Mike and Beth's Adventures

Mike and the Mangrove Cut February 19 th , 2022 We traveled through a great variety of features on our voyage to John Pennekamp State Park .   The density of Keys and shoals increases as you head east to Key Largo.  With more obstacles to safe navigation, there are cuts through mangrove islands, cuts through limestone and coral formations, and considerable weaving to remain in water sufficiently deep to provide safe passage.  A challenge, but we loved it! Mangrove Cut on the way to Pennekamp The traffic volume was also greater due to travelling on a Saturday.  It is best to avoid travel on weekends in Florida.  On weekends,  people explode from land to sea, and want to see and do it all at 50+ miles per hour.  Boating courtesy, such as slow passes disappear and it is not unusual to have a sport fishing boat, with multiple outboards pass you in close quarters at high speed.  Wake management is no-existent.  It is every boater for them...

Lignumvitae Key February 18th, 2022 Lignumvitae Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys. It is located due north of, and less than one mile from the easternmost tip of Lower Matecumbe Key. The island has the Keys' highest point above sea level at 19 feet.  It is also home to a tropical hardwood, Lignum Vitae.  This is the densest and hardest wood known. Because the wood is self-oiling, lignum vitae was a popular choice for steamship bearings and for use in equipment like pulleys; composite materials eventually replaced it in marine construction and heavy machinery, and now the wood is mostly by woodworkers. Smooth Seas on the way to Lignumvitae On our voyage to Lignumvitae, we caught up with two R29 Ranger Tugs which were also headed to the same destination.   So we fell in line, and were the caboose on a Ranger Tug parade through the keys.   We were all the same color, so it must have been quite the sight as we motored along. Thank goodness for Amy Marie’s sh...