I love being on the water…the ocean breezes and the saltwater smells, meeting new people and being close with my family and of course, my favorite thing about water, swimming. In my old age, I tolerate being picked up and appreciate assistance when I can’t quite ground my paws. The docks, however, seem to have expanded exponentially in length from last years trip. When my life jacket is presented, I’m psyched to swim, but not so keen on being swung between the boat and the dock suspended by its handle. And I’m tired of traversing long hard and often slippery docks in an attempt to locate grass. Marina pools don’t allow dogs, not that I can make it that far anyway, and my sea legs are tired . Thus, I have decided that my boating days have come to an end.
We had a safe passage from Key West back home to Fort Myers, taking a straight shot in around 5 hours. Here are some highlights from my last trip:
- Being entertained by three manatees in the Key West Bight marine harbor.
- Hanging out on the back of the boat with my peeps during cocktail hour and late night card games. (Mom couldn’t win a hand this time around.)
- Running in calm seas in the gulf breeze.
I’m now enjoying the comforts of home where the grass is close, the floor padded, and the pool warmly welcomes dogs. Thanks for following my boating adventures.
Sunny
Despite a warm day, I managed to catch the breeze and some rays, after sleeping in until noon, and enjoyed sniffing the scents of people strolling by in Key West bight marina thanks to some handy ice packs and strategically placed portable fans to keep me cool.
I’ve made new friends with a green heron who’s as good a fisherman as I 
can imagine. He hops along the dock and shimmies up our ropes, extending his neck thrice it’s apparent length to snag fish after fish. We were also visited by three frolicking manitees, but mom forgot the cable for the Nikon camera at home, so pics will have to wait until we locate a camera shop or until we return.
As I napped the afternoon away, the kids romped about town and paid visit to the Truman Little White House, where President Truman spent nearly half a year in total days during his presidential service, for a dose of Keys and Presidential history.
For fellow foodie travelers to Key West, here’s the scoop on dining thus far. Pepe‘s remains our go to breakfast joint as does Alonzo’s Oyster Bar for happy hour. A and B Lobster, just upstairs from Alonzo’s, had fantastic Hog snapper and scallops last night and we’d certainly return. Tonight we’re heading out to Nine One Five on Duval Street. We’ll report in tomorrow about it and plan to stay another day with pending decisions about Tuesday.
Lucky me. I may be an old dog, but I’ve still got spunk and spirit. I’ve donned my life vest once again, this time for a much abreviated adventure. Yesterday afternoon I suited up and departed with my peeps from Fort Myers for a short jaunt to Marco Island. I took my usual spot between the helm and first mate’s chair for the slightly choppy but still enjoyable ride.
We tucked in at Marco Island Yacht Club. The kids went to dinner and returned from smelling of steak and cabernet, lolling my tongue with envy. (You know, I get the same old chow.) I’m happy to report that I’ve become much more pliable in my old age and now actually enjoy being lifted into and out of the hold.
Boater’s notes: Marco Island Yacht Club has great facilities with concrete floating docks and a fantastic dining room…food and services alike. There is no fuel at the marina, however but we were impressed top to bottom and would certainly return for the frolicking dolphin views at sunset.
Today we made the crossing to Key West in glassy seas, sighting several large turtles diving as we passed over the sea foam green water. Reeds, seaweeds and other small debris peppered the gulf from last weeks winds, but the trip was much cooler than the last year and I napped most of the way.
We’re now tucked in at Galleon Resort Marina, a single grand jete from our location last year here in Key West, yet quite a step up from our digs last year. The kids are itching to get to happy hour at Alonzo’s so I’ve got to sign off.
Our adventure ended much as it began, with a long run and calm seas. The major difference was 20 degrees in temperature and 30% less humidity. We didn’t have glass as we did in the Gulf of Mexico, but I think we traded up for a cool breeze that even induced goose bumps on the first mate.
As we turned into Rockaway Inlet, my nose in the air led the way home. The Captain’s hue nearly matches mine and in honor of our redness, I’ve decided to end this journey with a limerick.
It's over. I'm out.
- Fifteen hundred miles there to here.
- We’ve arrived so shout out a cheer!
- New friends and great fun,
- Aground we’ve not run,
- We will do it again next year.
The conditions for our last leg home appeared more favorable tomorrow, so we decided to wait and enjoy the coolest day thus far in our journey, a mere 86 degrees. I’m hanging out on the deck with the kids as they catch up on what’s happening in the world via the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
We entertained the first visitors on our boat of the entire trip last night. Thanks Scott and Paula for venturing to meet us, for the great bottle of wine and dinner. We returned to the Chart House for lunch.
We’re getting excited to share the stories of this adventure with our dock neighbors at Gateway Marina where we plan to conclude this journey tomorrow. We will post tomorrow, but don’t expect it before 8pm.
