Our neighbor across the canal, Bruce invited us to follow them out to Sawyer Key. Before we left we needed to fuel up so we left a little early to get gas. While we were heading to the fuel pier we noticed one of our neighbors catching (and releasing) a nurse shark from the Block 3 bulkhead. The kids were very excited with their catch.
We were not sure if we were going to make the trip, because when we reached the open canal the boat would not get up on plane, with the prop free revving. Randy was worried that he had spun the center out of the prop, but we think it was just grass/weeds wrapped around the prop. Randy checked and nothing was wrapped around the prop but it still must have been because on our third try we could get up to speed. Randy was saying a few days ago, that we should get a new prop as this one has a few chips, so I think it is a definite time to buy a new one!
Sawyer Key is past Tarpon Belly on the Gulf. It has a lot of rocks surrounding the Key so you have to be careful getting in, but there were also large sections of sandy bottom to anchor in. As typical of most anchorages on the Gulf, it was a little rough so we didn’t stay very long. I still worry about spending too much time just bobbling around while on the boat. The sun had disappeared and more clouds moved in, so it was time to head back. There is a deep section with a dive flag marked on the inside of the Key that we want to explore on a future trip.
