2010 - 4/23 - 4/25 - Regatta Point Marina, Palmetto, FL

Friday, April 23 Reluctantly, we pulled anchor at 7:30am, the weather was still cooperating and we headed out into the Gulf. I said “we” pulled the anchor and “we” headed for the Gulf…actually, Wayne did all that and made coffee. He let me sleep in. (sometimes ya just gotta love em)

55 miles of a nice, uneventful cruise. I now know that I’m a fair weather cruiser. When it’s nice like this I can get on line, check my email, work on the log, make lunch or clean and do those boring house chores…What do you think I’d be doing ??

                                                               North end of Anna Marie Island

Time passed quickly and all of a sudden we were turning into the Passage Key Inlet at the north end of Anna Marie Island and at 4:20pm, anchored on the Manatee River next to Sneed Island and across from DeSoto’s landing (a park now - everybody, go to your computers and Google all this) Ahhh…steak and baked potato for dinner-a special treat. Quiet night- still no TV.

Saturday, April 24 Anchor up at 10am; the wind picked up blowing steadily from the S SE at 18k. We were sure lucky to have a calm weather window to get up here on the outside. As we approached the marina we saw five guys standing on the dock in front of an empty slip - we saw Tom as we got

closer…Our welcoming party ! Because we only have one engine and with steady winds, it took Wayne three tries to back this baby into the slip. Actually, I think he was a bit nervous to have all those boaters watching him!
We met Tom’s sister, Marilyn and her husband, Paul visiting from CA. We had a fun time at the Riverhouse Reef & Grill at the marina as we ate
                                             Wayne, Marilyn, Tom, Susan, Paul & me
dinner on the windy outside porch.
Sunday, April 25 Despite the big winds and cool weather, we came to party and by golly, we’re gonna party!!…however, we stayed at the dock like the wussies we are.

River Skipper

                                                                     Susan & Tom





2010 - 4-15 - 4-22 - Key West; Niles Channel; Boca Grande

We re-anchored on the west side of Fleming Key trying to get a break from the constant wind. Waiting (again) for the winds to subside so we can cruise up to Keys Boat Works in Marathon and have the failed thru-hull repaired. Thursday, April 15; Dreaded tax day. Fortunately, we filed and received our refund check already. 77 degrees, wind and seas a bit calmer but still very rough in the Atlantic. We gathered the ‘girls’ and went into town with the
                                                                   The Pier House - Key West
intention of viewing the sailfish tournament tent and all the goodies inside. Turned out the entire area is off limits to peons like us. We wandered Duval for awhile and soon needed a break, maybe a drink and late lunch. Found a little tiny bar and restaurant back in an alley, squeezed between two buildings in the 100 block of Duval called the Jungle Café & Bar. As most places in KW, this used to be something else but who remembers. Cozy bar and casual but the best part was 2 for 1 happy hour and the server/bartender who made the most authentic Rum Runner I’ve had in 25 years. There are so many shops selling pretty much the same things. We passed a shop called, Emanuel. An outfit in the window shouted for me to ‘come in’. Great clothes-hand made with my name on them. I can’t tell you how long ago it’s been since I bought something new, I managed to shell out for two new tops, very unique and stylish. Now this is exciting stuff!
TV still going in and out - loosing the satellite -and it usually goes out when the show is on and returns for the commercials! The ads for the rotating satellite say you can watch TV as you drive down the road. Yea…right! We were on anchor and not moving. Go figure. Saturday, April 17 Wayne' replacing some of the worn stays & he went twice to the Cuban’s marine store on Eaton St. (I swear he owns ½ the store) Even though the winds were still gusty, we pulled anchor at 10:30am on our way to Niles channel.
What a crappy ride but, once again, the booms were down, the fish were deep in the water and the bulbous bow was working overtime which gave us a bit smoother ride. The boat is covered with salt again after we had just scrubbed it down.
Anchored in Niles channel about 5:30pm. It usually doesn’t take this long, but Wayne went outside the reef to empty our tanks; Guess what? Now the macerator pump isn’t working. I suppose the ‘shake down’ hasn’t shaken us enough.

