Our Adventures with Seaquel

On February 5th we left Islamorada and headed to  Newfound Harbor. Pat & Tom on Discipleship were already there and had assured us it would offer protection from the next blow. Besides which, Deb & Keith on Right Hand were headed to Key West and we were trying to catch up with them. The funny thing is we had been taking our sweet time so they could get further south after their unexpectedly long stay in Carabelle but I think their bones were frozen as they seemed to make a beeline for warmer weather! Well, that was a pretty unpleasant cruise where we rolled around in 2’ swells on the beam. I was definitely sick tho thankfully no puking and it wasn’t long before Eddie also felt sick. Note to self, take sea sickness meds next time we are going out in a beam roll!  During that trip the helm seat pulled out of the fly bridge deck. Thank goodness the captain felt it coming and jumped out of the seat before he went down with it. It’s always something isn’t it?! Arrived and b...

We had a flat cruise and arrived in Islamorada without incident. It was a bit of a culture shock after two weeks in the Everglades. We anchored in Barley Basin, a huge anchorage with room for tons of boats. I’d guesstimate there were abut 35 boats there  and still lots of room.  We were treated to a pretty sunset our first night. The next day we went to the catamaran to share the pics with them. Turned out it was a single guy from New Jersey and the name of his boat is Shana Maidel.  (Pretty Lady in  Yiddish)  He was tickled that we knew what it meant! Small Jewish world. That same day we took Zoom to shore and tied up at the Bass Pro Shops - World Wide Sportsman. There they have a replica of Hemingway’s boat, Pilar. We goofed around in the store and then walked to the local Farmer’s Market.  Everyone always asks us if we fish while we are cruising. We have never really been fishermen. However, we decided we were going to make an effort. So while in Islamor...

The 10,000 Islands is comprised of over 230 square miles of mangrove forest. It is located between Marco Island and Everglades City. There are twisty turny kayak trails through red, black and white mangroves. Birds, fish, oysters, muscles, clams and more. Never do I feel more connected to wildlife and nature than when we are living on Seaquel. The gentle lap of the water on the hull, the starry nights, beautiful sunrises and sunsets and wildlife. I think I’ll let the pics speak for our anchorage at West Pass where we were the only boat anchored out. Plenty of day fisherman but no one anchored out.  We spent time exploring on Zoom and on our kayaks. Have I said how glad I am that we bought 2 single new to us kayaks. I like it so much better being in the single kayak than I did in the double. The kayak is more nimble and the ability to paddle at my speed and in quiet is a huge bonus.  A friendly visitor on our cruise Treated to a beautiful sunset our first night Exploring gulf b...