Dee Light
Logs - 2004 - Trip to Key West Florida
.. this Log is our trip from our Home Port of Fort Myers Florida to Key West Florida where we attended the Gilcreast Wondrow wedding ..
NOTE .. for a larger version of the photos on this page .. just click on the photo .. NOTE
NOTE .. for a larger version of the photos on this page .. just click on the photo .. NOTE
Monday February 23 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. Tom and Sandy ( Rochester MN ) are planning to make the return trip from Key West to Fort Myers on Dee Light .. sooo Tom and Sandy stopped by in the morning to drop off their car at the Marina’s Parking Lot .. Gary and Anne ( Rochester MN ) were right behind they and after a short talk / reunion the four of them headed out in Gary and Ann’s car .. they are going to meander their way thru Southern Florida on their way down to Key West for the wedding this Saturday .. Betty and a few of the gals from the Marina went shopping at the Bell Tower Mall .. Jeff, Jodie, and Jodie’s parents ( Rochester MN ) stopped by Dee Light about noon and after a short tour of Dee Light Marv joined them for lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack that is located right at the Marina .. during lunch the wind moved in and they picked up all day .. there are two large Lows headed our way that will have a real impact on our weather the next number of days ..
Tuesday February 24 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. we watched the changing weather all day .. Bernie and Marv checked notes and weather reports from the Internet .. Joe from CCM stopped by Dee Light for one last check up before we head out for Key West .. Bernie and Barb picked up their quest ( Larry and Phyllis – Madison WI ) at the Airport .. they have spent many years boating together on Lake Michigan and they had joined Bernie and Barb for part of their trip South with Sitting Duck .. Marv talked with Mike ( Pepin WI ) and due to the changing weather they started to put together Plan B for the trip to Key West .. Betty did much shopping to stock Dee Light for our trip to Key West .. Lowell and Ellie ( parents of the Groom - Rochester MN ) made it to North Fort Myers after a long drive thru the pounding rains that came thru North of Fort Myers .. it remained windy all day .. we concluded the evening with a spontaneous Dock Party on B-Dock ..
Wednesday February 25 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. the weather moved into the Fort Myers area during the evening .. by 09:00 am we had high winds and HEAVY rains with much lighting / thunder .. we again watched the weather on the Internet and on the local TV Stations .. a second band of weather including Thunder Storms went thru our area in the mid-afternoon .. we also contacted both the Key West Ferry and the Key West Express that have large Boats that runs from Fort Myers Beach to Key West daily .. they both cancelled their run today due to 9 foot Seas .. sooo after much discussion we decided to stay at Centennial and check out the weather in the morning .. we then contacted Moss Marina to cancel out our reservations for tonight .. in the afternoon Jim and Carol ( LEGACY- Solomons MD ) arrived at Centennial on their return trip back to Stuart Florida .. in the mid-afternoon Jon and Sarah took their boat to the Fort Myers Yacht Basin in the rain for Fuel .. we picked up Mike and Carol ( Pepin WI ) at the Airport when their flight got in at 05:35 pm .. Jon and Sara’s friend Kelly ( Minneapolis MN ) came in on the same flight .. the rains continued on and off all night .. Betty put together a ‘Shrimp etc dee light’ for dinner that we had on the Back Deck ..
Tuesday February 24 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. we watched the changing weather all day .. Bernie and Marv checked notes and weather reports from the Internet .. Joe from CCM stopped by Dee Light for one last check up before we head out for Key West .. Bernie and Barb picked up their quest ( Larry and Phyllis – Madison WI ) at the Airport .. they have spent many years boating together on Lake Michigan and they had joined Bernie and Barb for part of their trip South with Sitting Duck .. Marv talked with Mike ( Pepin WI ) and due to the changing weather they started to put together Plan B for the trip to Key West .. Betty did much shopping to stock Dee Light for our trip to Key West .. Lowell and Ellie ( parents of the Groom - Rochester MN ) made it to North Fort Myers after a long drive thru the pounding rains that came thru North of Fort Myers .. it remained windy all day .. we concluded the evening with a spontaneous Dock Party on B-Dock ..
