Looking for the Green Flash

It's in Key West right? At least the merchants and Chamber says so. In fact they have built an economy around the Green Flash. Every bar, hotel and restaurant covets the favored spots for the throng of tourists to see the Green Flash every beautiful evening. There are jugglers and magicians that fill Mallory Square every evening and the crowds love it. In fact they make the cruise ships (there were three in port on our first day there, and one or two every day) leave by 6:30 pm every day because they block the view from Mallory Square to the western sunset.

But all in all we loved Key West. It reminds me a bit of New Orleans. There are some seedy parts, strip clubs, night clubs, and back alleys that I did not want to go down. But it is a very unique crowd and a great boating center. We had a perfect spot at Conch Harbor Marina right by Dante's pool and bar, which was full all week of Spring Breakers. That means scantily glad college girls taking shots all day, and lots of guys buying those drinks. Makes you so proud of the efficiency of our economy.

Our good friends, Bob and Marilee Peterson from Cruisin Cat were in town as well, so we got to "hang" with them all week. Bob and I took the fast ferry boat out to the Dry Tortugas and Ft. Jefferson National Park. It takes about 2.5 hours each way and they feed you breakfast and lunch. While there you can walk through the never completed but huge Ft. Jefferson. It is the largest masonry building in the Western hemisphere with over 16 million bricks. They forgot one Big thing, fresh water. That is why they are called the DRY Tortugas, there is no water to drink. So the fort did not work out so well, but today it is a marine and bird santuary, with pristine waters which are great for snorkeling. I did some of that as well. All in all a good trip.

Rock Chalk is now moving up the Keys on our way to Ft. Lauderdale and eventually the Bahamas. This is some of the prettiest water in the world, but it is full of fish and crab pots, each marked with a floating ball. You see the lines of balls everywhere, and it is good to avoid catching one of these lines on your props. You can see what happens when you do NOT pay attention. Oh well, the water was nice for a swim. Once again, I wish I was a fisherman. This is one of the best places in the world to fish. There is a challenge to all my fishermen friends who might be reading this. Come join me for a few days and teach me the ropes, er....lines....whatever. Marc

Key West

The wind is still blowing in the Keys. It has been blowing for weeks at 20+ mph. That makes for some big waves out in the near coastal waters, and even bigger stuff that no one but the big guys really want to go out in. So we are enjoying ourselves in Key West and letting this weather pattern "blow" through. We have been here once for a few hours, but both Shelley and I have been enjoying this town. We are staying at a marina right in the center of it all, just off Duval Street. It is expensive but a very nice marina.

We have met our friends the Peterson's here and their boat Cruisin Cat. Bob and Marilee Peterson have the same boat as us, an Endeavour 44, and crossed the upper Gulf with us from Carrabelle. They have been bumping down the Florida coast for several weeks, but we met them again here in Key West. It is Spring Break in Key West, so the town is full of all kinds of folks. College kids are mixed in with the crowd from the daily cruise ship that ports here. Add to that throng with the normal tourists that flock to Key West and it's busy. Yet we have enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, and both of us would come back here again, either on our boat or by some other means.

I am a bit embarrassed with our boat as we are surrounded by some big iron in this marina. 75' to 90' motor yachts are the norm, all with captains and several crew members to run their ship. So here is our humble little 44 footer next to all these big guys, and I feel like the guy that brought a go-cart to a NASCAR race. But we all got to the same place, and I bet my fuel burn costs less than theirs.

When this wind lets up, we plan to move back east and north up the chain of islands. The water is clear and warm so its a perfect time to cruise the Keys. Once we have mastered these islands, then.....The Bahamas. Stay tuned. Marc

The Everglades

Critters. The Everglades are full of them. We spent one night in Goodland, Florida, south of Marco Island and another night anchored in the Little Shark River. The night sky was incredible. Bright stars and Venus and Jupiter fighting to dominate the western sky. Unfortunately we humans have to share these evenings with little critters, ie the No-Seeum's. You don't spray these guys, you bring a shotgun.

Birds of all kinds fill the Everglades. Carla and Roger Smith would love this place. Pelicans, cranes of all kinds, osprey, and all these little black songbirds. No alligators in these swamps that we could see because there was no land. It was all mangroves for miles and miles. But it was a beautiful couple of days, that were totally different than the more commercial crowded beaches of western Florida. One thing that was hard to get used to for Shelley and I....no cell nor internet coverage. Cold turkey. None. Well, we still had our satellite TV so we could watch our Fox News, and the NCAA Selection show. But other than that....

The wind has been howling. This part of the Loop is so much different than the ICW, Canada, or the rivers. Here the winds make a big difference, and can make passage making splashy and rocky. We crossed 40 miles of Florida Bay today and arrived in Marathon with Rock Chalk covered in salt. Dry salt on every surface and in every nook and cranny. We spent two hours washing the boat down...you know the saying, "A clean boat is a happy boat, and a happy boat is a safe boat".

