Begin – 25.18N  80.30W – Anchorage Resort & Yacht Club – Jewfish Creek Key Largo

End – 24.69N 81.35W – Big Pine Key Baileys Ln

Total fuel:  61 gallons

Travel time:  6.5 hours

Miles traveled: 75 miles

Seas – calm all day, perfect run wind light

After our fine meal from the night before we slept in a little late today. :-) We didn’t push off till noon… boy that felt nice. :-) We refueled at Gilbert’s Resort, right across from Anchorage Resort and headed south towards Big Pine Key our destination for today. What a ride… buzzing through the mangroves, gliding across the clear water making it feel like we were flying!

Some familiar signs appeared along the way… Toilet seat crossing and a Garden State Parkway sign… how ironic!

Captain Bob drove down to the house on Big Pine and we ensued. Kelly and Matt really enjoyed todays ride… the water temperature was in the high 80’s maybe even 90 at times jumping in felt like you’re in a hot tube! The last couple days has taught us a lot… Jet Skis are not invincible at all… you need to be careful of what you suck up in the intakes.

Running through the shallows and the Sargasso weeds clogs you up much faster than you can believe… thank God the water was so warm! It was like getting a hot bath each time you needed to clear the ski grates.

you can’t see Kelly, but he’s digging out some weeds from the intakes.

Seas during this leg where calm and winds out of the SE… can’t say enough how nice of a ride it was… blowing by the 7 mile bridge  and running down the majority of the keys today was infatuating… I could do it every day… following the old train tracks and just imagining the past… you gotta love it!

While refueling at Long Key I noticed I lost my back seat! We actually tried to refuel about 5 miles north and when we did I removed my seat to get out some goodies to munch on and while waiting to find out if we could get fuel, I inadvertently left my seat off and starting running south once again…. I’m so glad we found another location to refuel… once we did I notice I was missing my seat… Kelly Jr.  doubled back and as luck would have it, he found it only about 1 mile north of Long Key! Good J O B Kelly!

Finding an exact house on Big Pine was a little more challenging than first believed! LOL! Taking a tour around Big Pine was fun but cost us about an extra hour and a half… again we got to see some great pieces of the back country (insert Matt getting stuck) and wonderful nature… it’s alive with so much in the keys!

 Matt got jacked up back in the park…

We finally made it to Captain’s Bob’s at 6:30PM… it was nice to tie up for the day… I think we are going to hang here for a few days before making our last leg down to Key West… what a trip!

It’s funny… the boys and I have had such a great time… some better than others… but once you get towards your goal you get a little sad… Its getting close to the end… I’m so lucky to have been able to do this with my kids and have the support of some many fantastic and unbelievable friends and family along the way… what else can I say!… I know, Ahoy Capt. Bob!

Begin – 26.83N  80.06W – 5:30pm – North Palm Beach Harbor – North Palm Beach, Fla

End – 25.18N  80.30W – Anchorage Resort & Yacht Club – Jewfish Creek Key Largo

Total fuel:  103.85 gallons

Travel time: 9:20 hours

Miles traveled: 119 miles

Seas – calm all day, perfect run wind light

Today is going to be a good day… finally going to see my good friend Capt. Bob!

Capt. Bob and I spoke on the phone before we shoved off North Palm Beach and made our final plans for the day… the seas where perfect and we made the entire run pretty much outside all the way to Biscayne Bay.

Bob was our Keys coordinator and mapped out our run… we refueled at his old stomping ground, Lighthouse Point and once more at the top of Biscayne Bay before reaching our destination Key Largo.

At Lighthouse Point we had a little mechanical issue… it’s a bad recipe to leave a line overboard on a ski, needless to say we wrapped a line around our impeller and needed to remove the front intake plate from the bottom of the ski and cut out the rope… it wasn’t too bad, but it set us back around 30 – 40 minutes.

I can’t thank Capt. Bob and my brother-in-law Lee enough, they both where instrumental in getting our wheels to the keys from from NJ.  Lee drove from NJ to Fort Lauderdale and then handed off the truck to Capt. Bob, who ran the rest of the way!  Not sure if we mentioned it earlier on or not… but after day one we knew we were not going to be running the skis back up the coast so we resorted to plan B, or was it C or D… LOL.

Thanks guys, we couldn’t have made this happen without you two! :-)

The run down the coast was pretty flat and after refueling at Lighthouse Point we pushed onto Miami, we ran into a really cool guy who owns a jet ski rental outfit and he invited us into his channel on the Miami Beach, we obliged and headed in talk a bit telling our tales and drank some water… it was a nice break.  If you ever want to go down to Miami and fish off a jet ski this guy is your man!  He has four machines rigged for off shore fishing… pretty neat.

