showers.  Pancakes and bacon for breakfast also made the day brighter.  We had wanted to go to Lignumvitae Key for a tour but decided to go on to Plantation Key.  It sounds like an interesting place, https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Lignumvitae-Key.  I also wanted to check out Barley Basin but hopefully can get back there in the next couple of weeks.  We arrived at Plantation Key Yacht Harbor and successfully backed Dubhe into her slip.  We plan to stay here one or two weeks.  All I want to do is sleep.