Mom on board!

We enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise as we departed Key West on December 27. We were still smiling from our wonderful visit with our good friends, the Howards. They were staying at a nice hotel in Key West, overlooking the channel so I texted them to look for us. Sure enough, we could see them waving from the balcony as we passed by and they took this fun shot of Freya below!

We were headed to Marathon on Boot Key to rendezvous with my sister and brother-in-law (Liz and Pete) on Manitou, their Passport 40 sailboat. My mom had been sailing with them for a week and we were excited for her to join us on Freya.

So what are the chances of my sister and me, retiring and moving on sailboats in the same year? Crazy! It certainly helped we both married wonderful guys from Benzie County who also grew up sailing and had dreams of cruising. It becomes more believable if you know the long tradition of sailing in the Garber family. I'll save that for another blog post.

There wasn't much wind so we motored almost the whole way (25 miles) to Marathon. We aren't fans of motoring but some days that's the only option if you want to make tracks. Freya has a trusty Yanmar diesel engine and motors at 5-6 knots. We pulled into the anchorage and received a warm welcome from Manitou. We hadn't seen Manitou or Liz and Pete since they left their mooring in Traverse City last July. And Manitou had never met Freya! So it was a super fun family reunion and boat meeting!

That evening, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on Manitou and caught up on cruising stories. It was a quick reunion since Manitou planned to leave the next morning. They were heading north to Rodriguez Key and then Key Biscayne to prepare for their crossing to the Bahamas. My mom jumped ship and got settled in her new floating home. She stayed with us on Freya at Waterford Marina in Kemah, TX last fall, but this would be her first time cruising on Freya. The next morning, we watched Manitou pull her anchor and set sail at sunrise. We were excited for their next adventure but sad to see them go so soon.

We enjoyed a leisurely pancake breakfast and spent the day working on projects in the anchorage. To our surprise, Manitou came back to Marathon that afternoon. The winds weren't favorable for anchoring at Rodriguez and they didn't want to risk an uncomfortable night at anchor. We were sorry for them but thrilled for the chance to spend more time with them. I rowed Larry (our dinghy) over to Manitou and picked them up for pizza dinner on Freya and we shared more stories and laughs.

Manitou took off the next morning and we headed into the Marathon Marina for fuel and a slip for the night. Having a slip makes doing laundry and getting propane and groceries tons easier. My mom was sweet and did our laundry while we ran errands via Uber. We made a huge haul at the grocery store, knowing it might be one of our last shopping trips before our crossing to the Bahamas.

The next day, we had a wonderful sail to Rodriguez Key. It was my mom's first time sailing Freya and she was in heaven at the helm most of the day! We anchored and enjoyed a lovely afternoon swim. Mom even showed us some of her moves from her synchronized swimming days in high school!

On December 31, we motored about five miles east in Hawk Channel to Molasses Reef to snorkel. It's known as one of the best snorkeling reefs in the Keys and it didn't disappoint! My mom loves to snorkel and as soon as we secured the mooring ball, she donned her gear and jumped in! Mind you, jumping off Freya isn't exactly easy. Freya doesn't have a swim platform or sugar scoop stern for easy entry. Your choices are down the ladder with snorkel gear on or jump! My 85 year old mom, opted to stand on the rail and take the four foot leap into the water. Yep, she's 85, going on 50.

A spectacular reef surrounded Freya. The colorful coral and reef fish were incredible! The snorkeling was so magnificent we went again after lunch. We saw tons of cool fish. The highlights were angel fish, trunk fish, turtles and a shark. Our first purchase when we hit the states is an underwater camera so you'll just have to believe me for now.

We ventured out to Molasses Reef again on New Year's Day but the winds and waves weren't conducive to snorkeling. Instead we turned it into a turtle expedition and saw numerous turtles on our way bay to Rodriguez Key. We capped off the first day of 2022 with a lovely sunset and yummy meal aboard Freya. Love having mom aboard!

The next day, we had a delightful sail to Key Biscayne, just south of Miami. State Parks at both ends of the island make it a wonderful refuge from the city. Key Biscayne and specifically, No Name harbor, is one of the popular jumping off points for the Bahamas so there were sailboats everywhere! We anchored near Hurricane Hole and took in the festivities of the holiday weekend. We explored the Hurricane Hole anchorage via the dinghy and were impressed by the mega homes and yachts.

The next day, we anchored outside of No Name Harbor, which is in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. We were able to tie up our dinghy there for a small fee and had a fun day hiking around the park. The bottom photo shows an arial view of the island and the parks on either end with No Name Harbor on the south end.

The next day, my mom took an Uber from No Name Harbor to the Miami airport and flew back to Platte Lake. What a wonderful week! We can't wait until she can join us on Freya again! Go Freya!