Back on the Water - Heading South

We’re on the second half of our 2012-13 sailing excursion. 

As last reported we left Zephyrina at the Isles Yacht Club in early January.  By land we returned to Gulf Breeze, with a short visit to the east coast of Florida to visit friends who winter in Tequesta and Fort Lauderdale.  By air, we traveled to Delaware and Pennsylvania braving the snow flurries and freezing temperatures to visit John’s 100+ Mother and our son and daughter-in-law.  In February we enjoyed the spaciousness of our home while doing spring pruning and garden maintenance.  Our good friends and fellow sailors, John & Kay Sheehan had also left their sailboat, Sea Shell, at the Isles.  So with rented mini van, and packed with provisions, the four of us drove back to Punta Gorda and the Isles.

Here’s an overview of the journey south to Naples. 

Our plan to depart the Isles on March 1^st was interrupted by a cold front, but finally seas and winds settled down and on March 4^th the flotilla of two (Sea Shell and Zephyrina) departed for Burnt Store.  Only 13 miles south this is a huge gated residential community of varying sized single and multi storied homes plus 8 or so high rises.  We had visited Burnt Store 20 years ago.  My it has grown!  This overnight stop allowed us to have a shorter 37 miles trip through Pine Island Sound on to St. Charles Yacht Club near Ft. Myers.  St. Charles and The Isles rank as the friendliest clubs, with volunteer members that offer their services such as transportation to town or grocery shopping. During this stop, one of Helen’s former Harrisburg associates, Bob Feir, drove over from Estero for a luncheon visit at the club.

A good weather window opened up (yes we’ve been plagued with frontal systems just about every three days) on March 10^th for us to go out into the Gulf and down to Naples.  Erratic east winds gave us enough for 6-hour bouncy motor-sail.  Our arrival at the Naples Yacht Club was just in time for the Sunday dock master to help with the lines as we docked in a crosswind.  During our stay here we’ve enjoyed the company of Ed Maxwell, one of John’s Wilmington neighbors and high school classmates.  Ed has been a Naples resident for more than 10 years and we always enjoying meeting up with him whenever we sail through the south Florida waters. Dinner at Campiello’s provided the opportunity to share information regarding mutual friends.  Another highlight occurred when a Naples Yacht Club member and frequent Bahamas sailor, Tom Talton drove us to Marco Island to Wednesday farmers’ market and then over to Goodland.  As a long time resident of the area, fisherman and cruiser he gave us a detailed overview of the area.  This will be our last ‘Zephyrina Sea Shell’ flotilla stop. On Saturday, Kay & John will sail from here back up toward Clearwater and then eventually, across the Gulf to home.

As sailors are always looking for a good weather window for the sail to the next destination, we think we found ours!  Tomorrow, Friday afternoon we plan to depart with varying east winds and head south to Key West.  We’ll round the southwest tip and head east for a short 8 mile for “in face windy” trip up to NAS Key West’s Boca Chica Marina.  The eclectic town of Key West will entertain us. We’ll reconnect with friends at the Marina from our many previous stays and then around April 1 join fellow PYC sailors on Partager to head up the Keys and over to the Bahamas.  

We'll post again when we’ve interesting tales and photos to share from Key West.

Moving South & Enjoying the Holidays

Well, it’s been almost a month since we last posted on the blog.  So, let us continue with a recap…

After a several day stay @ the Bradenton YC attending to provisioning and laundry, we headed for a favorite anchorage at Jewfish Key/Longboat Key.  There is a public boat launch with beach on each side for dinghy landing.  Dolphins are there to entertain.  Fishing is good; John caught a flounder, which we grilled for dinner aboard.  We enjoy walking the charming old Florida village of Longbeach.  We didn’t see Peacocks this year nor did we dine at either of the two great restaurants, Moore’s Stone Crab or Mar Vista.  Hope to do both on our return.  There is easy access to the Gulf thru Longboat Key Pass, just around the corner.

Weather and the upcoming Christmas Holiday had us motor down the ICW to the Sarasota YC.  We were looking forward to the on land sites, the Ringling Museum (to see the Pablo Veronese exhibit), St. Armand’s Key (for a little Christmas Shopping) and the Sarasota Saturday Farmers’ Market.  Keri drove down from Orlando to spend several days celebrating with us.   She also provided us with transportation to Total Wine, Trader Joe’s, Grocery Stores and a wash and fold laundry service.  Both avid photographers father and daughter were delighted to see so many varied shore birds on the Lido Key beach.  An added pleasure was a visit from our Medford, Oregon friends, Christie and Steve Sanders.  They were visiting family in Tampa and had a car so they could drive over for the day. 

Again with a cold front approaching, we motored down the ICW to Venice.  This was a first for us, since we usually sail down along the Gulf Coast.   The Rose Bowl Game on January 1st was broadcast only on ESPN (we only get through the air TV stations on the boat).  So we stayed an extra day so we could to go to the Crow Nest Tavern to dine and watch the game.  Swimming around the marina was a most unusual beautiful bird – a Razorbill.  The normal range for this member of the Auk family is the Artic to Maine.  It dives and swims underwater using its wings.  While it was alone, we heard reports of small flocks being sighted in the Sarasota Bay area.




The “hunk of metal”, called an anchor on our bow seems to be a magnet for the wind direction.  Though light, we had a south winds ‘on the nose’ as we headed south along the Gulf Coast to the Boca Grande Channel.  But as we turned east, the winds picked up and the tide was coming into Charlotte Harbor. WOW! with sails and incoming tide we flew @ 9.5 knots through the channel for several minutes before settling down to a nice 7 knot sail up the Harbor to Punta Gorda.  As we did in 2011, we have secured a slip for 2 months, so Zephyrina can be snug and protected while we visit friends and family ashore and return home to check in.  While we were preparing Z for her respite, we made new friends (Richard & Joanne Collins, owners of a 350) and visited with friends met in the past (Nancy & Steve Johnson). We plan to be back on the water in early March.

Exploring Tampa Bay & Manatee River

After eight nights tied up at the St. Pete Yacht Club the flotilla of two (Sea Shell and Zephyrina) got underway on a calm Tampa Bay and motored to Davis Island (several miles beyond Alafia River) where we anchored near the DIYC in the nicely protected former seaplane basin.  This lagoon off the bay is home to a few dozen boats on mooring balls, some with live-a boards and others looking more like derelicts.  We rafted up with Sea Shell, who did the honors and dropped their anchor in the muck. 

Just 2 miles away along the SW edge of North Tampa Bay is the Tampa Yacht & Country Club.  We sailed over the following mid morning.  Longtime Dock Master, Marshall helped us parallel park our boats between 2 larger ones, a few feet to spare, on the south side of the pier.  It’s always great to meet up with acquaintances from past cruises and so it was that we enjoyed reconnecting with Don Sink.  He and Virginia now have an O’Day sailer, having sold their express cruiser.  We were additionally pleased to meet up another sailor, Larry Jackson on his Mistral 33, Restless.  Larry has made over 12 trips to the Bahamas, so he gave us lots of insights and recommendations, for we hope to make a crossing to Exumas later this spring.

