Starting the Journey North

After some fun filled days in Key West, we left our slip in the harbor yesterday, and started the journey north. It was a really windy day, and I was prepared for a miserable seven hours. I was pleasantly surprised. It was bumpy, but overall a good ride...maybe I'm just getting used to it.

We stopped at Bahia Honda State Park, to see what the anchoring possibilities were. Unfortunately, winds weren't favorable for us to anchor. There was a harbor, but the water wasn't deep enough for us to get in there. The temps weren't really warm enough for swimming there either, so we decided to push on for Marathon.

We received a call from John, the man traveling in the crazy small sailboat from New Jersey. While we were in Port Salerno, for Scott to take his class, John took his boat over to the Bahamas for two months! He'd contacted us that he was back in Florida, and headed for the Keys. We'd hoped he'd get to Key West while we were there, but he was still north of us. So, we made a plan to meet in Marathon.

At Marathon, we anchored just outside of Boot Key harbor, to get a great sunset view. Unfortunately, the wind switched direction and kicked up...not what the forecast called for. Then, just after dark, a large sailboat went RIGHT behind us, and anchored. This concerned Scott, and we went to bed with one eye open. It was an insanely bumpy, loud night, but our anchors held well. Thankfully, the sailboat's did, too.

The winds was still whipping really hard. John was anchored three miles from us last night, but only made it halfway this morning, before turning around. The ride into the wind was to rough and wet, and he decided to contine south instead. We agreed to keep in touch, and offered him a place to stop while passing through the Chesapeake on his way back home to NJ.

We decided not to spend the day in Marathon, but continue north. Our end goal today is off of Islamorada, north of where we anchored while stopped here before. Here are a few pictures of us leaving Key West, etc.