Report From Onboard Jenny

[Da...@schramm-family.net]

Saturday, February 05, 2011 6:02:12 PM Location: Boot Key Harbor The boat position was not recorded. This weather observation was taken on Saturday, February 05, 2011 5:40:01 PM local time. Observation location: Boot Key Harbor. Observation position was not recorded. The air temperature is 84, and water temperature is 68 degrees fahrenheit. The forecast is Sunny. The current weather is dry. The sky is clear or a few clouds. The wind is 6 knots from the south. The visibility is 10 nautical miles. The wave height is 0 feet with 0 foot swells. The barometer is 1017 millibars and rising. We have settled in and enjoyed Boot Key Harbor, Marathon FL since arriving in November. The mooring balls are filled now, with boats arriving every day and having to enlist on the waiting list. While we had some cold and blustery weather in December and January, February has proved to be very benign and pleasant. It is time to move north. Melinda and I had her first and final interview for her Green Card on Thursday. We passed inspection and now she has her provisional Green Card, the final to be granted in 2013. We are good to to. On the way back from the Tampa interview, we kept a close lookout for a Wal-Mart so we could provision Jenny up at a discount. This is a difficult activity when cruising down the interstate at 70 MPH. We got to Naples without success and decided to stop for a late lunch. VOILA. There was the last Wal-Mart between the East Coast of Florida and Miami right there. Luck was with us. $250 later, we headed out again in our rental mini-SUV. Today we shopped for frozen items and vegies. Tomorrow we head in to the water dock to load the motorcycle, top off our water and then go outside to the reef so that I can dive on Jenny's bottom. She is well stocked and needs a baby smooth bottom so that we can efficiently start our journey up the East Coast! Boot Key Harbor and the City Marina are good. One important focus of this Key is their support of the cruising community. It is all run very professionally to high standards. The only drawbacks are that the marina itself is a government organization. Therefore, the services all disappear at 5:30 PM. There is not bar, no evening events (outside of very special, volunteer run occasions like Christmas Day dinner and Superbowl evening). It isn't their job to create a social center. I hope we find some private marinas that we can afford that are so inclined. The weather argues for Jenny heading out through the now disassembled Bascule bridge entrance on Wednesday morning and head toward Miami. We need to make an overnight stop at Rodriquez Island on the way. From there we head on up to Ft. Lauderdale. Our goal is to be at Cape Canaveral for the Space Shuttle launch on February 24, and then to Daytona Beach for Bike Week on March 3rd. Life is good! David Powered by BoatExec http://www.BoatExec.com