After this we pushed southward passed Miami Inlet and headed for Bear Cut, we tried to refuel at Crandon Park Marina, however they DO NOT REFUEL pwc’s at this location… so if you’re ever heading south on a ski count this place out, what do you want from a government ran facility, sorry I digress! LOL

I’m actually happy we made it to Crandon Park Marina because we witnessed one of the most crazy busy marina’s we’ve ever seen, along with a true admirer of club music… you be the judge… watch the clip! LOL

We ended up running back about 6 miles to the Miami Seaplane Tours, across from the Rusty Rudder restaurant where they were more than happy to let us put on fuel.

After fueling up… we crossed under Rickenbacker Hwy and made a course straight for Jew Creek which passed us straight through Stiltsville, Sands Key, Elliot Key, Trotten Key and Ocean Reef Club to Jew Creek, this was our first experience running through the mangroves and I could do this all day long… it was a lot of fun and I’d love to come back and spend some time diving and fishing them for sure.

After we exited Jew Creek it was an easy 6 mile run through Barnes Sound to Jewfish Creek and our day’s destination Anchorage Resort & Yacht Club.

As we passed under the Overseas Highway Bridge I could see Capt. Bob on the dock waiting for us… it was great to see Bob once again… I haven’t seen Bob in over a year… the music was cranking at some hopping party on the other side of the creek… Bob said that was our welcoming party!  We checked in, got settled and went out to a fantastic sunset dinner at Snooks Bayside Restaurant.  We called it an early night a prepared ourselves for the next day’s run to Big Pine Key.

Over & Out

Captain Kelly, SPC
(Self Proclaimed Captain)

Captains Log 7/18/2014 & 7/19/2014

No traveling these couple days… we partied with the Kelleys!

Nothing better than sleeping in a comfy bed after a homemade dinner!

We headed down to the docks and before taking off on the skis we bumped into so very funny boat captains… they were talking about us and using adjectives like, nuts, crazy, whacked out guys running their skis from Jersey to Key West… however the best part of that encounter was our nick name!  They dubbed us the “Intercostal Cowboys”  what a kick… that was funny! LOL J

Pat (Mr. Kelley) was the team leader today… he took us on a tour of their surrounding waters which we happily dived.  Diving around Peanut Island and some surrounding bridges, we actually spotted some great fish and crab that I have never seen before… it was a sort of spider crab, purple with very thin legs and eyes that light up like a flash light… very cool indeed… what a life!  So nice that you can be in warm clear water 12 months out of the year… sweet!

Once we finished up inside we took off and headed out Lake Worth Inlet and headed to the famous Breakers Hotel and dived some more… we didn’t see a ton of critters however it was fairly clear with a bunch of small tropicals for our viewing pleasure.  A small storm rolled in and we took a little cover on the beach for 15 minutes… did a little more diving and cruised back in for the day.

Pat’s friend owns a really good restaurant called J&J Seafood in Delray Beach, so we piled into the Kelley’s car Pat, Nicole, Alivia, Kelly, Matthew and myself and headed on down to Delray.  This was a perfect time to meet up with my brother-in-law Lee, Jenn and Emily as well.  We all had a wonderful dinner and got to catch up.  Lee by the way was nice enough to fly up to Jersey for me and drive my truck and trailer back down to Florida… and Jenn was nice enough to let him do it. ;-)  Thanks a lot guys, we all really appreciated your help!

If you ever head on down to J&J Seafood, make sure you order the smoked fish spread… you won’t be disappointed… Fantastic!

The next day Pat, Alivia, Kelly, Matt, Pat’s brother and his little boy headed on over to a water park in Riviera Beach, we all had a good time and the kids all got to ride the endless wave machine… I think they all like that the most, we rode a bunch of other water slides and Alivia faced her fear and rode Big Thunder and Baby Blue… go Liv… you did great!