To provide exercise and fun the Sheehans and Caffreys took over one of the Clubs 12 clay courts for an hour rivalry.  Much to our surprise afterward was the per person cost of $8 for the pleasure.  Our winter indoor court costs in Pennsylvania were less!
Not wanting to be slackers in the exercise department, we unfolded our boat bikes and rode for 2 hours almost to downtown Tampa.  The bike trail runs along the bay giving us a view of the clear shallow water with Loons, Scaups, Limpkins, Black Skimmers and other shore birds.  On the other side there were a variety of mansions in architectural styles ranging from Northeastern Colonials to ornate Romanesque; vintage 1920s through the 50’s.  Venturing a few blocks up a side street through the older neighborhoods we saw a many mid-western styled 1920-1930s bungalows.

Taking a break from the galley and boat grill dinners the 4 sailors ( we are sailors even though the wind has been elusive for the past week), were joined by Gary & Jan from the cruiser “Happy Hatters” whom we had met at their home port of SPYC.  The wine selection was good and reasonable, but the draft beer gets no stars with the closest thing to a craft brew being Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in a bottle.  The cuisine was excellent, tender Lamb Shanks and perfectly done Filet.   

Thick fog settled over Tampa Bay as we prepared to depart TYCC, but an 8kt breeze cleared it off by 9:30 AM and we started our 30-mile trip down to the Manatee River, near Palmetto and Bradenton.  The Sky Way Bridge shined in the overhead sunshine as we passed.  This is always a wonderful sight and we got under the bridge barely 10 minutes ahead of a giant incoming freighter.  A few miles later  we reached our anchorage on Manatee River.

Zephyrina got to anchor this time, in nice clean sandy river bottom.  Sea Shell rafted up and we dined on homemade spaghetti sauce (in our freezer since Gulf Breeze) on angel hair pasta, along with a Kay Sheehan’s tasty salad. 
Sea Shell has to make Key Biscayne before Christmas, so as soon as Saturday’s (12/8) fog lifted at 9:30, they were underway to Venice.  Zephyrina continued to enjoy this anchor off Emerson Point.  Being just 200 yards to the Nature Preserve we were able to dingy to the headquarters’ dink dock and the clean modern facilities.  While there we also climbed the Portavant Temple Mound and walked the trails by the Gumbo Limbo trees, live oaks, strangler figs, wild coffee and mangrove trees.  After dark we were treated to a lovely Christmas Boat Parade- sport fishers with out riggers flashing white lights and animated reindeer prancing on the bows, sailboats with the hulls, masts and spars flashing red, green and blues and trawlers of various sizes outlined in multi-colored lights.  Then at 8:30 , hearing popping noises, we went out in the cockpit to watch a spectacular fireworks display above the Bradenton Yacht Club a mile away! 

Sunday’s fog was even heavier and didn’t break until noon.  We ventured ashore but didn’t stay long as the fog rolled back in, forcing some boats that were leaving the BYC to slowly motor over near us and anchor.  At 2 PM, we finally saw the shore line and clearing began in earnest.  Helen read aboard while John went on a dinghy fishing trip along the coastal shallows.  The yield was only one undersized fish.  Apparently, the morning in the fog was good for flounder, trout and redfish according to the fisherman cleaning the catch at the Bradenton YC. 

Monday morning, no fog.  The wind was picking up as we hoisted anchor at 9 and headed into the tie up along the BYC sea wall.  We were anticipating two to three days of scattered T-storms and gusting winds as the south winds fed the cold front coming in from the northwest.  By late afternoon and into the evening we had 15-20 kt winds from the south and heavy rainsqualls for several hours.  This is the first rain the area has had since early October.  We’d washed Zephyrina before the rains so now we were squeaky-clean. 

This safe haven with excellent food and Dogfish Head Draft on Tap[5 Stars], will give us a chance to visit the Laundromat and the Publix grocery store before we head out Friday to Longboat Key and a popular anchorage near two restaurants, a dinghy beach and the charming “old Florida” village of Long Beach.    

A New Sailing Adventure P'cola to St. Pete

After much preparation @ home and aboard, Zephyrina and her crew, Captain John, 1st mate Helen and crew member of many talents, daughter Keri left Bayou Grande, NAS Pensacola for a winter and spring adventure, on November 20th. 

Since the chart plotter hard drive crashed and had been sent to Raymarine in Nashua, NH for repair, we navigated the Gulf of Mexico crossing in two segments using our IPAD with GPS.  The Pensacola to Port Joe leg was 22 hours and the continuing leg to Clearwater was 30 hours.  During our 24-hour respite between legs we enjoyed a pre Thanksgiving Dinner @ Joe Momma’s.  Both segments on the Gulf were motor sails with a 10-hour sail only during the night.  When we left the Pensacola Channel the dolphins gave us a farewell salute.  The sunsets and clear night stars (using IPAD application Star Walk) were entertaining for the night watch standers.  Speaking of night watch, having three aboard for this crossing and with Keri’s willingness to take the middle watch, both John & Helen got 8 hours of sleep, a first.  In the past five crossings sleep came in 4 hours spurts.

Arriving in Clearwater in the early afternoon of Friday, November 23rd our welcoming committee included John & Key Sheehan, Jim St. Pierre (The CYC dock master) and our “like new C-80 Chart plotter”.  On Saturday, Keri’s good friend, Lisa came down from Orlando with “Thanksgiving Turkey Feast” left overs and two bikes in Keri’s van.  So, Keri & Lisa rode the Pinellas Trail from Clearwater Beach to Tarpon Springs and we drove her car up to Tarpon Springs so the four of us could enjoy a great Greek dinner.  We were driven back to Zephyrina and Keri & Lisa headed back home to Orlando.

The November 26th wind forecast was better than the next day, so both the Sheehan’s Sea Shell and Zephyrina headed back into the Gulf to sail/motor sail south to Pass-A-Grille (18 NM) then inside using the ICW to motor up to St. Petersburg.  SPYC is the perfect spot to enjoy the St. Pete Boat Show, dine at fun restaurants, ride our boat bikes on the Pinellas Trail and address emergency part replacement. 

Prior to departing on this 6-month winter/spring sail we had our shaft seal replaced and our engine’s heat exchanger removed, pressure tested and reconnected.  Well, twice on the high seas we noticed low coolant even though the engine temperature was normal.  With a motor sail we were only doing 2000 – 2200 RPMs.  When we arrive at St. Pete we drained the cooling system and found very little coolant and mostly seawater.  So much for the pressure test!  To our rescue came Bob Fleege, a fellow PYC member and down in the Clearwater/St. Pete area for a family visit and the Boat Show.  He knew about Lenco Coolers, in New York, who had a replacement and sent one down, next day air.  Then he kindly did the hands on work of installing it, with John assisting.  Our humble thanks, Bob! 

With this done, we were able to truly enjoy all the Boat Show’s seminars, new boat tours and seeing and partying with lots of our friends.  We were especially happy to be with Steven Parry and Sharron Randy.  They came down from Canada to exhibit their company, Poseidon Charters, with whom we’ve sailed in Greece and Croatia. 