                                                 Summerland Cottage
Wayne went to the house to get the mail – he brought some stuff back but forgot the mail. (men – ya gotta love em) Sunday, April 18 Rained a bit last night but now beautiful . All in all the weather’s been great for sleeping. Winds down to 8k – E-SE; sunny, 80 degrees. Hair cut and face trim for Wayne and I got a trim too. Back to the house to get the mail.

I made Banana, nut, raisin, rum bread (gotta have the rum ...it’s the Keys mon!); Wayne put teak oil on the fly bridge deck; I vacuumed the rugs. It’s one of those days when you can’t get away from the mundane even if you are retired and on a boat. The wind started clocking to the south – something’s brewing out there. Lots of angry looking clouds around us but the wind dropped to 2knots and seas laid down by dinner. This begging goes on every day anytime

you

are in the galley. But what would we do without them?? Monday, April 19 Pulled anchor at 11am. Very cloudy, overcast, a chill in the air - all in all an ugly day but the seas were calm. I received a call from our friend, Tom, (& Susan) another boater
                                                    Juanita, anchored in Key West (I love this boat)
living in a marina in Palmetto, FL. He invited us to a party on Saturday, April 24th celebrating his birthday, their 3 year anniversary and starting their new tour boat business.(we were at their wedding in 2007 in Key West aboard their boat, Junita) – only 5 days away. Could we make it? Depends on how things go at the boat yard.

We Arrived and tied up at Keys Boat works at 3pm. The two inverters had been delivered 30 minutes before our arrival; OMG!!! Something went right for a change. It was Christmas Day for Wayne with 4 boxes to open, manuals to read and figure out how to put it all together. Each weighs a ton (I swear) and he’ll need help removing the old one and locate the new ones. Walked to the Fisheries on the bayside. You place your order with ‘Shorty’- no doubt about her name as it’s tattooed on her neck; give her the name of your favorite song – ours is Unforgettable – that’s how they call you when your order is ready. It sure was fun listening to all the different song titles and we all started singing the words. I heard Sweet Caroline several times. Next time our song will be – Let’s Get Drunk and Screw. We had after dinner drinks on their upper deck just in time for a beautiful sunset.

Tuesday, April 20 The guy from the boat yard just happened to mention (in a ‘ho hum’ kinda way) that he doubted he had the thru hull part- what? When was he going to mention that bit of news?! Wayne raced out of the boat to catch the bus to Summerland; he got the car; drove to KW marine hardware (yes, the Cuban's store) to get a thru hull. He returned at 1:10pm in time for my doctor’s visit. The boat was hauled; the leak fixed all before I returned from the MDs and food shopping. Wayne took the car home, caught the bus and was home by 7pm.

The sun came out, wind died down we made a quick decision to be spontaneous (for a change) and go to the party but it meant leaving right now and cruise all night. I called Tom to tell him the good news but not to tell Susan. Good news, he moved the party to Sunday… Cruising at night is not my favorite thing to do. It’s dark for one thing (duh) spooky and can be terrifying. Nothing is as it appears. You may see a blip on the radar-do a visual and see lights and you’d swear the damn thing is right next to you but, in reality, it’s 4 miles away! I took the first shift at 8pm it was cold and damp; long pants; tee shirt; sweat shirt; socks and a hat (honest, it was cold). The trip began with calm seas, clear night and moon shining brightly on the water like diamonds on the sea. Now this was more like it. I was able to read my book using an LED head light as well as watching the radar, charts and doing visuals. But…be afraid, be very afraid cuz the Gulf can change in a millisecond…and it did. Sometime around 11pm I started rocking more in my chair, the air was colder, damper, & the moon was gone behind dense clouds. I knew it, I just knew it. I woke up Wayne at 1:30am because the fish, which he left at the top of the booms, were clanging hard against the booms – scary for me. So, there we were, in the middle of the gulf, pure darkness trying to bring down these 90lb missiles! Mission accomplished…Wayne took “the con” and I crawled into my nice, cozy, warm bed with the girls.

