Great Loop: Boca Chita

-

Boca Chita National Park

February 20th, 2022

A mid week visit to Boca Chita was a very pleasant experience.  The Miami  skyline is just 10 miles away with its  high energy vib.  Boca is the exact opposite, very relaxing.  A spot where you feels your  cares just melt away.  It is so pretty, you start grinning  as soon as you arrive and remain in this state for the duration of your visit. 


Grinning  Boaters


The Chapel, the palms, and the view.


The Miami skyline  in the distance 




Sunset on Boca Chita 



End of the day


Last light




The Lighthouse at Sunset 

We had a bumpy Voyage from John Pennekamp State Park to Boca Chita. It was a trip of 30 miles, in 15 knot winds and moderate seas.  The island atmosphere was especially nice after the wet and windy ride North. We enjoyed touring the island on foot and visiting the beaches.  









We saw iguanas along the shore and in the bushes.  Beth went snorkeling and saw many fish along a rock ledge just offshore. We also saw a Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish floating by. As the sun set, we gathered on Perfect Choice for cocktails. We had a pleasant visit with Brian and Ellen as we recapped the day and made plans for the morrow. 












We highly recommend visiting at Boca Chica if you're in the area. Do consider making your visit midweek as we hear that it gets quite crowded on weekends.








Comments

  1. Keith and LindaMarch 8, 2022 at 4:48 PM

    Enjoying your posts SO MUCH! Thanks for sharing your adventure with the rest of us!
    Keith and Linda

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summer 2024: Amy Marie Returns to the Pacific Northwest

-
Image
Kingston Washington Waterfront The majestic terrain and contrast of mountains, forests, and water have lured us back to the Pacific Northwest for another summer of cruising.  It is simultaneously peaceful and powerful.  It is the essence of harmony until a storm arrives and then it is the chaos and fury of wind, rain, and tumultuous seas.  All attract us to visit.  We are outdoor people and spend as much time as possible outside.  However nothing, with the exception of backpacking, has ever brought us continuously closer to nature than boating the PNW.   It's second virtue is it ability to slow and focus your life.  The stress of city living melts away as soon as we splash the boat.  The many competing electronic connections of our overly intrusive push communication world are put on hold.  It is such a relief.  Have we perhaps overdone it?  Instead the focus is on weather, sea conditions, tides, currents, winds, provisioning, ...
Read more

Amy Marie Visits: The Day the Diesel Died...

-
Image
Every boater dreads the day their trusty diesel quits singing its sweet tune.  We experienced this once before in a boat with twin diesels.  Much less drama as you can easily travel on a single engine.  Amy Marie is equipped with one diesel, any unexpected stoppage is cause for concern.  Especially when you are in the middle of a bay in Desolation Sound with eight hundred feet of water under the keel.  You can't just drop the anchor and begin troubleshooting.  You drift at the whim of the currents and wind. Once a diesel is running, only one thing will cause it to cease operation.  That is the lack of fuel.  Combustion occurs as the piston compresses air to a temperature sufficient to ignite the diesel fuel that is injected into the combustion chamber.  Our task was to discover why the engine was experiencing fuel starvation.  The most common reason is contaminated fuel which can cause fuel filters to become clogged and prevent fuel from...
Read more

Great Loop: Jungle Cruise - Hontoon State Park

-
Image
Cruising Dead River near Hontoon State Park Great Loop:  Hontoon State Park – Jungle Cruise March 22 nd , 2022 It all began with a conversation on the dock.  We stopped to talk with a fellow on a Rosborough trailerable trawler.  He is retired and volunteering for a couple of months at Hontoon State Park on the St. John’s River.  As we always do, we made his acquaintance and inquired  about what fun or interesting things there are to do locally.  Mast is in the Down Position The conversation ended with “Can you get your air draft down to 10’ or less, I’m taking family out for a cruise around Hontoon Island tomorrow, would you are welcome to follow along?”  “We’ll be following a dead branch of the St. John’s River and it’s full of wildlife.” Why a 10’ air draft I asked.  Well for the overhanging trees was the reply.  Our Ranger Tug, being trailerable, has a fold down mast.  We can reduce our air draft to 9’.  We were in! We foll...
Read more