Wednesday February 25 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. the weather moved into the Fort Myers area during the evening .. by 09:00 am we had high winds and HEAVY rains with much lighting / thunder .. we again watched the weather on the Internet and on the local TV Stations .. a second band of weather including Thunder Storms went thru our area in the mid-afternoon .. we also contacted both the Key West Ferry and the Key West Express that have large Boats that runs from Fort Myers Beach to Key West daily .. they both cancelled their run today due to 9 foot Seas .. sooo after much discussion we decided to stay at Centennial and check out the weather in the morning .. we then contacted Moss Marina to cancel out our reservations for tonight .. in the afternoon Jim and Carol ( LEGACY- Solomons MD ) arrived at Centennial on their return trip back to Stuart Florida .. in the mid-afternoon Jon and Sarah took their boat to the Fort Myers Yacht Basin in the rain for Fuel .. we picked up Mike and Carol ( Pepin WI ) at the Airport when their flight got in at 05:35 pm .. Jon and Sara’s friend Kelly ( Minneapolis MN ) came in on the same flight .. the rains continued on and off all night .. Betty put together a ‘Shrimp etc dee light’ for dinner that we had on the Back Deck ..
Thursday February 26 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. we took one more good look at the weather and after a big cup of coffee and much conversation we headed out of the Marina at 06:45 am .. SITTING DUCK was right behind us and FOUNTAIN Withdrawal were right behind us .. FOUNTAIN Withdrawal slipped by us to head to Moss Marina as Jon did not think that they could make the trip without a fuel stop .. shortly after they passed us they developed a problem with their Port Transmission sooo they sadly returned to the Centennial Harbour Marina .. once past the Sanibel Bridge we stopped and put our Antennas back up and headed out into the Gulf .. we were pleasantly surprised that the Seas were much less than what was forecasted by all of the weather sources that we had used .. we started with 2 to 4 footers and we were able to maintain about 25 miles per hour very easy .. we had many Crab Pots to dodge all the way to Key West .. when we were about 40 miles from our last Marker we think that we caught one of our Props on one of the Crab Pots .. we stopped and got the Pot Line off by reversing the Engines a couple of times .. at about mid way the Rollers were about 4 to 6 foot and the Waves were about 2 footers .. it was a great crossing .. at about 50 miles from Key West when Marv did one of his Engine Room checks and found Diesel Fuel squirting out of the Port Fuel Pressure Sensor .. UGH !! .. soooo we shut down the Port Engine, Betty took the Wheel, and Marv and Mike went to the Engine Room to replace the Sensor .. we had Diesel Fuel all over the Port Engine .. it was not long and we were back on our way again .. we then followed SITTING DUCK into Key West .. we also noted that the Fuel Filters had some water / crud that had collected at the bottom of the Fuel Filters .. we had Dee Light docked and tied off by 02:00 pm .. and within minutes we were greeted by some Loopers ( DEVOTION ) that we had first met on the Erie Canal .. right after a great lunch on the Back Deck Mike washed down the Exterior of Dee Light, Betty put the interior back into shape and Marv worked in the Engine Room .. we talked to Jon and Sarah on our Cell Phone and they were very disappointed that they were not going to make it to Key West with their boat and later they decided to drive down and join us by car .. on our way to the Marina Office we walked past the boat SEAQUESTERED that we had crossed wakes with when we were heading down the River System this Fall .. after checking in at the Marina Office we the Gals explored the Marina area .. by 04:00 pm the winds really picked up and we were very happy to be in the Marina and tied off securely .. we had found a small ‘Weather Window’ to make the crossing .. we all walked to Mallory Square for the Sunset .. we ended up seeing a number of people that had traveled to Key West for the Wedding including the Bride and Groom ( Connie and Todd ) .. after walking the streets we had dinner at the A&B Restaurant on the Dock ..
Travel – Fort Myers, FL to Key West, FL – 0 Lock today and 0 Locks To Date – 153 Miles Today – Cumulative Miles 153 ..
