Moving on Down the Coast

 
Sunrise on the Little Shark riverWell, guess what-----There is less than 23 feet of water in the Marco Island channel area---and guess what-----I found it. "Red Right Returning" ? I wish someone had told me!!
When you get distracted in a narrow channel early in the morning you run aground. At least that's what happened to me----Yep----was right of the "green" and found 4 feet of water---had to call Tow Boat US (a division of Boat US--for about $120/ year they'll come get you anywhere free of charge) He arrived within 20 minutes of my call and we were off and in deep water within 5 minutes of his arrival---Whew.
Now we had to worry about making the 60 mile run down to the Little Shark River anchorage and getting in in daylight. WE did and we did. Going out of Marco was a bit rough as the wind and 5 to 6 foot waves were on our nose just a bit to starboard  and we were rolling all over the place until we could turn to port and put the waves and wind (18 knots) on our stern. From there we had a very pleasant sail down the coast, arriving at our destination at the mouth of the Little Shark just before sunset. We had just enough time to scout the area and find a good spot to drop the hook before settling in for the night. (Side-note---Despite the remoteness of the location I was able tp get the Super Bowl--what a yawner--on the TV with our on mast digital TV antenna--whodathunk?)

                                          THE "ADMIRAL" AT THE HELM     
Monday we rose early and had a very pleasant sail south toward the Keys, 7 Mile Bridge and Marathon. We needed to run the engine to boost our speed up to an average 6 1/2 knots but it runs quietly at low RPM's and it really was enjoyable (Chuck--not as nice as two years ago when we didn't need the engine on this part of the sail)
The farther south we got the bluer the water--gorgeous.

                                          #*^*&^%** CRAB POTS
They're everywhere--thousands of them---strung together in lines/groups of 8 or 10 or so. They are a real nuisance (but since I love crab I guess we have to put up with it). The only thing marring a lot of our sailing down and then back up the coast of Fla. are these darn things. Whereas we would like to just set the sails and put the boat on auto-pilot, just checking ahead occasionally, we can't--we have to keep a constant vigil lest our ruder, or worse, opur prop gets hung up in the attached llines. From time to time you get a respite and find yourself in a stretch of water where, for some reason, there are no pots. This is true of the areas of Marine Sanctuaries that appear occasionally along the coast.

                                                          Dolphins
Dolphins are better. They have a knack of avoiding your boat and are always welcome company when under sail

                        7 Mile Bridge--Gateway to the Atlantic and Marathon

WE arrived at Marathon early Monday afternoon and had enough time to meet some fellow cruisers, share a coldy, take a shower and have an absolutely fabulous dinner, watching the sunset at "Lazy Days" just a 3 minute walk from our slip at the  Marathon Marina ( We chose to go to a marina rather than the mooring field this time as we were only staying one night and felt like enjoying the convenience of being tied up where we could step off the boat rather than have to put the dinghy in the water and then replace it on deck). We highly recommend Lazy Days. The sunset view was magnificent and the only thing better than our dinner was our lunch of fish tacos the next day from our leftovers from the night before.
It's been a truly easy and uneventful sail so far and the forecast is for more of the same. Life is good!!