Napping with my new duckie
Today is the first day we’ve been in the Atlantic Ocean since leaving Florida. The 40 mile run in the ocean began with 4-5 foot rolling waves which subsided to 2–3 feet, not quite calm enough for me to nap on the run. The quick 2.5 hour trip was overall simple and straight forward with sightings of numerous dolphin groupings as well as schools of smaller fish. We’ re Farley State Marina with a skyline quite different from Cape Cod, where the highest rising objects were sail masts at the marina and Victorian gables in town. Here we’re adjacent to casino hotels, the closest of which is the Golden Nugget, which used to be the Trump complex.
My predictions is we’ll be in Brooklyn tomorrow unless the weather changes.
Some stats from our journey:
- We’ve traveled over 1500 miles without running aground (no lie)
- We’ve been on the boat for six weeks
- We’ve endured record heat for over half of these days
- Our bar tab has far exceeded our boat repair bills
Cape May Point signage educates beach goers
Not much kept us from running 25 knots today, as we needed to create a breeze. Luckily the sun stayed behind the clouds most of the day, but the temperature and humidity are still quite high. I spent most of the afternoon on the aft bench with an ice pack cooling my belly. Mom sat next to me with an ice pack on her broken/jammed/torn ligament (?) finger as the result of late evening football game in the pool last night. (Those kids!)
Several donzi boats scared the bejesus out of us as they came racing by through the C and D Canal. They’re like fighter jets-you can’t hear them until they’re right up next to you. The Delaware Bay was kind to us, 1-2 foot waves, an ebb tide and following wind. Only until we were within 5 miles of Cape May did the waves pick up.
We’re tied down at the South Jersey Marina with a storm about to roll in. I can feel the humidity drop and cool breeze coming. Tonight we celebrate Mommy’s birthday, though I’ll get left out of the Lobster House dinner.
Storms are scheduled to continue into tomorrow, so we’ll be here for at least a day, making the run to Brooklyn on Tuesday or Wednesday.
A weather system is moving across the northern Chesapeake Bay and hanging over the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, a 14 mile canal about 20 miles north of us. We’ve decided to stay put at White Oak Landing Marina until tomorrow. We’re protected here and I get to hang out in the AC! It’s still hot, as it is so many places right now. Stay cool!
Last night's moon
A northeast run of 60 miles took us from Solomon’s Island to Fairlee Creek on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. We decided to bypass Baltimore and have landed at Great Oak Landing Marina located in a protected cove with boats anchored and swimmers trying to beat the record heat…98 with a heat index of 118. The breeze was no help on the water – it’s just plain hot and muggy. I’ve been hosed down and now am in the cabin with the AC blasting strong.
Lighthouses are situated well into the Bay and we discovered at the Calvert Maritime Museum that served as a full time residence for the operator and his family. In addition to local maritime history, which centers on the oyster trade, the museum also houses an informative exhibit on local ecology and a sizable collection of fossils from the nearby Calvert Cliffs, including a skeletal restoration of a 35’ Miocene great white shark, one of two in the world. A Navy test pilot facility is located across the Patuxent River from Solomon’s Island. Captain was thrilled with the flybys of F15s, AWACs, T2 trainers and JSF 22 Raptors.
Our plan is to head out to Cape May tomorrow, though there is thunder in the distance so we may be delayed. Perhaps we’ll get a storm to break this heat!
T
his morning we left mile marker 0 of the Inter Coastal Waterway and headed into the Chesapeake Bay. Our departure was delayed by a Navy vessel turning in the basin via a series of tugs. Yet we made good time running nearly 100 miles in 5 hours. Our run was smooth with 1-foot seas making our ride comfortable while creating a breeze. The cool spell we had, however, has left us and we are back in 90-degree heat.
We’ve landed at the Solomon’s Island Yacht Club where I have become instantly popular with my new collar. People here seem to have an affinity for old dogs and the lawns and porches are inviting to me. Tonight is taco night here, so we’ll be handing out and I’ll be scrounging for scraps.
The plan is to stay tomorrow and head to Baltimore on Friday. In the meantime, here are some Norfolk Highlights.
My new nautical collar. I've earned all the flags!
The Waterside Marina at Norfolk afforded us the opportunity to observe a busy working harbor with a plethora of pleasure, naval and commercial vessels, including coal carriers, large box shipping flats and tugs. A dredger worked 24-7 across the bay. The ferry dock to Portsmouth was nearby and we’d hear it’s one long and three short toots every half hour.
Norfolk’s top find was the McArthur Museum, at which Captain and First Mate agree they learned more about American history than in grade school. The museum is full of facts woven together in a narrative fashion and incorporates myriads of historical photos. A boat tour to the Navy facility was also fascinating and informative. Captain finally got his hands on the camera since he wasn’t’ at the helm, but he did continually check to make sure the boat was in the channel. A tour of the USS Wisconsin placed our feet on the largest boat we’ve boarded at 105 feet wide and 880 feet long. The eatin’ was also good and we enjoyed our cosmopolitan setting.
Sunny's Intercoastal Adventures 