Bee-ing Homeless

The mooring field in Marathon, Florida

Marathon, Florida is not as I remember it. We had been there before in our first boat, Lorax and we were very excited to return to the cruising mecca that is Boot Key Harbor. Last time we were there the mooring field which consists of 500+ moorings was filled with sailors headed to far off places waiting for weather windows to cross the Gulf Stream and buying their time with baseball leagues, dinners out with other cruisers and sun downers on different boats. It was a collaborative community where we made friends we still keep in touch with today. The Boot Key harbor we arrived at this time, however, painted a drastically different picture. 

We did visit our favorite bar, The Hurricane, and had some awesome nachos!

It seems that, due to the increasing cost of living in the Keys, there has been an influx in people moving onto boats and staying on a mooring ball at Boot Key. This results in sad sailboats without sails, broken engines, and derelict boats in general. Putting aside the political and economical issues at hand, this is also sad for the cruising community. There aren't any sailors! 

We also had ice for a night! Fancy cocktails, anyone?!?

When we signed into the office and got our mooring assignment there was something different about the place and I couldn't quite figure it out. Spencer, later, nailed it on the head. It was like a soup kitchen/ post apocalyptic zombie camp. The people working there look at you with kind, concerning eyes while speaking in soft tones, telling you to "please not steal the shopping carts from nearby shops, if you need a cart they can provide you with one" or "Not to sleep in your car" or "If someone is watching a show on the communal TV, please be courteous and not change the channel without asking or yell at the TV." 

We did meet a fellow young sailor, Dan on Saga Blue, and we took him
and his twin brother sailing to the reef nearby! 

Gone were the "Gulf Stream Crossing" meetings and the "Sailor Buddy Boat List," instead they were replaced by angry gossip about "Hillbilly Express" (actual boat name) stealing shit off of people's boats and selling everything at a garage sale on a neighboring island or "Double Wide" (again, actual name) getting drunk one Friday night and leaving his music blaring while other residents scream on the VHF that they are going to cut his lines. Although I have to commend these new residents for making their lives work in the Keys, because 75% of them have jobs and lead respectable lives, I am very sad for the loss of the sailing community that once thrived there. As a cruising sailor you feel like an outsider, an unwelcome guest where residents assume you think you're better than them because you own a "nice sailboat," in other words one that moves, and in all honesty, we couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. We were thrilled when a weather window opened up to cross to the Bahamas and we left Marathon in our wake.

The lighthouse at Lighthouse Reef outside Marathon, Florida.

Bee-ing Amazed

We made it to Florida! The 422 nautical mile jump to Florida from Isla Mujeres took us 5 days and four nights. The longest crossing we have ever done. We were aiming for Marathon, Florida in the keys, but the prevailing winds and the Yucatan currents had other plans for us.

The sun setting on our first night out

We left the small Mexican island with 4 other boats, but when the wind shifted and the others started to motor into the wind and waves we turned our bow North and were aiming for any US city along Florida's West coast. At one point the current was pushing us so North that we thought we'd be eating bennets on the streets of New Orleans, but luckily we made our way out of the current, a day later, and landed in Naples, Florida. Only 150 miles North of where we wanted to be. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Two birds decided to hitch a ride the second night. It's amazing how far from land they were!

The crossing was amazing, and in the truest sense of the word. I'm really not trying to sound like a pretentious traveler so I hope everyone takes this as it's intended which is just raw respect for the ocean. Landing in Naples, I felt like I had just completed my biggest accomplishment in life. Spencer and I navigated our boat from one country to another using the wind, waves and current. We sailed the entire thing and at one point we were 160 miles from any coast line. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. When the weather report was 25 knots of wind one night, there was no land to hide behind, we just had to reef the main and handle it. 

I brought in a Mahi Mahi on the 3rd day! So delicious!

The other boats and ourselves set up a time and hailing channel on the SSB to keep track of everyone, but unfortunately when everyone landed in the Keys they seemed to forget about little ole' Cambio out there. So we were on our own, which turned out to be a good thing, despite my initial cursing and bad mouthing of "the floatilla." It gave me a whole new sense of self reliance and reliance on my partner-in-crime, Spencer, because really there isn't much they could have done anyway. It was more a false sense of security. When that safety blanket was gone it forced us to take it all in and really grasp the immensity of our little floating home on the big blue ocean. It was just us and the sea and we can't wait to return to her! 

Seeing land after 5 days at sea!

Safely at anchor, after the long crossing, in Naples, Florida.

Bee-ing in Mexico

We have arrived in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It was a fantastic sail from Cozumel with winds of 20 knots and a current in our favor, meaning we hauled ass! We hit 8 knots!! This thrill was instantly shattered when we got nearer to the Isla Mujeres anchorage and I had navigated us right over a coral ridden shoal. With depths dropping and all our sails up I quickly screamed at Spencer to start the engine....this was clearly, somehow, now his fault. The engine wouldn't start, however, so he ran to the front and started to direct me, "A little more starboard. Nope back that way. How deep are you?!?!?" Luckily we made it through without hitting anything and Rueban (our 1972 SABB engine) started up as soon as the last coral head passed under our keel (of course), but tensions were a bit high when we motored into the anchorage. That being said, we have been in Mexico for 2 weeks now and the plan was not to check in. Even with trash overflowing, booze at a dangerously low level, and dinners being dwindled to rice one night and beans the next, we were going to fly under the radar and just cross back to the states. That all changed, of course, when we anchored up. We dropped the hook next to a boat, Cadence, we had seen before in Caye Caulker. They looked young and, if you've ever been a part of the cruising world you know, young people are few and far between, so we were hoping to make new friends (sounds a bit creepy when I actually write it out like that). Anyway, we were sitting in the cockpit looking around when Cadence dinghies by with all the officials on board, making sure to come right next to us and wave. DAMMIT! Gigs up, we need to check in.

Having a blast sailing to Isla Mujeres, Mexico

This isn't a hard process, but I'll be honest, we've traveled through Mexico before, on our driving trip and I'm not a big fan. Well, more accurately, Mexico is not a fan of me. I just seem to have this face, in Mexico, that they want to punch. No lie, I can come up with the biggest smile and most polite demeanor and I can instantly see their shoulders slump forward, head lull a bit, eyes rolling to one side or the other while they look for anyone....anyone! else to deal with this overexcited ginger girl. I tried playing it cool, I tried talking less, I have tried everything, but I'm just not likable in Mexico. So we decided not to risk the bribery and get an agent to check us in. We still had to sign papers and such which resulted in more eye rolling, heads lulling and all officials wishing I would've just bandit anchored and gotten the hell back to Florida, but a process that would have normally taken us all day and resulted in multiple bribes, took us 30 minutes!! The best part of all was that while our agent was running around town, we were exploring our new favorite town in Mexico, Isla Mujeres!

We stayed at a marina while "checking in" and LOVED it

The pool at our marina. So awesome! (not as shitty as it looks)