We're in the Bahamas !

Made it into Bimini yesterday. Had a great sail from our anchorage near Key Largo. Left at 5 AM and arrived in Bimini around 3 PM, about 55 miles across the Gulf Stream. Currently in a slip at Bluewater Marina and will need to hang here for a while as we await passage of the next 'Norther' this weekend. Then it is across the 'flats' to Nassau where we hope to meet up with my friend Nour for a few days.

Florida Keys

Just a quick update here from Boot Key Harbor - After a week in Punta Gorda I headed south to Fort Myers Beach and met several boaters from upstate NY. I have been travelling with "Oblivion" since. We sailed down the SW Florida coast anchoring at Indian Key and Little Shark River. We set off in the evening about 10 days ago from Cape Sable and had a nice overnight sail to Key West. We spent a week in KW, first in an anchorage and then at a mooring ball in Garrison Bight as they were kicking out all the boats at anchor near the Navy base. KW is a neat place, but a little crazy.

Last Monday we had a nice sail from KW to Marathon. Scott Ludwig jumped off Oblivion and sailed with me for a while but he returned to Sanibel today. There are several other boats here in Marathon planning to make the trip about the same time so we will have lots of company. There is a small "cruisers" community here at the Marathon City Marina, with hundreds of boats in the mooring field. Some are here for a few days, some for months. There is a "cruisers net" on VHF channel 68 every morning with weather, announcements and all kinds of info. There are lots of friendly people here and the pace of life is very relaxing. I can see how people stay here for months!