Made It To Boot Key Harbor, Marathon FL

Sorry for the large gap in time. We spent a lovely 12 days in the Miami Beach area. All the conveniences were here - with old friends & new. On 3/16, we weighed anchor and sailed south into the upper keys to anchor next to Barry & Susan on "Swan" in Barnes Sound for the night. On 3/17, we proceeded south towards Plantation Key. The winds were light & rain was predicted. Captain Jim decided that we needed more sails up; so the Code Zero went up. After about an hour, the winds & rain increased - Jim waited about 10 minutes too long to pull in 'Codie"....the 20 knot winds made the furling untenable; so we rolled it back out and refurled successfully....unfortunately he forgot to tie a knot in the continuous line furler and out it came again! This time the furling couldn't be accomplished so we decided to drop it. The sail tried to pull Jim overboard; but luckily the snap shackle released, the sail went into the water, and Jim pulled in onto the deck. All this happening, in heavy rain, navigating in a narrow channel with 5 feet of water! I was clutching the wheel with white knuckles! After this, we decided to treat ourselves, and went into Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina for the night. Very nice marina, albeit a bit expensive, but they had pump outs at each slip, which was very convenient to do an overdue THOROUGH flush of the holding tank! It was also nice to clean the boat, do laundry, take showers, etc! On 3/18, we were off the dock at 1130. We motored & sailed about 20 miles to anchor in Long Key Bight for the night, good protection for the moderate NW winds. Yesterday, 3/19, we sailed very slowly, the final 20 miles to Boot Key Harbor. Arriving at 1330! Fortunately our timing was perfect - we were assigned the first mooring ball that was available on a boat's arrival since the third week in January! We tied up to R5; close to "Incognita II" and "Grey Hound". Went to "Lazy Days" for a great happy hour with Dick, Lynton & Carol to celebrate our arrival. The weather seems to be warming up - in the 70s today! We are hoping to go to the Dry Tortugas next week with Dick & Anne on "Grey Hound" if conditions are favorable. Got our 2009 tax return done & mailed; so we are ready to go!