Cap’t and I had planned a quick trip last winter which was delayed (I had too much work), and was resheduled to a quick trip in March. Boat issues delayed our March trip and it was rescheduled to a slightly extended trip end of April. At the end of April, however, the boat needed additional maintenance, but thankfully I was able to assist a bit (see previous posts). This pushed back our sailing date, and our new plans for an extended trip began to form.
Cap’t and I decided to set sail on an open-ended extended sailing trip starting in May! Cap’t was coming from Port Aransas, Texas, to pick me up in Crystal River, Florida. By the time he arrived in Crystal River, Cap’t had already been sailing for a few weeks and hundreds of miles. Crystal River was my journey’s beginning.
Embarkment Day/Day 0: Kings Bay/Crystal River, Florida (May 21, 2026)
On the morning of May 21, 2026, I met with Cap’t at Pete’s Marina in Kings Bay, loaded the rest of my belongings onto Mystic Wind, and ditched quite a few items due to space restrictions and/or unnecessary items – i.e. no need for fleece blankets, an extra pillow, and I decided to leave my bigger work screen behind.
I took Cap’t and Sterling to Publix to replenish provisions, dropped my truck off at my old RV park where friends agreed to safely store it until my return, and was dropped back off at Pete’s Marina to spend the next couple months aboard Mystic Wind!!!
Unfortunately, the first curfuffle quickly came to light – I’D LEFT MY LAPTOP IN MY TRUCK! A majorly necessary item on this trip, so I could continue to work on board. Thankfully, my friend saved the day and drove back to Pete’s Marina to deliver my laptop.
After a delicious dinner of BBQ chicken and salad, and a few rounds of Farkle, of course, we were off to bed for my first big sailing day the next morning.
Day 1: Kings Bay/Crystal River to Anclote Key/Tarpon Springs (May 22, 2026)
We took off at sunrise and maneuvered through the long 10 mile channel back out to the Gulf, with a stop at Twin Rivers Marina for fuel. Breakfast was a delicious toasted bagel with cream cheese, avocado spread and proscuitto.
The wind conditions were perfect, and we were able to unfurl the sails and cruise for a few hours.
It was a long day, but we anchored at Anclote Key/Tarpon Springs with a great view of the Anclote Key lighthouse.
Day 1 Stats: 66 miles, 12.5 hours, 5.3 mph average speed.
Day 2: Anclote Key/Tarpon Springs to Clearwater Marina (May 23, 2026)
The sunrise was gorgeous over Anclote Key, and we set sail early. We jumped onto the Intercoastal Waterway (“ICW”), passing under two bridges (one fixed and one drawbridge), before arriving at the Clearwater Marina. It was fun to travel on the ICW and see all the houses/buildings lining the water, absolutely gorgeous.
After anchoring (weak anchorage and a VERY busy channel made anchoring difficult), we took the dinghy to shore and walked a block over to Publix to grab any additional provisions we needed. And bread. Cap’t NEEDED his baguette, darn it! 🤣
We took an afternoon nap, watching all the tour boats and boating enthusiasts pass by.
Later that afternoon, we were surpised by our first visitor, TOMMY! He had already traveled up to Silver Springs early that morning, paddled 12 miles, drove all the way back, parked and paddled his board out to Mystic Wind, so he had had a LONG A$$ day as well! But it was fun to see a friend so quickly on our trip, and to show him the tiny quarters I’d be living on for the forseeable future.
THANKS FOR VISITING TOMMY! ❤️
Cap’t made delicious Chicken Monterey with tortillas for dinner, and we settled in for the night.
Day 2 Stats: 16.4 miles, nearly 3 hours, 6 mph average speed, 2 bridges.
Day 3: Clearwater Marina to Longboat Key/Jewfish Key (May 24, 2026)
We left Clearwater Marina and headed back out to the Gulf to sail a bit. The water was a bit rough, however, so we jumped back onto the ICW at John’s Pass and continued on our way. It was Memorial Weekend, so the John’s Pass Sandbar was full of the regular weekend partiers, of course.
We passed under seven fixed and/or drawbridges on our way to our next anchorage. At one point, we were able to open the sails and we sailed across Tampa Bay with the Skyway Bridge as our background. I’d driven the Skyway Bridge innumerable times, but it was amazing to see it from below and sail on by.
We anchored on the inside of Longboat Key, at the southside of Jewfish Key. There is a very popular sandbar here where the locals hang on the weekends to cool down. I myself had visited this sandbar a few years prior, so it was fun to see again.
