Bridges and Beers - Great Loop Adventure

 I arrived back in Miami on Friday from spending a week in the Keys. The view coming in from Biscayne Bay is amazing. This picture doesn't do it justice.  I cruised into town just before dusk and tried to find a good anchorage. Everything was full that was in a location that was close to where I wanted to be, so needing to find something before dark, I anchored next to a 90+ foot mega yacht near the channel. I jumped in my dinghy and went to meet my friend Skye who happened to be in town. When I came back to my boat, the mega yacht was gone. I was a little concerned that I was anchored in a spot where you are not allowed to anchor, but I needed to wait til the morning to move. I woke up and the generator wouldn't start...again! I have to raise the anchor by hand without the generator, and that is very difficult. I also cannot use the lift to get my dinghy out of the water without it. After spending all morning troubleshooting, I finally figured out that it was just a bad conne...

 Well, I am finally on my way after months of repairs and setbacks. I left Boynton Beach on Wednesday morning with my friends Kurt, John and Jim. Jim is a ship's captain and was a very valuable asset on the journey. We ran into a few technical problems along the way, but my crew are all very knowledgeable in mechanics and electrical. We dropped Jim off in Key Largo to meet a friend and they drove a car to Key West and we met up with them when we got in yesterday evening. We caught our first fish yesterday, a Spanish Mackerel, and it was delicious! If you havent had fresh sashimi, it is fantastic. Literally ate the fish 2 hours after we caught it.  The weather was nice enough yesterday to get out on the ocean. We cruised all day on beautiful water, but after 10 hours, we were all a little tired. We rolled into Key West right at sunset and decided to reward ourselves by staying at the Opal Key Marina. After anchoring out the night before, we thought a shower and shore power was ...