Two years ago this month we bought Rock Chalk right here in Marathon. She was Chandelle then and she had spent six years in these waters. Charlie and Cait were our first guests and joined us on our first cruise up the ICW to Miami. 6000 miles later, she is back in her home waters. That is quite a circle. And more adventure to follow.

Marco Island

It is Spring Break time in Florida. Ft. Myers Beach was nice because we had so much fun seeing my Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Wes, Brian and Dixie Smith all from Minnesota. But the place was full of college kids and it was time we moved south. It is an easy 35 miles run down the west coast of Florida to Marco Island. We are glad we are here, as it is great.

The Big Cat Express (above) is docked each night, at the marina we are staying at in Marco. This big cat runs 80-100 people down to Key West each morning in about two hours. You can gamble on the way down, enjoy Key West, and come back the same evening. The photos don't do it justice. Each hull stands 15 ft. above the water line, so it easily handles the Gulf at speeds around 40 kts.

We have really enjoyed Marco Island. It has all the things we enjoy/want/need in a location. We can ride our bikes just 10 minutes to all the shopping we need....a Publix, West Marine, and wine store. We can take the dinghy out to a number of beautiful white soft beaches for shelling, or just enjoying the scenery. We found a spot today off Capri Pass that we could pull the ding on to the backside of a beach with great soft white sand, but walk over to the ocean side where there are tons of shells. This would be a perfect gunk-hole to spend the day with the grandkids. They would love it.

The last two days have been beautiful with light winds and the temperature in the mid 80's. But we wanted to enjoy Marco and not rush our way south. Tomorrow we are ready to move to Goodland, then anchor in the Shark River, and wait for the forecast winds to get below 15. Crossing Florida Bay on the way to Marathon would be no fun at all with seas at 3-4 ft. and 15+ kt. winds. Unfortunately that is the forecast for the next three days. Patience...right? Maybe we'll hang in Marco for a while longer and enjoy this island while we wait for King Neptune to behave. Patience

Family

Shelley and I had a great treat this week while in Ft. Myers Beach. Also in town escaping from the cold of Minnesota, were my Uncle Wes and Aunt Marilyn, plus my cousin Brian Smith and his wife Dixie. It was so great to spend most of the day with all four of them on Rock Chalk. Both Wes and Marilyn look great and have been spending some quality time in the warm sunshine of Florida for several weeks. Brian and Dixie have been here for a few days, and were headed to Siesta Key for more days of fun in the sun.

Doing the Loop has been mostly an endeavour for just Shelley and I, with the exception of some nice visits from friends, but to have my Aunt and Uncle and cousins stop by to visit, was just great. We all left telling each other that the Smith's and Colby's need to all get together soon. I hope that my other cousins who might be reading this can find some time to catch up with us somewhere in Florida or the Bahamas over the next 6 months. You each and all have a standing invitation. Just call or email. If not, then hopefully we can all find some time to meet for a mini reunion.

The wind is howling and the forecast is more of the same for the next several days. So we are hooked into a mooring ball offered by Ft. Myers Beach. It is Spring Break in Southwest Florida, so the beaches are packed with college kids from up north. We're taking the dinghy into shore and walking around Ft. Myers Beach. Nice small community, that right now is full of people and cars. It is nice being out of it all on the boat. It is time to get further south. Maybe Friday.

Crossing our Wake

This is the spot. The yellow sign in the lower photo announces the entrance to Gasparailla Marina, where we started our Great Loop journey. From here we went south down the Florida coast to Ft. Myers, across the Okeechobee Waterway to the east coast and north from there.

For those stataticians amongst you, here are some facts:

We put 687 hours on the engine in those 5500 miles

I spent $12,140 on fuel over 11 months or about $1100 per month

At an average of $4.00/gal for diesel we burned approx. $4.42 per hour on 3036 gal of diesel. Shelley and I took over 3850 photos and published 88 blogs.

We went through 17 states and two countries and 110 locks reaching the highest elevation of 900 ft. above sea level. What do they say....Priceless

Last night we celebrated both my birthday and our wake crossing at the Crow's Nest, a very nice restaurant and marina in Venice. 60 is the new 50, right? My brothers and sister all tell me so, since they have all been getting very used to their 60's for some time now.

At Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda, Shelley made it official by taking down our battered and torn White Looper flag which we have proudly flown for these 5500 miles, and hoisting the new Gold flag. We can call ourselves Gold Loopers now. Ever since I was a small child I always wanted to become a Gold Looper. It is hard to believe that it is really here. Brings a gold tear to your eye doesn't it? Gold Loopers, Golden Years, turning age 60. I see a trend here I don't like so much.

So to stay young, and keep the Golden years away, we are not finished with this journey yet for Rock Chalk. We want to explore the Keys, Dry Tortugas, and the Bahamas, before we get back to Austin in mid June. I have said this once, and I'll say it again. Come join us for some part of this next 1000 miles. The weather is beautiful, the water is warm, and the beaches.....very nice.

From two Gold Loopers to all our friends and relatives..thanks for listening.

It has been a Journey of Lifetime. Marc and Shelley