There are many interesting names in this area. For instance, Gilbert's Marina where we stayed Saturday night is on Jewfish Creek. Have no idea how it got it's name.
The antenna cable on the GPS shorted out so we got a late start.. West Marine is becoming one of our regular stops and it doesn't open on Sunday until 9am. But we finally got moving about 10:30. A couple of dolphins escorted us out of the harbor.
From Jewfish Creek we entered Blackwater Sound. The sound is just west of the Everglades National Park with vast expanses of water and mangrove forests. We didn't attempt to go ashore because all the keys within the park are restricted from landing except where designated and charted .
From Blackwater Sound, the ICW snakes through mangrove-lined Dunsenbury Creek, Tarpon Basin which is very shallow, then on to Buttonwood Sound. From there we entered Baker Cut which passes Pigeon Key and on to Cowpens Cut. Cowpens was named for the pens used to hold manatees, which were used for food by the Indians.
After Cowpens Cut we passed Islamorada (Spanish for “Purple Island”) before entering Steamboat Channel. The wind switched from east to northeast and increased to about 15-20 mph so we decided to make it a short day. God is always looking after us; just as we needed a place to hide we found the Lignumvitae State Botantical Park. We settled in about 3:30pm.
At 18 feet above sea level, Lignumvitae Key is the highest of the Keys; it is named for one of the hardest woods in the world, “the tree of life”.
In this area the ICW lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Barrier islands offer some protection on the ocean side but there is very little to the west, just open waters.
The wind is going to rock us all night but we're securely tied to a mooring ball. We'll turn in early so that we can get an early start tomorrow and get into Marathon before late afternoon.
Just as predicted the wind kicked up all night making it hard to sleep. There was a heavy overcast this morning so we didn't get moving until almost 8am.
The wind continued to blow, gusting sometimes so bad that we couldn't use the jib to smooth the ride. After what seemed like an endless day we finally made it to Marathon about 3pm. Interestingly, we were in the Gulf of Mexico on one side of the Seven Mile Bridge and in the Atlantic Ocean on the other side.
The marina where we had reservations didn't work out because it was too far from everything and there was no public transportation nearby. So we came on in to Boot Key Harbor City Marina. They don't take reservations so we were taking a chance on a vacancy. Once again God was in control, they had one slip left on the floating dock and it was suppose to be for a 33' boat. Our boat is 34' but the dockmaster said he would fit us in and he did.
As soon as we registered and tied up we took the bikes and went exploring, mostly for food since we hadn't had lunch. Wendy's never tasted as good as it did today. We found a Home Depot nearby so Phil will be a happy camper.
And there's a small church that we're going to visit probably Wednesday night.
When we got back to the boat we put up our little Christmas tree and turned on the outside lights. We're the only boat in the harbor that's lite up. Maybe we're just eager or maybe they're all scrooges. But we won't let that dampen our spirits or enthusisam for being here at last.
By the way it's about 75 degrees tonight and the rest of the week is suppose to in the low 80s. Signing off for now; we'll give updates as we discover this delighful place.
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