Matheson Hammock & Steamboat Creek

3/4/22

On the way from DelMar to Matheson we stopped at Biscayne Bight for a swim (Kathy) and nap (me). This cove is located next to Hurricane Harbor, a popular jumping off point for boats traveling to the Bahamas, and a possible port for our trek north. The bight was too exposed for an overnight anchorage and the harbor looked crowded so probably not a future destination for us.

The refrigerator repairman showed up on time, installed the part and it still doesn’t work. Fortunately, he is based out of West Palm Beach and travels the coast of Florida, so we arranged to meet him (and a new compressor) in Jupiter in a week, when we will have replaced all working components on this 20 year old machine, at a cost just under the price of a new one (if we could have bought a new one we would have but our best quoted delivery date was early June and that just didn’t fit our plans) This machine runs on dual voltage and is also used in RVs (where sales of new units are booming). We guess that that we are caught on the short end a supply chain issue, so we replace the old one, one piece at a time.

Two nights in Matheson, a cooler full of ice and we are headed south to anchor out for a few nights and enjoy the weather, water and solitude of the Keys. After a provisioning trip to Publix (and a subsequent late start) we headed back towards Pumpkin Key, then made a late day decision to press on towards Little Card Sound, then decided to keep traveling and arrived at a cove off of Steamboat Creek, about an hour before sunset.

Anchoring in 8 feet of water, far enough from the mangroves to discourage mosquitos, we settled into lounge chairs atop the cabin with cocktails in hand. The only other boat was about an eighth of mile away and we sat, sipped and savored the sunset. This was the kind of night we wanted to permanently etch into our memories. No need to travel farther, this is what we came for.

Two weeks in the Florida Keys, ending with 2 peaceful nights anchored out at Steamboat Creek and we are ready to turn north. We have discovered that the month of March is high season for both transient and live-aboard boaters in this part of the world. Marina reservations, for boats of our size & draft from here south are difficult to come by whilst ICW reservations heading north are easily obtained. And so, it is time to head towards home, satisfied that we have tasted life in the keys from both the populated and secluded sides. We also have a very real grasp of how far we traveled and how far we have to go. We have been aboard a total of 67 days and traveled 1,782 statute miles from home. And now, the second half of our trip begins…