Marathon to Fort Pierce, FL

   

     We left Marathon around 3:30 in the afternoon and finally anchored around 10 pm. We had super calm conditions and a full moon lighting the way so we decided to take advantage. I'm glad we did because the following days were met with wind, fog and rain. Good thing we have full foul weather gear! I'm pushing myself more and more with getting comfortable handling the boat. I drove in all conditions and only gave up the helm once when the rain was literally hitting me square in the eyeballs. I "let" Jon takeover and acted as a rain shield for him. Sunday afternoon we decided to anchor early in Card Sound and treat ourselves to happy hour at Alabama Jack's. After all, it is our 1 year anniversary with Rising Sun and she deserves a toast for keeping us safe and getting us this far.

Rainy morning delays

Looks like rain

Trying to keep dry

Celebrating Rising Sun's 1 year Anniversary
at Alabama Jacks

   From Card Sound, we made our way to Miami and anchored by the Rickenbacker Causeway near the Port of Miami on Monday night. We have friends that live nearby and decided to take Tuesday as a rest day to catch up with Matt and Claudia and restock the boat. We had a great time hanging at Whiskey Joe's with familiar faces. It's nice to take a day to regroup after many days of cruising.

   

Erica brings us into Miami

Caribbean Spirit (formerly of Key West) sailing Biscayne Bay

     The scenery through Miami and south Florida in general was a nice change from the keys. The ICW goes right through the heart of downtown Miami, with skyscrapers, mega yachts, and mega homes galore. This is also where we start having to go under bridges of varying heights. Thank goodness for our guidebook as it marks the mile, height, and schedule of each bridge opening along the way. With a clearance of 15' including the bimini top, we didn't have to stop for many. However, it was pretty neat when we did have to call the bridge tender and request passage on the next opening. Something about hearing your vessel name over the radio makes it feel so official.

Ship that ships ships

       By Friday, we have made it to Ft Pierce, FL where we have arranged to dock for the weekend at Ft Pierce City Marina. We really lucked out on this random pick as the marina is located in the heart of the city's historic downtown. The marina had a pretty cool tiki bar on site, walking distance to many restaurants/stores, and there was a substantial farmer's market on Saturday morning right out front that we took full advantage of.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

Rybovich Boatyard

     My dad picked us up midday Saturday and we made the 2.5 hour drive to my hometown Umatilla, FL. We cleaned up and off to Andy and Tara's wedding! It was a beautiful ceremony on a Lake Dora with dinner to follow nearby. We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and we couldn't be happier for you guys! The next day we had breakfast with the family and then back to Ft Pierce. We took Monday to get our new injection pipe installed and take care of a few other things while we were in a convenient location. Tuesday, we are back on the water. Next stop, Jacksonville!

Mount Dora Lighthouse

Our Stay in Marathon

   
      Marcus has to leave to go back to work in Key West, so it's just us now. That means more responsibility on my part as I am now the true first mate which of course gets put to the test basically immediately. Hours after Marcus leaves, we are just coming back from dinner and the wind severely picks up. Our anchor slips and it is time for action. It's dark, cold, we are taking a 20 knot wind straight out of the north, there are freaking whitecaps! Oh yeah, and I've never done this before. THIS IS MY NIGHTMARE. Jon stays cool and calm, directs me at the helm while he pulls the anchor. We moved back to our original anchorage by Rachel Bank where we had some protection. We set the anchor and set a point on the GPS to mark our location. We stayed up for hours checking the GPS and our visual markers every 30 minutes, while we watched a movie on the laptop to distract us. It was a rough, scary night but we didn't move at all and eventually we felt relaxed enough to fall asleep. Basically, I wanted to either cry or vomit but that's not an option. He needed me. I had to step up and I'm proud to say I did.

   

      After making some calls, are told our injection pipe should be here by Friday, but Friday is now coming to an end and still no word from All Keys Diesel. I ring them for an update and apparently the place in Virginia the parts are coming from as been snowed in and UPS hasn't even picked it up yet. I'm used to "island time" but find it very ironic that we are being slowed down due to a snow storm. Impatience ensues, but what can we do? We are trying to look at the bright side and honestly, Marathon isn't a bad place to be stuck.