Friday February 27 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds continued all night … and later we heard that both of the Key West Ferry’s had cancelled their trips for both Friday and Saturday .. after a cup of coffee on the Back Deck Betty headed out for Cole’s Peace the Artisan Bread Store only to find out that it has closed up .. UGH .. we all walked to Blue Heaven for breakfast / lunch and was it GREAT .. at the Blue Heaven you sit outside under the trees, the floor is dirt, the chickens are running about and the food is great !! .. we shopped our way down Duval Street and ended up running into Lowell and Ellie ( parents of the Groom ) .. we had a drink with them at the Crown Royal Hotel that is also located on Duval Street .. Jon, Sarah and Kelly made it to Dee Light by car .. it’s a very busy time of the year at Key West thus there are not any Hotel Room available for the Weekend sooo they will be joining us on Dee Light .. the gals spent the balance of the afternoon shopping and the guys went to the Key West Marin Hardware store .. after meeting up again Carol gave Mike and Marv haircuts on the Back Deck of Dee Light .. the Crew of SITTING DUCK joined us for a great snack that Betty put together .. Ellie and Lowell hosted a ‘Welcome to the Island’ Celebration at the ‘The Top’ of the Crown Plaza La Concha where we had a GREAT evening catching up with many long time friends / boating friends .. after checking out Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and Hogs Breath the high winds blew us back to Dee Light for the night .. and we were dead tired .. Jon, Sarah and Kelly had a long as they made it back to their ‘Penthouse Suite’ ( the Fly Bridge ) by 04:00 am ..
Travel – Fort Myers, FL to Key West, FL – 0 Lock today and 0 Locks To Date – 153 Miles Today – Cumulative Miles 153 ..
Friday February 27 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds continued all night … and later we heard that both of the Key West Ferry’s had cancelled their trips for both Friday and Saturday .. after a cup of coffee on the Back Deck Betty headed out for Cole’s Peace the Artisan Bread Store only to find out that it has closed up .. UGH .. we all walked to Blue Heaven for breakfast / lunch and was it GREAT .. at the Blue Heaven you sit outside under the trees, the floor is dirt, the chickens are running about and the food is great !! .. we shopped our way down Duval Street and ended up running into Lowell and Ellie ( parents of the Groom ) .. we had a drink with them at the Crown Royal Hotel that is also located on Duval Street .. Jon, Sarah and Kelly made it to Dee Light by car .. it’s a very busy time of the year at Key West thus there are not any Hotel Room available for the Weekend sooo they will be joining us on Dee Light .. the gals spent the balance of the afternoon shopping and the guys went to the Key West Marin Hardware store .. after meeting up again Carol gave Mike and Marv haircuts on the Back Deck of Dee Light .. the Crew of SITTING DUCK joined us for a great snack that Betty put together .. Ellie and Lowell hosted a ‘Welcome to the Island’ Celebration at the ‘The Top’ of the Crown Plaza La Concha where we had a GREAT evening catching up with many long time friends / boating friends .. after checking out Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and Hogs Breath the high winds blew us back to Dee Light for the night .. and we were dead tired .. Jon, Sarah and Kelly had a long as they made it back to their ‘Penthouse Suite’ ( the Fly Bridge ) by 04:00 am ..
Saturday February 28 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds continued all night .. after breakfast Betty and Carol headed out to start their day at Margaritaville where they met Sandy and Anne .. after the gals did some shopping and Mike and Marv took a walk to the Key West Lighthouse we got together for lunch at the Schooners Warf .. the food was great but the live entertainment made the outing .. on our way back to Dee Light we noted that the winds had died off a lot .. we ran the Starboard Engine for about 45 minutes to clean the water out of the Fuel Tank .. we met the Crew from SITTING DUCK on the Dock .. they were trying to extend their stay at the Marina due to the winds and to enjoy an extra few days at Key West .. after quickly cleaning up we walked to the Ocean Key Resort .. the Wedding Ceremony took place on the Sunset Pier ( the garden area ) with the Gulf as the backdrop .. after the ceremony the dinner / reception was under a tent at the end of the Sunset Pier where we also enjoyed a great sunset .. the Staff at the Resort did a great job putting together a great meal and combating the winds .. once the sun had gone down they dropped the sides on the tent and brought in two large heaters .. despite the cool temps and the winds the hardy boaters had a great time dancing up a storm on the wooded Dock .. we made a pit stop at Hog’s Breath on the way back to Dee Light and did we sleep .. Jon, Sarah and Kelly made it back to Dee Light later ( about 05:00 am ) ..
