You might have noticed by now how quiet our blog has been this summer. It’s usually filled with photos and stories of our adventures to the Keys or Dry Tortugas. This year, we were unable to make our Dry Tortugas trip that we’ve done the last 4 years in a row. With a boy who is now a teenager, our schedules have become a bit more hectic. Summer breaks are short for our son and his schedule, usually full with trips with us on Blue Turtle and a week-long cruise with his mother, has become even more busy with wake boarding competitions. This year, we just weren’t able to get away to the Keys aboard Blue Turtle but we had promised we’d still cruise locally. We did manage to get to New Pass in June for a quick weekend with Corey and my nephew, Ryan.  Shortly after that, red tide/green algae took over our waters and started killing off our fish, manatee and sea turtles.

Summers are usually tough enough here in south Florida with the heat and humidity and the only way we’re able to cruise down here is to be able to be in the water most of the day. With our water quality so poor and the red tide affecting so many with respiratory issues, no one wants to even be outdoors much less get in the water. While the dead sea life seems to have slowed, we are still feeling the effects of this environmental disaster. Randy can’t spend too much time outside without waking up with red swollen eyes. Because of these conditions we’ve been land-locked for far too long. We are anxiously awaiting for the temps to start cooling so we can once again anchor out in some of our favorite spots. I think the water quality has a long way to go before we are able to get in it again but if the temps would cool, we could at least get away for a weekend here and there. Along with cooler temps and cooler water, we are hoping the red tide will subside and we will once again have our beautiful cruising area back. Winter can’t come fast enough for us down here!

So, what have we been up to this summer? Mostly spending time with family. The three of us flew to Cincinnati, OH to stay with Randy’s dad and April on their RV that they are currently cruising through the states. Corey took a cruise with his mom for a week, so Randy and I took a road trip to the Smokey Mountains to do some hiking and get away to the mountains. In early August Corey spent 2 weeks in Chicago prepping and competing in the WWA Wake Park National Championships where he made it to the finals in the traditional intermediate category. Randy travelled there as well for part of Corey’s trip. Now, with school back in session (Corey is a freshman in high school now), it’s back to our regular schedules of working and raising a teenager.

We thank our friends and subscribers for continuing to follow along on our live aboard journey, and we hope to have some exciting tales of cruising to share with you very soon!