Boca Grande Pass Lighthouse

Wayne wanted to continue, on the outside, all the way to Bradenton while the weather cooperated. I wanted to turn and go into the Boca Grande Pass and anchor for the night in Pelican Bay which is on the North end of Cayo Costa. I WON! He finally admitted that he was happy for the respite – I think he went to bed around 7:30pm. It’s been many years since our last visit here and it is still as pristine as ever.

Thursday, April 22 Cayo Costa is a State park and it is beautiful. We saw some additions such as docks for small boats, expanded ranger station and
understand there is now a tram taking the fat and lazy to the beach on the gulf side. Heaven forbid people should be made to walk the mile or so thru the woods to the beach where they can enjoy the natural, quiet beauty that surrounds them! We didn’t go to that beach because now they don’t allow dogs- even on a leash. Hey! I thought this was our park? – WE THE PEOPLE !
We spent a glorious day at the beach, actually a rather large sand bar on the bay side which wraps around the northern tip of the island. Good fishing here for trout, snook, reds etc, unfortunately, I didn’t catch any bait – again! No bait, no fishy. Molly and Scupper love the beach and visit every one just in case there might be a scrap of food or shade the people will share– and they usually do with them because the girls put on their ‘show’ of sitting up in unison and everyone says, “Oh…look how cute they are when they sit up”. I didn’t raise no stooopid dogs.
I think people in the harbor actually watched and waited for us to get back to the boat because we were inundated with visitors arriving in their dinghies wanting to know all there is to know about our unusual boat. Wayne, of course, was in his glory and very proud of his accomplishments – and rightly so…
It was so quiet, water lightly lapping the sides of the boat. You could even hear the sound of the current as it passed around & under the hull. I finished reading Split Second by David Baldacci, one of my favorite authors. Turns out, after re-reading my 2001 Bahamas Log, I read the same book on that trip! Oh well, it was just as good the second time around.

2010 - 4-10 - 4-14 - Key West

Saturday, April 10 Mick, Kate and I scrubbed the entire outside of the boat. Hella of a job but worth it. Oh…did I mention that the brand new forward head won’t flush now!?! This is the first time using the damn thing and it’s malfunctioning too!!! Poor Kate got the icky job of bailing out the bowl

then Wayne took the whole thing out to the dock to locate the problem. Some sight that was! Kate was right - she said it was clogged with…well, I’ll let your imagination figure it out. Mick & Kate went for a long walk; Wayne and I went to Ace Hardware in search of a new light over the dinette table which also failed– awe-inspiring life hugh? I went to the Restaurant Store, one of my favorite places to go. I purchased a small plastic carafe to house my homemade salad dressing. (geeezzz, I can’t stand all this excitement!) Since none of us could decide on an acceptable venue for the night, I remembered about the piano bar at the Pier House with Larry Smith at the keyboard. In the past, Wayne and I often wanted to go but the show didn’t start until 9pm which was too late for us…now it starts at 7pm. Mick and Kate went to Dante’s pool for a drink and a swim, Wayne joined them. Quick showers and we were on our way to the Pier house for dinner and music. Lovely evening that all four of us enjoyed. We also met some interesting people. There’s Kate in a cute new ditty that can be tied in a hundred different ways…That’s my Kate! We stayed till the end getting back to the boat about midnight…a good time was had by all.

Sunday, April 11 Because I closed the drapes in our cabin it was pitch dark & Wayne & I slept in till 10am! In addition, it was overcast and rainy…nice to snuggle on that kind of morning. Mick & Kate were up before the sun and had already bought the Key West Citizen newspaper…We found out check-out was at 11am…better get a move on; had to top off the water tanks, empty the waste, take out the trash, bring in the power cords- can we do this all in an hour and still have coffee?? I don’t do NO
work widout da coffee mon! Here’s Kate securing the dock lines - she’s a quick learner. Note the outfit! We cruised around Fleming Key and into the mooring field checking out other boats. We anchored behind Christmas Tree Island west of Mallory Square. A heavy squall line fast approached with wind gusts up to 25k. Kathryn asked if this was something to be afraid of? Not unless it comes in at 3am – then it’s scary as hell. Pasta and Caesar salad for dinner.
Monday, April 12 Wayne called ‘Fish & Race’ - they repair Honda motors. They’re located at Sunset Marina all the way around Fleming Key on Stock Island near the hospital. We needed a place where we could off-load the entire dinghy because you can't simply remove the motor. Mickey at the helm, Wayne on anchor. (sounds like a rock group to me) Anchor up at 10:15am – a short ride around Fleming Key to the marina. Very nice, clean marina with floating docks and $.75 less/foot to dock than the City marina.