Tonight, the Sheehans and the Caffreys are off to one of our favorite restaurants, Moon Under Water, for fish and Chips, to say goodbye to St. Pete.  Tomorrow, we’re off to an anchorage near Alafia River before visiting Tampa for a few days.

 Homeward Bound

The Navy’s Blue Angels swooped down and saluted us as we entered the Pensacola Channel Tuesday morning, on the final legs of our GC3 Panhandle Cruise.  We were truly in the premier seats, center of the Bay with a 360-degree view of their 45-minute practice session as we proceeded to our slip at NAS Bayou Grande.   Arkeoo, several miles ahead of us, hopefully got part of the show, too, as they headed to Orange Beach Alabama.

We spent a few extra days in Panama City, awaiting a good weather window to go back out into the Gulf for the 90 NM trip.  All was not wasted as we had access to excellent restaurants in the historic St. Andrews neighborhood.  Ate oysters for lunch and then oyster for dinner and then again more oysters, yes at all four eateries.   The lovely Oaks Park is on the land that archeologists have determined was a seasonal early Indian encampment with its access to the bay and its bounty.  Our entertainment varied from watching the commercial fishing boats come and go and off load their catch, shrimp, grouper, vermillion snapper, scamp and tuna.  On Saturday’s there is a farmer’s market at the marina parking lot. The St. Andrews marina served both the recreational tenant boats, transient boats (along a floating lay along dock) and the commercial boats.  The facilities, including laundry, were appreciated. 

Camaraderie is one of the benefits of the GC3 cruising concept and we certainly enjoyed sharing meals (Fresh Bay Shrimp & Grits, Mississippi style, farmer’s market offerings in  basil, garlic, zucchini, tomato, eggplant, hot sausage casserole, and goat cheese sundried tomato fettuccini).  Maybe we need to have a subtitle to our GC3 cruise, the gourmet’s delight!

A Month without an “R”

It took a series of rain squalls – we’ve had such perfect weather, interesting towns to explore, beaches to walk and winds for sailing, that we’ve haven’t sat down, until now - to write a new post.  We have lots to share.

As northerners, we always heard that raw oysters shouldn’t be consumed in a month without an “R”.  Floridians seem to have no such limit.  To most of us who enjoy raw oysters on the half shell, Apalachicola oysters are the “gold standard”.  Nearby St. George Sound has the largest beds in Florida; they have a sweet mild flavor that can be slightly enhanced by a little cocktail sauce laced with horseradish sauce.  They were as perfect on May 2nd, 6th, 7th and 9th as in any month with an “R”.  The industry is larger than we imagined.  Oysters processing houses line a quarter mile of Scipio Creek; tons (10% of the US market) are shipped whole and live in bags as well as shucked and shipped in various size fresh cold containers.  We discovered the enormity of the volume on our biking excursion around Apalachicola.  We saw 30-foot mountains of shells being fronted loaded aboard 100 foot a flat deck barge.  The shells are taken out to help form new oyster beds by giving the spawn a place to attach and grow. 


Apalachicola is usually a one-night stop on our way to the southwest Florida Peninsula of Florida (Clearwater).  This trip we toured the community on our “boat bikes” visiting museums, old homes, seafood shops and an ice cream soda fountain. 

Did you know that the first patent in 1851 for inventing an air conditioning machine was granted to Dr. John Gorrie?  His discovery occurred when he wanted to cool the air in the of the Apalachicola Yellow Fever patients’ sick rooms.  Apalachicola and Port St. Joe both experience epidemics in the 1840’s.  In Port St. Joe 80% of the population was wiped out.  The State Park Service has an exhibit in his former home featuring the operational machine invented, along with an excellent historical panorama.

The Orman House located on as high a hill as exists along the Apalachicola River is now operated as a State Park/Museum.  Our Ranger guide gave us one of the best historical overviews of the evolution of the area.  “When Cotton was King” the river provided the transportation for the Georgia grown cotton to the harbor and Orman’s many cotton warehouses.  From there they were loaded on to ships in St. George’s Sound for transshipment to Savannah.   The prosperity connected with the cotton trade ended after the Civil War as railroads were built and provided quicker more efficient transport to southern textile mills and Atlantic Sea ports.  Logs from the impenetrable forest were sent down the river for milling and shipment.  That industry and the canning and freezing of Seafood packaging allowing distribution eventually sustained the area, which is often called the “Forgotten Coast”.

Our three-boat flotilla enjoyed spotting the oystermen as we headed east through St. George’s Sound/Bay to the eastern end of the Gulf Coast barrier islands-Dog Island.  Rafting up in a well protected bay surrounded by grass beds make it possible for only one anchor down and thus only one anchor, when weighted, was muddy and mucky.  Clean up was a two-stage chore, 1st aboard with the wash down pump and 2nd when we hauled 160 feet of chain out of the anchor locker later and rewashed at the marina.  The Rustic homes along the beach are built on high stilts and sit tucked behind the sand dunes.  Clusters of shorebirds included Sanderlings, Willets, Ruddy Turnstones and 3 kinds of terns, Royal, Sandwich and Least occupied the beach.  The surrounding shallow depth, grass beds were the perfect spots for John to take the dingy and fish.  The fishing turned into catching – two nice spotted trout- making a terrific dinner for the Zephyrina crew.

From Dog Island we began our return journey.  A night in Apalachicola gave us the opportunity to enjoy an oyster and shrimp dinner at “Up the Creek”. 

Though we are retracing our coastal route we have deviated to check out Crooked Island, an excellent anchorage via a narrow channel on property near the Tyndall Air Force Range.  Sailing close to the wind we raced west to the Panama City’s Harbor Channel.  After bucking the out going current we ducked behind the barrier island, Shell Island, to anchor/raft up.  An early morning beach walk on crystal white sands was another reminder of why we love sailing – the lovely natural places we can enjoy.  Sea Shell and its crew, John & Kay Sheehan had left after morning coffee, to take the ICW route back home.  Sea Shell’s shorter mast allows passage under the less than 50’ bridges.

Given a forecast of afternoon thunderstorms the St. Andrews Municipal Marina was our next stop.  After tie up on the lay along dock, we found Ernie’s Oyster Bar and Brew House for sustenance and libation.

The rain has washed off the salt from Zephyrina’s hull.  Now Arkeoo’s crew, Connie & Wally, will join us analysis the wind forecast and plan our over night sail to Pensacola.

Exploring the Florida Panhandle

A new adventure – Spring 2012!  Yes, it’s been 10 months since we posted in our sailing blog. 

