Newfound Harbor – We explore the sandy bottom

Many sponges in shallow waters nearby

As part of Matthew’s home schooling, he’s learning about Florida’s history and the local sea life. There’s an excellent Florida history site put out by the state which comes complete with a teacher’s guide and suggested quiz questions. I printed the guide for Ann and we also went on a “field trip” identifying sponges we could see under the dink and took lots of pictures. Matthew is an excellent diver so he also dived on the anchor to get a photo of how it’s dug in (see photo).

Matthew's dive shot of a sponge

In taking Hoolie to the deserted island there always seems to be a boat visiting for the same reason so Hoolie usually has a running pal. They just run and run and run. Unfortunately, Hoolie is getting more accustomed to the water and so longer avoids it. The result is a constant desalting of his coat with fresh water and toweling off with confinement to the cockpit until he’s completely dry. A wet dog down below is no fun.

Matthew's shot of our Spade anchor dug in

We are far enough south to see the Southern Cross, just 10 degrees above the horizon. It’s visible at 3:00 am so I’ll take a look out then to see if any clouds are in the way. It’s a beautiful constellation and I always like to see it whenever possible.

Tuesday morning we’re headed for Key West to start our February sojourn there.