The Trek North Begins

The Trek Begins

Yesterday evening I was sitting on deck with a drink in my hand while I drank in one last beautiful sunset in Marathon. I thought to myself, “this is what people think of when they hear about cruising on a sailboat.” Oh yes, did I mention that it was 79 degrees? It was our last night in Marathon before beginning the trek north. As you know, the spring migration has captured us.

This morning we awoke just before the sun and prepared a basic breakfast – coffee being the most important ingredient – and prepared to leave. Up with the anchor and off we go. The wind was just a bit stronger than predicted, so the first half of the day was a bit lumpy – lumpy enough to keep us from doing much inside. The task was to guide the boat up to our anchorage near Key Largo while avoiding crab pot buoys and shallow water. Like long car trips, this is an all-day experience.

This is not the first day of a long car trip; it's another day in the lives of a couple of cruisers. What makes it different were the dolphins that checked us out, the stingrays jumping out of the water and the sea turtle poking up for air and view of us. The water along Hawk Channel was especially clear today, providing us with a great view of the bottom twenty to thirty feet below our boat as we cruised along. And of course, there was the late afternoon swim in the 80 degree water after securing the anchor for the night.

We did get a bit of excitement this afternoon when a boat from US Customs pulled up alongside to ask a number of questions. They were pleasant and polite and never even asked to come aboard. No big deal, I guess, but it did shake us up briefly.

We know it won't be like this every day. Each day will be different. It will be up to us to notice the special moments that will surprise us as we travel. We must continue to follow the advice of our boat's name – Carpe Diem!

Captain Bob

View our most recent anchored position on shiptrak.org. Input my Ham callsign: N1SFR to locate us.