Friday the 13th One Day Late

Blue Heaven Rendezvous #23

It is Friday the 13th and we left No Name Harbor to anchor off Pumpkin Key. I wanted to stay another day in No Name but Al heard it gets very crowded and hectic from local weekenders, so we left. Pumpkin Key is a small private island with two homes on it. There were about 4 boats anchored here. We got in fairly early so I used our kayak to go around the island while Al repaired our oar lock on the dinghy which was loose. Basically it was a “chill-out” day. I caught this sailboat going by just before another beautiful sunset.

The next day we went through Angelfish Creek to the ocean side again. There was some low water at the entrance and exit but we made it through with no problem even though it was almost low tide. Thought you might like to hear the sounds of sailing!

Now the waters are the nice tropical turquoise and definitely not the waters of the Chesapeake as you can see.

In the cruising guide, John Pennekamp State Park sounded interesting. I thought someone told me not to miss it, and Al thought someone told him to not bother. I convinced him to phone the park to see if they had a slip or mooring ball for us. They said the moorings were only 4 ft. deep, but they had a slip. So I changed his mind about where we are going from the video. The park is where we were headed when Al suggested we go out to the reef to snorkel since there was not much wind. Someone had given him co-ordinates for a place called “Christ of the Abyss” or “Christ of the Deep.” We headed about 4 miles out of way to clear the reefs and went 4 miles out following the coordinates and there it was. There were about ten mooring balls for boats to tie up. As we got ready, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of Al getting on his wet suit. It certainly was a sight to behold! How do you like his farmer's tan!

When we pulled up, we did not know it but we selected the mooring which was closest to the statue which made it very easy to find it. It was spiritual with the light filtering through the water on Christ with his arms raised to heaven and the fish and sea life all around. We were very glad we came out to experience it. I wish I had an underwater camera but no such luck.This was part of our “Journey of Discovery!” The story behind the statue was an Italian gentleman in the diving business had the statue placed there to encourage more business. People come from the State Park on dive boats as well as other places, so his plan did work!

The passage to get to the State Park is very narrow canals through the mangroves. Sport fishing boats zoom by and wide tour boats are entering and leaving. It made for some tense moments. One of the most tense was scraping rock right before going around the dangerous curve at #17 and a mid size tour boat just about to come around the bend. Luckily, we kept moving and got through before the tour boat. We finally got to the marina and the girl was waving us in. The slip was very wide with these four foot square extremely high pilings. As we were trying to get the back lines on those pilings, the dock girl was trying to keep our bow off the dock, when I turn to hear crunching and the housing on the navigation light fall into the water. All I could think, was that the bad luck of Friday the 13th came one day late to us. Of course, Al’s mood quickly disintegrated especially because “I” was the one who wanted to come here.

We were able to retrieve the light housing for Al to see if it could be fixed. I finally made dinner for my valentine with chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. I was hoping to end the day on a more positive note!

Al worked on the navigation light and got it to work but he would have to glue the housing on. Since they have a West Marine .9 mile away, we walked there to see if they had another light and a starter switch. Yesterday when we were at the snorkeling sight, when we tried to start the engine we had difficulty. So, before it gives out completely, we wanted to replace it. They had the switch but not the light Al wanted.

We walked the park grounds, seeing the Welcome Center, Aquarium, two beaches the docks where tour boats and diving boats leave, as well as their rental center for canoes and kayaks and their campground. A lot of people were fishing all around the area too.
It is a very good state park and rated in the top ten in the US. There biggest problem was their marina with only about nine slips. One for a 40 footer, most were smaller and none had finger piers for easy access on and off the boat.

After lunch I chose to go to read on the beach while Al put in the new starter switch. When I came back I saw something moving along the edge of the sea wall. It was a very large iguana. It came over to our dock like he owned it. He wasn't afraid of people and most stayed away because no one would want to be hit by his tail!

Later, we had drinks with a couple who sailed up from Marathon. They are from Wisconsin and trailer their 27 ft. Norsea to Marathon for the past four years. We got a bit of information about Marathon from them since we will be arriving there in two days. Now we will know somebody there!

I finally got someone to take our picture together so you know we are both here!