Port-A-Gee

CHANGE IN THE GAME PLAN :  We have had a month-long reservation (2/24 - 3/24) at Marathon Marina for quite a while, but several factors contributed to scrapping the Keys and crossing Lake Okeechobee to the east coast of FL: This is our 6th year cruising the Great Loop.  Our idea of getting a head start by segment Looping while we were still working, backfired when we decided to buy a more livable cruiser in 2021. Because we found the Mainship in Port Washington, WI (40 miles north of where we began the Loop in 2017 (Racine, WI), we've spent 2022/2023 repeating our course/segments. Sooooo, as much as we loved Marathon when we stayed there March 2021, we decided to focus on gaining miles instead of repeating them. In lieu of the Keys, we are considering doing the St. John's River. We're feeling the repercussions of missing family events, and while we aren't rushing the trip, we want to move it along. Fuel prices are also a contributing factor. Tues,  2/14/23 - Happy Valen

Wed, February 1, 2023 - South Pasadena to Otter Key (34.6NM)  We spent the first part of the week preparing for our departure, laundry, groceries, fuel (for the dinghy and generator), but alas, we still had to wait for the tide to come up so we could get out of our slip and through the skinny channel.  Around 10:30 the water level was up enough for us to untie the lines.  It felt really good to be back on the water.  We had not seen a dolphin the entire time we were in Pasadena, but they were at the entrance to bid us farewell! Pasadena Marina It was a perfect sailing day, low winds, calm water, comfortable temps. As we approached Tampa Sunshine Skyway Bridge Bay and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge we both commented on how much bigger these bodies of water are than they are shown on the chart! We congratulated ourselves on the good decision to leave before the winds kick up over the weekend.    We nodded to Tom Brady as we crossed Tampa Bay on the day of his 2nd retirement announcement. W

We arrived at Pasadena Marina on 12/8/22 and flew home for the holidays on 12/14.  We loved the time with family, but really didn't need to be reminded of the sub-zero temps! Mon 1/2/23 - Fly back to Tampa, FL .  We booked an early flight from Chicago to Tampa so we would have plenty of time to move back on the boat and get provisions.  Southwest Airlines had an epic meltdown that week, we caught the tail end of it with only a 1-hour delay. We decided to grab a rental car at the airport to make provisioning easier. By 5:00pm, we were reunited with Port-A-Gee, she seemed very happy tucked into her secluded, warm, slip! Before going home, we had a week to get acquainted with our boat neighbors; Andy and Cassie, an adorable couple (kids in their 30's, I'm guessing). They relocated from Michigan and have been living on their boat for 2 years - nice life!  Anyhow, Andy agreed to keep an eye on Port-A-Gee and adjust lines in response to tides as needed. We were very grateful for