SATURDAY
We were up early and slipped out of the marina at 7am, pointing the bow north once again. We weren’t exactly sure how far we’d make it today, so we had a few possible anchorages picked out along the way—just in case.Best news of the day? The engines ran beautifully, just the way they’re supposed to! What a glorious sound… and honestly, what a relief. After all the recent drama, hearing them hum along happily was music to our ears.
The wind stayed under 20 knots and was mostly right on the nose, which actually made it easier to deal with. But the crab pots… yowza! They were everywhere. When the waves kick up and the whitecaps start rolling, those little floats get a lot harder to spot. It definitely kept us on high alert as we zig-zagged our way north. Thankfully, we managed to dodge every single one. Victory!
After about 35 nautical miles, we decided that was a perfectly respectable day and called it quits. We dropped the hook in a peaceful anchorage just north of Islamorada, where the gulf breeze is keeping things nice and comfortable.
Now we’re relaxing in the cockpit with a fun reggae station playing, soaking up the evening and feeling pretty grateful to finally be moving again.
Tomorrow… we continue the journey north. 🚤🌴🎶
SUNDAY
Another 35 miles behind us today as we cruised our way to an anchorage called Pumpkin Key. It’s a private island, so no exploring for us, but we could spot three homes tucked among the trees from our vantage point on the water. Just across from us sat Ocean Reef Club at the very top of Key Largo—an ultra-exclusive community with waterfront homes (more like mini-mansions), its own private airport, and shops reserved just for residents. Quite the neighborhood to be anchored near!
We also had a surprise visitor this afternoon—a very friendly pelican. 🐦 He floated up beside the boat and hung around like he was waiting for room service. I’m guessing the locals feed him regularly. After a while he decided the dinghy looked like a good perch and hopped right up. Of course…you know me—I had to have a little conversation with him. Eventually I convinced him to head back to the water, where he lingered a bit longer before finally taking off.
Later in the afternoon we took the dinghy out for a little neighborhood cruise. The winds had calmed way down and the evening turned perfectly peaceful. As we continue heading north, the temperatures are slowly warming—now we’re seeing highs in the upper 70s instead of the mid-70s. I’ll take it!
Tomorrow we’re planning an early start to make our way through Biscayne Bay and right past downtown Miami. 😳 Should be quite the view.
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