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HCC is a place we LOVE Valentine Party was outstanding

After a fantastic week back at Harbour Cay Club, HCC, our new winter home, we departed north for Biscayne Bay where we plan on preparing for our first Bahamas run. Since it was Feb 14, the club planned and organized a dinner where the men do all the cooking, serving and cleaning up for the ladies. The night was a great success with 28 people for dinner, with roses for the ladies and cocktails to fabulous flan for dessert. Yes, HCC is a very special place and it is the people that make is so. Thank you, Captain Jim, for insisting that we get past Vero and visit your paradise. Harbour Cay Club a must visit!

Looking out to the Florida Bay and the exit to sea Harbour Cay Club, Marathon, FL

Our run north to Biscayne Bay was in two stages: first day up to Channel Five and then out to Hawk Channel up to Rodriguez Key where we anchored for the night; second day up to Angelfish Creek where you pass over the rocky reef in 5-7 foot deep water and cut back into the bay side of the keys from the ocean side.
Once in the bay, it is easy sailing and flat water north up to Boca Chita where you MUST STOP for a night. From here, we will run up to Crandon Park and pick up friends for the weekend and then return back to Boca Chita for some beautiful, peaceful days.

Here are the photos of the day…

Our connection to HCC, our good friend and fellow Island Packet owner Capt Jim and Michele….thank you…

Great friend and fellow TiKi Hut converationalist “New York Jack”…thanks for the great times!

BJ and Ed, the club leaders, and all around great people. Thank you!

Radeen with roses at Harbour Cay Club

Patricia, Debbie and Radeen at Valentine’s Dinner Our Boat Buddies

Fabulous dinner served to 28 people!

Beautiful Sunrise off Rodriguez Key

Sailing North in the calm waters of Hawk Channel

Sunset over Boca Chita Lighthouse, a picture that is so beautiful

The Florida Keys are a very special place for boating and the Lower Keys are as near to a Caribbean feeling as we have had anywhere. The Keys far exceeded our anticipated expectations and we already planning our rapid return for next year. Thank you to Captain Jim and all the owners at Harbour Cay Club who made us feel so at home and so welcome. HCC was the highlight of this section of our voyage.

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5 new Lifeline Batteries lifted into the cockpit 65 lbs each 325 lbs total. $299 each!

Time for a new upgrade our 8 year old house battery bank, so while docked at Harbour Cay Club, we installed 5 new Lifeline Group 31 batteries! We usually buy DEKA, East Penn Manufacturing Batteries, but the local S.A.L.T. Sea Air Land Technologies company gave us a fair price matching DCbattery prices and we bought them here in Marathon. The reason we went with Lifeline over Deka is that they have more life cycles than Deka. Life cycles in batteries is the term used to measure the number of discharges down to, usually 50%. Deka Group 31 AGMs have 370 life cycles to 50% discharge.  Lifelines have 1,000 life cycles to 50% discharge. So for an extra cost of $350, we moved up to Lifeline batteries over Deka and expect to see 10 years of life out of these.

5 old Deka batteries removed from the battery box 65 lbs each, 325 lbs. total

The problem with replacing our house battery bank is that they are very tight in the battery box. Then they are also bolted down with very nice custom hold downs to prevent the 65 lbs (each) batteries from flying around or moving when in a serious offshore sea state of large waves. They are also bolted down so that if the boat flips over, the batteries will still not fly out of the battery box. Of course if the boat flips over, we have other issues to consider.

So removing and re-installing a 5 battery house bank and a new starter battery is rather a large job. We started at about 10 am and by 5pm we had the job completed and all the systems back up and running! Remember…the freezer, refrigerator, network, computers and all lights run off the batteries, so with them out, all this is off. You need to work fast or your food will thaw and your beer will get warm!

Here are a few photos, I did not take many as this is not terribly exciting, but it is real life on a cruising boat….

Lifeline specs and 5 year warranty Each battery is registered and each measured 12.85 volts or higher!

The battery bank overview. This is the quarter berth footwell The original 3 battery box is to the left, closed off footwell to right

3 Lifelines with SS angle bar and welded plate bolted in to hold the batteries down. All wiring is 2.0 AWG wire, The small wires are sensors, temperature probes, regulators, etc.

The footwell battery box holds two more, plus the regulator Small wires are shunt wires, temperature probes, and sensors Notice the SS welded strap hold down bolted in to prevent batteries from moving.

