Happy New Year! Today Jimmy and I reflected on the fact that it was a year ago today that we departed on Utopia from the Apalachee Bay Yacht Club towards St. Petersburg (see the blog about the passage). That was a big milestone for us since moving the boat from “home” down to St. Petersburg was another step towards beginning our full-time cruising journey. It is exciting to think that we managed to pull it off and are spending this New Year's in Key West.
So, speaking of being in Key West for New Year’s Eve… well, it has been interesting trying to figure out the weather this year. As a result, we are still in Key West and never made it to the Dry Tortugas. So, this week, we are just sharing a short recap of of our time in Key West.
A Week in Key West
The dinghy dock of our mooring field is located a mile from the “downtown” area of Key West, so we have been getting some walking in nearly every day. One exception was Christmas Day where high winds and rain removed any desire to take the long dinghy ride to shore before the mile walk into downtown. Instead, it was a cozy boat day where boat chores were purely optional which turned into a wonderful book reading day.
Other days have been spent walking the old marina, checking out Key West sights, visiting the southern beach, wandering neighborhoods filled with older houses, and nearly daily visits to West Marine. Several of our walks revolved around running errands. This is a terrific way to see the sights and get some exercise in. We even rented bikes one afternoon as a result of trying to walk too far in flip flops, turning into another fun way to wander the city.
Some boat chores included:
Removing impeller parts from the engine
Stopping a rather big leak from the water heater
Fixing the navigation lights on Utopia (not sure if they worked on our overnight crossing to the keys)
Lightening up weight of dinghy security by switching from chain to coated cable
Getting into cold, cold water to view the bottom of the boat along with the zincs
Baxter has absolutely loved this mooring field. He spends most of his day stalking the birds that land on nearby boats or in the waters around Utopia. It is almost as if he never naps when we are home, allowing him to roam at will. It does not matter if the deck is soaked from a recent rain, or morning dew, or if the sun is shining brightly, Baxter wants to be out on the deck. We lock him inside at night and when we leave the boat. He gets so mad when we make him go below, so we purchased cat treats while in Key West, and so far, it seems to be a good way to trick him into the cabin.
Upcoming Plans
Now that have taken care of our bigger projects, along with the smaller ones, we are ready to head on to the next location. With the weather we’ve decided to stay here for New Year’s Eve, leaving tomorrow morning. In general, it is difficult for us to indicate where we will head next. The weather, especially in an El Nino year, really affects where you can go. All I can say is, we will be in the Florida Keys for a while.
Here is a link to our Key West photos, including those from our passage from Marco Island, covered in last week’s post.
Happy New Year to all of you!
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Happy New Year!!!