They’re pretty sure the carburetor needs a rebuilt due to using fuel with Ethanol. Figures-our beurocrats at work! In the middle of all this confusion, Mickey voiced his concern about not having enough of his BP meds to stay much longer. A quick decision was made - they would take the bus to the cottage, stay overnight, return to the marina to get all their stuff the next day.

Tuesday, April 13 As planned, we met at Sunset Marina to off-load their “stuff”; the ‘girls’ started barking, squealing, whining and screaming when they saw them and disturbed the entire, marina! In turn, they brought some of our “stuff” from the house – Refrigeration gauges which I had to deliver to a guy in Marathon, ripe tomatoes from our plants, the mail, a full propane tank and brought the permit for the dogs to enter the Bahamas. My new passport arrived and with the permit for the dogs, we’re ready to cross over to the Bahamas-yea! They decided to stay another night at the cottage and return to Ft Myers on Wednesday.
The shop ordered parts needed for the outboard…it should be done in a day or two. We returned to the same anchorage to sit and wait. Wayne continued his extensive research for a new inverter. After talking with several people, he decided to get TWO! This will allow us to run all things needing AC power but more importantly, we can run the water maker while underway without using the generator. (too technical? -sorry) Wednesday April 14 Anchored not far from the marina & across from the Navy’s campground. (yes, the military has campground facilities all over the county- our tax $$ at work) Remains partly cloudy, with steady winds between 19 & 21knots -frequent gusts even higher and seas a rough chop (REALLY becoming annoying now!) I cleaned the forward head and cabin, washed the sheets, remade the bed, oiled the teak and generally dinked around. All this work in one day made me sleepy – I tried to take a power nap. I was in bed about 10 minutes when the anchor alarm went off – we were dragging anchor and moving fast. Fortunately, only two other boats anchored here - little chance of crashing. I turned on the main engine, grabbed a coat, flew up to the fly bridge and Wayne to the anchor. The wind and waves were so strong it took some doing to keep the boat in a forward motion in order to reclaim the anchor. Just as we re-anchored, the shop called -the dinghy was done. We pulled the anchor, returned to the marina, put dinghy back on deck and away we went.



2010 - 4-7 - 4-9 - Party time in the Dry Tortugas

Wednesday, April 7th - Continued… We waited at the fort for Brian (pix on right) to return from Loggerhead Key to pick us up. We waited and waited - no Brian. It was after 3pm, and both Ferries left for Key West. We were out of drinking water, had no sunscreen and burning up. I watched the dinghy beach for some poor, unsuspecting soul to pounce on and plead for a ride. Prayers were answered, Lori
                                                                 Lori & Gary

and Gary floated up and returned us to the ‘mother ship’. The sailing group decided to do a ‘progressive’ drinking tour which involves BYOB and snack to pass We travel from one boat to the other with the hope of getting a tour - and drink, of course. Mickey chose to stay ‘home.’ ?? We began the tour on TESSA, Gary and Lori’s boat. Lori made a luscious dip using a can of chicken, blue cheese dressing and Hooter’s hot sauce (can substitute). Slowly, everyone else arrived bringing goodies. Mickey changed his mind and called to beg a ride to join us. Next stop, Bret and Jill’s boat delicious fish dip.