“They Say”…..cruising is fixing your boat in remote locations. Well, that is so true. You leave your home dock and go off sailing / cruising. Then your boat breaks down, or a system needs serviced, so you do your best to repair it. Usually this is all done while out on anchor in some remote location. Here, with this job, we were at a dock, with many friends and cars and bikes so it was easy to do. It needed to be done as this was the 8th year on this battery bank and we have been leaning on it hard. So we figured it would be far better to do this here rather than in the Bahamas $$$$. Let’s hope we have no more big jobs for a long time now…..Thanks for following the Island Spirit Adventures…..tomorrow we head for sea, and press on for Biscayne Bay where we will spend two weeks exploring and preparing for our FIRST Bahamas run….

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The gap in the old Flagler Railroad bridge providing access to the Bahia Honda State Park Anchorage and Beaches

While on anchor, we enjoyed live music and sing-alongs by Craig, beautiful sunsets, and one spectacular full moon rise right after sunset. We cooked delicious meals, enjoyed our great friends, and loved sharing the peaceful life aboard Island Spirit.

The best way to present the joy of these past few days is via my photographs…..thank you, Wendy and Craig, for being such wonderful friends….

Wendy and Craig Joined us in Key West, Fl

Homemade Bread, Key Lime Pie and Radeen’s Famous Cocoa Brownies All baked on Island Spirit on a rainy morning

Departing Key West, FL, passing three Cruise Ships

Sailing Hawk Channel North, 35 NM to Bahia Honda State Park

Island Spirit anchored 100 yards off the beach at Bahia Honda

Island Spirit at anchor viewed from atop the Flagler Railroad Bridge

Flagler Railroad Bridge with the old road surface on top of the structure. The original railroad tracks from 1912 are on the bottom..

Close up of the deteriorating road surface looking south towards Key West

Enjoying the sunsets from the Bahia Honda anchorage

Bahia Honda, Flagler Railroad Bridge Sunset

Wendy and Craig, enjoying the sunset and full moon rise at anchor

Live music provided by Craig, who is a very talented guitarist and singer

Wendy and Radeen enjoying the sunset and moon rise, Bahia Honda, FL

Walks on the beach with local wildlife

As close as we could get…. the egret launches into flight

Team Island Spirit walks the beach, while the butterflies work the flowers

Team Island Spirit jumped a local golf cart and toured the island… Drive it like you stole it…..just kidding! (Thank you to the friendly park manager, who kindly offered us the keys to her own private cart!)

Arriving back at Harbour Cay Club, Craig entertains the fleet at the 5 o’clock Tiki Hut gatherings

A most beautiful full moon rise over Bahia Honda with reflections in the water Viewed from Island Spirit, on anchor

What a terrific week with great friends, unexpectedly good sailing, delicious meals, many laughs and fun sharing new destinations. It was wonderful to share this cruising life with Wendy and Craig and to sail into new anchorages and then explore together. Life is so simple on a sailboat. We realize everyday how lucky we are to live this dream and to share it with good friends.

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These lower Florida Keys and the protected Hawk Channel turns out to be a fantastic sailing destination. The channel is protected by the offshore reef and on the other side it is protected by the Florida Keys, so it is usually calm. The water color is so beautiful and the wind is usually very steady, so you get these fantastic sailing days like we had yesterday. The leg from Key West Harbor to Bahia Honda State Park is 35 NM, lucky for us, as after brief motor run of an hour, the wind clocked right just enough for Team Island Spirit to sail close hauled North up the Hawk Channel. Here is our blog entry for the day, a spectacular sailing video…..

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Wendy and Craig. Our Live entertainer, Craig sings our new theme song… “I love this BOAT!” Craig wrote the beautiful lyrics.

Our great friends, Wendy and Craig, arrived Key West to take us up on the challenges of living on Island Spirit and braving the high seas as we set sail for the treacherous Hawk Channel.  I know Craig, he will want to sail over the reef and out to sea and not come back, but our destination will be northeast to Marathon and the paradise of Harbour Cay Club. Wendy and Craig have sailed with us in New England, Chesapeake Bay, and the Caribbean on many sailing trips. It is great to be on a boat with such good friends and great boaters.

For now, we need to explore Key West, take in the sights and enjoy this entertaining town. There is just so much to see, and too little time. I notice that Key West is far better when arriving by boat as opposed to arriving by car or bus. You see the harbor in a better perspective and it seems more remote than driving down that infamous Route 1 and all the bridges. Henry Flagler had a great vision when he build the overseas railroad reaching Key West and bringing the tourist industry to town.

