Anchorages and Stuff

Johnston Key

February 25th, 2017zdunc6 Comments

Heading out from Key West to the north side of the Keys in search of a backcountry anchorage, we were able to put up the sails right away and cut off the engine. It was really cool to ghost by the other boats, the historic water front, and the cruise ship docks early in the morning while the party city of Key West was still quiet and asleep. We sailed all the way around Sunset Key and out the Northwest Channel before arriving to the Gulf of Mexico a couple hours later and heading back east. From here the wind …

Arrival to Key West and the Mooring Field

February 16th, 2017zdunc2 Comments

We arrived to Key West in the early afternoon, tied up to our mooring ball without issue (we’re getting good at this stuff now!), and took the dinghy into the office to get checked in. Afterward, we headed the mile or so on foot to the famous old historic section of Key West where the famous Duval Street resides, as well as the schooner warf area, the cruise ship docks, and Mallory Square. While walking the dock area we saw all the racing sailboats coming back in to dock that we had seen earlier out racing from Holiday. It was …

Boot Key Harbor

December 13th, 2016zdunc8 Comments

We arrived in Marathon after our mostly motor over Florida Bay from Cape Sable and headed for Boot Key Harbor. The mooring field there is huge (over 200 spots), and we have read it’s really neat, but we also read that it is so popular there can be a waiting list. Sure enough when we got in the harbor and called the office, it was full. We decided to try and anchor in the crowded anchorage inside the harbor (to get on the waiting list you have to physically go inside and sign up). Well, we tried to squeeze in …

Cape Sable and sail to the Keys!

December 4th, 2016zdunc1 Comment

During our stay in the Little Shark River, we had been listening to the weather daily. The wind had been coming from the south east (the direction we were wanting to go. not good for sailing), and we were watching for the day that the winds switched back to the typical north east pattern for this time of year. I also had my fingers crossed for a day during the transition where the winds would be slack. You see, I’ve always been intrigued by Cape Sable. Cape Sable is three points on the very bottom of Florida and the Everglades …

Little Shark River

December 3rd, 2016zdunc7 Comments

Our next 30 mile jump down through the Everglades after Indian Key Pass was to Little Shark River. We left early in the morning and had our best day of sailing on the trip so far. We raised the sails and shut off the diesel just after exiting Indian Key Pass and only dropped the sails and turned the diesel back on about a quarter mile from the entrance to the Little Shark River. We made great time on a broad reach (down wind) and had steady winds all day. Little Shark River is about as far away from everything …

Sunsets of the Everglades

December 3rd, 2016zdunc2 Comments

Eight nights in the Everglades and eight beautiful sunsets. 3 nights at Indian Key Pass: 4 nights in the Little Shark, quiet and serene: 1 night at Cape Sable in the open Gulf:

10,000 Islands

December 3rd, 2016zdunc2 Comments

On Thanksgiving day after finally successfully solving our diesel over heating issue (found an exhaust hose that was clogged and changed it out), we set out from Marco Island to head for the 10,000 Islands and some “off the grid” anchoring in and around the Florida Everglades. I’ve planned out our time in the Everglades in 30 mile hops so that we are only under way about 6 hours at a time between anchorages thus cutting out any night sailing on our trek to the Florida Keys. Night sailing is awesome, but it also adds some complication, and of course, …

Marco Island’s Smokehouse Bay

November 22nd, 2016zdunc13 Comments

After a very short sail from Naples, we arrived at Marco Island through Capri Pass. From reviews we read, we decided to go through canals to the interior of Marco to a place called Smokehouse Bay for anchoring. The charts showed some shallow areas on the way in, but it was high tide, and the place looked like it would be cool. The depth didn’t end up being a problem, and we wound around through skinny neighborhood like canals passing by mostly houses for quite a while. Then Smokehouse Bay opened up in front of us. This is a sweet …