Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

Friday, February 16. The temperatures have hovered in the 50s today, so we’ve enjoyed a lazy day on the boat. A little clean-up was in order, and we needed to plan the route from this point north. By 6 p.m. we were hungry, so we headed out on foot to a “restaurant that is just across the street,” according to the lady at the Old Port Cove Marina office. The problem was, “Where is the street?” As we discovered when we started walking, this marina is embedded in an upscale gated community of multiple, fabulous condominium complexes. In fact, this whole North Palm Beach area is called “The Gold Coast,” originally from the wreck of a Spanish armada in which several ships lost $14 million in gold coins and jewels in 1715. A hurricane hit the fleet as they were sailing from Cuba to Spain. Somebody must have found the booty because everything around us looks as if it were built on gold foundations. We finally discovered our way out of the glittering multi-condo neighborhood and had an outstanding meal (Veal Piccata and Warm Spinach Salad – yummmm) at San Gennaro’s, a ristorante Italiano that knows how to make diners want to come back. It was one of the best meals yet. As others have said before us, “I could live here.”

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Because of all the bridges and commercial traffic in this congested area of the Intercoastal Waterway, we decided to take the “outside” route. (Translate: Bob and I cruising all day long on our little 34-foot boat out in the big Atlantic Ocean.) Actually, the run was mostly uneventful, and this was a much faster way to cover 90-plus miles than if we had tried the ICW. For a while we traveled 2–3 miles offshore, where the water depth was well over 100 feet. We were now heading due north, past miles of beach after beach, all lined chock-to-block with tall condos. It was impossible to tell where one famous beach ended and the next began. We had some company: a few sportsfishermen, an occasional cruiser, trawler, or sailboat were also out on this coolish, misty day. As we got further north, we began to feel the effects of a cold front, and the wind and rollers picked up a bit. We moved closer in to shore, where we were more comfortable.

Then . . . just as we spied the Lake Worth Inlet, which would lead to our resting spot for the next few days, we also spotted some BIG boats, also planning to enter the same cut. It seemed as if every boat on the ocean wanted to converge right there on the same path that Second Wind needed to take. We made it just fine, thanks to a tip given to us by Brian and Denny yesterday. We rushed through the Inlet and immediately got out of the way as we watched the large, fast ferry boat from the Bahamas speed across our wake. Whew! We were exhausted when we finally arrived at Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach on Lake Worth, glad to be off the ocean. For some reason, my brain had turned to a mushroom, and while docking, I fumbled my lines and fenders as if I’d never been on a boat before. (Of course, Bob was speaking in tongues when he tried to tell me what he wanted me to do – I think it must have been his fault.) But we were safe and secure on Second Wind, happy to begin a quiet evening after what had become a long, intense day.

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The condo allowed us to dock our boat along the seawall for the weekend. Suffice it to say that during the entire weekend margaritas flowed freely and laughter was abundant. We went to an art show in Islamorada and shopped at a million little shops. We played Spinner dominoes, ate out, gave gifts, and talked and laughed some more. Bob was named an honorary YoYo.

Unfortunately, Monday morning dawned with high winds, holding steady at 25 mph with gusts even higher. Small craft advisories were in effect, and we knew that Second Wind, with its shallow draft and relatively light weight, had no business being out in it. So even though the YaYas are gone, we can’t leave. According to condo rules we can’t stay on the boat, so we are staying in the YaYa-less Sombrero Ridge condo until the weather calms down, then we will move to a nearby marina.

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Thursday, February 1. Everybody celebrated recovering from various maladies by heading south by car to Key West. On the way, we took a brief side trip to Big Pine Key and were lucky enough to see a Key Deer, an endangered miniature species unique to the area.

Jim and Martha headed toward the Hemingway House to see the five-toed cats while Bob and I headed down Duval Street to the Audubon Museum. We met again in Mallory Square, where we caught some street shows and watched the sun go down. By the way, the guy with trained cats has gotten stranger than ever! We had a delicious dinner at Sarabeths in Old Town, where Bob and I had eaten last year with the Upchurches.

