As you remember, we still haven't fixed our refrigeration. Because we
were using ice, when we wanted to stay ashore (like at our daughter's
house) we just packed up the stuff in the refrigerator in a cooler and
left the boat on the dock or at the mooring. We didn't have to come
back and run the refrigeration.

We spent Xmas 2000 with our daughter in Miami. On New Years Eve, I
sat out on the deck (Bob had gone to bed) and saw 4 different
fireworks displays. Miami, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne and Coconut
Grove.

Then we sailed down and spent some time north of Marathon in Coco Plum
rafted on a friend's dock. We were isolated there and couldn't get
ice, so Bob broke down and fixed the refrigeration.

From there we went to a marina right outside Boot Key Harbor. We went
to get fuel at their fuel dock first and there was not only no one
there to take our lines, but no one to give us the fuel either. I had
to go into the office to get them to turn on the pump - pumped our own
fuel and found and got into the slip they'd assigned us by ourselves
with the help of other boaters

Jan 6 - We knew a friend's boat was anchored in Boot Key Harbor and
we took the dinghy and motored in to see if they were there, but they
weren't on their boat. Unfortunately the filter to our little 3.5 hp
Evenrude got clogged and the motor kept cutting out. Bob had to row
the inflatable back. He was not pleased. The inflatable is much less
easy to row than the portabote

Jan 7, 2001 : We didn't get far enough to get around the tip of Key
West, so anchored off the airport by Martello Tower West. It was the
most rolley anchorage so far. Bob said any time Castro tinkled in the
harbor in Cuba, it rocked our boat.

We went around the south end of the island and around Fleming Key. We
took a (free) mooring west of Fleming Key. Free because they didn't
have any services such as pump out, dinghy dock, showers, and parking.
Now they charge for the moorings. We can't get into Garrison Bight in
the big boat because there is an overhead power line that won't clear
our mast. We stayed here until Jan 24, 2001.

We did most of our shopping at the Sigsbee Navy Base. They had a
commissary, exchange, laundry, and email - it is primarily a big RV
camping area. We come to their marina in the dinghy but we can't get
the big boat in there because it is too shallow and there is a low
power line across the entrance. The first time we did it, pelicans
sat on the side of the inflatable and pooped in it. The trip in or
the trip back takes about 1/2 hour, and if there are any waves or
wakes, we get a little wet.

Mon Jan 8 - I tried snorkeling around the boat but it was COLD even
for me. I could see that I need to go down and scrape the prop again.
I scrubbed the rudder, but couldn't stay in long enough to do the rest
of the boat. The front has been kept pretty clean by bashing into
waves.

Jan 9 - Pretty brisk winds (saw 31 knots) and some waves

Jan 10 - While we are eating breakfast, we hear someone call the Coast
Guard on the VHF and tell them that there is a boat sinking in the
mooring field. We look at it with binoculars (it is about 1/2 mile
away), and see that the bow is down with the deck even with the water.
Appears abandoned. About a hour later it has sunk. No one seems
concerned.

Jan 11- We put together the portabote. I did not do the dinghy entry
well and ended up with my hands on the ladder, and my feet in the boat
and my behind in the water. That didn't happen again - I learned how
to do it.

Jan 12 We went in to Sigsbee for me to do e-mail and get a shower and
Bob to get the rest of the things from the commissary, and get
drinking water in bottles which we didn't do before, and also fill up
the big gas can. It takes me longer to do the e-mail than Bob wants to
wait, as he has not brought in the cooler or the cart, and is very
impatient. So I leave and shower on the boat. There are over 600
campers here.

Jan 13 - We went in to Key West Bight to the dinghy dock.
It is about 1/2 hr. ride through the cut between Fleming Key and Key
West. We can't use this cut with the big boat because there is a low
fixed bridge. There are lots of little speed boats making wakes, and
the current rushes through at a great rate.

We found the dinghy dock (look for the turtle kraal tower), tied up at
the far end, and got our daily pass (a yellow piece of paper), which
Bob taped on the seat. Key West's the same but different from when
Bob was stationed here in the late 60's

We have found that the old Evenrude motor has a clogged filter and
must be full of gas to run. The little gas can in the portabote was
empty so we had to buy gas and oil to get the dinghy full enough to go
back.

When we went to leave the dock, we found that another big inflatable
was blocking our exit. We tried to go out under the dock, but there
wasn't enough room. Finally someone let one dinghy out and pulled the
big one in so that we could get out.