     Over the weekend, we decided to get some projects done. We sanded and refinished all the wood, changed the oil in our generator and dinghy motor, and some general cleaning. One morning a boat named "2 Wound Up" stopped by to say when they left to go fishing in the early morning our anchor light had faded making us barely visible. That night we rigged up a lantern instead, and added a new anchor light to the ever growing list of things to buy. A few days later we saw 2 Wound Up again they stopped by to say they were headed home, they also had a bunch of extra fish. Would we like some tuna? I mean, is that even a real question? Of course we do! They gave us a galleon size ziplock of fresh tuna and a quart size bag of spanish mackerel and we feasted for days. Maybe this isn't so bad after all...
   
     During the week we entertained ourselves by exploring the island. We checked out the city marina which was full to the brim and bustling with people. We feel lucky we decided not to go that route and stay at anchor instead. Much more peaceful. We went by dinghy to happy hour at Keys Fisheries and enjoyed fresh shrimp and stone crab. We sat at the bar next to some very interesting characters, Carl and Alan. Carl grew up in Marathon (after his parents made the trek all the way from Islamorada). He told us many stories of the good ole' days and painted a picture of the keys that had us longing for a world we would never know. He's also writing a book and I vowed to buy it. Alan is a retired oil rigger and has traveled to some pretty amazing places for work and play. His passport is a major red flag wherever he goes as people see Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, etc. and assume he's some sort of terrorist and/or carrying Ebola. The weather has been amazing, We have a full moon and bio-luminescence making green glittery swirls around our feet as we touch the water. These moments are the pay off. This is what it's all about. Taking the time to stop and listen to the people and the nature around you.
   

                                         (this photo is actually a moonrise!)

   

      Our parts finally arrive on Friday and drumroll.......it's not the right thing. We ordered injection pipe #1 (of four) and it turns out, we really needed  #4. Stupid mistake. Once the emotions had run their course after that foul up we try again, ordering the correct part directly from American Diesel. No more waiting. We would have the correct part sent to my dad, whom we already planned to see the following Friday on our way to my brother's wedding. New plan, make our way on one motor until then and wherever we are when Friday rolls around, put the boat in a marina and my dad will come get us. Time to make up some miles!

Key West to Marathon, FL

     We left our slip in Key West with the excitement of little kids on Christmas morning. Jittery but excited. I think we walked in circles around the boat for about the first hour taking pictures about every five seconds and checking everything compulsively. We had a beautiful morning cruise through Key West Harbor. Then we rounded the corner at Fort Zachary Taylor and the story changed...we had a residual swell from many days of high winds. Three foot seas and I don't really mix well, as I came to find out. "OK, just keep it together for a few hours. This will be over soon and the ICW will be a piece of cake the rest of the way" I told myself as the sickness crept up. And then "the shitith hitith the fanith" as some may say. We lost the starboard motor. OK, not the end of the world to most (aka Jon and Marcus), but I was stressed to the max and thinking the worst. What in the world am I doing on this boat...

     Shortly, the boys figured out that we had a fitting to one of the fuel injector pipes with a crack. Eventually it starts to take on air, motor shuts down. With the help of the very delicate 43 year old engine manual, we locate the part we need and I order it from All Keys Diesel in Marathon. We anchor just off Loggerhead Key near Cudjoe Key about 30 minutes before sunset and enjoy the serene view and some beers. We will continue on to Marathon on one motor to wait for our parts to arrive.

     The next day we made the sloooooooow 3 knot journey to Marathon. We had beautiful weather and I drove the boat for awhile. I should point out, that though we have owned the boat for a year, I have only been on the boat stationary in our slip with the exception of riding along from the boat yard to the marina. So my being behind the wheel was a big deal. I was white knuckled, much to the entertainment of the boys.

     Eventually I loosened up and driving the boat became kind of fun. I drove under the Bahia Honda bridge to cross from the outside to the Gulf side and through some THICK fog that rolled in that afternoon. We made it to Rachel Bank and anchored safely.

 THE FOGGGG!

   
     The next day, we were trying to figure out where we could pull our dinghy ashore. It turns out that all the places with dinghy docks are on the Boot Key side of the island which of course we weren't on. I called our friends Kaci and Josh who live in Marathon to see if they had any leads. Kaci led us to a her friend's place which was very near where we were anchored and very hidden. We entered a tiny, shallow cut in the mangroves that looked like it went nowhere, but as we rounded the corner the cut opened up to a little cove with a compound of homes and several docks for boats. "And if you see a tall guy with a big white afro, that's Jimbo and just tell him you are with me". Ah, the Keys and their characters. Gotta love it :)  Having a safe place to go to shore was extremely helpful and Jimbo and his neighbors couldn't have been nicer. Thank you everyone for your help and hospitality!