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Hundreds and maybe thousands of boats call Boot Key Harbor home. It is a boater’s dream. Many are anchored or tied up in a large mooring field managed by the City of Marathon Marina. Because there was a waiting list for moorings, and anchorages looked really scarce, we made reservations at the Sombrero Resort and Lighthouse Marina in Marathon. We were told that that it is extremely difficult for catamarans to find spots in this area because they are so wide. I believe it! Fortunately, we were able to get a slip that had been vacated for a few days while the residents went to the Dry Tortugas. Unfortunately, our slip was located about half a mile from the showers. Jim and Martha rented a car so we could get around for the next couple of days. Bob wasn’t feeling great, so we went to Walgreen’s to get a prescription filled, then we called it a night.

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Tuesday, January 30. After a run from Goodland back out into the Gulf, we passed an area called the Ten Thousand Islands. We saw that the shore was now outlined by mangroves rather than high-rise condos. This was the coastline of the Everglades National Park. Around a bend in the Little Shark River, we dropped anchor around 4 p.m. This area is primitive, remote, and uninhabited. Surprisingly, we were not totally alone in the wilderness, though. Entering the river, we passed a sailboat and up ahead we saw another trawler, which turned out to be Cloud Nine, owned by Loopers Pam and Tom Frech, We had met them briefly at the October Great Loop Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park. Their dilemma was that all the wind had caused them to miss getting to the Keys, where a friend was to meet them. No cell phone coverage in the Everglades! The Coast Guard didn’t even answer their request to forward a message.

As soon as our anchor was secure, we lowered the dinghy and set out on a great “Everglades Explore” down coffee-colored creeks through lush, thick mangrove forests. “Awesome” is the only way to describe what we saw. There is just nothing like it, although the natural salty/fishy odor of the swamp reminded me very much of the salt marshes of the Carolinas. The biggest thrill was watching dolphins catch their dinner. At least two large dolphins worked the shoreline, trapping fish against the bank. Mullet were jumping four feet out of the water as the dolphin and other fish thrashed around in a melee. We were so close we could actually hear the dolphins breathing. What a rush! Finally as the sun started to go down, the pesky no-see-ums came out and made us pretty miserable. Darn it, we never saw a single alligator either! Back at the boat, we celebrated our adventure with the delicious chili that had been cooking all day on the crockpot. Yum! To end an amazing day, we saw a beautiful sunset.

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Monday, January 29. By noon, the wind had died down a bit, so we were finally able to take Jim and Martha out on the boat. We went about 3 miles offshore; we could see land, which gradually became less and less inhabited. The residual waves made Martha a bit queasy, but she was a trooper, hung on, and took lots of pictures of birds. We had wanted to make it all the way to the Everglades, but the wind delay wouldn’t allow us to get that far. By late afternoon, we made it to the quiet fishing village of Goodland, FL, which is just past Marco Island. After winding through a long channel, we stayed at a fancy marina called Caloosa Island Yacht Club, which is located amidst a tangle of mangroves. This was the first time I’ve seen mangroves up close – fascinating how the roots drop down and intertwine!

Goodland was pretty quiet. Snowy egrets and pelicans were our neighbors along with several people who live aboard their boats. Jim saw a man with a briefcase, clearly dressed for work, leave his boat and walk down the pier to his car. That,s hard for me to imagine, but plenty of people live on some mighty fancy boats in this area.

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After lunch Claudia and Bob took Martha and I over the lighthouse and the beach. The lighthouse is unusual because it is totally constructed of metal beams. It is still functions as a lighthouse though. The wind prevented us from doing very much shelling, so we enjoyed tagging along with Claudia and Bob while pursued their fascinating hobby of geocaching. Geocaching is sort of a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to find specific “treasures” that have been stashed by others. Clues and information for thousands of sites can be found online. They were able to locate and report their success online for at least two spots while we were with them. After they left Jim, Martha, Bob, and I took a long walk. It was great to get some exercise and explore the neighborhood near the marina. If I haven’t said it before, Sanibel is now one of my favorite spots! Again, we wished we had bicycles.

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