Cruise to the Johnson Keys (Posted 4/4/2010)

Since we will be leaving Boot Key Harbor in about a month to begin our summer of cruising the east coast of Florida, we decided to do a little overnight cruise to the Johnson Keys as a "shakedown cruise" to be sure everything was working properly after a winter here in the harbor. The winter is finally over and the weather was good for a cruise.

We were able to sail all the way out of the harbor and to the Johnson Keys (only about 15 miles away) with following seas and wind. It was great to be sailing again!

We anchored off the southernmost Johnson Key. Here is a photo of "our own private island":

All of the islands (keys) are part of the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge and are uninhabited. We were surrounded by nature, no one else anywhere in sight, no signs of civilization, the islands unchanged by man for tens of thousands of years.

Here is a view of the keys from the boat:

At night it was extremely dark as there was no light pollution from civilization. As a result, we could see the stars in a way that is impossible today anywhere near cities. There were billions of stars visible along with the Milky Way. It felt like we were the only two people on the earth.

The next day we sailed back to Boot Key Harbor and tied up to our mooring ball. It had been a great little cruise, something that William F. Buckley, Jr. liked to call a "sailing haiku" (a haiku is a short Japanese poem).

Today is Easter and we will be going to Latitudes restaurant for dinner along with many of the other cruisers from the harbor. It is a benefit dinner for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life harbor team. They will be raffling off another of Linda's quilted nautical tote bags that she has been making and donating to them. They have sold many of her bags and doggy neckerchiefs during the past few months. The actual Relay for Life takes place next weekend.

Here is a photo of one of Linda's bags:

The sewing group that Linda started here in the harbor has been going well. Usually at least 8 women attend. They all went out one day for lunch at a local waterfront restaurant. In addition to sewing, they recently got into jewelry making as one couple on a boat makes jewelry and was willing to teach others. We took them and another woman in the group down to Key West to buy beads, wire and other supplies. So now Linda has a second hobby to keep her busy on the boat!

The harbor is beginning to clear out with many boats leaving now to head back up north for the summer. We will be among the last to leave as usual since we don't have to get all the way back to New England or the Chesapeake for the summer like they do. But next year we will see many of the same boats back here again for the winter.

We will be flying up to Connecticut in a couple of weeks for a visit. When we return, we will be getting the boat ready to leave the Keys for the summer and cruise along the east coast of Florida. We will make Stuart (north of Palm Beach) our "home base" for the summer and would like to be in Titusville for the last space shuttle launch which takes place towards the end of July.