Jan. 17:

The remaining leg to Key Largo was heading directly into a southeast wind, as it had been when we pulled in yesterday. There would be no place to stop except in the mangroves if we could not make it. The thought of hanging onto mangrove roots all night with waves bouncing us around did not seem an acceptable potentiality. So we drove to Key Largo and put in where we had left the water last year heading north and rowed with the wind across Blackwater Sound, through Jewfish Creek and around Barnes Sound to Steamboat Creek. Steamboat Creek was a 100 ft. wide channel that meandered through the mangroves for about a mile. The water was clear and I anticipated seeing some manatees or dolphins or at least some fish through our window in the bottom of the boat but we saw none. We pulled out at a bridge just before the creek entered Card Sound, not far from the ICW, that passes through a deeper channel. Most of the channels we have been through have been marked with signs cautioning boats to be careful not to hit the manatees and to maintain idle speed producing minimum wake. Unfortunately Steamboat Creek was not marked and half way through two stinkpots came roaring around a bend, not slowing down for us, much less the manatees. Nature’s fiercest predator rudely disturbed our peaceful passage on flat water again.

The bridge was crowded with men and some complete families fishing. All kinds of trash, filth, guts, fishing line and skins of eels fouled the landing. The place stunk and I offered to be the one to wait with the boat and let Heather go to fetch the car because I did not feel like leaving her amid this mess. She insisted that she would be fine so, when the cab I had called arrived from Key Largo, I went and tore back there as fast as I could. The gnats were beginning to bite and we put the boat on the car as quickly as we could and got out of there! The people that fished there did not seem to care about the mess. To teach those who do not care to take care of beautiful places seems to be the largest challenge of environmentalism.

We had checked into the Neptune Hideaway, a motel consisting of manufactured housing units located next to the beach where we had finished our row a year ago coming north from Key West. Though small and lacking sound proofing, it was clean and had a beach from which we launched. On our way back from the bridge we picked up some frozen meals that we cooked in the microwave provided in the tiny kitchen that came with our room. It was a cozy dinner together and we shared delight in that we had only one day’s row left to finish the distance objective of the trip. Only an 18-mile piece remains when the weather improves. Unfortunately the forecast did not look encouraging, however, so we knew it would be another day. I looked forward to a day’s rest and to catch up with the log.