Sunday February 29 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds continued again all night .. we checked on the weather again and it dose not look good for leaving on Monday morning .. we checked at the Marina Office and found that we could stay for two more days if we decided that it is going to be too rough .. after a very short night Jon, Sarah and Kelly headed back to Fort Myers .. we walked to Pepe’s Café and Steak House for breakfast .. Pepe’s is a real ‘hole in the wall’ .. ( i.e. they have a wall with holes in it so you can look in or out .. Pepe’s was established in 1909 and is now the Oldest eating House in the Keys .. after lunch we walked to the Crown Royal Hotel where we all decided to split up and explore on our own until 04:00 pm when we will plan to meet up at the Irish Pub on Duval Street .. Marv changed both of the Fuel Filters on the Starboard Engine .. we did end up at the Irish Pub and found that the entertainment was very ‘uplifting’ .. from there we migrated to another Bar and eventually to the Schooner Wharf Bar for dinner .. after dinner Carol cut hair again on the Back Deck of Dee Light .. Anne, Betty and Gary all got their hair cut ..
Monday March 1 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds prevailed all night again .. the direction of the winds did start to change to the Northeast / East .. and the winds remained stead at 15 to 20 knots with gusts .. after making the decision to not head out today Mike and Carol packed up and we confirmed with the Harbor Master that we could stay for two more days .. you could say that we are now ‘weathered in at Margaritaville’ .. Mike and Carol and Tom and Sandy headed North with Gary and Anne .. we did some work around Dee Light and then headed out with our Scooters .. when Sarah and Kelly used the Scooters they were stopped by a local Key West Patrolman .. we think that it had to be a ‘blond thing’ as the local PD never gave us a second look .. we explored other Marinas in the area just in case we are unable to extend our stay at the Galleon beyond Wednesday .. we met up with a number of boaters that we know that were also weathered in .. later we had dinner with the Crew of SITTING DUCK .. Larry had rented a car as they will be heading back in the morning by car to Fort Myers Beach to meet up with some friends at their Condo .. we first drove to the US Navy’s Marina and Restaurant ( home of the Navy’s TOP GUN ) only to find out that they were done serving for the night .. we were directed to the Rusty Anchor on Stock Island where we had a great seafood dinner .. when we returned to the Marina we saw some guys on the end of the Pier pull in a Shark .. it was about 5 foot 6 inches and they caught it with a lightweight Rod and Real ..
Tuesday March 2 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds continued all night now from the Southeast .. Larry and Phyllis headed out about 08:30 am .. from our Back Deck we saw the freighter DUE W DANNELL pull into the Harbour filled with T-Shirts sooo now we gotta stay to do more shopping .. we checked with the Marina and as of this morning they do not have a place for us beyond today .. a good sized Manatee made his or her way thru the Marina and entertained everyone in it path .. we spent the day exploring ( i.e. shopping and eating ) with Bernie and Barb .. the winds picked up all day .. in the afternoon we were told by the Marina Office that other boaters cancelled out due to the winds and that they were able to get dockage worked out for us until Friday morning .. Lee and Kitty from Centennial Harbour joined us for part of the evening .. they took the Key West Express from Fort Myers Beach and they will be returning on Wednesday .. in the afternoon a large Manatee made its way into the Marina .. Betty was able to ‘pet’ it for quite awhile until the Harbour Master passed by and told us that the ‘petting’ would endanger the life of the Manatee .. it was a bunch of ‘BULL but we backed off and just took photos as he or she made its way from Slip to Slip .. we all checked out Mallory Square once again .. we ate our way from one end to the other .. over NOAA it looks like a weather window could happen on Wednesday ..
