Mar. 3 - Key Largo, FL

Tarpon Basin - Anchorage

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, "What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?” ― Rachel Carson

We moved a little further up the Keys today. There's no need to be in a hurry since the earliest window for our crossing looks like Sunday or Monday. It was still very windy today with gusts in the 20-25 MPH range. We are securely anchored in a pretty spot well protected from the east wind and out of the rough water. Stan spent most of the afternoon filling out insurance papers for a new company we're using for The Pearl...then a trip to town for copies and a few groceries. Not an exciting day.

I've been noticing a lot of different looking jellyfish in the water this past week and was curious what they were. They are brown and look different from the normal jellies we see. The water in the Keys is very clear, so I've also noticed the bottom near some of the dinghy docks look like a flower garden (see photo). I remember the guide at Pigeon Key pointing out an upside-down jellyfish in their natural pool...the flower looking things I've been seeing are jellies. The same brown looking ones we've also spotted swimming close to the surface.

Upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea) is a genus of true jellyfish. They are found in warmer coastal regions around the world, including shallow mangrove swamps, mudflats, canals, and turtle grass flats in Florida and the Caribbean. They look like a normal jellyfish when swimming, but they spend most of their time living upside-down on the bottom. Where found, there may be numerous of them in varying shades of white, blue, green and brown. Its brownish color is caused by symbiotic algae living inside the jelly's tissues. By lying upside-down, the jelly exposes its algae to the sun, allowing it to photosynthesize.

The jelly lives off food the algae produce, as well as zooplankton. They have a mild sting, but sensitive individuals could have a stronger reaction. The stinging cells are excreted in a mucus; swimming over the jellyfish (especially using swim fins) may cause transparent sheets of this mucus to be lifted up into the water where the unsuspecting swimmer may encounter it. The sting appears in the form of a red rash-like skin irritation and can cause extreme itching.

The bottom near the dinghy dock at Worldwide Sportsman yesterday.

I couldn't get a good picture of the jellies close to the surface, so here are a few I found on the Internet.

Mar. 2 - Islamorada, FL

Barley Basin - Anchorage

"We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds." —Aristotle

We spent the day in Islamorada. Our first stop was Worldwide Sportsmen. It was started in 1967 by a fly fishing guide by the name George Hommell and two of his well to do clients. The anglers in the Keys had nowhere to buy fly tackle until they opened their store. The store became an institution, and a stop for anglers fishing in Islamorada and the lower keys. Hommell and his partners sold the store to Bass Pro Shops in 1997 and is now a tourist destination in itself. The centerpiece of the store is the sister ship of Ernest Hemingway, the Pilar.

We had lunch at the Islamorada Fish Co. overlooking the bay and watching the tarpons. Then we moved the dinghy over to the city dinghy dock next to Lorelei's and wandered through a few shops and a little farmers market that was in the park. We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the boat and taking in the view of the beautiful water. This evening we enjoyed the sunset, first at the beach bar at Lorelei's and then from the deck of The Pearl. It’s still windy and we enjoyed our distractions today as we wait for calmer seas to cross the Gulf Stream.

On our way into town

Worldwide Sportsman in Islamorada 

Views from our table for lunch

A nice little farmers market with organic meat, fresh veggies, coffee, tea, cheeses, bake goods and flowers

Fresh coconut water. We learned a little more about which coconuts have the best meat and which are best for the water.

Fresh pastas of all kinds

One of our views from the anchorage 

Lorelei's Beach Bar

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