Brett & Mickey

Take note that I don’t remember the names of all theboats, but I do remember what was served. On to Steve and Carol’s boat, TANDEM; and most impressive vessel - a 52’ Formosa, the same type of boat used to film “Captain Ron”. WOW- almost made me want to sell the cottage and git me one- I said almost. Her name was Shawna but at this point I can hardly remember much of anything. BLUE MAX was the final stop on the itinerary. It was about 10pm - you can imagine the state everyone was in -                          Kate, Wayne, Brian, Christie, Carol and Steve

John & Bart

John and Bart - not gay but they are happy. As you can see, a great time was had by all.

Thursday, April 8th The morning after everyone was sooo quiet.Wonder why ??

We finally rallied ‘round’ about mid day. You could tell everyone was tired, hung over and bored because there was a steady stream of people looking for munchies in the fridge and cupboards.

We, or I should say, Captain Wayne, decided to move the boat from the rockin & rollin anchorage to the west side of the fort. Once relocated, we put the dinghy on board since it was no good to us now. Shame, we wanted to return to the fort and take the 'girls'; we wanted to explore Loggerhead Key; we wanted to snorkel a bit but the water was still too cold for us. Crappy fishing here so we moved again, this time to the spot we anchored in on the first night – we knew fish were there as well as huge Jew Fish, at least 50lbs worth, that hung out under the boat. We caught a few little snappers and fed them to the monsters below - WOW what a sight. Just for shits & giggles, I held one of the fish by the tail with pliers then hung him out over the water. I could see the grouper watching me thru the slats in the swim

platform – don’t laugh, I KNOW he was watching. We thought these monster fish were slow moving…well I’m happy to still be here to tell you otherwise. In a flash – a miniscule of a second - this fish came flying out of the water, grabbed that fish and thankfully left the pliers and my arm in tact! Remember the scene from “JAWS”? I turned to the group with a shocked look on my face, laughing like crazy and said; “we need a bigger boat”. Unfortunately, it happened so quickly, there are no pictures of the event. I managed to take this picture by putting my hand in the water and blindly pointing it towards the monster. This was such fun we kept feeding them. The momma let the baby get some too. Some may say it’s a great fish story - I say I’m glad I still have all my body parts.

Wayne went in search of why water was flowing under a drawer and into the aft cabin. This only happens in rough seas and we thought we had fixed it in 2007 by installing a new exhaust hose. I can’t believe this…more bad news. A thru-hole failed and is also leaking sea water; the boat must be hauled out to repair it. When will this stop??!
Friday, April 9th We left the Tortugas @ 8:15 AM; Sunny, hot, seas a bit choppy but then became relatively calm. Since we couldn’t go ashore on Boca Grande, Captain Wayne decided to go all the way to Key West. And, since we didn’t have a dinghy, we couldn’t anchor out - we had to get a slip. We called KW City Marina – despite the fact that the marina was filling up fast for a sailfish tournament, we managed to get a slip -but for $3.50/foot/night. (YIKES!) We took it anyway. Showered, dressed and headed for Duval St. Wayne wanted a burger so we went to Caroline’s, a quaint little outdoor restaurant on Duval. Wayne wound up getting a Cuban sandwich instead! He’s trying to be good about his lethal LDL level of 193!!!!

2010 - 4/5 - 4/7 - The Marquesas - Dry Tortugas

We returned to the Mother Ship, threw our lines in the water, took showers, had happy hour and ate dinner –Yet another night that we didn’t take something out of the freezer for dinner hoping for fresh fish… We had hot dogs, but not just any hot dogs mind you - but the best - Sabrettes!…Everyone went to bed way early again !!! We haven’t played Dominoes, Gin or scrabble – or any of the stuff we were excited to do. I got see only bits and pieces of Celebrity Apprentice because the satellite acted up again. Monday, April 5th Birthdays for, Wayne’s son, Mike; my best buddy in Philly, Paul & my mom - 8 years since my beloved mom passed away. Miss you bunches mom. Brilliant sun beams find their way to my face thru a tiny opening in the bathroom porthole. Of course, everyone else has been wide awake for hours and ready to go – I hate mornings. I gave Wayne a hair cut and trimmed his beard.