Three Catalina sailboats, members of G3CCC who are also members of the Pensacola Yacht Club embarked on a 2 week cruise to explore the bays, anchorages and interesting waterfront towns along the Gulf Coast of the eastern Florida panhandle.  We met at Ft. McRee, just instead the P’cola Channel and headed out into the Gulf for a 21-hour afternoon-night sail.   We sighted the entrance buoy into St. Joseph Bay about 7:15 AM.  Eagle Harbor anchorage is inside the San Blas State Park, where Arkeoo (Connie & Wally Conway) and Sea Shell (Kay & John Sheehan) rafted up to Zephyrina (Helen & John Caffrey).  The seabed at this spot is rather muddy, murky and sticky; so one anchor down gives the two other sailboats a reprieve from the slow weighing of the anchor with a wash down spray from the bow when departing the otherwise great anchorage.

The beach sands here collect a different variety of shells than at our Pensacola Beach.  This is due to the configuration of Cape San Blas.  She has an elbow out into the Gulf with her forearm stretching 15 miles NNW.  This cape creates the inside of St. Joseph Bay whose shallows provide excellent scalloping and fishing.  What glorious spot for exploring, holding a potluck dinner aboard and a much needed long night’s sleep.  While relaxing we hosted a fellow sailor from a Panama City on his sailboat for a sun downer and learned of a great anchorage at Crooked Island, which we’d like to visit on our westerly sail home. 

Across the bay is an excellent marina in the town of Port St. Joe.  It has been a convenient and favorite stopping spot for us as we make a crossing of the Gulf to south Florida.  Our folding bikes were assembled easily on the dock and the six of us toured the PSJ Nature Bike Way, stopped at the local museum to learn about the PJS and Apalachicola town rivalry of the 1830s and the subsequent yellow fever outbreak that devastated town’s population and it’s “up market” resort attractions for the wealthy from New England and Europe.   We highly recommend the Sisters Café, the No Name Bookstore and “of course” Joe Momma’s Pizza. 

The Plen Air Artists are in both Port St. Joe and Apalachicola this week, May 3 – 13.  We saw their terrific Art Show last year, when we were returning from 6-month cruise to south Florida and the Keys.   Yes, that was the trip on which we stopped posting in the blog at Venice.  We were so busy enjoying the activities and visits with friends we made but a few brief entries directly on Facebook.

This post was written as we motored on the cross county canal and ICW using Lake Wimico and the Apalachicola River a waterway cut in the Impenetrable Swamp to Sipico Creek at St. George’s Bay.  The Spanish explorer, Desoto is said to have lead his troops through this swamp.  Just think of the snakes, bugs, 8’ tall saw grass, razor sharp palmetto bushes, Yaupon Holly, slash pine among the soggy underbrush.  It’s amazing he made it to the Mississippi!

We expect to visit the Gorrie and Raney Museums, check out a butterfly garden and explore the old maritime antique warehouse.   We never pass through the area; on even a one-night stop with out have the gourmet delight of Apalachicola Oysters accompanied by a glass or two of Sauvignon Blanc.

Venice-Pelican Bay-Punta Gorda

As mentioned in the previous post, we spent New Year’s weekend plugged in at the Venice Yacht Club allowing us to see our choice of Jan 1 football games while connected to dockside TV cable.  We also made the acquaintance of Max, a well manners Poodle that enjoy dingy rides like our dachshund, Mac did.

Monday, the 3rd, we got underway before 10 AM when the dense morning fog started to lift, heading for several days in Pelican Bay off Cayo Costa State Park.  NOAA (“no account”) weather said the fog would lift by 9:30, which it did, but only temporarily.  By the time we were a mile off shore the fog set in again and we had visibility from 100 yards to a quarter mile for the next 4 hours.  With 4 knots of wind behind us and a following sea with long 3 to 4 foot swells, Zephyrina wallowed a bit as we made 6.5 knots under engine power.  Thanks to the radar we could keep tabs on the few boats crazy enough to be out in the fog.  Luckily at 2:15 PM the fog lifted just as we were nearing the Boca Grande Channel, giving us a half-mile visibility at a critical spot.  Once in the channel, heading for the pass, the fog shrouded us again.  With radar indicating several small fishing boats along the edge of the channel, our fog signal alerted them to our approaching presence. As we drew closer to the Boca Grande Lighthouse the fog lifted again and disappeared as we entered Charlotte Harbor.  Unfortunately, our Pelican Bay anchorage less than a half-mile away, was invisible.  This is one of the trickier approaches and requires perfect sights of water depth and shore landmarks.  A decision was made to make for the waters near Gasparilla Island, which was in light misty sunshine. We dropped anchor at 3:10 PM just off a long row of Condos and large homes in 15-foot water.  Thirty minutes later the land around Pelican Bay emerged from the fog so we raised anchor and headed for our planned destination. 

The next 2 days were the nicest weather-wise sunny, warm and calm.  We took the dingy to the park dock and walked across the island to the Gulf beach and then walked the shoreline for another mile or so.  It was fun to see seashells occupied by hermit crabs.   On our return to the boat we took the dingy along the mangrove edges of the bayside, watching the herons and cormorants.  On day 2, we motored the dingy over to the Pelican Bay entrance along the backside of the shoals to go ashore to explore and fish in the lagoons.  With artificial plastic “Gulp” bait John caught a “too small to keep” flounder, a lizardfish and a strange looking thing we’ve now identified as an “Oyster Toad Fish”.  We had beefsteaks on the grill for dinner. 

The evening weather report promised a gusty rainstorm for the next morning so we secured the dingy to it’s davits and hoisted the motor.  This time NOAA was right.  We tracked the front’s movement, the rainstorm and lightning with Sirius Weather on the chart plotter.  After a phone call to the Isles Yacht Club and receiving an OK to come in a day early, we waited for the hard bands of rain to stop and the tide to rise to give us enough water to motor out of Pelican Bay.  We arrived to tied up on the transient dock at 4:25 PM. 

A new battery, installed in Tampa and bought from West Marine didn’t seem to be performing appropriately during our 3-night anchorage.  A call to the Punta Gorda West Marine produced a manager who offered to bring his “digital load tester” to the boat after work.  He confirmed that the “new” battery was only 85% good.  Our other 3 ½ year old AGM battery was still perfect.  We also received the startling news that the new battery was a conventional lead-acid type contrary to what was asked for and it was made in March 09, much too old to even be in anybodies stock.  The next afternoon the manager and a helper delivered a new AGM battery. Personal service and quick resolution to the problem was much appreciated.  We’re sure there was communication between the Punta Gorda and Tampa stores on this snafu. 

Our plan to return to Pine Island Sound for several more days of anchoring before moving Zephyrina into a slip in Ft. Myers was altered when another winter front was forecasted to strong north winds and cold nighttime temperatures. Sailboats have little insulation and when you are anchored out without a generator there is no heat, and by morning the inside temperatures are only a little higher than outside.  Following our decision to stay several more days, we discovered the Isles Yacht Club could provide Zephyrina a slip for the next month.  So here she’ll stay.  With friendly hospitable members welcoming us and assisting us with land-based needs plus a watchful helpful professional staff, we couldn’t asked for more.  The Isle YC has a reputation for all of the above and is enjoyed by many sailors’ whose home Yacht Club belongs to the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs (FCYC).

