Author Archive

Checked in and Checked Out

We had very little trouble checking in to the Bahamas today. The Customs and Immigration people here in Alice Town could not have been nicer to us. Since this is our first time checking in to a foreign port aboard Double Wide, I had no idea what to expect. Having read horror stories from other […]


Bahamas at Last!

We arrived at Bimini, Bahamas this afternoon at 6:30 PM. The crossing from Key Largo was simple enough. It would have been nice to have the wind off our nose, but then that wouldn’t be cruising, ‘Haley Style!’ We’re anchored off of Bimini Bay Resort and they’re providing complimentary wifi for the evening – Thanks […]


Always Learning

The prudent captain never wants to arrive at an anchorage after dark, which means that we had to leave our anchorage this morning around 3:30-4:00 AM. Since we were planning on leaving early, I set up our route on the chart plotter before going to bed last night. This morning I activated the route on […]


Key Largo to Bimini

Tomorrow (Sunday) we leave Key Largo, headed for Bimini (approximately 65 miles). Conditions look great for a fast and comfortable crossing of the Gulf Stream. We will leave KL around 3:30 AM and hope to be anchored off Gunn Kay by 5:00 PM. Tug, Michelle, and I will send our regards from the Bahamas as […]


Marathon Moorings

Marathon Florida is one of those places that cruisers fall in to and never seem to be able to get beyond. The city has done a great job managing the crowds by creating a mooring field that seems to go on forever. At $22 per night and at least 400-500 mooring spots, they’ve found the […]


Take THAT, West Marine!

After our rough crossing last week, we had several repairs to make and Key West was the first opportunity to go ashore and purchase needed items. There are two options in Key West (that I know of) for purchasing marine parts: West Marine and El Cubanito Marine Hardware. I love doing business with locally owned […]


Goodbye Key West!

Three days after arriving, we’re leaving Key West and heading for Marathon (about 40 miles up the keys). Key West is a great stop over point after crossing the gulf. Here, we were able to decompress a bit in the local bars and restaurants.  Tug, Michelle, and I enjoyed walking around the city and taking […]


Tug Boat – The Ultimate Boat Dog

After we lost our beloved “Buddy” last May, we said that we’d NEVER get another dog. It just didn’t make sense because we want to spend more time cruising on our boat and big, hairy dogs are just too much trouble. About 6 months after Buddy died, Michelle and I realized that we are “Dog […]


Two Days in Heaven (er, I mean Dry Tortugas)

The Dry Tortugas is the last of the Florida Keys and is approximately 50 miles west of Key West. It is a national park and includes the infamous Fort Jefferson (where Doctor Mudd served his sentence for setting the leg of John Wilkes Booth after Booth assassinated President Lincoln). Very few people visit because you can […]


It’s Alan’s Birthday!

4/7/13 10:30 PM We arrived at the Dry Tortugas just in time to meet our great friends Alan and Kit Bryant. The surprise birthday plan was hatched by Kit more than a month ago. Kit gave Alan a wonderful trip to the Florida Keys, including a Sea Plane flight from Key West to Fort Jefferson […]