Difficult decision weather to stay in this beautiful spot - now free of people - OR go on to the Marquesas. Reluctantly, we left @ 1015; Seas were somewhat choppy but with the paravanes deployed we smoothed out nicely; after 2 ½ hrs we arrived and anchored down; Not another soul around. We loaded the dink with two dawgs, cast net, bucket, fishing poles, water, shoes, cameras, towels and water - the dinghy was pretty full and we anticipated another wonderful day at the beach and to explore the island. As usual, the outboard started without a hitch. We untied the lines and off we went. We got about 20’ from the ‘Mother Ship’ and the outboard quit. OK, let’s not panic, Wayne can fix anything. The motor was flooded (?) The motor’s not turning over, fuel is leaking out, and we’re drifting further and further away from BLUE MAX heading towards Cuba! I threw the anchor out so we wouldn’t drift further…a frantic search for the paddles netted us only one!?? Where the hell is the other paddle??Since Mickey is the youngest and the fittest we voted he should be the one to battle the current and choppy water and paddle us back to BLUE MAX. And a battle it was! After lots of sweat, spastic muscles and a heroic effort by Mick, we reached the swim platform ! !
What the heck do we do now? Too late to continue on to Ft Jefferson and fishing here was the same – it sucked. Kathryn got her bird book out trying to identify more species, Wayne trying to fix the motor. It was finally sinking in – we have no transportation off this boat.

            Believe it or not, this is a picture of the only fish we saw that day… Tuesday, April 6th As Martin Short said in Captain Ron “….Ah…the dawn of a new day” ! We were so desperate to catch something, we took the southern route to Garden Key and tolerated 6-8 foot seas. But it worked, we didn’t get sick and we had a blast. Mickey caught the biggest Crevalle Jack I’ve ever

seen. Unfortunately, not a good food value. It took Mick about an hour to land the sucker. He was almost 3’ long and had to weight at least 40lbs. (The Jack, not Mick) We landed a whole assortment of fish

                       Winnie's little Tunney

today including, a Little Tunney (tuna) not a good food value; a nice size Wahoo - good when smoked (note from 2011-who knew Wahoo was the best eating fish back then !?); something unidentifiable and a Cero Mackerel which we had for dinner. Scupper was locked inside the boat for everyone’s safety. Another famous line from Captain Ron said by a Coastie; “It’s a Hell of a day at sea, sir” And it was for us.

Since Captain Wayne was running the boat and Mick and I were fishing, Kathryn (bless her heart) became our gopher. Everyday she dressed with care as if she were going shopping at the mall. Here she is in this darling little summer dress; and here she is, in the same dress, straddling the boom, trying her best to crank the bird out of the water. I wish I had taken the picture at a different angle. No one stops Katie Kate. We arrived at Ft Jefferson at 3pm and settled in with happy hour and, finally, fresh fish for dinner. Wednesday, April 7th We’re thankful for another beautiful day – The breeze made it tolerable to be in the sun. We moved the boat to the anchorage closest to the Fort in case the outboard quit again. It quit again! Loosing the use of the

                         Anchored amonst the 'rag baggers'

                                                                Inside the Fort

                                                      The moat around the fort - fabulous snorkeling

dinghy was bad enough, then Wayne gave us more bad news. He discovered the Inverter was fried! Kaput! Without an inverter you can’t use AC appliances like the microwave, computer, toaster oven and the water maker! unless you run the generator all the time. And since we’re in the DRY Tortugas we can’t get water without making it. If that wasn’t enough, we were also out of water! The good news is, that this is a shake down cruise meaning before cruising to some far away place you want to be certain everything operates as it should. Morale of the crew was dangerously low – everyone was cranky and we were still without cigarettes!

            Deep pass now open between Garden Key & Bush Key (Anchorage just to the right)

Kathryn was having withdrawal symptoms!