Next Friday we’re off to enjoy a week on the beach at Sanibel with Helen’s sister Dru and her husband, Bill.  After that we’ll drive home to Gulf Breeze to see friends, check on the house and make a flying trip north to visit the matriarch of the Caffrey family, Virginia.  We’ll return to the Isles YC in early March to continue our 2011 sailing excursion.

A Favorite Stop Over - Venice, Florida

Shore Transportation - Boat Bikes

Sailor-Cruisers have two concerns - waiting for a weather window for a comfortable sail and looking for a place to do the laundry.  The first has been a challenge for the last two weeks, as the various fronts have moved through on a 3 to 4 day cycle.  The second has been solved more easily on a weekly to ten day basis. During our New Year Holiday stay in Venice we biked, met a charming couple on a C470 from Sarasota and shared an evening libation, watched the anhingas and cormorants dive along the south jetty and enjoyed a light supper at the Crows Nest Tavern. Today, January 3rd, we awoke to fog, but expect it to lift by mid morning, followed by north to northwest winds 10-15, perfect for our day-sail down to Pelican Bay, just inside the Boca Grande Channel in Pine Island Sound.  The loose plan is to anchor for several days, exploring the coastal islands, fishing, reading and Gulf Coast beach walking.  After that the weather will send us to the Isles Yacht Club to wait out the next weather front and do the laundry!

December 15-28 On Bay and Land

Finally, on December 15th, a forecasted warm morning, mid 50s, - we took  advantage of it and motor sailed on light winds under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to the Manatee River at the southeast end of Tampa Bay.  Just a few miles up the river is the Bradenton Yacht Club @ Snead Island, where Keri and her good friend, Lisa, joined us.  For their visit we planned to bike, sail and enjoy our time together.  Both Keri and Lisa are excellent cooks and we were the beneficiaries of their talents – yummy dinners they brought with them.  On Thursday there was little wind with temperatures around 70, perfect for the several mile bike ride to explore Emerson Point Preserve.  There are several ancient Indian Shell Mounds that afford great views of the surround waters.  Dense Mangroves, Live Oak, Magnolia and Gumbo Limbo trees provide nesting areas for the Egrets, Herons, Ibises and many non-aquatic birds like the Palm Warbler and the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.  After this delight sojourn we decided to take a short car ride to St. Armand’s Key to see the shops in all their holiday decorations.  We did not leave empty handed – a Christmas gift or two. Friday’s planned sail had to be postponed as another cold front came roaring through bringing blustery 20-25 knot winds.  After much discussion on Christmas plans, it was decided that we could not cook the traditional “Standing Rib Roast” in our galley oven.  Thus we should trek to Orlando and enjoy a fresh smelling spruce Christmas tree and a feast with all the trimmings.  Their short visit ended and the ladies returned to Orlando.  We braved the cold winds for two more nights at the Yacht Club connected to shore power and warmed by Zephyrina’s heater.  On Monday we moved a couple miles down the Manatee River and anchored off Emerson Point, again enjoying the calmer warmer weather.  To accomplish the logistics getting to Orlando for the holiday we sailed 25 miles north (burr) to the Davis Island Yacht Club (Tampa) to leave Zephyrina.  After a short taxi ride to the Amtrak Station and then a 2-½ hour train ride we were in Winter Park (Orlando).  Santa added a few items under the decorated  tree and Christmas dinner was Keri’s usual culinary treat.  On our return what do you think was approaching – another cold front. We’ve stayed an extra two days to wait it out but tomorrow it will be warm enough to point Zephyrina south again.  Longboat Key (Jewfish) anchorage will be our first stop, then out in the Gulf and to Venice on New Year’s Eve.

Events & Weather - St. Petersburg

The first of what was to be three strong cold fronts chased us into the St. Petersburg Yacht Club three days earlier than planned, two weeks ago. This gave us the chance to have Lippincott Marine Canvas come to remove our original bimini in order to make a new one at their shop just a mile away. In five days the new one was up and our enclosure reattached. It looks great and is keeping the cockpit dry and warm, as the next two cold fronts have come through, preceded by rain and bringing temperatures in the low 40s on several nights. Three days ago, it was 71 yesterday 52 with winds 10-30 knots. Highlights of St. Petersburg: A terrific Saturday Farmers Market, just 2 blocks away. The fresh produce (Florida Strawberries are in) and diverse ethnic food vendors along with French pastries and fresh squeezed orange juice are treats. The restaurant selection is also varied and within walking distance of the Yacht Basin. Our favorites are “Ceviche” with wonderful tapas, “Moon Under Water” featuring entrees from former British colonies along with a great beer selection and “The Lucky Dill”, a New York style deli, offering both a large breakfast and lunch menu. This illustrates the saying “Getting there is fun, but being there is even better”! Now for the focus of our two-week stay. The St. Petersburg Boat Show was Dec 2-5. We attended several seminars, explored tents full of vendor stalls and it was fun to see the new sailboat models. Fortunately for our pocketbook none appealed to us more than our “Zephyrina”. Then on Dec 10-12 Helen’s good friend, Jan from Pennsylvania, came to town. Her granddaughter was getting married near by. So we did what we love to do, and entertained her with a sail in Tampa Bay. As is often the case, the forecasted light winds quickly turned to 12-18 knots and we “streaked” east across the bay at 6 to 7 knots for over an hour. When we came about to return, thinking we’d sail back on the reciprocal we discovered that Zephyrus, the Greek God of the West Wind had spotted his wayward daughter, Zephyrina, and aimed his wind right on her bow. This change of wind direction now had our sailing angle at 90 degrees off from a straight shot to St. Petersburg and towards the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. With winds gusting to over 20 knots out of the west we tried a few short tacks, then furled the sails and motored back. The high winds and chill of the third cold front are subsiding today and tomorrow, Dec 15; we plan to motor sail over to Snead Island to meet Keri and Lisa for a 4-day visit to include sailing in the Manatee River and biking to Emerson Point.

Clearwater - St. Petersburg

"Time flies when you are having fun." Indeed. John celebrated his birthday fishing off shore Clearwater with Dale and Pete. Catching should have been the operative word in that sentence as they were very successful. We dined on grouper and grunt for several nights. Helen played tennis with Jeanie and her "fun bunch". On our last day of rental car access we drove to Tarpon Springs to walk the "sponge docks" and enjoy Spanakopita and a Gyro at one of the many Greek restaurants. Last time was by sea on our first Gulf crossing in 2005. Between these activities we took a sojourn to Orlando for Thanksgiving, cycling on Cady Way and building a kitchen shelf for chef Keri. Checking weather is a constant while cruising and seeing an impending cold front approaching for Tuesday night and Wednesday we made the mariners decision to move on to St. Petersburg two days early. Knowing the wind would be on our nose for 2/3s of the sail, outside, from Clearwater to Pass A Grille we went ahead, for the other evil was five drawbridges and the "stop and go" of the Inter Coastal Waterway. It was sunny and the crab pots along the coast were not as numerous as usual. An hour before sunset we dropped anchor at Maximo Point in southern Pinellas County. Three fishermen were wading half way between our stern and the shore as they caught several fish, One looked like a flounder. John tried his luck from Zephyrina's deck. It was catch and release - a Ladyfish and a Silver Seatrout. This was a good anchorage, spacious with 10 to 17 feet depths and protected from all but south wind. It wasn't the quietest though, with the causeway to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge 500 or so yards away. Next time we will anchor further north closer to the public park. We raised anchor by 0900 the next morning and motored into an east wind for an hour. Once around the tip of the mainland, we sailed up Tampa Bay to the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. While enjoying the St. Pete Boast Show, cycling (we have folding bikes aboard), great restaurants and museums, Lippincott Marine Canvas will replace the bimini they made for us in early 2004. The Florida sun is brutal.

