Boca Chica

It took us about 4 1/2 hours to travel from Marathon to Boca Chica down Hawk Channel. Hawk Channel parallels the Keys and is semi-protected from the Atlantic by a reef. It's also littered with hundreds of floats from lobster traps! Sharon called the marina for our slip assignment and we were told we were going into S10. S10? If you look at the marina in Google Maps, there are only three docks. As in, A, B, C. Given it's the Navy, an "S" dock somehow made sense. We followed the channel in, went through a mooring field and asked a guy traveling in a dinghy where "S" dock was. He had no idea but sped ahead to find out. Turned out to be on the beach side (not near the three docks we saw on Google) and there were two dinghies in our slip. The slip appeared to be next to impossible for us to get into. We tied up in front of the office and, Barb, the dock master, told us to stay put while they figured out where to put us. Naturally, they were having a staff meeting so we 'stayed put' and waited. Fortunately, the laundry room was right there, so Sharon took advantage of that and did two loads of laundry. Everyone was very friendly and we were even invited to have some beers at the tiki bar steps from our boat. We politely declined until we got settled in. 

Hawk Channel. Somehow this pic had NO lobster trap floats.

Nebo didn't cooperate on this trip so I don't have a
chart that shows our route.

Slip S10 where I had NO idea how I was getting into.

Barb returned and told us she had a slip on B dock for us. Yes! The wind was picking up and I was getting anxious to get in our slip but had to wait for laundry to dry. Anyway, we got in our slip just fine. Time to check out the tiki bar. It was the one and only time we went there. We had a couple beers and headed back to the boat for dinner. 

The marina at Boca Chica is pretty nice. AND it's cheap! Only $1/foot and that included electric all tax free. There is a laundry room, bath house, bar, restaurant and beach. It's also in the middle of nowhere and a two mile walk to the main gate/mini mart. AND there is a perpetual air show. You HAVE to love jet noise and the sound of freedom all day long! 

Our friends, Terry and Sheila, (we mentioned them in a previous blog article) drive their RV and stay at Boyd's Campground on Stock Island (next island south from Boca Chica) every year. We also had friends from Herrington Harbour South: Rich and Pam, Dave and Kathy, and Jay and Kelly, that were staying at an AirBnB on an 82' Hatteras on Stock Island. We tried taking our dinghy over to Stock Island but it was a little too far for out electric outboard. On our way there, Terry called to offer us their Jeep for the week! Wow! Suddenly being in the 'middle of nowhere' wasn't so bad! We turned the dinghy around, took them up on their offer and got to check out their RV (which is HUGE!). We spent Saturday afternoon at Key West Harbor Marina on a yacht with our friends from Herrington Harbour and a group of us headed to Hogfish Bar & Grill for food and drinks.

Sharon and Pam on the fly bridge.

View from the galley into the saloon

Four couples were staying on this yacht.

Keeping the PBR cool!

Terry and Sheila gave us a phone number of their 'driver', Jeff. Jeff drives as a free-lancer, 954-268-0048. Wayyyy cheaper than a cab, Uber or Lyft! We took advantage of Jeff Sunday and hooked up with our Herrington Harbour friends at Southern Most Point. We hit the town and had a blast in Key West!

There was a 'onesie' bar crawl on Duval. It did not disappoint.

Um kay...

Pam got a chip at the Sunset Tiki!

Get a quarter in the fish -- good luck will follow you until you leave the island

Monday Sharon had a tooth ache (for lack of a better explanation). She was able to get an appointment several miles north. She had an infected tooth and had two options: get it pulled or a root canal/crown. She chose the latter. That will involve two more trips north. Good thing we will be in Key West for two months!

Summerland Dental on Summerland Key

Saturday, we had also ran into friends, Tony and Michelle, we had met in St. Augustine at the Thanksgiving potluck dinner. They were staying at Boca Chica too. We had really hit it off with them and had a good time at the marina. Ironically, they were leaving Vero Beach City Marina as we were pulling in AND they pulled into the same slip we were in at Cooley's Landing in Ft. Lauderdale the same day we left. We did several beach happy hours and took them into Key West to a farmer's market Thursday.

Sunset from the beach at Boca Chica Marina

We had several boat projects planned since we figured we'd be 'stranded' in Boca Chica. None of the projects were even started although we did clean the boat inside and out -- very much needed.

Beach at Boca Chica

Sharon made a Banh Mi Ramen Noodle Bowl - YUM! 

Our ride for the week

Tony, Michelle and Sharon

We were originally scheduled to arrive in Key West Saturday, February 1st. The weather was not looking good so we left a day early for Conch Harbor Marina. They were very accommodating and let us check in a day early. We returned Terry and Sheila's Jeep Friday morning and got underway around 10:30. Now it's time for two months in Key West where we'll be right down town!!!