Captain Jim on Phone

Launch Day – Tarpon Springs, Florida

Tarpon Springs is a Favorite Stop for Kismet! Kismet was launched at the usual place, Anclote River Park, just northwest of Tarpon Springs across the river. Turtle Cove Marina was our choice for dockage during our week-long stay while we did all of our usual activities which included, food shopping, and visiting our favorite Greek bakery and restaurant for Greek salads. We walked all over town and the sponge docks soaking up the distinctive aromas and unique sounds of the Greek culture. In between all that we did our final provisioning of the boat for our trip south down the ICW. We got the boat…

Read more
Oysters for Dinner

“Oysters Rock Yo Fella”

In Search of Apalachicola Oysters! First, we stored Kismet at TTC Storage in Eastpoint, then we went in search of a well-deserved oyster feast. We found TTC to be a great place to store the boat. We feel confident she will be in safe hands during our return home for the holidays. After Kismet was stored in her spot in the building and with the recommendation of Mike, owner of TTC Storage, we headed out of town to Lynn's Quality Oysters. Nothing short of delicious is how we found their specialty, Captain Jack's oyster platter. This meal of Apalachicola oysters was…

Read more

Eastpoint, Florida – A Heart as Big as the Bay!

Retrieving Kismet from Storage – Eastpoint Florida Seems like it was just yesterday when we left Kismet at TTC Storage in Eastpoint Florida, in fact, it has been several months. We like to cruise in the fall, somewhere south of Michigan, and then leave our boat in storage somewhere near where we plan to cruise after the holidays. This time, after our trip to the AGLCA (America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association's 2014 Rendezvous and cruise through Florida's Panhandle, we ended up in Eastpoint to store the boat. We arrived at TTC Storage and met the owner, Mike, at the building. Within half an…

Read more
Nautical Store, Appalachicola, Florida

Apalachicola, Land of the Friendly People

The Little Fishing Village of Apalachicola is the End of the Line for Our Fall Cruise Apalachicola is definitely "Old Florida." Famous for its fresh oysters, Appalachicola employs a variety of seafood workers. It's our favorite place to eat oysters. Apalachicola Bay is well protected by St. Vincent Island, Flag, Sand, St. George Island, and Cape St. George Island. We'll leave Kismet tucked away in TCC Storage's building, just across the bay in Eastpoint, while we drive the truck home to spend the holidays with family. We'll return to pick up Kismet on January 1st for a winter of cruising in southern Florida…

Read more
Nature's Artwork, Shoreline, Appalachicola River, Florida

Last Leg to Appalachicola Looks More Like a Rorschach Inkblot

Cruise to Apalachicola, a Photographer's Dream Cruise Smooth sailing today as we cruised the last leg of our fall cruise through Florida's Panhandle. A little stormy and overcast but we still got some nice photos of some of the beauty available to see while cruising this area. the cruise to Apalachicola did not disappoint, even though it was overcast, the water was mirror calm and the reflections on the still water gave pause to the crew on board Kismet. Nature provided us with some interesting illusions while on the water today. Note the symmetry of the above water images on the mirrored…

Read more
Kismet Cruising, Grand Canyon Cut, Florida

Cruising the “Grand Canyon” Cut to St. Andrews

Grand Canyon Cut – A Favorite Cruising Channel in Florida's Panhandle Today we cruised Florida's "Grand Canyon Cut," after crossing Choctawhatchee Bay to a man-made, 18-mile channel (statute mile 255 to 260, east of Harvey Lock) that leads to St. Andrews, aptly named due to the steep, up to 100' high, sandy banks lining this cut. Tall pine trees grow along the ridge of the sand dunes and down to the water. One of our favorite areas to boat in the Panhandle. The clouds provided a stormy backdrop to the sun-it shoreline. Not many boats out on the cut today, a few fishing boats, that was about it…

Read more
Harbor View from Restaurant, Destin, Florida

Remembering the Last Time We Were in Destin, Florida

Fond Memories of Our Last Trip to Destin Florida Destin Florida is a popular tourist destination located in the Panhandle of Florida. It rests on a peninsula separating the Gulf of Mexico from Choctawhatchee Bay. Well known for its pristine beaches and turquoise waters, Destin claims to have the largest fishing vessel fleet in the state of Florida. The last time we stopped in Destin was in 2008, while on our second Great Loop boat trip. It was Thanksgiving Day and we roasted a turkey (below) on the back deck of our Fathom 40 while anchored in the harbor. My favorite way to share…

