Buttonwood Sound to Barnes Sound (January 14-20)
We had a fun week in the developed portion of Key Largo at Buttonwood Sound and are now anchored in the far northeast corner of Barnes Sound in a very secluded spot but still off of Key Largo (see Garmin tracker for exact spot). We had a full week of swimming, snorkeling, boat chores and getting to know all the cruisers in our anchorage (shoutout to Sorella, Charisma, Greenlights, Willy Dawes, and Le Repos).
So, first swimming-
Thanks to a few warm days, the temperature of the water has creeped up to the low 70s, so we have been swimming around the boat some. The water here is clear, so we get a good view of wildlife around the boat. Also, an unobstructed view of the bottom of our boat and it looks like it probably will need a cleaning soon. We are sitting in about 7’ of water so it’s a little disconcerting to see the bottom of the keel with only a foot or so under it. The water is still pretty cold, so we have been opting for wearing our shorty wetsuit for warmth.
Now snorkeling-
On Wednesday we took an epic dinghy ride (5 miles each way) to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We hiked the few land trails and then snorkeled in the mangroves just off of the shore on Largo Bay. In hindsight we probably should have paid to have the offshore trip to the better spots, but we opted out after our extended stay at Marathon Marina. Overall, we recommended a visit to this park. As a side note during our dinghy ride, we went through a man-made canal from Blackwater Bay to Largo sound. It was a pretty substantial cut through limestone, and it didn’t look too much like Florida. Check the picture out to see.
Chores-
Always with the boat chores. A short list of items we tackled would be rebuilding spare sump pump, troubleshooting the freshwater pump that supplies water to all the faucets (pump is sounding off and pressure is subpar), treating all the surfaces of the boat so mold won’t take hold, installing a stern light for the dinghy and just day to day items. Really no big issues this week.
Other Cruisers-
We had the opportunity to fraternize with several other cruisers. We went over to SV Sorella’s large Antares catamaran Sunday, Thursday, and Friday for sundowners. It was the perfect platform to host 4 boats for some snacks and drinks. The common protocol for sundowners on other boats is that it is BYOB and then each boat brings an item to share for a snack. At the end of the day, it is normally enough to serve as dinner. Win-win! We had a wonderful time socializing and learning where everyone is going. For the most part all the boats (except us) are trying to get to the Bahamas. Next season for us.
New Anchorage-
So now we are going to wait for some wind to blow through early this week. Being in our present location in Barnes Sound, we are super protected from the north and east. Since we are close to Alabama Jacks (cool dive bar) we will hit that up sometimes in the next few days and then start inching north into Biscayne Bay and check out the islands there. Many days of east wind so it looks like we will be anchoring on west side of those islands in the bay which suits us fine. We need to be in the Miami area in two weeks since Sondra needs to catch a fight to Orlando for a few days. After that we are going to start hopping up the ICW (Bypassing Miami proper offshore) leaving the Keys for this season.
As always, press the button to see the photos from this past week. This is the same folder as last week. Photos can be sorted by "Name" to see them in chronological order. New photos start on January 14, with Sondra cleaning stainless steel.
24-3
Comments