Yesterday we took Buddy south toward Gasparilla Pass to cool off and use up my supply of frozen shrimp. Frankly, since I have been without my mentor, Tonic Tom on the cute little boat, my success at fishing has been nothing to write home about.
As usual, the shrimp on a jig with a "popper" bobber yielded nothing... Tom, I must need another lesson...
So, I figure why not try some Wisconsin bass bait. With the Admiral driving with only one engine at idle speed, we headed back "home" on the ICW. There was quite a bit of boat traffic passing us by as we trolled along with me lounging in the cockpit, tending to two poles with floating lures.
Anyway, to make a short story long, I snagged this fish. At first I thought it was a submarine, but after a while I realized it was a fish. It took me a while to get it in the boat as I was using light spinning rods with 6# test line. A couple of passing boats even stopped to watch.
I have absolutely no idea what it is...
The Rangers have arrived! One R27 is even from Texas! Our immediate neighbors on the R21 are from Wisconsin! In that we are staying in the transient area of the marina, we see allot of boats come and go...
Friday we took Buddy down the ICW and up Charlotte Harbor for a overnight visit with John and Sara. Saturday morning the four of us hopped aboard for an early start back to Palm Island Marina to beat an approaching cold front. By the time we turned the corner and headed up the well-protected ICW, the winds were starting to build.
For the afternoon Dar and Jim (even more of the Cheesehead Navy) and our marina neighbor Mike joined us and we all took the water taxi to the beach. The surf was building and a number of the group tried a bit of body surfing. We then headed back for a quick rinse in the pool and a trip to Stump Pass Marina for a bit of entertainment by the Yard Dogs, a local band featuring an accordion player from, you guessed it, Milwaukee...
From there it was a trip up the road for pizza at an Englewood favorite, the Faull Inn.
It was a full day... Sunday was a day of rest...
The last cold front to blast through put this small sailboat on the beach in Punta Gorda. The owner was aboard. Had to be quite a ride... After a number of attempts, this one was successful. The activity caused quite a crowd to develop and watch the "show"...
We've been hanging out at Palm Island, with day trips fishing, biking, or getting together with friends that live in the area. One day last week more members of the Cheesehead navy picked us up at the marina for a run to Venice via the ICW for lunch. This 32' Intrepid was a bit faster than Buddy...
When we got back to the Palm Island we were greeted by our friendly manatee...
It's Tom's fault... Tonic Tom got more power for his rubber yacht and got me into salt water fishing. Next thing that happens is I'm not satisfied with my Yamaha 2.5.... A member of the Cheesehead navy then offers to sell me his used Mercury 6hp. Going trolling this afternoon. It's all Tom's fault...
The last time we were at Cabbage Key was New Years Eve 1994. Sunday morning we picked up the crew of the Cheesehead Navy for a quick ride to breakfast. Not much has changed since our last visit.
The bartender told us all of the cash was removed from the walls and ceilings after 9/11 for a donation to the survivors of the tragedy. More than $70,000 was donated.
After breakfast the crew toured of the island.
We do like our Rosborough. This morning Buddy was high on us... The able staff of Palm Island Marina hauled Buddy first thing this morning to rehab our SeaStar steering cylinder. The whole process took less than 3 hours. The last cold front was enough to convince me the seals in the cylinder were more than due for replacement. Lately when the weather would cool down, our steering would get a bit unpredictable. Not a good thing...
This being a special day, after breakfast I made a quick run to Walmart to get my Valentine a $5 bouquet of roses... When I returned we decided to check out Palm Island and our PIMYC privileges. We took the water taxi from the marina to Palm Island. Captain Kelly gave us a nice ride to and from the island.
After grabbing a quick lunch at the Rum Bay restaurant, we headed to the beach. The weather was perfect and we spent a couple hours lounging and looking for shark's teeth. In that Palm Island is private, there were no crowds. From the photo, you can also see there were plenty of teeth...
We moved today. Hauled the boat at 8:30 am, drove 266 miles NW to just north of Boca Grande, launched at 3 pm and were set in our slip for the next month at Palm Island Marina and Resort by 4. Great place, the heat is on as the overnight low is forecast to be 32... Warm-up Monday with the forecast in the 80's for the next two weeks. Our slip is behind the palm trees, behind the hot tub.
http://www.palmisland.com/the-island-experience/palm-island-marina/
My son has been visiting since last Saturday. Unfortunately, it has been raining every day. We did escape the rain on Monday by traveling west to Key West. We did the usual tourist thing. The rain is forecast to stop tomorrow, after we drop him off at the Miami airport...
Today we took a 10 mile bike ride to Tavernier. Among other things, we saw witches, dragons, and birds of all sorts...
For the last two days we have been guests aboard Dick and Anne's "Nati" for a short cruise to Marathon. The first night we were on the hook in Long Key bight. A cold front came blasting through Sunday so there was plenty of wind. There were three other boats trying to hide from the wind that didn't fare as well as Nati as they all went to the drag races by morning. With the wind behind us blowing 25-30, we cruised down Hawk Channel the next day to Boot Key Harbor.
As usual, for this time of year, the "inn" was full, with a 20 boat waiting list for a mooring. We eventually found a place to anchor in the land of stray current, Sister Creek. Normally, this is not a good place to be as the noseeums have a 1' wingspan there and are especially hungry. Fortunately, with it blowing so hard they were kept a bay...
It appears the city fathers of Marathon are trying to reduce the boater population, for as of Feb. 1, the daily dinghy fee for those unable to get a mooring will be $22.
On our way back home today we passed a couple of interesting boats. One looked vaguely familiar...
The guy on the cute little boat was the first with the correct answer to my quiz. We get back to the marina yesterday and he gives me the lame excuse that his tap and die set is 1400 miles north in Indiana... So, $50 and 3 hours later this morning, Buddy is good to go. We hadn't run on one engine for any distance before yesterday so I was interested to see how it worked. At 3000 rpm we ran at a little over 6 knots, 3500 rpm about 7.5. With both engines at 2000 rpm we run at 6 knots, fuel economy running both at 2000 is the same as running one at 3000. We had a Proline 23 walk around a few years back with a 15 kicker that would do 6 knots wide open in flat seas. I'm pleased with Buddy's performance with the twin 50 high thrusts, and am glad we had two...
On the way back to Plantation Key we passed a marker that has obviously seen better days...
Tonight we are on the hook about 9km NE of Plantation Key. The hunt for Roseate Spoonbills was successful!