Cruising from Pensacola - Clearwater 2010

We're writing this post from the comfort of a lovely spot on the shore of downtown Clearwater. Our friends, Jeanie & Dale Walden have lent us their slip for the past 3 days while their boat is in St. Petersburg having its bottom painted. Last Sunday, November 14th, we got underway from Pensacola to begin our 5th winter spring cruise to South Florida. After clearing the channel into the Gulf, we were delighted to see that the forecast wind direction had improved and we picked up 10-15 knot winds from the SSE. That gave us a terrific 10 hours quiet sail. When the wind direction shifted and the velocity slowed we furled the foresail and motor sailed with main for another five hours, until the God of the East Wind said we had used enough "free sailboat fuel" by again moving, this time in the path of our intended direction of travel. We motored into St. Joseph Sound at sunrise. From there we proceeded to transit the cross county canal and ICW to Apalachicola. Though we did not beat our 2008 record for the 144 NM trip, we did it in a respectable 25 1/2 hours. We did, however, beat the approaching weather from by 12 hours. It rained hard during the night and through Tuesday morning. Tying up in Scipio Creek with several good restaurants nearby allowed us to enjoy fresh Apalachicola oysters, local bay scallops and shrimp. We even took aboard delicious seafood bisque for our next night's "crossing dinner". After a short 8.5 NM crossing of St. George's Sound and through Sikes Cut aka Government Cut at St. George's Island, we again were in the Gulf of Mexico with a 131 bearing for Clearwater. We quickly hoisted the sail to take advantage of NNE 12 knot winds. The afternoon winds slacked 6 hours later, so we figured we'd motor sail until the evening breeze built. Well, the engine ran for 20 seconds then coughed and cut off. Two more tries were repeats. After ten minutes and a survey of all pertinent engine and fuel components nothing obvious was noted. John tried again. The engine started and kept running. Whew, 50+ miles from shore, an issue like that is cause for a few more gray hairs. Not wanting to tempt fate, we decided to keep the engine running at minimal RPMs. Naturally we had great winds through the rest of the trip. Zephyrina now has a new record for this route: 26 hours dock to dock for the 164 miles. The engine has behaved since our arrival! A gremlin at Sea? Tomorrow, we will move Zephyrina over the Clearwater Yacht Club and we will drive to Orlando to enjoy Turkey Day with daughter, Keri.

Home-"Oh, this kitchen is as big as the boat!"

We did not get lost on the way from Panama City to home. We left the Municipal Marina @ 12:30 PM, Sunday, May 31 expecting a night sail of 17-hours, with early morning arrival at the Pensacola Channel, June 1. As the chart plotter shows we stretched a 96 nautical mile journey into 130 nautical miles. After three hours of good SW winds, the winds turned west, right on our nose. Both the wind angle and the sea gave a rough ride with little forward progress for the discomfort. So we decided to tack to provide a more comfortable ride. The angle of the tack gave us 3 forward NM progress for each 1 NM of parallel movement. This continued until about 2 AM when our angle improved with slight movement to the NW. As the winds continued to clock to the NW we were able to increase of forward progress to 5 – 6 NM. So our normal 17-hour sail became 24. Sorry to be late in adding this post to the blog. All told this was a fun 3-month adventure. For the summer months we’ll day sail, garden and enjoy some land based travel.

We're still sailing, but almost home

No the earth is not flat and we didn’t sail off the edge. The past two weeks have been full of activities and limited time to write a post. We’ve explored Tampa Bay, flown north to visit John’s mother in Wilmington, DE, experienced the summer afternoon thunderstorms while at anchor and secured to a dock, watching junior sailors learning “the ropes (sheets)”, enjoying time with our daughter, Keri, in St. Petersburg, feasting on good Spanish “tapas” and Indian curries. Last Sunday, we met up with our good friends from home, Kay & John Sheehan sailing on their 34’ Catalina, Sea Shell. What fun and safe it is to have companionship on the seas. Clearwater was our destination for Monday. This was our last stop before crossing the Gulf to Apalachicola. Jeannie & Dale Whalen who had been our welcoming hosts in early March to the Barnett-Caffrey sailors again provided bounty this time to the Sheehan-Caffrey sailors. It was a great to be together, we can’t wait for Dale’s retirement (he’s still young) so they can return to Gulf Breeze. At 7:50 AM Wednesday morning, Zephyrina and Sea Shell embarked on a race to stay ahead of the storms forecasted to cross the Gulf from west to southeast in the afternoon. Southwest winds ranging from 8 to 11 knots along with the “iron mike” at 75% of full engine speed, allowed us to average 6.2 nautical miles per hour on a north west heading while watching the storms slip aft of us to the south east. We made the crossing in our best time 26 hours! Our Sirius Weather on the chart plotter was extremely helpful for the first 55 miles. Then with 100 miles remaining on the trip it stopped transmitting. Whatever gremlin that caused that to happen was scared off when the power plug to the SR50 computer, located in the stern locker, was removed and the reinserted. But that was only accomplished after calls to Sirius Weather, then Raymarine and resulted in a suggested solution (not in the manual) and John Sheehan (more agile than John Caffrey) practically stood on his head to remove screws, turn the unit to remove the plug. Nothing is easily accessed in a sailboat. Our reward was an excellent dinner at Boss Oysters on the Apalachicola waterfront. The ICW through the Impenetrable Swamp and Cross County Canal was the first half of our schedule for Friday. Just after noon we entered St. Joseph Bay and headed southwest into the wind with a 2 foot chop to position ourselves, beyond the entrance buoy #6, for a north west heading and close haul motor/sail to Panama City. The 10-knot SW winds became 15-knot west winds with gusts to 20 by the time we rounded the St. Andrews jetty. Glad to be inside away from the westerly chop and swells we headed for the City Marina. Now on CDT, thus gaining an hour, we arrived at 5:05PM and marina staff were still on duty and gave some assistance to our docking into the wind in a narrow slip with a high narrow finger pier. John and Kay slipped in next to us. The evening order of events was: (1) Desalt washing of the boat (2) Crew showers (3) lovely shared dinner cooked aboard. West winds will keep us here in Panama City for a couple of days. Hopefully, by Monday evening (June 1) we’ll have favorable winds and can make the 100-mile coastal sail to our home marina – Boca Grande NAS Pensacola. We’ll write the last post after our arrival.

