Mar. 1 - Islamorada, FL

Barley Basin - Anchorage

"Come, my love, we have oceans to sail." —Saul Williams

It's been two months since that beautiful day we pulled into Boot Key Harbor and Marathon. The time has flown by and we really enjoyed our winter being part of this boating community. We've met some wonderful people while we were here and we will miss all of them…but today was our day to move on. It was a bit windy and not the most ideal day for traveling, but the sun was out and the winds were out of the east, so traveling up the Gulf side wasn't too bad. We said our goodbyes on the dock to good friends and then made our way through the harbor visiting with others as we passed by radio, phone, shouting and waving. The best part of our cruising life is meeting great people but the hardest is leaving them behind when it's time to move on. Knowing we'll see them again one day, somewhere on the water makes it a little easier.

We’re not in a hurry to move north since we’re waiting for calmer weather to cross to the Bahamas. We had a five hour cruise up the Keys to Lignumvitea Key, where we picked up one of their mooring balls. We spent the remainder of the day exploring the shoreline in the dinghy and relaxing on the boat. The island is a Botanical State Park with trails and an old home to visit. To explore the island you have to take one of their tours. We decided against going ashore because our dinghy would have gotten beaten up at the dock by the wind.

By late afternoon the current was bringing waves in on our beam, so we decided to move on to our original destination about five miles north. The wind was still blowing but we were a lot more comfortable in our new spot. We plan to spend another day or two in the Islamorada area and then move up to Key Largo as we wait for calmer weather.

Leaving Sombrero Resort & Marina

Our empty slip

The beautiful water around the Keys 

Lignumvitae Key

The Pearl on a mooring at Lignumvitae Key

The rugged shore of the island