Sunday February 29 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds continued again all night .. we checked on the weather again and it dose not look good for leaving on Monday morning .. we checked at the Marina Office and found that we could stay for two more days if we decided that it is going to be too rough .. after a very short night Jon, Sarah and Kelly headed back to Fort Myers .. we walked to Pepe’s Café and Steak House for breakfast .. Pepe’s is a real ‘hole in the wall’ .. ( i.e. they have a wall with holes in it so you can look in or out .. Pepe’s was established in 1909 and is now the Oldest eating House in the Keys .. after lunch we walked to the Crown Royal Hotel where we all decided to split up and explore on our own until 04:00 pm when we will plan to meet up at the Irish Pub on Duval Street .. Marv changed both of the Fuel Filters on the Starboard Engine .. we did end up at the Irish Pub and found that the entertainment was very ‘uplifting’ .. from there we migrated to another Bar and eventually to the Schooner Wharf Bar for dinner .. after dinner Carol cut hair again on the Back Deck of Dee Light .. Anne, Betty and Gary all got their hair cut ..
Monday March 1 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds prevailed all night again .. the direction of the winds did start to change to the Northeast / East .. and the winds remained stead at 15 to 20 knots with gusts .. after making the decision to not head out today Mike and Carol packed up and we confirmed with the Harbor Master that we could stay for two more days .. you could say that we are now ‘weathered in at Margaritaville’ .. Mike and Carol and Tom and Sandy headed North with Gary and Anne .. we did some work around Dee Light and then headed out with our Scooters .. when Sarah and Kelly used the Scooters they were stopped by a local Key West Patrolman .. we think that it had to be a ‘blond thing’ as the local PD never gave us a second look .. we explored other Marinas in the area just in case we are unable to extend our stay at the Galleon beyond Wednesday .. we met up with a number of boaters that we know that were also weathered in .. later we had dinner with the Crew of SITTING DUCK .. Larry had rented a car as they will be heading back in the morning by car to Fort Myers Beach to meet up with some friends at their Condo .. we first drove to the US Navy’s Marina and Restaurant ( home of the Navy’s TOP GUN ) only to find out that they were done serving for the night .. we were directed to the Rusty Anchor on Stock Island where we had a great seafood dinner .. when we returned to the Marina we saw some guys on the end of the Pier pull in a Shark .. it was about 5 foot 6 inches and they caught it with a lightweight Rod and Real ..
Tuesday March 2 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the winds continued all night now from the Southeast .. Larry and Phyllis headed out about 08:30 am .. from our Back Deck we saw the freighter DUE W DANNELL pull into the Harbour filled with T-Shirts sooo now we gotta stay to do more shopping .. we checked with the Marina and as of this morning they do not have a place for us beyond today .. a good sized Manatee made his or her way thru the Marina and entertained everyone in it path .. we spent the day exploring ( i.e. shopping and eating ) with Bernie and Barb .. the winds picked up all day .. in the afternoon we were told by the Marina Office that other boaters cancelled out due to the winds and that they were able to get dockage worked out for us until Friday morning .. Lee and Kitty from Centennial Harbour joined us for part of the evening .. they took the Key West Express from Fort Myers Beach and they will be returning on Wednesday .. in the afternoon a large Manatee made its way into the Marina .. Betty was able to ‘pet’ it for quite awhile until the Harbour Master passed by and told us that the ‘petting’ would endanger the life of the Manatee .. it was a bunch of ‘BULL but we backed off and just took photos as he or she made its way from Slip to Slip .. we all checked out Mallory Square once again .. we ate our way from one end to the other .. over NOAA it looks like a weather window could happen on Wednesday ..
