Florida Keys / Islamorada

March 23rd -  We enjoyed a relaxed morning breakfast before heading for our next destination. It's not surprising sometimes when raising the anchor to find that we've picked something up from the bottom. This morning we nabbed an old fishing line that was wrapped around the hook. To release the line, sometimes involves using a hook or  sometimes involves reaching through the bowsprit and trying to untangle it and bring it aboard for disposal. This can be tricky if the anchorage is rocky and rolly, No Name Harbor is one of the better spots 'if your going to pick something up'. Sometimes we've picked up a few 'icky' things (jelly fish that we may have speared with the hook)  and this is where the hose comes in real handy.
Our trip today took us down through Biscayne Bay. The draft on our boat is 4' which allows us to travel through the inside passage. After saying this, there were times when the depth sounder would show 1 foot under our keel in some narrow channels, a little too close for our comfort. With the clarity of the water we were able to see the plant life below.
 Our stop took us to an anchorage near a private isand called Pumpkin Key , just off Key Largo. There were no trespassing signs all over the small island, not very welcoming.
The weather was perfect, no winds or waves to worry about, otherwise we would have felt a little out in the open.  In the afternoon we relaxed on the bridge with a vey good book. We're currently reading, "A Pearl in the Storm" written by Tori Murden McClure. Tori wrote about her adventure, solo rowing a 23' rowboat named the 'American Pearl' across the Atlantic Ocean. Can you imagine rowing  alone across an ocean, what was she thinking? We're shuttering at the thought! An excellent story and we highly reccomend.
The evening sunset was amazing, as we journey further south for some reason the sun seems to be huge.At night we could hardly tell that the Summer Wind was at anchor. The seas were so calm and the night sky was clear. Unfortunately the tiny island where we were anchored next to was lit up like a nighttime football game.

The bottom seems to be getting closer!

A Relaxing Afternoon

Gorgeous Sunset off Key Largo

March 24th- Just before travelling Dick will check the engine room, and make sure that everything is as it should be. Lately he's been teaching me how to check the engine room, which I do find interesting. On my inspections I found a few things which I brought to his attention but more on that later.

We had heard so much about the Keys and decided to check out Plantation Key Marina. Our trip today was only about 29 miles . There are approximately 4500 islands considered to be the Keys of Southern Florida and they vary in sizes and habitation. Todays passage took us through several narrow canals with mangroves lining the shores. However there are some areas deep enough for dolphins. Check out the video below.

Dolphins in our Wake

The entrance to  Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina has a maximum depth of 5', so again our depth sounders were screaming. We were expecting the low water and just slowed down to make sure that the Summer Wind entered fine. Plantation Yacht Harbor is a small city run marina but they are located in Founders Park and offer many ammenities such as a beach area, pool, tennis courts, exercise paths and there are stations along the path that have bars to do stretch exercises.

Our plan was to spend a few days at the marina to scope out the area for next year. We rented a car for a day and drove down to Marathon. In one marina we came across a few MTOA members and they invited us to join them for their cocktail hour and had a lovely time.

The second day there was going to be a "Pops Concert" at the park. Well at 4:00 we found a nice shady spot to listen. After the concert we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Lazy Days restaurant where we walked away absolutely stuffed.

We had a great time at Plantation marina and if we end up going around the tip of Southern Florida we felt this would be an excellent place to spend a few days.

Shallow Canal

Mangrove lined Canals

Summer Wind in Plantation Harbor Marina

Fossils in the Rock

Fossilized Coral Rock