Author: Steve

Captain’s Log – Tue 5/13/25

Last day in port, the rain cleared out mid-day for a nice afternoon. The forecast through the weekend should be perfect for snorkeling and diving at the reefs. Finally! We dodged the rain this morning to get to Sharky’s for the $5.95 early bird breakfast special. Best deal going!

We hit the grocery store to stock back up on food and beer. Stopped at West Marine to get a super fine, 2 micron fuel filter and some fuel treatment. My friend Art suggested we drain the tank, but I was unable to make that work with what I have. I put the Startron and a shock amount of BioBor in the tank, then ran the fuel polisher all afternoon. It looks much better. I then put a fresh 10 micron filter back in. I will top off with fresh fuel tomorrow which should further dilute any remaining contaminated fuel. Fingers crossed, I think it will be fine to get us back to St Pete where I can thoroughly take care of the issue.

Forgot to mention that we had to actively repel boarders yesterday. These little f’kers kept trying to get on the boat. Good thing they can swim!

Recharged all the snuba batteries for tomorrow and topped off the water one last time. I think we have everything ready to go!

Some local knowledge, bartender said that if we need a pump out to just call the city and they will come out for you. Have to find more out about that. I didn’t think there was a facility east of Marathon. Also, there is a marine supply store with used parts called Mother Ocean not too far from West Marine. Will have to stop next time I get to Key Largo.

We did end up going to DiGiorgio’s for dinner again. So good!

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Captain’s Log – Mon 5/12/25

As the weather forecast predicted, it started heavy rain overnight, continuing through the morning and off and on all day. Time to start on the rainy day list of boat chores.

Alicia took a month’s worth of laundry up to the marina laundromat. I worked with the rain to wash and rinse all the salt off of the boat. She hasn’t had a good bath since we be left for the Bahamas. Water is 50 cents a gallon there and a scarce resource. After a good wash, I went over all the stainless with rust remover. All the salty sailing was taking its toll.

I gave the engine a thorough going over. Several hose clamps had worked loose and had a few leaks. I guess it’s the vibration or bouncing around, not real sure why. One was for coolant, the hose that I had replaced a couple weeks before we departed in February. One was on the heat exchanger. The worst was on the exhaust riser, which was noticeably salty. I cleaned up the engine and bilge which makes it easier to monitor for leaks.

I checked the transmission fluid and oil, no issues. The water strainer picked up a ton of grass leaving Tavernier Key yesterday. I ran the fuel polisher all day. It seems slightly less cloudy but still pretty cloudy. I couldn’t get a fuel polishing service to come out until Wednesday, which is when we are leaving and they wanted $500 for my tiny tank. I’m going to run to West Marine tomorrow and get a 2 micron filter and some more fuel treatment then let than run all day again. Lastly, the Venturi filter for the AC unit was clogged causing the condensation to run into the bilge. Laundry and Maintenance done and the boat is cleaned up. Have to make the most of being in port on a rainy day.

We went to DiGiorio’s Cafe for dinner, a local Italian restaurant. Wow, we were blown away. Alicia had the bone in veal cutlet featured on the Diners, Drive ins and Dives show while I had the osso bucco. There was so much that sounded good on the menu, coupled with how good the dinner was, we’ve already decided to have dinner there again tomorrow. How often do you find a restaurant that you just have to go to again the next night? It was that good. If you only have one night in Key Largo, have a drink at the Caribbean Club and watch the sunset, then come eat dinner here.

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Captain’s Log – Sun 5/11/25

Once again the southern wind was not conducive to taking the snubas to the reef for diving. Still pretty rough. The updated weather forecast has rain starting overnight so we decided to go on into port at Key Largo again. We were greeted by the local Manatee welcoming committee!

After getting the boat secured and the AC running, we went up to the Skipper’s Tiki Bar to cool off and get some lunch. We had the best of intentions on being productive but the pool looked too inviting.

We had a few drinks at the Holiday Inn pool, next to our marina. Its pool has a grotto and waterfall as well as a tiki bar. We chatted with some new friends, Craig and Julie on vacation from Illinois, then we all went to the Caribbean Club for drinks where the Bogey movie “Key Largo” was filmed, followed by dinner at the Fish House. He’s done a lot of sailboat racing as well. Funny how birds of a feather get together.

Highly recommended the Fish House! As we were leaving, Alicia saw a speakeasy called the Armory a block away, so we stopped in. We didn’t know the password (Friends of David) but they let us in anyway. Turns out it’s a VFW club that was just remodeled with the speakeasy theme. Bartender extraordinaire, David, made us some high end craft cocktails for dessert. I had a key lime pie martini while Alicia opted for a classic 3 bean espresso martini. Delicious!!!

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