Karen and Jennifer left on the Key West Express at 8:30 a.m. The wind was predicted to be 20 from the East Northeast. We told the crew of Whale Watcher about our plan to take our boat to Key West on Friday when the winds were predicted to settle down.
The ferry was docked right next to our boat. The girls waved good bye and proceeded to have an extremely bumpy ride 3 and 1/2 hour trip to Key West.
Karen and Jennifer in Key West:
Once off the ferry we took an hour long train ride tour around the island to get our bearings. Got off at Duval Street and walked to our hotel called the Chelsea house. We had a very small room, but it had a nice pool. We dropped our things and walked around town. Had a very nice late lunch at Mangos. Still very windy. Everything on the table at lunch was blowing around. We went down to the water at 7pm to watch an amazing sunset after drinks at the conch bar.
We went to dinner at Hogs Breath where we were joined at our table with about 8 other people. We chatted and had dinner with them. They were from Nashville, TN. After dinner we said our good byes and Karen and I went to have the last beer a Kevin's Bar and listen to music. Fun night!
Brad and Joe still in Marco Island:
Joe and I went fishing on a 3 hour backwater pontoon boat with two other parties, one from England and the other from Chicago. We caught two stingrays, two Sheepshead, one Spanish Mackerel and a lady fish. Captain Rick cleaned the Spanish Mackerel and the Sheepshead. Because the others on the boat didn't want there fish, Joe and I ended up with two or three extra fish. We took the fish to the Tiki Restaurant next to the marina where they blackened the Sheepshead and deep fried the Mackerel. The blackened Sheepshead was delightful. It was very flavorfull, light and flakey. The Mackerel was prepared well, but didn't have much flavor. During the course of the day we continually monitored the weather and spoke with Karen and Jennifer who had a very rough trip to Key West. The crew of Whale Watcher sought them out and strongly suggested that we not make the trip on Friday, but instead wait until Saturday. After dinner Joe and I waited for Whale Watcher to return from their trip to Key West. They were over an hour late and told us they had to go up the Atlantic side to Marathon and then head north to Marco to avoid the seas in the Northwest Passage. We explored options to go to Marathon on Friday and then to Key West from Marathon on Saturday, but decided a straight shot on Saturday made the most sense. Looking at the sea prediction tables with NOAA definitely showed improvement on Saturday.
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