Shark River and Stock Island - We made it!

GEORGE FORCES (my word) or CONVINCES (his word) MARTHA TO ENJOY LIFE

Tuesday we slept late thinking we were staying at Marco Island for a week.  But no!  George starts looking at weather reports as I drink coffee.  I don't want to go.  I am worried about Wednesday's weather.  I call the Rose Marina office and ask if they know of a shipmate we can hire this morning for a two day trip to Key West.  No, all the captains and mates have been hired.  Somehow George prevails, and we quickly dress, wash up, and cast off lines at 8:45 am.

We had a beautiful, sunny day:  one foot waves in the morning, no wind, almost glassy in the afternoon.  It was a blessing to be out on the water.

One issue is what to do while George drives the boat, especially if I'm anxious.  Today I washed dishes, changed sheets, and hung out towels.  I looked for crab pots. * (Crab Pot is my thug name.)
I made lunch and fetched several rounds of water.

Cell phone coverage ended around 11:00 am.  It is so rare to be alone.  We are alone in our boat on a lovely day.  I hope I can remember this.  We are moving beside the Everglades, and we stay at Shark River Anchorage.  So quiet.  A sailboat and a large fishing vessel are there too.  Here are two photos of sunset.

Here's the sailboat anchored near us.  You can see the woods in the Everglades.

Sunset in the anchorage #1.

Sunset a few minutes later, #2.

Tuesday night we ate rice and chicken and broccoli with chocolate for dessert.  We were very happy with our day.  We laughed, wondering who would get to say, "I told you so" the next day.  Someone would say it for sure.  

We slept well although it was stuffy and hot.  There was a rain shower, and I woke up and wondered if the cold front was coming through early.  Oh, Lord.  What if we had to wait out the storm in the river? We would be safe, but no one would hear from us for days, and they would worry. Maybe I could give a message to a passing fisherman.  Would my sister in Atlanta be comforted by hearing a gruff voice on the phone saying we were fine?  We were so isolated that we could not even get the weather radio station that you always can hear on boats.  

We set our clock for 5:30 am so we would have plenty of time to have breakfast, do our safety checks, and leave by 7:00 am.  We had a 9 - 10 hour trip on Wednesday. The morning was beautiful.  The water was quiet; the sky was clear. 

Sunrise at Shark River

Early morning in the river.  I am pulling up the anchor.

Within 50 minutes of leaving, we had heard two Coast Guard warnings:  (1) a man was in the water 12 miles south of Key West.  They said his name; he was 59 and had a life jacket;  (2) There would be a live fire exercise 20 miles south of Key West today.  Mariners take note.  These were repeated every hour.  At the end of the day, they reported that they had found a life jacket in the water.  Often we hear these and never know what happened.  

This morning five dolphins joined us off the Everglades.  They swam beside our boat, going 9 miles per hour, leaping and happy.  We had less than 10 foot depths all the way to Marathon, which made me feel safe.  We could drop an anchor at any point and call for help.  After we got past Florida, we saw lots more boats: crab pot setters, sailboats, commercial fishing boats.  At 10:45 am cell phone coverage was restored.  I made several calls and enjoyed chatting.  

We crossed beneath the Seven Mile Bridge west of Marathon Key around 12:30 pm.  We were moving slower than we'd hoped, but the weather and waves were terrific.  We were so happy.  The whole trip was great until the last two hours.  We were so tired of the boat, so tired of watching for crab pots *, so tired of the waves.  The wind picked up a lot, and waves, just 1-2 feet banged us.  However, it was too much for me to go downstairs without being afraid of falling.  Two hours moved slowly.  Finally, we arrived at Stock Island Marina, where we will stay for a month.  Yahoo! Woohoo!  Happiness!  We are done with our third longest trek - 87 miles from Shark River to Stock Island.  

*  Crab pots are a pain.  They are set out all over the shallow waters from Tarpon Springs to the keys. It is hard to see them and hard to dodge them.  If a boat runs over a crab pot, it will likely foul the propeller, so the boat has to stop and call for help.  We had to watch most of Wednesday for crab pots.