Circum-kayaking Bahia Honda

Micky led me all the way around Bahia Honda Key this morning. The GPS track says we did 6 miles in a little over 3 hours with 10-13 knots of wind. On the way we saw two big eagle rays, three cormorants on a stickup, several smaller fish, and a huge turtle! Kayaks in the Keys are a lot like magic carpets. You can glide in less than a foot of water and the water and shorelines are beautiful beyond belief. When you get in the wind shadow of a point and the water goes flat, you can see everything on the bottom. The bayside is turtle grass and sponges. Barrel and big black ball sponges that look like discarded tires.

Micky was able to glide up to a trio of cormorants drying their wings. They get too heavy to fly after a dive and can only scurry away until they dry out. That's why they're so reluctant to leave their perches.

I wanted to get some overhead shots of 'Miss T' with the sails up as he left for Newfound Harbor. When you combine wind and a fast running tide, the photo shoot was not a leisurely affair. John shot through that gap in the bridge and tacked and was gone! We'll probably see him again later this week or next. He's going into Key West to argue about his truck engine with the Ford dealer. His speedometer only shows 18 miles since the engine was put in. It seems that Fairway Ford couldn't fix the speedo at engine installation in November , but the locals in Marathon did. John says the GPS says the motor has 1800 miles on it. Big trouble now with warranty claim!