On Saturday morning around 11 a.m. we left the basin at Key West Bight and headed back home. We were all very sad to be leaving, because we had an amazing time. The journey home would take us 30 hours, and fortunately, we had calm winds and a calm seas, so the journey was pleasant. It's been an amazing vacation. Stay tuned for next year's journey! [View Full Entry]

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Today we did a deep sea fishing trip with Mr. Z (Craig and Steve). We had so much luck with them last year, we thought we would try it again. We actually had the best day out on the water - catching 7 or 8 dolphin. Mitchell caught the first fish of the day, since he had never caught a dolphin before. He got it all the way up to the boat, but it got off. Josh boated the first fish on the boat today, and after that, we had all 5 of us with a rod in hand at one [View Full Entry]

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Today was truly a highlight of the trip. After breakfast at the famous Pepe's, we decided to take the sailboat out to go snorkeling at the reef. The first stop was Western Dry Rocks, just a few miles west of Sand Key Lighthouse. The water was perfectly clear and it was a beautiful day for snorkeling. We spent about 90 minutes snorkeling around the reef and enjoying the afternoon. We saw some huge tarpon in schools, as well as some of the most beautiful parrot fish. After exploring, we decided to scoot over a few miles toward the lighthouse, and we [View Full Entry]

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Today, we decided to be land bound for a little while and play tourist all around Key West. We hit Harpoon Harry's diner for breakfast and then headed over to the Pirate Museum. At Pirate Soul we learned all about the life of being a pirate. We saw all of the cool swords and treasures, as well as learned about some of the most famous pirates in history. We went to the Wrecking Museum next, to learn all about salvaging the ships that would wreck along the reef. The business of wrecking actually made Key West one of the richest cities [View Full Entry]

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After the long sail yesterday, we dropped anchor just off the Barracuda Keys around midnight. We woke to the beautiful sunrise and a gorgeous beach. We hopped in the dingy and we rode over to the beach for a dip. There is a gorgeous limestone rock up the pass and we decided to dingy over and snorkel around it. There were a few grouper hanging around the rocks. Caroline found a Starfish and the boys found some Conch. We headed back to the boat around lunchtime, and after taking a break for some tacos, we decided to float around the sailboat [View Full Entry]

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On Memorial Day, Scott woke up before daylight and Jamie joined him topside to start the long journey to the keys. The plan was to go to Snipe Point off the Barracuda Keys just east of Key West (about 11 miles). We'll spend the morning snorkeling on Tuesday and then head in to Key West. The sail down was long, but peaceful. The seas and winds cooperated and despite the kids claiming boredom (can you imagine?), we made it safe and sound. [View Full Entry]

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On Sunday morning, we left Venice and the Crow's Nest and headed south to Boca Grande pass. There, we find one of our favorite spots, home of the original, authentic Cheeseburger in Paradise - Cabbage Key. On the way in Boca Grande pass, we stopped to anchor off the beach at Caya Costa and took a dip. The drfitwood made great tools for sandcastles, and the shells provided a lot of entertainment for the boys skipping along the water. Caroline found a conch living in a shell, the boys played in the current. We headed to the anchorage and everyone had [View Full Entry]

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Today we picked up the anchor around 9 a.m. to start our journey to the Crow's Nest in Venice. About an hour into the trip, we all got e-mails telling us that the weather wouldn't hold out and there would be no baseball games today. We called the grandmas and made arrangments for the kids to meet us this afternoon in Venice. After a breezy sail, we tied up at the dock around 1:30 p.m. The kids arrived a little after 2 p.m. and we headed over to the little picnic island just inside the jetty in Venice. After floating around [View Full Entry]

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After a morning filled with shopping, loading, and lunch at the Irish Pub, the adult Coopers and McCombs were ready to set sail. We left the St. Petersburg Marina around 3 p.m. and started the journey south. We had a week filled with rain, rain and more rain, so we were a little leary about the weather, but thought we saw a break in the clouds, so we took it. We dropped anchor off Mar Vista, one of our favorite restaurants around 6:30 p.m. The Cooper and McCombs kids are safely hanging out in St. Pete with their respective grandmas (thanks [View Full Entry]

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Well, this will be the last entry. We took turns staying up all night and standing watch, and here we are, less than an hour from home. It seems like just yesterday we were packing up and heading out. Hard to believe that 16 days have passed! We had a great time, and hope all of our friends enjoyed viewing our blog! [View Full Entry]

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