Read more
Kismet Anchored, McRee Cove at Perdido Key

Chilling – McRee Cove at Perdido Key – Pensacola, Florida

A 15-mile cruise to a well-protected cove next to Perdido Key – McRee Cove The barrier island between Orange Beach, Alabama, and Pensacola Bay is called Perdido Key – Pensacola Bay inlet and Santa Rose Island are directly east of Perdido Key. Following the War of 1812 three major forts were built to strengthen the United States defenses in this Pensacola Bay area – one being Fort McRee built at the eastern tip of Perdido Key. Fort McRee is long gone, it was held by the Confederates during the Civil War until 1862 and was mostly destroyed. The property remained in…

Read more
Sunset, Ingram Bayou

Ingram Bayou – “I’m Going Back Someday, Come What May, To Blue Bayou”

After a smooth cruise through Mobile Bay, from Eastern Shore Marina, we made a port-side turn into the protected Intra-Coastal Waterway where we soon passed our first tug and tow (above). The first landmark we see on the ICW is Lulu's Cafe (below). Not stopping there this time though as we were both in a hurry to get settled into our night's anchorage. Returning to Ingram Bayou... Ingram Bayou is one of our favorite anchorages, this will be our third time stopping here. The afternoon was spent by first hanging by some scarves to block the heat of the sun while we settled into lounge on the…

Read more
Lisa Deplaning Air Force One

National Naval Aviation Museum – Orange Beach Marina – Pensacola, Florida

Staying at Orange Beach Marina so that we can take a day to visit the National Naval Aviation Museum. We arrived late afternoon, got settled then borrowed the marina's loaner car to take a tour of the area and visit one of the beautiful beaches. Some folks stopped by (above) that knew us because they also own a Ranger Tug. It's a small world! The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida – A Must-See Museum! On our third cruise through the Florida Panhandle, nine years after we heard about the museum during our first Great Loop adventure, we made plans to…

Read more
Fly Creek, Fairhope, Alabama

Fairhope Alabama – Starting Our Cruise Through the Panhandle from Mobile Bay

Boaterhoming Our Way to Fairhope Alabama After leaving Joe Wheeler State Park after the AGLCA rendezvous we headed south with Fairhope Alabama as our intended launch site. However, after a late start and a long day's drive, we called it quits when we got to Greenville, Alabama, and found this rustic RV park about a mile off I-65. Stopping here for the night gave us the opportunity to arrive at Fairhope early in the day. The park was quiet except for an evening symphony of cricket chirping in a swamp nearby. We have been by this way twice before and each…

Read more
Launching Kismet, Fernandina Beach, Florida

Fernandina Beach, Florida – Here We Come

Our last stop in Florida this year is Fernandina Beach to attend the MTOA 2012 Southern Rendezvous. We've never had the pleasure of visiting Amelia Island when going up or down this coast, but we've only heard good things about this friendly little resort town. We were surprised that, since we got there late in the day, we were able to park and stay on the boat in the marina parking lot overnight without being hassled. We think Fernandina is making a few exceptions during the rendezvous because it is a big event for this town and they'd like MTOA…

Read more
Kismet Cruising Canals, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Idling Up New River – Dinghy Ride – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

We ventured out on a long dinghy ride today – up the New River and into a few side channels. We were just a short distance away from the marina and it was hard to tell we were so close to such a big city as Fort Lauderdale. We must have been gone several hours as there are a lot of waterways to cover on the river with a few little offshoots to explore. As an extra bonus, we got to see all different kinds of boats – old, new, big, small, and some very unusual ones. Jim said that…

Read more
Kismet Docked on New River, Fort Lauderdale

Keeping a Promise in Fort Lauderdale

Lisa made me promise we'd stop in Fort Lauderdale for a week, so after staying in Homestead for two nights to catch up on work and other chores, here we are putting the boat in the water right at Cooley's Landing Marina (below), on the New River at the beginning of the downtown Riverwalk area. Cooley's is one of our favorite marinas in Florida. Nice facilities and location. We can walk to shop in Las Olas, eat out at a choice of restaurants, grocery shop, or get plenty of exercise walking right along the river. Lisa always raves about Cooley's…

Read more
Crew of Sea Gator, Marathon, Florida

Rendezvouing with Sea Gator in Marathon

When I was in the planning stages of putting together our book, Women On Board Cruising, an acquaintance introduced me via email to Pat Erhman, a long-distance cruiser, along with her husband Rick on their boat, Sea Gator. I was so happy about the introduction because Pat and I corresponded quite a bit over the course of creating the book and I hoped someday our paths would cross on the water. Today it finally came to be. A friend, another contributor to the book, Ellen, ran into Pat in Marathon earlier in the season and told her we were also…