Fishing, Friends and Photography

The Captain’s fishing tales are full and varied. We tried surf fishing on the Gulf side of Cayo Costa after reports of several varieties of desirable fish being caught close to shore. Despite our fresh bait and unusual patience, we landed only one small catfish [undesirable, even the dolphins don’t eat them]. Catching baitfish as we rested at anchor and then taunting catfish and catching a shark was very entertaining. But trolling behind as we ventured north from Cayo Costa to Venice proved fun, productive and a reminder of the hierarchy of the food chain. Trolling a flashy green plastic lure at 4.5 Kts., we hooked a 17-inch Spanish Mackerel. Just the right size for two people to eat, but the lure went out again anyway. After an hour there was a strong strike with the characteristic leap out of the water and we started to reel in. Suddenly the line went deep and got much heavier for a few seconds, then much easier to reel in as we could see the fish skipping along the surface, well not the whole fish--- just the head--- the shark ate the best part. The fish’s head, incidentally, was at least four times the size of that of our 17-inch catch. Our arrival in Venice was just minutes before s/v Barefoot with our friends Jim & Lenore motoring in from Punta Gorda. We relaxed and shared good conversation over dinner at the Club’s Tiki Bar. Their sail plan had them moving up to Sarasota on Sunday, but we plan to rendezvous in Clearwater, their homeport, in two weeks. After a short walk to the Venice Inlet to watch the Manatees, fishermen on the rock jetty and the ever parade of sailboats, trawlers, jet skis, kayaks and a WWII Duck full of tourists, we welcomed our Gulf Breeze and PYC friends, Kay & John Sheehan to the sea wall tie-up. They had sailed across the Gulf just the week before. Here our paths would cross for one night as we were heading to the Jewfish anchorage and on to Bradenton, Tampa and St. Petersburg and they down to Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound and Ft. Myers. We will meet again at the end of the month to make the crossing home together. Having a buddy boat will be a lot of fun. Between fishing, boat maintenance, dining well and reading escapist novels, photographing the nature sights have consumed or leisurely progress north. When we figure out how to post a photo album on Face Book we’ll share the bounty including the Black Crowned Night Heron and Anhinga from Venice. Oh, yes outside the Manatee River, our engine was running hot. So, we anchored off the channel to check on the engine raw water intake. The strainer basket had some sea grass but when that was removed there was no appreciable change in the water flow to the engine. John then disconnected the hose from the through hull to the raw water strainer. No grass in the hose but still just a trickle was coming in. The stoppage was in the through hull, beyond the elbow turn. Like the Wolf in the Three Little Pigs he huffed and he puffed, using the hose, "blew" through the through hull thus dislodging the grass clog. and it floated away. The location of this raw strainer in under the rear cabin bunk, necessitating the removal of "storage stuff". So both the Captain and his chief “step and fetch it” were hot and sweating after the two hour ordeal. A lovely shower and delightful “build your own burger” at the Bradenton Yacht Club were so welcomed!

Beaches, Bays & Birds

Our stay on Captiva Island was delightful. We were fortunate to get one of the 4 slips at the Captiva Island Yacht Club. Bowed in we were practically in the shoreline Mangroves, a perfect spot to watch the Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Great Egret and Osprey. The Osprey had a nest on the buoy piling 50 yards away with several youngsters dependent of their very solicitous parents for “pre chewed fish” feedings. The Snowy was stalking his next minnow [see photo column]. A long walk down the beach let us get the “kinks out”, watch the five or six dolphin in a pod move parallel to waves, and photograph shore birds, including a new one for us: the Black-Bellied Plover. We joined the members of the CIYC at the Bar to watch Mine the Bird win the Kentucky Derby. On Sunday mid day we carefully motored out Roosevelt Channel to the ICW and motored passed Useppa Island and around into Pelican Bay. In the bay at Cayo Costa State Park, we anchored amid 30 sailboat and 10 motor vessels. Winds were 15-20 knot ESE clock to SSE and then SW. Our wind generator kept our batteries charged and we watched a lovely yellow orange sunset. There is “fishing” and “catching”, but sometimes you don’t catch what you hoped for. At the anchorage there were hundreds of “bait fish” churning the water next to our hull, possibly hiding in the shade. Several times pelicans came crashing into the water for an easy snack. John decided to put a treble hook on a line and easily snagged a few of these bait fish, which happened to be Round Scad. Still on the hook the 6 inch fish was cast out to attract something bigger. After a few casts and some attempted strikes a big catfish (not the edible kind), the line came in easily. Easily until the fish swimming toward the boat realized the Scad was attached to John’s line. The surprise was a 2 ft shark, lots of fun to bring in but also inedible. What luck John didn't catch the four ft shark he saw hereby a few minutes before. On southeast to south breezes we sailed up Charlotte Harbor to the Isles Yacht Club in Punta Gorda. This newly rebuilt clubhouse and marina basin is a jewel. Hurricane Charley devastated the area in 2004. Helen’s fellow Narimasu High School graduate, Rosemary Blake lives in Port Charlotte, just across the Peace River. We enjoyed a reunion luncheon at Fisherman’s Village and Rosemary kindly chauffeured us to an Optical Shop for small eyeglass repair and to the local Publix. When we returned S/V Barefoot, a 40 ft Island Packet, had arrived on our dock. We’d met Jim & Lenore at Captiva last weekend and though we’ll leave them here, tomorrow, we’ll see them again in Venice on Saturday. Yes, tomorrow we’ll sail down Charlotte Harbor to again anchor at Cayo Costa, this time to surf fish on the Gulf side of the park.

Naples - Sanibel

The Naples’ Saturday Farmers Market provided us with fresh fruits (local strawberries and papaya), vegetables (tomatoes, green beans, zucchini & red peppers) plus a treat of stone crabs. This was heard on NPR the other day. “The majority of wealth is in the hands of those who are 55 and older and we can live the rest of our lives on fruits, vegetables, pasta, olive oil and wine, plus yearly doses of sock and underwear”. Yes, it was a male speaking! Our sail to Ft. Myers was swift – 15 to 20 knots of east wind with gusts to 25. The main was reefed 50% and we had 2’ seas abeam. It took only 5 hours and 45 minutes in contrast to the 7 hours of March’s southbound trip, when we motored against the wind. St. Charles Yacht Club, one of our favorite friendly stops, gave us the chance to visit with old friends Bill and Toni Hitchens and make new friends, Don & Virginia Sink from Tampa Yacht Club, plus have an address to which our bank could Fed Ex new credit cards. The Club held a Members’ Art Show and reception, Wednesday evening. For a small 120+ member club, there were many very talented painters, potters, photographers, jewelers, a wood turner and a gentleman who creates beautiful fly fishing lures. Last night, Thursday, we anchored off Sanibel Island’s Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. By dingy we explored the mangrove shorelines and ventured into the bayou to watch cormorants, herons, ospreys and pelicans fishing and drying their wings on the weathered gnarled snags. With 10-knot SE winds it has been a comfortable and peaceful spot. This weekend we'll be at Captiva Island Yacht Club. The fire we spoke about in our last blog post began ten days ago in the drought areas of Big Cypress Preserve. It closed I-75 “Alligator Alley” from Naples to Miami for over a week. We were still getting a fine coating of ash during our stay at Ft. Myers. Can you see Iggy among the leaves in this photo? Our friends Carol and Pete have been supplementing his diet with broccoli stocks and collard greens.Iggy is a wild iguana living at Boca Chica.

