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It was very calm in the morning, the first calm since the day we motored in. We heard a bump but there was no Sunday paper on the boat. Jill got 3 bags of ice and a paper from the dock office. Later the dock master came by with another paper saying he had missed us in the morning. We left at 9:30 and motored all day with light NE winds. Several power boats left at the same time. We anchored early at Matecumbe Bight and had rum drinks and crackers and cheese. The wind kept blowing 10-15 Kt but it was only a little bouncy and preferable to the rolling we were getting in the strong winds at Faro Blanco.
Awoke to a blessed sun - 0 wind. We are off! 22.4 miles today. Anchored off Matecumbe Key.
It was a cold night but the sun was shining brightly in the morning. We pulled up the anchor at 8:20 and worked our way around a sea of crab traps. We motored all day with light NE winds that died around noon and at 1 PM came up from the W at 15 Kt. We only saw a few other boats out. We anchored at 1:30 SE of Grouper Creek after going 22.6 NM today. While reading in the cockpit I heard a ‘whoosh’ and saw a dolphin 10’ away. Within a few minutes we saw 8-10 more swimming around our anchorage.
Up at dawn :). Off to Sunset Harbor. :) Going toward Key Largo.
2/10/98 TuesdayThe wind stayed W all night instead of turning N to NE as predicted but although there was not much protection from the W the anchorage was quite peaceful. In the morning we heard some horns but ignored them. Later we saw a large Coast Guard vessel with cranes near the markers S of us. It was apparently servicing the lights. Since we only had a short distance to go we slept late and got off to a slow start. We pulled up the anchor at 10 AM. and motored the 6.4 NM to Gilberts. We tied up just after noon between a large houseboat/bargehouse and a 50’ sailboat piled with junk. The houseboat is for sale and the sailboat looks like it went thru a war with broken davits, ripped inflatable and piles of rusty junk and decaying wood. A man from a 30’ catboat ‘Salt Lace’ helped us tie up. He is going from Miami to Marathon but after a few months in Miami, his bottom is fouled and he is making slow progress. The marine store is closed and the restaurant is not Chinese any more but a Caribbean restaurant. We called our folks and Jim. I also called Dave at Sailorman to get a replacement bulb for the anchor light. The bulb I had was not the correct one and it drained the battery in only a few days. Dave said he would send a bulb if he had to take it from his own anchor light and also a replacement for the anchor light at the top of the mast. The drinks at the Tiki bar were good and strong. After the news we tried to get Nightly Business Report because of the stock market record but it was very weak so we went to dinner to celebrate instead. The restaurant looked deserted but in the back room some people were playing pool and the place was open, just not many people. The menu had only a few entries but the food was good and the drinks were imported from the Tiki bar. After dinner we walked around a bit and most people were eating at the Tiki bar as well as drinking and enjoying the nice night air.
Called Oregon! Mom is in a play! :) Rich called Dave Zutler for a light replacement. Temp was 71°F today. Yea :).
We had a good night at the dock and slept late. Salt Lace decided to return to Miami to get a bottom job and lay up the boat. He made some comment about law suits and lawyers costing him $2K a month. That can sure take the pleasure out of a good cruise. After listening to the 11 AM news we walked across the bridge to have lunch. Traffic was backed up because of road construction with a section of 1 way traffic so while the cars were stopped on our side of the bridge we could walk across safely. The building next to the Anchor Resort is closed and the only restaurant on that side of the bridge is Danny’s. It is just a small place serving breakfast and lunch but the food was very good. Jill had an omelet and I had the garlic sauté fish sandwich with a few garlic shrimp on the side. Both came with tasty hash potatoes. We mentioned that we were on a boat and going to the Bahamas and the waitress introduced us to Ron Allen who spent a lot of time sailing there and had many adventures to relate. He was writing a book about his experiences and we talked about the books we find at the Blue Water Bookstore. He only has 9K words so far but we will be looking for it. Back at the boat I changed the fuel transfer pump to plug into the new fuse panel and transferred one jug of fuel to the main tank. Tonight we are eating in.
Dave says the bulbs are in the mail and will arrive tomorrow. We have coffee with a German couple at their apartment. The Tiki bar has entertainment tonight, a guitar player/singer Crazy Ed who has an electronic band controlled from switches added on to his guitar and connected by radio to the amplifiers and speakers. He played many Buffet songs, island songs and country/western.
The package comes, one light bulb is DOA but the other one works, good thing I asked for 2. After another great lunch at Danny’s we decide to stay another day.
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