Listening to the VHF radio you hear some interesting things.. A motor
boat named MISTY anchored out farther than we are called the CG and
reported a raccoon had gotten aboard his boat, which was anchored
about 1/2 mile off the Navy base. The CG eventually ferried an Animal
Control person out to him.

Jan 14 - We hear on the FM radio that the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West
race is finishing up today. That's in addition to the international
races.

Called the Evenrude dealer to see if he had the ceramic filter we need
for the dinghy motor. They didn't have it but suggested another place
that we might try.

We decided to rent a car, so I called around to get prices. Avis had
the best ones. So we told Avis that we'd like the car for 2 days, and
would pick it up at 1 pm. They have mopeds (scooters) for rent, and
also bikes, but we'd need 2, and the mopeds each cost as much as a
car. They also have little electric cars, but they cost 3 times as
much as a regular car.

Got ourselves in the dinghy and into the dinghy dock. We tied up at
the end, and I went to the harbor master and paid for 3 days, and
asked him to get a cab, which was there almost before we got out to
the front. It was $14 to go to the airport - $7 each.

We went to the other hardware store which turned out to be on Stock
Island, but they didn't have the part we need for the dinghy motor
either.

Jan 15 -. Because the dinghy dock was full, we tied up at a regular
dock which is not a floating dock but a fixed dock. To get off, I had
to crawl up on the dock. Not graceful. Bob was mortified and pretended
he didn't know me.

Went to get the car from the parking garage and the person we needed
to pay ($8 for the night)wasn't there. We drove around where we had
lived and the children had gone to school.

We then went to Ft Taylor. I was insistent that we hadn't been there
before, and I was right - they didn't even start to restore it until
1968. And besides it was on the Navy base and not accessible. Bob was
thinking that Ft. Taylor was the Martello Towers (which both of us
thought were Ft. Monroe at first - but that is in VA - this is just
Monroe County). We saw two cruise ships leave, and we could see the
races off in the distance.

We went to the garage and parked. The garage was fuller than
yesterday, and we went all the way up - I took some pictures from up
there. We eventually found a place under cover to park. Bob walked to
Key West Marine, and I tried to find my way to the Key West handprint
store, but I got lost. Bob had to lead me to it.

When we got back in the dinghy (I had to lie down on my stomach with
my feet off the edge of the dock and sort of slide off). The current
was really against us in the cut so we inched our way through and it
was near sunset when we got back to the boat.

Jan 16

Today we are going to turn in the car. We dinghied in - even had the
current with us going through the cut. We tied up at the dinghy dock -
actually at the floating dock part this time, and taped our ragged
paper pass to the seat again, and set off for the car. It looked like
rain, and in fact rained a little. We got the car. I wanted to use the
bathroom, but the bathrooms in the garage were locked.

Bob had something else to pick up (can't remember what), so we drove
to the PO so I could mail film and get some one cent stamps and he
walked over in the drizzle. Found that we could get the Bone Island
Shuttle for $5 @ with unlimited stops ($4 cheaper than the taxi), so
we got tickets on that. Bob left me at a hotel stop outside the
airport, and turned in the car and then walked back. We rode the
shuttle to the stop at the southern end of Duval and then walked back
to the marina.

Walked past a bar where there was a guitar player under a purple
spotlight (and he may have had purple hair too), singing to the melody
of the purple people eater song about purple pecker eaters.

Jan 17

We got into the dinghy and went in to the base. The portaboat was
seriously loaded down when we dinghied back - good thing there weren't
any waves. We had two loads of laundry, my computer, the commissary
shopping some of which was in a cooler, a cart, the filled water
bottles, the motor and ourselves. The weight limit is supposed to be
475 lbs with the motor.

Jan 18. Bob painted the whisker pole and did little chores around the
boat.

Jan 19 - We went into Sigsbee one last time. We disassembled the
portabote because the weather was supposed to kick up - actually it
was already blowing pretty hard on the way back to the boat - and tied
it down for the trip to the Dry Tortugas.

Jan 20 to 23 - blowing too hard to leave the boat. Bob painted the
wall in the saloon that backs up to the shower, and finished up the
whisker pole, which we put on deck. Have to wait until it is calm
enough to go up the mast to install it. That's not now.

Bob also figured out that he had the needle in the sewing machine
backwards and fixed the 110 refrigeration. (We have two alternate
refrigeration systems 110 and engine driven)

We have a mouse - Bob found droppings in his underwear drawer, and the
chewed up the receipts that Bob was keeping there and making little
piles of confetti. We don't have any mouse poison, so we put out
little dishes of antifreeze (ethylene glycol) for him, but he hasn't
appeared to eat any.

