2025: Off to a Great Start

Happy New Year!
As you have probably caught on by now, we always try to make the most of our time off work to move the boat. We certainly did that over New Years, kicking off 2025 on the water.

With a half day of work, we were excited to make a move out of Boot Key Harbor on Dec. 31. Naturally, a clutch on the dinghy davits blew up right as we were bringing up the dinghy for the move. Such is boat life.

There’s nothing like a last-minute run to West Marine to kick off an already busy day. However, the West Marine in Marathon is walking distance and had two of the clutches we needed on the shelf. It truly couldn’t have been more convenient.

Once the clutch was replaced, we made the 25 NM trip to Long Key for a quiet New Years Eve at anchor. After a week of visitors, provisioning, laundry and lots of rain at the mooring field, it felt so nice!

The next day, we waited for the sun to come up just enough to navigate between all the lobster pots to Hawk’s Channel. The goal for the day was to tackle about 50 NM and get back to Card Sound. With very light winds right on our nose, we opted to motor so we could get through Angelfish Creek before dark.

Sadly, we had to pass through Angelfish right at dead low tide. We made it through without touching bottom but without much margin. The entrance to the pass is very narrow and shallow. Add in a bunch of holiday boat traffic and it felt pretty uncomfortable. But hey, an inch is a mile, right?

While planning for our Bahamas trip, we discussed leaving from Angelfish Creek to take better advantage of the Gulf Stream to push us north. The only downside would be transiting the pass in the dark. After passing through the creek again this time, we solidified our decision to leave from Hurricane Harbor instead.

We arrived safely in Card Sound and anchored at Gold Key. We absolutely love this quiet little corner of protection and look forward to hanging out here until a weather window opens up for the crossing.

2025 is already off to a great start. We’ve never been ones for resolutions, but here are a few thoughts / hopes / mantras for 2025:

Go all in.
Take too many pictures.
Tell people you love them.
Be delusional about your belief in yourself.
Have courage to do hard things.
Everything is hard before it becomes easy.
Trust your instincts.
Be curious, not judgmental.
Let go of what you can’t control.
The best version of you isn’t a future version but a choice you make daily.

This is the time of year when many people feel motivated to set new goals. It’s also okay if the goal is to do less. If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that simplifying can create space for the things you really need.

Now, let’s get after 2025!