May 17 - 24, 2005
Crew Tom & Dee Hall, John & Kathy MacDonald
Ports: Boca Grande, Naples, Ft. Jefferson, Key West
After many attempts, the voyage to the Dry Tortugas and Key West finally took place!
May 17 - Crew arrives at Marina Jack, temporary port for S2 on the Sarasota waterfront. Following the customary cocktails on the bridge, we fussgehts to Pino's for dinner. The walk back to the dock was somewhat more difficult than the outbound.....
May 18 - Following a bit of dental maintenance the voyage got underway just after noon. We entered the gulf via New Pass and ran at high cruise to Venice, where we had planned to transfer to the ICW. Upon evaluation we decided to continue on to Boca Grande on the outside, due to the desire to arrive at a decent hour. We docked at Miller's Marina at 1600, washed down the boat and walked to dinner (after cocktails of course) at PJ's Seafood Grill. PJ's was good, as anticipated, but the prices were a bit more enhanced than last visit.
May 19 - Engine start was a bit of a problem as neither would fire. After a full day of machinations, which included changing all of the fuel filters and two visits from diesel mechanics, it was determined that an apparent short in a ground wire was causing the kill switch to engage thus preventing the engines from starting. A CAT mechanic got us going by disconnecting the kill switches, but not in time to allow us to get to a planned overnight in Naples, so we spent a second night in Boca and had dinner at the Pink Elephant.
May 20 - After a day's delay we headed for Naples via Pine Island Sound. Stopped for refueling at Ft Myers Beach where we purchased 900 gallons for $1.89 per gallon at Moss Marine, cheapest place on the west coast of Florida. Arrived at Naples City Dock at 4 PM. Duane Schwada and Sylvia Kallison joined us for cocktails on board followed by dinner a French restaurant near the docks which was excellent.
May 21 - Departed Naples at 0645 for a straight shot to the Tortugas in calm seas and perfect weather. A small, tired shore bird joined us on the bridge for awhile to rest. Why he was out to sea that far was unclear. We arrived at 1600 and anchored in the deep water anchorage just west of the fort. There were a couple of hundred footers and about 15 smaller boats anchored near the fort.
May 22 - A full day at anchor, tour of Ft Jefferson http://www.fortjefferson.com followed by lunch on board and snorkeling on the old windjammer wreck in the afternoon. Snorkeling was quite good with an abundance of fish, hundreds of Sergeant Majors, a few small Barracuda, large Jewfish and Stingray. The new boarding ladder for the tender worked well enough to get the more displacement challenged members of the crew back aboard, a feat which was in doubt up to the moment of truth. The new powered snorkel worked very well. The satellite radio also worked well, although deploying the antenna was a bit less than cosmetic. A large green turtle surfaced beside the boat just before dinner. An excellent dinner of beef tenderloin was prepared by Debbie.
May 23 - Motored to Key West, again in perfect weather conditions, docking by Debbie at Conch Harbor Marina at 1245. Capt Luke met us at the dock. Lunch ashore near the marina followed by shopping for the girls and a nap and Lonesome Dove for the guys. Dinner that night was at Pisces and was excellent.
May 24 - All departed for home. Key West airport is a short distance from the marina, but has long security lines, for future reference.