Jan 24 - Weds. Bob tried to get the outboard that came with the
inflatable to work, but it would not. So he gave up and put the
Evenrude on it. We took the laundry, trash, water bottles and the
cooler, and I went in to do email, and he got a shower, did the
laundry (brought it over and left it with me), and shopped at the
commissary. I did email etc, and then I wanted to get a shower and a
sandwich. I told the other folks that I was leaving the laundry there
and would be back. I met him coming across the parking lot. He had
already had lunch. I told him I'd be back to the dinghy by the time he
filled the water bottles. And I was. We dinghied back to the boat and
then I ate my sandwich.

Jan 25 - Got underway this morning and motored around Fleming Key to
Key West Bight where we got more water in the tanks (up to 320 gallons
from 200 - which took awhile), filled up with fuel, dumped the trash,
and had a pump out. Anchored off the Marquesas

Jan 26 - Pulled the anchor and got underway for the longest section of
the trip. The wind had picked up and we sailed with a fairly
substantial wind on the starboard quarter. I saw a patch of something
that I thought might be seaweed, but it picked up it's head -it was a
sea turtle. Saw another one later. Also saw a Portuguese Man of War.
They look like a partly collapsed blue soda bottle on the surface.

The seas weren't too bad until we got to Rebecca Shoals. At this point
the Gulf Stream from the gulf meets the Gulf Stream from the ocean,
and the seas are confused and choppy. We had about 8 foot swells which
were rocking the boat quite a bit- she would heel 20 deg to either
side.. We reached this point just after mid morning. Bob was having to
hand steer. I became queasy and did not want to go below to make
lunch, nor did I want to steer. Eventually I got peanut butter and
saltines, and something to drink.

We came into sight of the Tortugas about 4 pm, and I called the
rangers to check in. The guide book said that the SE passage was
closed due to shoaling. I did not understand what that meant and I
thought we'd be OK if we came in from the north.

But in addition the entrance from the north between Bush Key and
Garden Key also had shoaled in during the Valentines Day storm of
1998. It was almost open again until Xmas eve of 1998 and there is now
a substantial sand bar connecting the two Keys which is not shown on
any chart or on most pictures including the official pictures of the
park taken from the air.

As we came around the north side, we were intending to go down the
channel and anchor in front of the fort, but the channel markers all
said "Danger - shoaling".

So we went all the way around the fort on the west to anchor.

Fort Jefferson has no facilities whatever. At that time they had salt
water toilets, but no water (The fort originally had cisterns built
for fresh water, but the sea water seeped into them so that idea
wasn't as success.), no food or other supplies, and no fuel. No TV
reception, radio reception (like NOAA weather) is quite iffy and the
sat phone is the only thing that works, and that only works sometimes.

But it was fun to tour the fort (and see Dr. Mudd's cell) and snorkel
a little (although it was QUITE cold). Bob mounted the whisker pole
that he had made.

Jan 30 Pulled the anchor and motored out of the channel past the
defunct fueling piers. We get to the north side of the fort and have
a nice 15-20 knot wind from the SE. So we pull out all the sails and
sail.

It is a marvelous sail going north of quicksand shoals. We do 49 nm,
and all but the first and last hour are sailing. Bob sets the sails so
they are balanced, and the autopilot keeps the helm straight, and we
just sit on the high rail sailing at 7-8 knots. Bob sees a sailfish
jump out of the water. He also forgets to wear a hat, and his head
gets sunburned. The seas between the fort and Rebecca Shoals are about
the same, but since we are heading into them, they don't bother us. We
do get an occasional wave over the bow but had lots of fun.

We go north of the Marquesas today, and are doing so well Bob thinks
we can make it all the way to Key West. NOT. He eventually sees that
if we keep going the direction we are going, we will be anchoring in
an area that says on the chart that there is unexploded ordinance
there. So we stop and go in next to the north shore of the Marquesas
to anchor.

Jan 31 - got a place at Oceanside Marina - very expensive
As we pulled into the slip, Bob wrenched his knee again trying to turn
his foot on the nonskid of the deck. I ask the dock master if I can
download e-mails and he says OK. I have 349 e-mails and it takes a bit
longer than my estimate of 5 minutes!!

Bob does the laundry and the washer takes his money and refuses to
work, so he has to walk up for a refund on his sore knee. The dryers
(stacked) work well.

Because Bob's knee is painful, we call and get pizza from Dominos. I
go to pay him, but somehow miss him and when I get back to the boat,
Bob has already eaten his half of the pizza.