January 1 and 2, still at Cayo Costa anchorage

Thursday the 1st:
It was another day like yesterday; cool and overcast this morning and the sun came out early this afternoon and was partly cloudy. We went for a dinghy ride this afternoon after getting caught up on the blog, checking my crab trap, etc.

01-01-2015: Saber Yacht, the CO wants this to be our next yacht.

　

Friday the 2^nd:
Another foggy morning and 67 degrees. We took the tree down and put all our Christmas decorations away this morning. This afternoon brought the sun out and temps back up in the mid 80's. We took the dinghy to the park dock and went for a long walk on some of the many marked trails. This evening we sat out on the boat and watched the beautiful sun set. I blew my conch horn as the sun went down and was answered by many other boaters with a like response. Those without conch horns responded with their boat horns. It was awesome to hear all the horns blowing.

01-02-2015: This is the best sun rise we could get for a foggy morning at Cayo Costa.

01-02-2015: Walking the trails at the park. 

01-02-2015: The XO and CO on our walk in the park.

01-02-2015: Red sky at night, sailors delight


CO’s Comments: What is there to say other than another great couple of days in paradise.

New Year's Eve at Cayo Costa State Park anchorage

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It was supposed to be warm in the 80's with sun shine but the sun didn’t come out until it was time to set and it only got to the mid 70's with a cool wind blowing all day long. We took the dinghy over to the park area this morning and went for another ride later this afternoon. Being New Year’s Eve day we couldn’t believe how many boats came in; there had to be over 100 boats in this bay. I checked my crab trap this morning and nothing was in it. The thin lines that came on the trap were all tangled up so I replaced them with stronger line and put it back out for tonight. Here’s hoping I get something. Had a delicious dinner tonight; lobster, steamed broccoli, and fried cheese bread and a toast to the New Year,

CO’s comments: A good scotch and a wonderful wife.   I could not ask for a better end to the year.

12-31-2014: Anchorage at Cayo Costa

12-31-2014: My crab trap

 

 

12-31-2014: Last sun set of 2014 at Cayo Costa anchorage 

Cayo Costa State Park anchorage

Tuesday, 12-30-2014: We only had about 12 miles to go for the day and it was a good thing because we woke up to dense fog and it hung around until about 11:00. We finally got going at 11:35 and had to wait 15 minutes for the Boca Grande Bridge to open at noon. This was our last bridge for a while. We crossed Charlotte Harbor/Boca Grande Pass right after the bridge. We started out with clear visibility but half way across it fogged in again; almost to zero visibility. The CO had to turn the radar on. Our anchorage for the next few day is at Cayo Costa State Park and it is a very popular anchorage; both for Loopers and local boaters. We always try to stop here. We put 50 feet of anchor rode out with 2.3' of water under the props at low tide. After lunch, we put the dinghy back in the water and went for a ride over to the park.

I have always wanted to fish the Gulf and ICW for crab, lobster, snook, etc. It has been 5 years now and this year is the first time I bought a license. So, today, I put my crab trap out for the night and before dinner I fished for an hour or so. I loved every minute of it; didn’t catch anything, but I did get a few bits.

For the last two to three week we have been hearing popping and crackling sounds on our hull and we can’t figure out what it is. We just had the bottom painted and Keith thought it might be something to do with the bottom paint. We have checked with Dog River Marine who painted the bottom for us and we have also called the paint manufacture. Dog River thought it might be barnacles but didn’t know for sure. Keith checked the bottom and every thing is smooth. So far it remains a mystery.

In looking back to the first part of December; we always wanted to do the Big Bend instead of the all night Gulf crossing. We were looking forward to anchoring our way around the bend of Florida and exploring all the nooks and crannies. But, due to the weather, we were not able to do that. We are; however, anchoring as much as possible. Since leaving Mobile, AL, we have anchored 16 out of 20 days so far and plan to do a lot more. It has been great fun. We could never do this without our inverter.

CO's comment: Always something; weird sounds, fog, etc. Always a challenge.

12-30-2014: My very first  "Selfie"



12-30-2014: Dolphin in Charlotte Harbor

12-30-2014: Kim Jo IV at Cayo Costa anchorage

12-30-2014: Our anchorage at Cayo Costa

December 28 and 29; still at Cape Haze, FL

Sunday the 28th :  This is about the 6th time we have been to this anchorage but it is the first time we put the dinghy in the water and stayed a while.  We put the dinghy in this morning and went up the canal a ways. We went under the bridge and Keith dropped me off at the drainage ditch area.  We tied up to a private dock/home that looked vacant so I got off at their dock. Getting off the dinghy there was challenging but I made it without a mishap.   I walked up the ditch about 1/4 mile to Publix and got a few things while Keith waited for me in the dinghy.  When I got back with groceries I waited 10 minutes or so for Keith to come back to my drop off place. A gentleman, a few homes down from where I was, offer Keith a tie up at his dock if we had to come back, which we thought was very nice. We came back to the boat and listened to the Packer game on the Packer website radio station; we can’t get any TV reception in our anchorage. Packers over the Lions, 30 to 20; GO PACKERS!

12-28-2014: Canal opening from our anchorage

12-28-2014: Canal has a small island in the middle which we went around

12-28-2014: Homes on both sides of the canal

12-28-2014: We tied up just on the other side of this bridge

12-28-2014: Drainage ditch up to highway

12-28-2014: Fountain in the middle of a round-about just before the highway

12-28-2014: I am here with my groceries but no Keith

12-28-2014: Kim Jo IV at Cape Haze anchorage 



Monday the 29^th: Our last day at this anchorage. We took the dinghy out again and did some exploring. Also, went back up the canal and this time I stayed in the dinghy while Keith walked up to the Liquor store.  The last two days have been beautiful, in the 80's, sunny with a few clouds. We just got a call from our friends, Craig and Connie, in Minnesota and it is supposed to get down to -20 degrees tonight; Burr.

CO's comments:  Again, another one of our favorite anchorages.

12-29-2014:  Still some Christmas decorations up on the canal.

12-29-2014: Kim Jo IV at Cape Haze anchorage from the channel.