Our time in Key West and Marathon was the farthest south we will travel in our Great Loop voyage.
The Florida Keys offers warm weather and a beautiful setting for boating, swimming, fishing, walking, many other outdoor activities in the months when the weather is cold “up north.” The Keys have been a wonderful place to “chase eighty” (degrees, that is) for the winter months,
But…all good things must come to an end! but we are ready to continue our adventure along the Great Loop.
Matt and Shirley joined us for a few days in the Keys and to help move the boat and car back to the mainland and then move the car back home to Michigan.
One of our Looper friends calls the feeling of being ready to move “dock itch.” We have it. We checked Windy, PredictWind and other wind/wave forecast apps, looking for a safe and comfortable weather window for the 104 mile (about seven hours) open water voyage from Marathon to Marco Island. We then used the Navionics app to plan the route and uploaded it to R&R’s chart plotter.
On March 1 we left the dock at Marathon and had a smooth, safe run to Marco Island Marina. We had to play “dodge-em” with enough crab pots that the autopilot did not get much use.
In Marco Island we enjoyed a couple of days with boating friends Scott and Cathy and Marco Island friends Marilyn, Jean and Jan. Lunch at the Island Gypsy Cafe did not disappoint, and we loved watching the Florida sun set over the Marco River from Marilyn’s unbeatable waterside patio!
And now toward Fort Myers and other points North!