Northbound

Leaving Key West is a time of sadness, saying good-bye to old and new friends, and a time of anticipation of new adventures ahead. During our last weekend we visited the USCGC Mohawk that served as part of the naval forces providing convoy escort operations in the North Atlantic from 1941 to 1946. The Mohawk both attacked Nazi U boats and rescued survivors from transports ferry goods to England prior to the US entry into WWII. She was built at the Pusey Jones Shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware (John’s hometown) in 1935. Helen father was a Commander aboard a US Navy destroyer escort in the North Atlantic area during 1941-1942. The memorabilia on the ship spoke most eloquently of early navigational equipment, living conditions and the rough, cold, sometimes ice covered environment in which they operated. 35 similar Coast Guard Cutters were lost to German Subs during the war. Not to stay too serious, our Saturday excursion was to Duval Street for the Drag Races, an annual event and one of many fun activities that are part of the “ Conch Republic” Independence Celebration. A picture is worth a thousand words, so look for two in the side panel. Afterward at Kelly’s, a “sunset Margarita” was an excellent toast to our visit to Cayo Hueso. Turtle Story: We heard this story from a couple we met while working out at the gym at NAS Key West. (Yeah, we were at the gym using torture machines.) They had been snorkeling the previous weekend and came across a pair of large turtles, probably Loggerheads. The female turtle had rope (most likely from a crab pot buoy gone astray) wrapped tight around a front leg and then about a dozen times around her neck. She was in distress and certainly wouldn’t have survived much longer. Our acquaintance went into the water with his knife, went behind the turtle, (you’re not going to operate in front of a 6 inch wide mouth) and cut the rope from the leg, then unwound the rest from her neck. Free again, the turtle dove down several feet. Her mate, who had been observing the action from a few feet away, swam up to the rescuer, gave him a “look” as if to say “thank you” and then dove and followed the freed turtle. The rescuers companion took photos from their boat. Maybe they’ll share the story in the media. In preparation for a late Sunday afternoon departure, water tanks were topped off, laundry completed and the engine was inspected. We had a great send-off crew to wish us well and fend Zephyrina off the pier as we backed out of slip A27 with a 15-knot wind on our beam. In contrast to our trip down we sailed back to the peninsula (Indian River Inlet – the Everglade Nat’l Park) in 17 hours, with just 4 hours of motor sailing. Winds were ESE 15-20 with gusts to 25, moving SE in the wee hours of the night. Our speed varied from 5.8 to 7 knots, except when we were slowed to 2.8 knots by a snagged “something” (could not see what, in the dark) in 60 feet of water. Since we were sailing, John started the engine, engaged the prop and “POP” the “something” departed. We think it may have been a fishing long line adrift in the sea. Our radar showed we were alone in a 12-mile radius. The shallows off the Ten Thousand Islands area of South Florida are generally in the 7-10 foot depth. Strangely our chart plotter with the new 2009 Navionics Electronic Chart Chip was showing 79 and 33 feet, instead of 26 and 10 feet when on the 24, 12, 6, and 3-mile views. Only on the 1 ½ and ½ mile views were the depth accurate. A potential for disaster, or at least grounding! We’ve reported the errors to Navionics. They will refer our observations to their cartography supplier and it might be two or three weeks before they contact us with their finds and their solution (a recall and new chips, would be the appropriate consumer protection response). Once in the waters north of Cape Romano and near Marco Island the depth on the chart were accurate. Helen has a MAC ENC program with update charts from NOAA on her laptop, so we had another means to verify the depth along with our paper charts. This proves once again one should not navigate solely based on the chart plotter information. We ventured up the Indian River to Russell Pass, dropped anchor and took a two-hour nap. Night sails are good for passages that are longer that can be accomplished in daylight but neither of us get more than a few hours sleep when “off watch”. Two dolphin sentries patrolled back and forth between us and the tidal-current flow in the river. They were fun to watch. We had a wonderful rain shower (over an inch) at sunrise, Tuesday washing the “crossing salt” from Zephyrina. Later in the morning, we motored further up stream to Everglades City and tied up at the historic Rod and Gun Club. Barron Collier (Collier County Florida) built this Inn for the hunting and fishing enthusiasts of the twenties and thirties. The large paneled lobby displays a huge stuffed marlin, a Florida Black Bear, a river otter plus many seascape paintings, gilded mirrors and a billiard table. Besides being a sport fishing area it was known for its timber (now mostly depleted) and citrus groves. The Everglades City museum in the “old town laundry building” is a historic treasure trove of the early history of the area. Wednesday mid day, we returned to our first night’s anchorage to again enjoy the mangrove islands, dolphin antics and a little fishing – only catfish, [5 fish in 6 casts] all released. Yesterday, we gingerly worked our way back out into deeper waters and motor sailed north to Naples. As we got underway, our speed indicator suddenly stopped working. Over an hour later we cleared the narrow channel into the Gulf and stopped to pull the speed transducer. Seems a miniscule crab had become lodged in the paddle when the boat started to move. It will be remember by the photo in the side bar. Right now we have ash in the air, blown on easterly winds from the wildfires near Immokalee. John has given Zephyrina a good wash down but she may need another before we leave Sunday morning for Ft. Myers. Now it’s time to play. We’ll explore the “up market” shopping area of 3rd Street, check out the fresh air farmers market tomorrow morning and enjoy a little time on the beach.

Tuesday morning’s weather review showed a front heading our way, actually the one that came through Pensacola on Sunday-Monday. So we opted to remain in the marina instead of joining our friends at the Dry Tortugas. With this change of plan we joined 30 dock mates for a special tour of high tech TCTS (Tactical Combat Training System) Center on base. This command oversees the aerial combat training between visiting regular and reserve Navy, Air Force and Marine fighter squadrons from all over the U.S. The “visitors” fly F-16s, F-18s and Harriers against the “aggressor” squadron attached to TCTS. The “aggressors” are Navy “Top Gun” trained pilots flying 30 year old F-5s. Dog Fights are monitored and recorded electronically from “pods” attached to the planes to confirm “kills”, usually by the F-5s and given real time permanent recording for the later critique on the ground. We toured the F-5 hangar and observed several planes under going routine maintenance. Some of these planes were sold to Switzerland and some were built by the Swiss and purchased back from them several years ago. They look like they were only flown on Sundays. Yesterday we finally made a long planned visit to the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. http://www.keywestbutterfly.com/ It is a small arboretum filled with flowering plants and shrubs that attract dozens of native and tropical butterflies, or “flutter-bies” as someone suggested they should be named. (See pictures in the margins). The garden was also home to different kinds of brightly colored finches (Asian) and a Chinese Button Quail, the size of a baseball with their newly hatched chicks barely the size of ping pong balls.