Wednesday March 3 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. last night we saw that there was going to be a weather window for the trip back on Wednesday .. after checking the weather again this morning Bernie and Barb ( SITTING DUCK ) decided to head out for Fort Myers today .. they left about 09:00 am .. we decided that since we were unable to head out Monday when we wanted to that we will now stay and enjoy a few additional days in Key West .. this week is Bikers Week in Daytona Florida .. due to the cool temperatures up North there are many Bikes that have migrated down the Coast to Key West and the city is ‘buzzing’ with the sounds of Harley’s all over .. so we took our Scoters ( Mini-Chopper ) with our Harley Shirts on and joined them .. we made it about half the way around the Island when Betty’s rear tire failed .. a number of the spokes failed .. sooo we walked the Bikes back to Dee Light stopping at a number of Bike and Scoter Shops but we were unable to get the Mini-Chopper fixed .. we contacted Bernie and Barb only to find that they did not make it back to Fort Myers .. one of their Engines overheated and they took SITTING DUCK into Marco Island .. the Marinas were full so they took the DUCK to a Dock that they found in front of a Condo .. Bernie did say that the Seas were only 3 to 5 footers and only a few 5 footers .. so they were having a good weather day for their crossing until their overheating problem came up .. Marv talked to Joe from CCM about our on going ‘water in our Fuel Filters’ problems and Joe came up with a number of ideas .. after Betty and Marv rerouted the Fuel Filter Vent Line on the Forward Fuel Tank we had a Pot Luck Dinner at Bill and Nancy’s boat ( SALTY DOG ) .. and what a great dinner of gourmet food and boating conversation ..
Thursday March 4 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the weather window yesterday closed right back up .. today we are back to high winds and Seas .. but the temps are where they should be .. it was sunny and in the 80s before the wedding party arrived at Southwest Florida and when they got here they brought the Minnesota weather with them .. now that they are gone the temps are right back to normal .. another great day to be ‘weathered in at Margaritaville’ .. we walked the Docks and talked with many boaters .. later we went to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum and it was very interesting .. many exhibits of sunken ships and the treasures that have been recovered from them .. we had part of our dinner at OB Fish .. its located behind an old Pickup Truck and is a well known Key West landmark .. from there we ended up at the Seafood Company located right on the main Waterfront Wharf where the high winds almost blew us off our chairs ..
Friday March 5 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. it is still windy this morning but it looks like the high winds are going to finally start to die down a little this weekend .. we talked to Bernie ( SITTING DUCK ) he said that Joe and Chris from CCM was able to get a new Water Pump yesterday and that they got it installed last night .. so they will be heading back to Centennial later today .. Kerry and Jane aboard DIAMOND SUN were going to move into the Slip right next to Dee Light .. they have been staying at the City of Key West Marina .. and have also been weathered in longer than they had planned and were unable to stay there any longer sooo they had to move .. but at the last minute their Marina was able to move some boats around and they were able to stay right there for there last two nights .. we did much shopping and ended up at the Blue Heaven for lunch .. we have been there a number of times for breakfast but never for lunch .. it was just as great for lunch as for breakfast .. w checked out the Key West Boat Show and Nautical ‘Stuff’ and found that the Ice Cream Parlor was the hit of the afternoon for us .. later we walked with Karen and Gladys ( DEVOCEAN ) to Monty’s Raw Bar at the Conch Harbor Marina for dinner with a number of other boaters that we have crossed ‘wakes’ with before .. we checked the weather again .. it looks like Sunday will be a great day to head back to Fort Myers as there will be a short ‘Weather Window’ then .. sooo we are going to head out for the Dry Tortugas in the morning ..
Thursday March 4 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. the weather window yesterday closed right back up .. today we are back to high winds and Seas .. but the temps are where they should be .. it was sunny and in the 80s before the wedding party arrived at Southwest Florida and when they got here they brought the Minnesota weather with them .. now that they are gone the temps are right back to normal .. another great day to be ‘weathered in at Margaritaville’ .. we walked the Docks and talked with many boaters .. later we went to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum and it was very interesting .. many exhibits of sunken ships and the treasures that have been recovered from them .. we had part of our dinner at OB Fish .. its located behind an old Pickup Truck and is a well known Key West landmark .. from there we ended up at the Seafood Company located right on the main Waterfront Wharf where the high winds almost blew us off our chairs ..