After a hard day at the water park it was time for a good ole’ steak dinner… we picked up some awesome steaks and shrimp at a very neat Italian grocery store, Joseph’s Classic Market in Palm Beach Gardens, Matt wanted some Brussel sprouts and he wanted me to cook the up as well… Pat cooked the meat and I cooked the sprouts… sorry Nicole for stinking up your kitchen!  Again you can’t beat a home cooked meal. J

The boys and I went to an early Mass today at The Cathedral Parish of St. Ignatius Loyola, what I really liked about this mass was that they put all the songs and readings on a screen for easy reading… I even think the boys enjoyed this one! J

After our big dinner we all sat around the pool and talked a bit… we discussed our relocation plans and the Kelley’s really helped with some ideas and places that we should be looking into… sooner than not maybe Matt will be Brenda’s neighbor once again…

We wanted to shove off early the next day, so the Kelly’s offered to let us use their car and leave it at the dock… that was very nice of them… thank you Pat and Nicole for all the hospitality… we’re very grateful for having friends like you guys, it was a lot of fun!

Over & Out

Captain Kelly, SPC
(Self Proclaimed Captain)

Begin – 28.08N  80.36W – 9:55am – Anchor Marina – Indian Harbor Beach, Fla

End – 26.83N  80.06W – 5:30pm – North Palm Beach Harbor – North Palm Beach, Fla

Total fuel:  127.30 gallons

Travel time:  7:35 hours

Miles traveled:  84 miles

Seas – ICW Calm winds SW 10 knots

I think that big Cuban dinner from the evening before slowed us down a little this morning, we didn’t get on the water until almost 10am.  We refueled, loaded up and headed on south… today is a short run only 80 miles to North Palm Beach Harbor Marina.

This days travels ran us past a really neat little state park, Matt found a rope swing hanging off a large tree, you know Matt, he had to climb it and give it a try!

Our morning run down the coast was filled with very cool sounding towns and beaches, like Micco, Sabastian, Preachers Hole, Jensen Beach and Hooker Cove, it was about a mile and a half after Hooker Cove when Kelly spotted a woman in a fishing kayak waving vigorously… Kelly radioed me and said he thinks she might need help, so we swung around and staring approaching slowly to see what was going on.  When we got within shouting distance I asked her if everything was ok and she said, absolutely… I said, my son saw you waving and thought you may be in need of some assistance… she said…. No…. I just say your rigs and you must be up to something cool and wanted to talk to you!  We all started laughing and chatted up a conversation… she introduced herself as Olive and we introduced ourselves as well… we told her our stories and she told us many of hers… She’s a retired Grandma (and the coolest one I’ve ever met) she fishes every day, loves being on the water and I quote “I don’t know what it is about my kayak, the manatees want to have sex with my kayak and the bull sharks want to eat it” of course the boys starting laughing their heads off!  LOL  We ended up talking for about 15 minutes or so and I’m sure glad we stopped, great lady and I hope to see her once again in the future.

This entire part of the ICW I started to fall in love with… starting around Saint Lucie Inlet all the way to Jupiter Inlet, the water started to clear up and the area was really nice and very conducive to my style of living and hopefully Marceda’s!

Right before we got to Jupiter Inlet we came up on a bridge with a bunch of young girls diving it…   I was watching them and their free diving skills where quite impressive… when one of the girls came up and I asked what they were seeing…  they told me they were looking at a dead sea turtle…  I thanked her and said to the boys… time to stop and do a little investigation! 

The water had about 35 feet of vis and a ton of fish around the pilings… we really enjoyed ourselves and hung here for about 40 minutes.

We loaded up and headed for our destination, only 10 miles left, easy run.

As we approached the North Palm Beach Marina, I had some crazy guy yelling at us… something about crazy guys on jet skis from New Jersey… as I was looking up at him, he say, yo Kel… it’s Dave McPherson… I almost fell off my ski… I haven’t seen Dave in over 15 years… how cool is that!    I got to meet his son, which is a very nice young man and Dave and I got to catch up!  That was really nice… Dave I’m so glad you tracked up down and took the time… thanks Buddy!

At this point it was time to call it a night… fortunately we had a nice arraignment setup by my Matthew… his best friend Brendan recently moved to West Palm Beach and Matt called and connived he and us into their home for the next couple days. J  Thanks to Nicole and Pat, they treated us like family… Mr. Kelley (Pat) picked us up at the Marina and Mrs. Kelley treated us to a lovely meatball & rigs dinner, it felt like home… yummy yummy!

Over & Out

Captain Kelly, SPC
(Self Proclaimed Captain)

Begin – 29.20N  81.09W – 7:50am – Halifax Marina – Daytona Beach, Fla

End – 28.08N  80.36W – 3:00pm – Anchor Marina – Indian Harbor Beach, Fla

Total fuel:  0 gallons (we didn’t put fuel on tonight, waited till morning)

Travel time:  7:10 hours

Miles traveled:  78 miles

Seas – ICW Calm until the T-Storm

We started our morning early today… we were going to make a push for West Palm Beach however you know South Florida in the summer… it all started well, took off south on the ICW calm seas… about 8:40 Matthew started shouting at me to look at my basket!  This was our first mechanical failure of the trip!  I almost lost the basket and with the grace of God I didn’t lose any nuts or bolts, the eye bolt and turnbuckle where just hanging… couldn’t believe it!  How lucky can you get!