Our plans to meet Sterling at the restaurant on shore quickly disipated, as a storm rolled in. The rain was shortlasting, however, we were blessed with a full rainbow that shined in the sky for at least thirty minutes – it was breathtakingly gorgeous with the background of the islands.
Day 3 Stats: 51.2 miles, 8:50 hours, 6 mph average speed, 7 bridges.
Day 4: Stayed at Longboat Key (May 25, 2026)
Due to the weather, and given it was Memorial Day, we chose to stay at our anchorage for one more night. Quite early Monday morning, the Memorial Day crowd started coming into the sandbar. By noon, the place was FULL.
We jumped on the dinghy, headed to the sandbar, met a TON of people all day, and ended the day with new friends on their beautiful boat, complete with an enclosed floating pool off the backside to cool off in.
We headed to bed early after a fun day in the sun.
Day 5: Longboat Key to Marasota Key/Englewood Beach (May 26, 2026)
We left shortly after sunrise and stayed on the ICW, continuing to enjoy all the beautiful houses that lined the waterways.
We stopped at MarineMax Venice to refuel and continued on through the gorgeous Shamrock Park & Nature Center located in South Venice, Florida. It was a refreshing change of pace to see wild Florida, nature and endless mangroves.
It was a long day as well, passing under 9 bridges, including one spinner bridge.
We ended the day anchoring inside of Marasota Key, by Englewood Beach. Sterling had friends in the area, so he was able to meet up with them.
Day 5 Stats: 45ish miles, 9ish hours, 5 mph average speed, 9 bridges.
Day 6: Marasota Key to Punta Blanca Island/Cayo Costa (May 27, 2026)
We woke up before the sun, and set out around sunrise, continuing on the ICW once again. The crossing was a bit rough, but we found a super private anchorage at Punta Blanca Island, with a 300 degree protection from the incoming storm. It took some skilled maneuvering by Cap’t, but we made it into the small opening and were the only boat achored that night in the area.
While there, Cap’t fixed the refrigeration system. It wasn’t broken, there was just a clog somewhere, and he wanted the system to work better. So as I ate chips and encouraged him, he found the problem and fixed it! All while anchored!
That night was stormy and THE WORST BUGS EVER! Neither of us got much sleep. A great spot for protection from storms, but the worst spot ever bug-wise!
Day 6 Stats: 21.7 miles, 4ish hours, 5 mph average speed, 1 spinner bridge.
Day 7: Punta Blanca Island to Sanibel Island (May 28, 2026)
We left before sunrise to get away from the bastard bugs, and continued on our journey to the Florida Keys (and beyond)!
We decided to keep it a short day. In hindsight, Cap’t decided to keep it a short day, because he knew the couple of long days ahead of us.
Dinner was delicious ribs and brocolli salad. YUM!
Day 7 Stats: 18.3 miles, 3.25 hours, 5.6 mph average speed, 1 Osprey on the mast.
Days 8-9: Sanibel Island to Islamorada, Florida Keys (May 29-30, 2026)
We set sail at 5:15 am, maneuvering back out to the Gulf, and sailed down to Naples, Florida to refuel.
After a quick stop in Naples, we continued the LOOONNNGGG journey in the Gulf all the way to the Florida Keys. This meant an overnight passage. It was exhausting and fun all at the same time. Neither of us slept much, taking turns making sure we were staying on course through the night.
We did see an awsome looking storm way far off in the distance, and were grateful we weren’t in it.
As the sun came up on May 30, 2026, we could see the Florida Keys WAAAYYYY off in the distance. After a few hours, we were finally in the Keys.
Both of us, exhausted, decided to hook up to a mooring ball and take a much needed nap, before finishing the last hour to our anchorage. We were THAT tired.
After a short nap, I threw on my bathing suit, and we jumped in the clear, refreshing water to cool down. IT. WAS. AMAZING.
We unhooked from the mooring ball and finished this first leg of our journey, anchoring right off of Islamorada Key, Florida.
I jumped in the water again before we enjoyed the remaining ribs and brocolli salad for dinner, and then drifted off to sleep.
I’m excited to have finally arrived in the Florida Keys to end this first part of our journey, and looking forward to the remainder of our journey, the sailings, the snorklings, and all the explorings.
Days 8-9 Stats: 168.9 miles, 31.5 hours, 5.4 mph average speed, 1 overnight passage.
TOTAL STATS FROM CRYSTAL RIVER TO FLORIDA KEYS: 387.3 miles, 82 hours. (NOTE: I made a video each day of the journey on the Relive App – I will work on uploading that into another post next!)
‘TIL NEXT TIME! TOODLES MY LOVES!
Leave a Reply