All good things must come to an end, and we untied from Dockside in Marathon last Saturday. We had a good time and met some great people there, but it's time to quit being dock possums and get back to real boating. Not too soon, of course, because we went to Key West when we left.....one last trip to Schooner's Wharf to hear Michael McCloud sing and see our favorite waitress Debbie was a necessity for the Captains. The Admiral also needed an animal fix, provided by McCloud's roadie Cinderella and a sleepy Hemingway cat waiting for the fishing boats to come in. And of course one last sunset shot at Mallory Square for the memory book....
We meant to go to the Dry Tortugas for some great snorkeling after we left Key West, but the winds didn't cooperate with us so we decided to sail overnight to Ft. Myers instead. Winds were predicted at 10-15 out of the east, which would provide a great sail. Monday was great all day, with both the main and the headsail out and gorgeous weather. Monday night, however, the winds picked up to 25-35 for quite a long stretch. We rolled and rocked and pitched and slammed for what seemed like two nights instead of one. When we finally got to Ft. Myers at noon Tuesday, the boat was crusty all over with salt and there were things in the floor we hadn't seen for a year or two...lots of lockers had opened themselves during the night. Thankfully, the only damage was a few bruises and loss of sleep. It took the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday to get everything rinsed off and put back in place, but now it's done and the sun is setting in the mooring field.
On our first cruise, we met a man in Georgetown who learned to play bagpipes and brought them with him on his boat Go Lassie Go. His wife was less than thrilled with his new hobby, but it was a treat to hear "Amazing Grace" every night at sunset in the Bahamas. We also anchored near them in Staniel Cay and got to hear his serenade at sunset there. We saw the boat in Marathon last week, but weren't sure it was him. Imagine our delight when we heard bagpipes at sunset Wednesday in Ft. Myers! It was Go Lassie Go, with the piper on top.