Friday March 5 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. it is still windy this morning but it looks like the high winds are going to finally start to die down a little this weekend .. we talked to Bernie ( SITTING DUCK ) he said that Joe and Chris from CCM was able to get a new Water Pump yesterday and that they got it installed last night .. so they will be heading back to Centennial later today .. Kerry and Jane aboard DIAMOND SUN were going to move into the Slip right next to Dee Light .. they have been staying at the City of Key West Marina .. and have also been weathered in longer than they had planned and were unable to stay there any longer sooo they had to move .. but at the last minute their Marina was able to move some boats around and they were able to stay right there for there last two nights .. we did much shopping and ended up at the Blue Heaven for lunch .. we have been there a number of times for breakfast but never for lunch .. it was just as great for lunch as for breakfast .. w checked out the Key West Boat Show and Nautical ‘Stuff’ and found that the Ice Cream Parlor was the hit of the afternoon for us .. later we walked with Karen and Gladys ( DEVOCEAN ) to Monty’s Raw Bar at the Conch Harbor Marina for dinner with a number of other boaters that we have crossed ‘wakes’ with before .. we checked the weather again .. it looks like Sunday will be a great day to head back to Fort Myers as there will be a short ‘Weather Window’ then .. sooo we are going to head out for the Dry Tortugas in the morning ..
Saturday March 6 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. we walked to the Yankee Freedom II ( a large Catamaran Ferry ) .. once all were aboard we had breakfast just as we were leaving the Key West Harbour area .. the large Ferry they took us almost 70 miles West of Key West Florida where there is a cluster of seven Islands called the Dry Tortugas .. these islands along with surrounding Coral Reefs and waters make up the Dry Tortugas National Park .. the Seas were still rolling from all the winds the last number of days but we only had 3 to 5 footers .. not bad at all .. Fort Jefferson is located on the largest and main Island of the cluster .. the Fort encompasses just about the entire Island .. once we made it to the Island we took the tour of the Fort and found it most interesting .. the Fort is one of the largest structures in the Western Hemisphere .. it took over 40 million bricks to construct the Fort .. the Staff of the Ferry served us lunch under the trees neat the Fort .. after lunch we did some snorkeling in a quite Bay and got plenty of sun .. this was the first time that Betty has snorkeled .. on the return trip Marv talked to the Ferry Captain ( Captain Rick ) .. he altered our return course and we ended up taking the Southwest Channel into the Key West Harbor .. once back we walked thru the Key West Nautical Boat Show where there were over 140 venders of Nautical ‘Stuff’ .. we ate ourselves from one end of Mallory Square to the other as we watched our last sunset at Key West .. we checked out the weather for Sunday and it looks like it should be great for our anticipated return trip to Fort Myers ..
Travel – Key West, FL to Dry Tortugas National Park and back – 0 Lock today and 0 Locks To Date – 114 Miles Today – Cumulative Miles 293 ..
Sunday March 7 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. SALTY DOG and DIAMOND SUN pulled out of their Marina and went by our Marina about 06:00 am .. they will be heading for Naples and from there head on to Fort Myers on Monday .. after saying our goodbyes to Gladys and Karen ( DEVOCEAN ) and a number of other boaters we headed out of the Marina at 06:45 am .. the winds were very mild from our Aft .. mostly from the South .. as we passed SALTY DOG and DIAMOND SUN we took photos of both of them .. we were able to set our Autopilot for due North ( 0 degrees ) for much of our day on the open waters .. SALTY DOG and Diamond SUN decided with the windy weather forecast for Monday that they are now going to go further today and spend the night on the Hook just off the Marked River Channel .. they both contacted us and asked us to cancel out there Slip reservation at Naples when we pass by that area .. we had HEAVEY FOG from about 25 to 30 miles South of the Marco area all the way to the First Marker off Fort Myers Beach .. we navigated with our Rader and Plotter for the entire way .. we saw many boats on our Radar Unit but we never saw any at all with our eyes .. once we made it to the ICW there were boats all over .. at one time we could count over 50 boats within sight .. we found out that today is the ‘Shrimp Festival’ at Fort Myers Beach .. with the “Blessing of the Fleet” .. there were many boats out heading in that direction making the water terribly rough .. Dee Light has already been blessed in the past so we just kept heading towards the Marina .. we were slowed down a lot but it was a great day to be out on the water .. we talked to SALTY DOG .. apparently DIAMOND SUN got turned around in the FOG and started to head due South .. the DIAMOND SUN must have wanted to spend another day in Key West .. they both ended up at Naples for the night ..we called ahead to the Marina and by the time that we got there we had a crowd waiting for us on the Dock .. we were in our Slip and all tied off by 02:15 pm .. after docking the winds started to pick up again and on Monday the Seas are to be back to the 3 to 5s and the 4 to 7s again .. after we were settled we went to SITTING DUCK for a drink and ended up having a gourmet dinner on the DUCK .. a great way to end the day ..
