A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 3/21/2022 – 3/27/2022

Hi friends! Have you seen this week’s video? You can watch it here!

Last Monday took a turn… we had planned on hanging around the marina, deep cleaning the boat (inside and out) and getting all our laundry done. Instead, we ended up ubering to Naples, buying Ray a new phone, and renting a car for two days. By the time we got back to the boat it was happy hour so… no chores got done.

On Tuesday we got to work. We took care of everything we typically do when we’re on a dock: we washed the outside of the boat, did all our laundry (sheets, towels, and blankets included), wiped down every interior surface, and went grocery shopping. It was a hot and sweaty, but productive day! 

Wednesday morning we hopped from hardware store to hardware store until we found a place that would fill our propane tanks. Once that was squared away we drove back to Naples and returned the rental car. That evening we walked around town in search of a restaurant for dinner, and noticed a small roped-off area in what looked like a prime real estate lot. After taking a closer look, we saw a burrowing owl! Burrowing owls are native to Florida, and are the only owl species that nest underground.

It turns out they are a protected species, and are particularly abundant on Marco Island due to their protection efforts. On Marco Island an owl’s burrow cannot be removed unless you obtain a special permit, because these owls return to their specific burrow year after year to breed. As we continued walking, we noticed several more roped off burrows around town- apparently there are over 500 on Marco Island! 

Anyway, having completed all our chores and done our fair share of exploring the island, we spent all day Thursday lounging around in our pajamas. There’s nothing quite like a clean boat, full fridges, and hot showers to encourage a lazy day! 

By Friday we had reached the end of the 5 day allotment the marina had for transients, so we left that morning. Our original plan was to sail up to Sarasota, but the weather had us moving in the exact opposite direction! We decided to take the hint and head back to Marathon instead. 

Unfortunately, we motored all day. We bounced around in 6ft seas, watched dolphins play in the waves, and dodged lobster pots until sunset. 

We decided to drop anchor in Key West for the night, rather than attempting to dodge traps in the dark for the several more hours it would take to get to Marathon. 

The next morning we pulled the anchor up. On our way out of Key West we noticed some houses inside the anchorage….

Turns out they’re Airbnb’s you can rent and stay in! However, after reading about the details (only 20 gallons of fresh water onboard, have to pay for and organize a marine shuttle for yourself, etc.), I think I’ll stay on Sabado.

The wind and sea state were much better Saturday, so we sailed all the way into Marathon. Using our main (with 1 reef) and jib, we were cruising along at 6-7kn! Well, I shouldn’t say “we”, Ray actually sailed us the whole way there so that I could finish editing this week’s YouTube video! I only helped pull and drop the anchor. I will say though, we continue to be impressed with our performance since getting new sails. We’d never be going that fast at that angle with our old ones! 

We dropped anchor that afternoon and our traditional “we’re here cheers” turned into several… I threw together a quick dinner and we watched our latest obsession, The Blacklist, together until we fell asleep in the salon.

We woke up this morning to a steady 23kn of wind in the anchorage, so it looks like we’ll be boat-bound today! Not to worry, we somehow still have some cleaning to do and it’s about time to polish the stainless steel again, so I’m sure we’ll keep ourselves busy. What are you up to today?❤️