Our location is the Galleon Marina and Resort where we have a beautiful pool, great docks and it is located right in town.

A walk to the southern most point at the end of Duval Street was our mission #1.

An evening walk down Duval Street presents you with 350 bars, t-shirt shops great music and places like Sloppy Joe’s, Hog’s Breath Saloon, The Bull, and Captain Tony’s.

We are enjoying the neighborhood and extra lighting to our starboard side. Missing Card II is a 65′ Princess Motor Yacht docked next to us. It is a magnificent yacht and beautifully lit at night!

Missing Card II, a Princess 65′ Motor Yacht

Hayden and Radeen listening to Craig’s live entertainment of… “An Ode to Island Spirit – I Love this Boat” Thank you, Craig and Wendy!.

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Docked at Galleon Marina, Key West, FL Yes that is a 65 footer next to us called MISSED CARD II

After one of our best-ever offshore over night passages, we arrived Key West, FL, where we dropped anchor in the harbor and slept. The next day we did not even drop the dinghy or leave the boat. We worked on our boat all day and used the time to catch up on various boat chores and services. We planned to move into our reserved slip a day early so we could wash the boat, do laundry and shopping, much needed from being out on the anchor for the past 3 weeks. We also are very excited for the arrival of our great friends, Wendy and Craig. They will board Island Spirit Sat AM and we may not let them off until we get to Miami….don’t tell em….:-)

We reserved a dock at the Galleon Marina, the #1 spot in Key West, and will be spoiled by the amenities and the convenience to town and Duval Street. Key West is really a fun place and docking here, in town, will make it even better, especially with good friends.

Basic Map of our approach, anchorage, and dock, then off to Hawk Channel

The Marina’sSuper Bowl Party with large projector TVs will be here

Duval Street and the famous SLOPPY JOE’s

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Thanks to Carey and Bobbie on Catspaw, we pressed on from Marathon to explore these Florida West Coast locations:

• Shark River anchorage in the Everglades
• Marco Island, Factory Bay anchorage
• Fort Myers Beach mooring field
• Cabbage Key anchorage in Pine Island Sound for Cheeseburgers
• Pelican Bay anchorage to explore Cayo Costa State Park and beach
• Punta Gorda anchorage in Peace River to discover this great town
• Charlotte Harbor sailing with Boca Grande Inlet access to sea
• Offshore sailing Boca Grande Inlet to Key West Fl, 135 nm direct

 The West coast of Florida is SPECTACULAR with great sailing, beautiful harbors and very friendly people. We only explored 1/3 of the west coast and there is plenty more to discover by boat. We can now see why Charlotte Harbor is a boating center because the sailing is wonderful and the anchorages plentiful. We had many dolphin swimming with Island Spirit as we sailed from Punta Gorda back to Pelican Bay. What a pleasure to see these beautiful animals in the wild, so playful, under our bow. West Coast of Florida…we need to come back….we need to discover more….

Our best photos of this section….

Radeen with the crowds at Cayo Costa State Park

A view to the south….no one except us and birds…Radeen reading Randy Wayne White’s “The Heat Islands”

A view to the north….no one…this is Cayo Costa State Park, FL, accessible only by boat

Pelican Bay anchorage off Cayo Costa State Park, the opposite side of the beach

Our buddy boat, IP-460 Cutter Loose, off Punta Gorda in Peace River

Sailing Charlotte Harbor on a Monday AM

Sunset off shore, “red at night…..”

Sunset offshore melting into the sea

Look at the beautiful colors…

After this, the winds picked up to 15-20 knots all night long. Perfect sailing in beam winds for 135 nm.

Cabbage Key, cheeseburger in paradise, famous dollar bar

Radeen off Island Spirit in Pelican Bay, Fl

Our best Cayo Costa Beach Photo….

This Park Ranger lives on Cayo Costa and shared an Island History presentation with us

The ICEHOUSE PUB in Punta Gorda, what a great place for a cold beer

Radeen enjoys the dolphin show off the bow of Island Spirit, Charlotte Harbor

We are now in Key West and our first Florida West Coast sail has ended. We will prepare for our good friends Wendy and Craig’s arrival on Sat am. Together, we will enjoy Key West for a few days at the popular Galleon Marina and then maybe we can entice them to go for a sail up Hawk’s Channel to anchor out on a nice sandy beach….ahhh….the Florida Keys in February….perfect!