Travel – Key West, FL to Fort Myers FL – 0 Lock today and 0 Locks To Date – 153 Miles Today – Cumulative Miles 446 ..
Travel – Key West, FL to Dry Tortugas National Park and back – 0 Lock today and 0 Locks To Date – 114 Miles Today – Cumulative Miles 293 ..
Sunday March 7 – The Galleon – Key West, FL - 800-6 MA-RINA .. SALTY DOG and DIAMOND SUN pulled out of their Marina and went by our Marina about 06:00 am .. they will be heading for Naples and from there head on to Fort Myers on Monday .. after saying our goodbyes to Gladys and Karen ( DEVOCEAN ) and a number of other boaters we headed out of the Marina at 06:45 am .. the winds were very mild from our Aft .. mostly from the South .. as we passed SALTY DOG and DIAMOND SUN we took photos of both of them .. we were able to set our Autopilot for due North ( 0 degrees ) for much of our day on the open waters .. SALTY DOG and Diamond SUN decided with the windy weather forecast for Monday that they are now going to go further today and spend the night on the Hook just off the Marked River Channel .. they both contacted us and asked us to cancel out there Slip reservation at Naples when we pass by that area .. we had HEAVEY FOG from about 25 to 30 miles South of the Marco area all the way to the First Marker off Fort Myers Beach .. we navigated with our Rader and Plotter for the entire way .. we saw many boats on our Radar Unit but we never saw any at all with our eyes .. once we made it to the ICW there were boats all over .. at one time we could count over 50 boats within sight .. we found out that today is the ‘Shrimp Festival’ at Fort Myers Beach .. with the “Blessing of the Fleet” .. there were many boats out heading in that direction making the water terribly rough .. Dee Light has already been blessed in the past so we just kept heading towards the Marina .. we were slowed down a lot but it was a great day to be out on the water .. we talked to SALTY DOG .. apparently DIAMOND SUN got turned around in the FOG and started to head due South .. the DIAMOND SUN must have wanted to spend another day in Key West .. they both ended up at Naples for the night ..we called ahead to the Marina and by the time that we got there we had a crowd waiting for us on the Dock .. we were in our Slip and all tied off by 02:15 pm .. after docking the winds started to pick up again and on Monday the Seas are to be back to the 3 to 5s and the 4 to 7s again .. after we were settled we went to SITTING DUCK for a drink and ended up having a gourmet dinner on the DUCK .. a great way to end the day ..
Travel – Key West, FL to Fort Myers FL – 0 Lock today and 0 Locks To Date – 153 Miles Today – Cumulative Miles 446 ..
Monday March 08 - Centennial Harbour Marina – Fort Myers, FL - (239) 461-0775 – Mile 136 .. the winds were light in the morning but are forecast to become stronger during the day .. for SALTY DOG and DIAMOND SUN the saga continues .. yesterday the last message that we had from them was that DIAMOND SUN had become turned around in the dense fog and was heading for Cuba and that SALTY DOG was going to try to find them .. soo we put in a phone message for them .. this morning we did get a return phone message that they did make it to the Dock in Naples and that Bill had to do some diving because they got a ‘poly propane line’ ( Crab Pot Line ) caught in their props .. they both headed out of Naples about 09:45 am and after stopping at Ballard Oil Company ( Fort Myers Beach FL ) for fuel they made it back to Centennial by 05:00 pm .. Marv spent most of the day getting the first layer of SALT off Dee Light ..
.. this concludes the Log of our trip to Key West ..
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.. this concludes the Log of our trip to Key West ..
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