Fortunately Kelly was able to pull up beside me grab the basket from the water and place it back on my deck, I was able to put the two bolts and turnbuckle back together after about a 10 minute repair we were running once again.

It was smooth sailing at this point and we quickly put behind us Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach, I really liked this section of the ICW, very quaint and has some move in qualities for sure.

As we approached Kennedy Space Center  we hung a hard left into a cut,  a little passed Mosquito Lagoon it was at this cut  I got my first good glimpse of a Manatee… they are big and very cool.  We ran on for another hour and heard tell of some fuel close by… we ran to the “World Famous Docs Bait House”!  What a great joint… I’m glad within 10 minutes of tying up our rigs we saw a giant storm brewing to our west and it was on us within 15 minutes blowing 50 to 60 knot winds, complete with thunder and massive lighting!

Docs was a great place…  we played some pool ,  looked at some live bait, had some beers and within 45 minutes the storm was all gone!

In light of this little event we decided to call it early and run about 17 miles south to Melbourne Beach, we ended up at Anchorage Yacht Basin, very interesting place… they didn’t want to take us in because they are a boat club… never heard of such a thing until this day, the dock hand (sorry man I forgot your name!) was totally cool and really nice, he made us some hand pressed coffee… that was a real treat, thank you Sir!

We met the marinas owner mother and she called her son (because she didn’t know what to do with us ;-), he was kind enough to let us tie up for the night.  His mom was wonderful and she recommended a bunch of great sounding restaurants… she really wanted us to eat at a Cuban restaurant, however she couldn’t recall the name, so she directed us towards the Green Turtle seafood restaurant.  We called a taxi and headed towards the beach looking for a hotel… the taxi driver was a neat guy from Barbados, he recommended a very inexpensive hotel right across the street from the beach… nice spot.   As good fortune would have it the Cuban restaurant was actually attached to the same parking lot as our hotel, this sure made our dinning efforts a snap!

The boys and I had a fantastic authentic Cuban dinner at the Cuban Island Restaurant, it was off the hook, great food and a really good waitress!  We had a few drinks and called it a night.

Full and tired we hit the racks… we each had our very own bed… one room but separate beds… great night sleep!

Over & Out

Captain Kelly, SPC
(Self Proclaimed Captain)

Begin – 30.40N  81.27W – 9:00am – Fernandina Beach, Fla

End – 29.20N  81.09W – 4:15pm – Halifax Marina – Daytona Beach, Fla

Total fuel:  80.56 gallons

Travel time:  7:15 hours

Miles traveled:  121 miles

Seas – ICW & Ocean 1’ – 2’ winds SSW 15knots

It seems like the more comfortable we are at night the later start we get in the morning… and today was no different… we had a comfy rack to sleep in so we started a bit late today… the wind was blowing stiff so we cruised the ICW for about 15 miles then headed out Nassau Sound where Kelly promptly go hung up on a shoal… he was only about 25’ to my port, I just got lucky!

Matt helped Kelly get off the shoal…  it only took about 15 minutes, soon as we got free we headed out the sound and for the deep blue!  The seas were 1’ to 2’ rollers, however when you are on the jet skis you still get air so it wasn’t the best ride so we decided to hang a right at the next inlet called Mayport.

Mayport is a large inlet with ships markers guiding our way to safety… we followed those markers straight into the Mayport Naval Base where we were promptly greeted by two inflatable gun boats with their 50 cal machine guns trained right on us!  We got the speech that we entered restricted waters and quickly shown the door, since I didn’t want to show them my guns… I thought it best to listen! ;-)  So we quickly turned a stern and headed on our merry way…     interestingly enough we had a grey navy helicopter shadow us for the next 15 to 20 miles… that was cool!

After that little adventure the balance of the day was pretty uneventful and we made Halifax City Marina by 4:15pm.  Since we were on the other side of the bay we needed to cab it over to Daytona Beach.  Matt, checked us into the Hilton (only the finest for Matthew) and had a super steak dinner at the Hyde Park Steak house… yummy!

We walked around Daytona beach for a couple hours and called it a night.

Over & Out

Captain Kelly, SPC
(Self Proclaimed Captain)