                                                                        Brian & Christie
We met Brian and his wife, Christie on their dinghy. He told us the boats in the anchorage are monitoring channel 17 and some talk of a get together on Thursday night (you mean a party?) . I put a call out to the boaters to beg for a ride ashore. Brian picked up the three of us but poor Wayne stayed behind to work on the problems. Kate and Mick took the self guided tour of the fort - I was on a mission to find cigarettes for Kate. I managed to con one or two here and there but I wanted the Mother load – a full pack! I hooked up with the men who were working to restore the fort and the word was spread. A wonderful guy named Allen sold me a pack of Camels for only $5 – Camels?? hey, beggars can’t be choosers. I thought Kate was gonna faint when she saw a whole pack! Peace !!! Picture is Kate with a Cuban ‘Chug’ - it took the Cubans two days to arrive at Ft Jeff and because they landed on land, they’re legal - don’t let me get started on that issue!

2010 - 4/1 to 4/4 - It started with an idea

I’ll tell you the truth, I actually write these logs for Wayne and me so they may not be of special interest to anyone else who reads them. So many of us forget the good times - it’s true! We tend to remember the heartaches and troubles. Having the logs and pictures keeps me focused and helps me remember all the wonderful people we meet along the way and fabulous places we’ve been.

Another journey for 2010 ? Lots of discussion about where to go? Reasoning for the new engine was to go “down island”, into the Caribbean- but how far? Well, that depends on many things, BUT if we wanted to, we could do that now. In addition, Wayne completed SO many projects and upgraded everything including improvements to the water maker, gauges, new wiring, all new batteries and lots of maintenance we couldn’t make any more excuses not to go.

We’ve been home since mid-December and it’s already March …I’m REALLY ready to get going but the projects continue. The tide chart shows nice high tides during the last week in March-beginning of April. I decree that that’s the deadline! (don’t forget-I am the Admiral) In the meantime, our really good friends, Mickey & Kathryn, from Ft Myers find themselves without employment as the restaurant Mickey managed was taken over. Suddenly, he was one of the millions of unemployed. Fortunately, he got a very substantial severance package and I got an idea - something I’ve thought about since we met them in 2004. CRUISE WITH US. I planted the seed…go with us on a shake-down cruise to the Dry Tortugas for a few weeks; lots of R&R, tons of fishing, snorkeling, good food and, of course, HAPPY HOURS. I let it settle in his brain to fester. Next thing I know, he’s done his research on fishing this time of the year, purchased fishing books, gathered his gear and ready to go. Alrighty then….

Mick and Kate arrived on March 31st with their gear; there’s a flurry of activity; everyone is making a list; Wayne continues with his projects; the boat is in total disarray; Winnie & Mickey go food shopping and get fishing necessities; does everyone have a fishing license?; stuff is going into and out of the boat…we get 300gal of fuel and, as per Harry Chapin’s song: Mickey’s got…”30,000lbs of Bananas” we have enough food & drinks to last several months…

          * * * OK - we think we’re ready * * *

Thursday April 1st; The big day comes – the day of the high tide. Will it be an April Fool’s joke? We’re all psyched to leave. We wait and watch the tide coming up ever SO slowly but the joke’s on us! The tide never got as high as the charts say it should – it’s like 6-7” less than it needs to be for us to get out the channel. OMG! what now? Wayne said – ‘let’s do it”. Kathryn and I took the dinghy out ahead of them…soon they follow…Kathryn and I are praying, crossing fingers that they make it without going aground in the narrow, rocky channel…Captain Wayne does it again – another successful launch!

Thursday, April 1st Mickey took over my duty of securing the mooring lines to the boat – a yucky job at that! (why do you think we invite friends along? & he cooks too !) We can’t clean the salon or the forward cabin because there’s still work to do on the water maker and we’re waiting for parts to arrive. Every conceivable tool and tool box, nuts, screws, hoses are scattered everywhere. But Wayne is now putting away unnecessary tools - things are looking up. Good news, the parts arrived! Mickey makes us another outstanding steak, baked potato, Caesar salad for dinner. They stay in the cottage and we spend our 1st night away from the sea wall – Ahhhh. Heavenly night; stars were bright and a full moon shown down upon us – not a ripple in the water who could want more than this?

