ssloop: December 2019

In April, after an amazing time in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas, we crossed Lake Okeechobee to return to the west coast of Florida where we stored the Pura Vida at Safe Cove for the summer. Our hopes were to return to the Abaco Islands again this spring, but Hurricane Dorian hit hard in September, leaving total devastation in the Abacos. Our hearts and prayers go out to the people who literally lost everything.

On November 21, Sheli flew to Orlando to visit her friend Karen who lives in The Villages. Steve flew to Punta Gorda on November 23 to prep Pura Vida dos for launching. Karen drove Sheli to Safe Cove on November 25 to join Steve where he had the boat launched and ready to go. We spent 3 nights at Fisherman's Village Marina in Punta Gorda where we cleaned the boat and had some engine maintenance done. Our friends Larry & Carole Poll came for an afternoon cruise where the dolphins gave us a fantastic show.

On Thanksgiving morning, we left the dock and cruised to Cayo Costa where we anchored out and enjoyed grilling a yummy steak dinner. (no turkey this year!) The next morning we cruised to Fort Myers Beach where we took a mooring ball for the night. We were able to use the car of our friends Todd & Star to pick up needed parts for the generator.

Saturday morning, with the generator back in action, we headed south to Marco Island. The day on the Gulf was so beautiful that we stopped on the way, dropped the anchor and enjoyed lunch and a swim before continuing on to the harbor of Marco Island where we anchored out for the night. It had to happen sooner or later, after 10,000 miles of cruising, we ran over our first crab pot float. Captain Snorkel went off the back of the boat with his mask and a knife to cut the line off the propeller.

December 1 was a big travel day. The weather was predicted to get windy over the next few days so we traveled 100 miles to Marathon Key where we took a slip for 2 nights at the Marathon Marina. The winds did pick up, so we were very happy to be at this marina which gave us good protection.

On December 3, the winds died down allowing us to cruise 30 miles to Islamorada where we anchored out for 5 nights. We spent 3 nights in Barely Basin and 2 nights in Snake Creek. The name Snake Creek may sound nasty, however it was a beautiful location with no snakes, just manatee and dolphins! Our days were filled with many dinghy explorations of the beautiful waters in the area. A highlight of our stay was meeting up with Kyle Bradley who Sheli works with at Ironwood Golf Course. Kyle was in Islamorada participating in a sailfish fishing tournament. We were able to join the crew on the Challenger as they arrived back in the harbor after a day of fishing.

As much as we hated to leave Islamorada, it was time to begin working our way north. On December 8, we cruised 70 miles to Prime Marina in Coconut Grove. This is the same location we stayed when we did the Great Loop however the marina itself is new as the old marina was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The next morning we cruised across the bay to the Marine Stadium Anchorage. This is an amazing anchorage offering spectacular views of downtown Miami.

The next 3 nights we spent at Bill Bird Marina near Haulover Pass just north of Miami. The night we arrived, we enjoyed dinner in the adjoining park at "Food Truck Tuesday." Every Tuesday local food trucks offer a variety of tasty foods in the park. On Thursday we took the bus to explore the sights and sounds of South Beach Miami. We saw many Art Deco hotels, walked the huge beach, checked out the fancy shops and had a yummy Cuban lunch.

On Friday, we traveled 20 miles up the ICW to Fort Lauderdale. We docked the Pura Vida at Brian Keenan's home where we will leave the boat while we fly home for the holidays.

We had a wonderful 3 weeks of hot and sunny weather. Awesome!