Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

 Barney Basin Anchorage, Islamorada, Florida:  January 18, 2021

24.9243° N, 80.6278° W

Marc-  Today was a day of travelling with the most incredible colors in the environment.  We pulled up the anchor at 09:00 and headed further Southwest on the inside passage to the Keys.  The ICW channel passed through a series of Sounds or basins connected by small mangrove creeks.  We arrived in civilization once we passed beneath the Route 1 bridge.  There were quiet coves and newly built marinas and resorts.  Apparently Hurricane Irma did lots of damage here in 2017.  The only evidence on damage were multiple sunken sailboats and powerboats.  There was even a sunken 100 foot schooner.  We found a protected cove for tonight's North east winds in Barney Basin at 14:00 and dropped the anchor with 100 feet of line in 6 feet of water.  Today's travels were also marked by getting used to having only inches of water under our keel and we could see the bottom clearly at all times.  Sue even saw one of the many crab traps on the bottom when we passed nearby (we mostly avoided all crab trap buoys).  We are only 32 miles from Marathon and hope to arrive there tomorrow.

Mangroves in a part of the Everglades we passed through

A sad end to a beautiful schooner

Storms are unforgiving

Mangroves in Islamorada.  They grow in salt water, desalinate it and rid themselves of the salt in their waxy leaves.

We stopped in here to refuel

Sister ship to Hemmingway's fishing boat in the center of the marina store

Hemingway's typewriter

Elevator in the Bass Pro Shop at the marina

A tarpin sportfish but what belongs to that tail in front of it?

Local fishermen

Florida Bay sunset