Friday, April 2nd; Wayne spent another full day working non-stop on the water maker; After 3-4 trips to Ace Hardware-by 6pm he shut things down and announced, “we cruise tomorrow”. **YIPEE**!
Back to the cottage for Pizza. I still can’t get the satellite TV to work on the boat…we’re only a mile from the house and facing the same direction - I don’t get it??!! I am not a happy camper because Monday night is Dancing with the Stars and Tuesday is American Idol!!!
Saturday, April 3rd; As Mel Fisher said; “Today’s the Day”. By 11am we put away ½ of our Home Depot inventory and secured everything in their rightful-hidden places on the boat; Wayne picked up Mick & Kate; put the dinghy on board and at 11:45 we drop the mooring lines and we were off. Officially, the adventure begins. Gorgeous day but the winds persisted at 12 knots from
                                       The world as seen by Mickey

the E-NE. Not a good thing because the seas on the outside of the reef will be 4-5 footers. We opted to stay inside the reef which was almost as bad and we deployed the ‘flopper-stoppers’ – thankfully, the rocking stopped but it still didn’t help Mick and I to get fresh fish for dinner – we got skunked – not ONE fish. We didn’t take anything out of the freezer because we were SO sure we’d have fresh fish for dinner. This is when you resort to those processed canned dinners. We skipped Key West and went straight to Boca Grande. This is Kate blowing the conch horn for the Sunset celebration and their first-ever “sleep over” on BLUE MAX. Kate & I played 2 hands of Gin then at 8:45pm everyone (except me) wanted to go to bed! Nothing to do, no one to talk to, I, too, gave in at 9pm. I was wide awake at 0400!! What was I thinking??

Sunday, April 4th The Easter Bunny does NOT live on this Island!! But he would if he was smart – it’s beautiful and peaceful…except for this holiday weekend. The beach was lined with boats and happy people grilling, drinking, fishing, and sunning. Mickey and I fished off the back of the boat (notice I didn’t say ‘catching’) but eventually we did catch some tiny fish including a nice grouper. It was such a nice morning until the snapper Mick was de-hooking squiggled out of his hands and onto the deck where Scupper was waiting. The fish went one way with Mickey and Scupper right behind it. With all the commotion the hook de-hooked itself from the fish and went right thru Scupper’s upper lip !! OMG! Sorry I have no pictures of this fiasco, because all hands were holding down the devil-dog…In 40+ years I never had a problem performing procedures on my patients, but now I’m the one who has to push the hook thru my ‘baby’s’ lip…it was awfully difficult and I had to use the needle nose to help push it all the way thru. Once thru, we cut the end off with a side cutter – blood was dripping everywhere – we were all talking at once with ideas of how to treat the wound on the “poor baby” – but no one was watching the ‘patient’. We all turned at once to see her chasing the fish around the deck again! Could she really be that dumb ??
After all the excitement of the morning we treated ourselves to brunch - eggs Benedict and Mimosas. Yummy…then off to the beach – cast nets, buckets, fishing poles and Scupper in tow – Molly watched the boat. It was chilly on the boat with steady winds at 15-20k, but on the beach, out of the wind, it was downright hot, but very welcomed.
Skunked again!!- not one bait-fish to be found. I needed a break so Kate, Scupper and I wandered the beach but we were really searching for a cigarette…OH…I forgot to tell you – Kate and I decided since we’d be in the middle of nowhere, wouldn’t it be a great time to quit smoking ????????
WHAT THE HELL WERE WE THINKING ????????????

Wayne and Mickey made a bet that we “girls” would smuggle cigarettes on board – yea – right and we would smoke them where? - on the boat ?? However, being with us 24/7 without smoking, they both said, “I knew we should have brought cigarettes for them in case of emergency- like now”. We saw 3 guys on their boat (they were smoking, drinking beer and alone All Key West Taxi drivers - Nice guys) We kinda used Scupper to strike up a conversation. (OK, not cool but men do it all the time!) In no time, we were smoking, drinking beer and happy once again.
                                                                           Veggin Out