Yesterday we left the safety of Boot Key Harbor, made our way into the immense Atlantic, and headed north via Hawk’s Channel.  Winds were S/SE at 15-18mph and the seas were 2-4 feet.  This was the least amount of wind we had seen for five days.  At 10:30 we were able to turn off the motor and sail for five hours, never out of sight of the Middle Keys.  On the way we had a chance encounter with two Loggerhead turtles who had returned to their ancestral home to mate.  These huge reptiles have shells 3 ft in diameter.  Needless to say, there was quite a bit of splashing when they realized they had an audience, quickly diving to the bottom and out of sight.  Hopefully sometime between now and fall some of our little loggerheads will hatch and find their way back into the Atlantic. 

Rodriguez Key, a place where many wait for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas, was our anchorage for the night.  It was well protected from the Southeast winds that gave us such a good sail during the day and we had a pleasant evening there. 

This morning we again were able to sail with  5-10 knot SE winds, 1-2ft seas, under sunny skies.  Upon leaving Rodriguez our path up Hawk’s Channel took us through John Pennington Coral Reef State Park which is 70 square nautical miles of Atlantic water, one of the best destinations for reef diving in the keys.  Key Largo is in this Park, and one of the last of the Upper Keys we skirted.  After following the low green tree skyline of the Keys it was quite obvious when we left its simple natural beauty and came within sight of the massive Miami skyline, we weren’t in the Keys anymore. 

About that time Dennis noticed thunder clouds building in the west, and upon checking radar concluded we were right in the path of slow-moving thunderstorms.  Weighing our options to turn back southbound motoring out of the way, keep on motoring north, which would put us in too early at Biscayne Bay (tide too low), or drop anchor and ride out the storm.  We chose the last option, lowering the anchor about 2 miles from the shore, closing up the hatches and waiting.  I’m glad to say we waited and waited and waited, with nothing more than a couple of distant lightening strikes and a few sprinkles.  Finally underway again after forty-five minutes towards Biscayne Bay’s No Name Harbor and glad to have our first avoidance of a storm in open water under our belt.  Day nine of our journey finished with a quiet evening and beautiful sunset on the orange-tinted water.