Cape Haze, Punta Blanca, Cabbage Key

Days on cruise:  266

Distance traveled:  16.3  and  5.4 miles

Travel times: 2 hrs, 11 mins   and   56 minutes

Total trip odometer:  5,767 statute miles

Just like living on land, some days on the boat don’t go as planned. In our last post about dragging the anchor in the very high wind at Cape Haze anchorage, we returned to Cape Haze Marina. We hoped to stay only one night, but the wind was crazy high, so we stayed two. That was okay, as we got some boat projects done: little stuff like cleaning, canvas snap repair and the like.

It’s nesting season for the ospreys, and everywhere there are pairs of them sharing nest-sitting duty.

This morning it was 43 degrees when we got up, and 58 inside the boat. It’s supposed to be warm here! Residents keep telling us the weather is unseasonably cold. OK, at least it’s sunny and not raining, so we’ll stop whining. And we have friends in Michigan who must be rolling their eyes when we complain about night-time lows of 43 degrees.

We left Cape Haze Marina this morning and headed south to Cayo Costa, settling nearby in the beautiful Punta Blanca North anchorage. We hung out on the boat for awhile to watch the wind die and make sure our anchor was secure, and it was.

Just before heading out in the dinghy, while checking the electrical panel, we heard a loud click: the sound of a relay flipping. We checked all the relays and saw the “battery converter” switch was off, and we know we leave it on ALL the time. 

We’d been running the generator briefly, and several times as Bob flipped the relay back on, it immediately switched off again. OK, turn off the generator and see what happens? Same thing. He checked a handful of other items, including electrical connections, and couldn’t determine the source of the problem. Unfortunately without the ability to recharge our starter, house, and inverter batteries, we can’t anchor out. Shoot! Up came the anchor and off we went to Cabbage Key Marina a few miles south. Didn’t we just do this two days ago for a different reason?

So instead of exploring Cayo Costa for the afternoon, we explored Cabbage Key by walking the Nature Trail on this boat-access-only island and climbing the water tower to see the view from on high. Pretty, and sub-tropical, unlike places we’ve been until now.

At 6:00 we headed into the Cabbage Key restaurant for a delicious dinner of grilled grouper and asparagus, and picked up local stories of the history of the island, including why there is almost $100,000 in $1.00 bills taped to the walls, posts and ceilings of this place! They claim almost $10,000 in bills falls off the walls each year, and they donate it all to charity. Quiet place on a Saturday night before the Super Bowl, so we assume everyone is staying home to attend parties tomorrow.