Our visit to the Dry Tortugas for Christmas just didn’t work out due to weather. We could get there and we could get back but while there we would have had 6-8 ft seas and it just didn’t seem like a fun time. It was also too cold to go diving.
The red is the storm coming in behind us. Beat feet back to Key West!A rare double rainbow in the Marquesas Keys
On to plan B. We went out to the Marquesas for an overnight for our anniversary. The stars were magnificent and only outdone by the sunrise the next morning. With a storm coming in we had a full rainbow that was a double on one side. We skedaddled back to Key West again and anchored out another night waiting for a marina slip at The Bight. We’re here for five days which will give us time to get some fresh provisions, eat at a couple restaurants and walk around town looking at all the holiday lights.
Now that’s a whole rainbow! Marquesas KeysBirds waiting for their lunch orders to come up. Marquesas Keys
We left Dania Beach yesterday after a quick meet up with the fuel barge to top off the tanks and then headed to Biscayne Bay for an overnight and the beginning of our holiday adventure.
This little iguana was underneath the dock when we left the boatyard at Dania Beach.
As we were leaving Biscayne Bay it was one of those misty, calm mornings where the water is like glass. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day. But I get ahead of myself…
You may remember from previous posts that Stiltsville resides in Biscayne Bay. These were offshore speakeasies erected during Prohibition and are now owned by the park service. There are seven structures still remaining although one is missing a roof. As we left this morning we took the long way around and cruised between the buildings for an up close look and some pictures.
One of the Stiltsville houses.Another Stiltsville houseThe brightest by far
From there we headed down Hawk Channel towards Key Largo. The day started misty and overcast but as we moved into the channel we got fogged in and visibility was less than a quarter mile. We are radar equipped so we could identify anything around us and the water continued to be calm so it wasn’t bad. A large trawler passed us at one point with no AIS and no radar and we can only wonder what they were thinking.
Sargassum continues to be a problem. This field extended at least a half mile
The fog burned off about 11am and we were treated to a glorious day the like we only see once in a great while. Blue sky, puffy clouds and zero waves. Zero? We’ve only encountered this a couple times most notably on our passage from Turks and Caicos to the Dominican Republic a couple years ago. The ride was so smooth it was nicer than riding in a car on the highway. If it were always like this everyone would be on a boat!
Afternoon saw us at Travernier Key where we anchored for the night. With calm seas and virtually no wind it was a very pleasant stay. Before we could leave the next morning we had a couple monsoon rain showers come through to wash off the boat.
Sunrise at Loggerhead Key with crab pot floats
The next day we made it as far as Loggerhead Key where we again anchored. Having drinks on the aft deck we were treated to a huge turtle playing. Guess we know why it’s called Loggerhead Key now. We’ll be anchoring out for the next several weeks so I’m in my happy place! Although I thought we would have a laid back morning and not hurry (Key West was only about twenty five miles away), Gary decided that we had to anchor up quickly as the work boats were coming in to check the crab pots and we were right in the middle of them all.
We made it to Key West and are now anchored out at North Fleming Cut just on the outside of the mooring field. The wind has kicked up, the temperature had dropped to seventy degrees, the sky has clouded over and we’ve had to reset the anchor because when we rotated 180 degrees the anchor dragged. Looks like it’s going to be a windy couple of days here. We’re watching the weather closely as we want to continue on to the Dry Tortugas for Christmas but it’s not somewhere to be when the weather isn’t friendly.
Saturn and Jupiter are getting closer with the moon underneath. The lights of Key West can be seen in the distance.
The last few nights we’ve had clear skies and have been treated to the closing conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter with a waxing moon. The stars have been incredible and hopefully are a portent of what we’ll have for the next few weeks.