Read more
Kismet at Anchor, Florida Keys

The Route Less Taken – Key West to Marathon

When leaving Key West by water, and heading east to Marathon, there are two Intracoastal Waterways (ICW) route choices. There is the unobstructed, direct route of Hawk Channel which runs parallel to the Keys and cuts into Florida Bay at Marathon. Hawk Channel is somewhat protected from the coral reefs that separate it from the Atlantic Ocean; this is the most popular route because you don't need to worry about dodging shallow water. We've taken Hawk Channel several times but have never taken the route less traveled, the Florida Bay ICW. One of the reasons the route north of the…

Read more
Key West Harbor, Stock Island, Florida

Stock Island Stay

We can't say enough good things about Key West Harbour, on Stock Island. Our second stay here, for the month of March, was ideal. Great slip right by the tiki hut on the outer rim, open-air showers under the hut, and a spot to enjoy happy hour under the other hut. Life is good. We were happy to meet up with Brenda and Vern, on Trouble II, they were our neighbors at Key West Harbour in the winter of 2010.

Read more
Kismet Cruising Florida Flats

Mission Foiled – Uninhabited Marquesas Keys – Islands West of Key West

Just for you Rob! We left Key West Harbour early in the morning – with calmer waters and clear skies forecasted, we thought it was time for a little excursion to the Marquesas Keys. The Marquesas sit 18 nautical miles west of Key West and are uninhabited. Our thoughts were that it would be fun to anchor out and enjoy the serenity of these isolated Keys. Although It was a pleasant enough cruise out, shortly after we had cruised halfway around the island and dropped anchor the wind kicked up. There really wasn't an option to move to the lee side of…

Read more
Better Than Sex Restaurant Sign

Better Than Sex?

On this particular day, we had just consumed a huge lunch at our favorite Cuban restaurant, El Caney on Stock Island. Later that afternoon, we drove to downtown Key West to take a long walk and watch the sunset. We really weren't hungry for dinner, but we thought maybe we'd just get dessert somewhere. That was when we remembered several people telling us about a dessert restaurant named Better Than Sex, they only offer dessert on their menu. "Why not," we said, "how about we just have dessert for dinner?" Music to the ears of our server. As you can see…

Read more
Shrimp Boat, Stock Island, Florida

Bringing Home the Shrimp – Stock Island, Florida

Not only did the fishermen "bring home the shrimp," but we also brought it home, to the boat that is. Freshly caught shrimp for dinner tonight, what could be nicer? Fresh seafood all within a mile of the marina. Fishbusterz usually has a full array of fish and shellfish available. The Lobster Company, closer to the marina, has more including stone crab claws, a new favorite of ours. This is just one of many reasons we love to stay on Stock Island. The shrimp boats raft off each other in the basin behind Fishbusterz. We originally thought there were docks…

Read more
Dinner with Friends

The Charlevoix Gang Converges on Key West

We're all dock mates from our long-time homeport of Charlevoix, Michigan (the only people missing is our dear harbormaster, Hal, and his wife Mary Ann). Although we have not been back to Charlevoix by boat for many years the friendships have endured. Our first get-together this winter was hosted by Jean and Gary on the porch of their downtown Key West rental. Porch dining was a first for us and somewhat of a tradition in this eclectic little town where many houses feature a big front porch. Jean and Gary cooked us an amazing dinner with crab cakes and salad…

Read more
Fishing Dock

A Favorite Haunt – Stock Island Lobster Co.

One of our favorite haunts this winter was the Stock Island Lobster Co., just a short walk from our marina. Unfortunately, the whole month of March was very windy and the boats did not get out to get their catch like they, and we would have liked. Some days they had nothing to sell and others they could only sell a limited amount to us, but we did get some lobster a couple of times and some snow crab claws another.

Read more
Jim, Key West, Florida

Tropical, Eccentric Key West

Not only does it boast a colorful, tropical splendor but Key West is a little unconventional with its kooky signs and unusual, creatively painted or put-together, bikes, and vehicles. Here is something new we saw in Key West this year. Not sure what to call it but doesn't it look like fun? A solar bike with storage to boot. Who would have thought?  Lots of sunshine in the Keys, so why not? One of our favorite signs in Key West is Love Lane. The crew on Illusions (Ranger Tug R27), Mike and Jess arrived in Key West with their friends,…

Read more
Back To Top