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Today is Reflection Day as it is exactly one year ago today that we retired from our 30+ year teaching careers. Radeen and I have zero regrets for departing our careers early at the age of 55 and getting on with our sailing and cruising dreams. Here is a summary of year Number One…

Jan 28, 2011, We retire and sign our paperwork, exiting our careers and entering into a new life…

Feb: Road Trip to Florida via car, with friends & family, to pre-explore harbors and towns

 
March: New York City, upper west side condo with Radeen’s family

April: Caribbean Sailing aboard Larking About IP40, Spanish Virgin Islands

May: At home, working on house to prepare for our great house sitter, Ned, to move in

June: Sail Bermuda to Maryland on Larking About, IP40

July/Aug: Island Spirit IP35 Sailing Maryland to Maine for Island Packet Rendezvous in Boothbay.

Aug: Out ran Hurricane Irene NY to MD, return to home slip and prep boat for the storm!

Sept: Prepare boat for ICW south and Bahamas trip #1, including engine overhaul

Oct/Nov: Intracoastal Waterway Southbound for Harbour Cay Club, Marathon, FL Keys

Dec-Jan: Marathon, FL, Living at Harbor Cay Club, Capt Jim’s great marina/home.

Jan: West Coast of Florida Explorations

Year Number One of our retirement is complete and we feel blessed to be able to live out a lifetime planned dream of traveling and sailing. We are nearly in the mid point of our current adventure as we will head for the Bahamas in March and April, exploring the Abacos. Then in the springtime, we will head north up the ICW returning to the Chesapeake Bay in June 2012. At that point, we most likely will head for BLOCK ISLAND, RI for the summer of 2012. Then we will return to the Chesapeake Bay and plan our next leg south. Thank you, everyone, for following our blog and for sharing our dreams…we are blessed….

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Ft. Myers Beach, FL

Ft. Myers Beach is a very interesting west coast Florida town with the most beautiful white sand beach. The Gulf of Mexico is calm when the wind is not blowing hard, so there are only little waves. This provides the opportunity for para-sailing and jet skiing right off the beach. The local boaters also anchor their boats there and swim or walk to shore to enjoy beach bars and all-day live music. Welcome to Ft. Myers Beach! During spring break, this place loads up with college crowds.

Hayden and Art aboard Island Spirit enjoying a toast after the 12 volt seminar

While in Ft. Myers Beach we had the special opportunity to connect with our Island Packet list member, Art R., IP 32 Lagniappe,who is always so helpful to IP members with 12 volt wiring, design, and installations. Art drove 2+ hours to spend the day teaching us about 12 volt systems and electrical issues. His presentation was very informative and so impressive with printed bound handouts, PowerPoint slides, and hands on experiments. We really enjoyed our learning and sharing fascinating stories with Art. Thank you, ART R.!

Craig and Debbie join Island Spirit for a great visit

Not able to hide any better, our other IP friends, Debbie and Craig R. found us in the harbor as they arrived via their Harley Ultra Classic motorcycle. Debbie and Craig had an IP440 and traveled with us in 2008 when we were in Florida for our Drexel studies. We drove north up the ICW and shared their signature dessert, flan, in many harbors together! They astonished us this trip with flan, delivered safely on the bike!

Craig helped me with an improvement for my solar wiring addition and gave me a Harley ride to the West Marine and back that was one to remember. Debbie visited with Radeen and they really enjoyed their chats and sharing. What great friends!

The “Pack of Packets” pressing on into Pine Island Sound

After 4 busy days in Ft. Myers Beach we move on north to Pine Island Sound where we stopped 2 hours short of our destination to experience Cabbage Key and the great cheeseburgers in paradise. The local dollar bar there is amazing with over 50,000 one dollar bills nailed to the walls and ceilings. After lunch the 4 IPs pulled up anchors, and move into Pelican Bay off the State Park, CAYO COSTA. We enjoyed a lively cocktail hour aboard IP-420 Flatlander with Allen and Kathy H. with their friends Bill and Sue, IP-40, Florida Buoy. We plan to stay here a few days and take in the beautiful beach and isolated state park, accessible only by boat.

The Beach at Ft. Myers Beach, these FL people know how to have FUN

Dollar Bar at Cabbage Key, Pine Island Sound, FL.

We are really enjoying this West Coast of Florida as it provides so many harbors, great towns like Marco Island, and Ft. Myers, and beautiful sandy beaches. We can now see why Charlotte Harbor is a base for so many cruising sailboats. We need to explore this area more….for today, we will start with the Cayo Costa State Park Beaches!

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