Today was Red Dress Day, a cause I certainly support given my heart history, and we had our own Red Letter Day. I cannot wait to tell you all about it but first we have a little catching up to do and tell you how we got to Anchorage Marina. Yesterday was a bad computer day and I finally gave up and created no blog so today we have to all get back on the same page.
We departed Plantation Marina on Islamorada on a calm morning and turned north on our continued saga of the Great Loop.
Above is an absolutely terrible picture of Toilet Seat Pass. I put it in only to give an excuse for telling this story. Our boat could not transit that pass but locals use it as a shortcut all the time. In fact they made it the old fashioned way by forcing boats through and blowing sand out with their props. Then they drove PVC stakes into the sides to mark it. You can barely see the tiny picket fence of white stakes in the distance. Then residents, for some unknown reason, began hanging old toilet seats on the stakes thus giving the pass its colorful name. Soon the more artistic among them began painting the seats with scenes of interest and now it is a local attraction. Sorry I could not get a close shot, but, while I was fooling with the camera, Cbay drifted out of the narrow channel and struck bottom. Thus far I cannot detect any vibration but in these shallow waters you cannot run fast enough to be sure. We have a new rule: no picture taking when one is driving the boat.
It was a short day but a treacherous one. Narrow winding channels between mangrove islands teaming with fierce pirates. At one point we were attacked by Blackbeard and I had to fight them off with a boat pole while Jan drove the boat.
You are going to have to cut me some slack here. My grandkids read this blog and they want pirates. Please continue this in Part Two as my computer is acting up on this entry and I have no way to fix it.
