 We
arrived at Rodriguez Key in the early afternoon. The water was
nearly crystal clear. Toby decided to take a swim and Ann/Bob
volunteered to be on Portuguese Men-of-War watch. The Men-of-War
became more common the further south we traveled. We also saw
many really 'interesting' jelly fish along the way. Ann
definitely did not want to go swimming. She was afraid that
something would get her feet.
 The
next morning we were greeted with an ibis on our main mast and
dense fog. We encouraged the bird to leave but had less success
with the fog. We could not depart until 1030. Our goal was a
promising anchorage in Long Key bight. When we arrived, we didn't
think it was so promising. Lobster pots were so numerous in the
bight that there was no room to anchor. We left the bight and
anchored on the lee of Long Key. Fortunately, the weather was
obliging and we had a comfortable night.
 Jule
III's fuel tanks only hold 50 gallons of diesel. She also carries
30 gallons in jerry cans. As the main tanks were only half full,
we decided to re-fuel underway. Worked like a shot! Didn't spill
a drop. We used jerry cans plus a Baja filter for most of our
re-fueling. It saves a trip to the fuel dock and guarantees
cleaner fuel. Our tanks are made of stainless steel
and we would not replace them with larger but inferior tanks.
 As
we progressed south, the Men-of-War became more common than the
lobster pots. In fact, we often confused them with the pot
floats. Not a good place to go swimming! Traffic along the Hawk
Channel was minimal. The occasional water men and recreational
boater were seen in the distance. The Channel is well marked and
only the careless would go aground. As the Channel is in the
reef, the sea state rarely exceeds three feet. Also, the Gulf
Stream has minimal impact.
 We
found a picturesque anchorage near Ramrod key (New Found Harbor).
The seas were calm, the current acceptable, and the local traffic
courteous. We did not go up the channel into more protected water
as we wanted to make a quick getaway the next morning. We powered
up the DirecTV and got a fix on the local weather via the Weather
Channel. We also watched some of the local channels (not many).
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