I just took a look, and it appears that our last blog post was way back on March 20^th. That’s pretty close to nine months ago! We were in the Florida Keys, self-quarantining at anchor aboard Dejarlo for the COVID-19 pandemic, just beginning to pick up steam and wreak havoc across the world. Who would have thought at that time that we would still be dealing with this mess, and that close to 300,000 (so far) of our fellow Americans would have perished. It’s hard to comprehend.

So, let’s bring everyone up to date with the current status of John, Jane and s/v Dejarlo.

Following our almost three-month quarantine at anchor in the Florida Keys, we began the long journey up the east coast to the Chesapeake Bay and our home during hurricane season, Spring Cove Marina in Solomons, Maryland. From the Keys to Solomons is a trip of over 1,000 miles. With numerous stops to enjoy all the history and wonder of the east coast, it took us almost three months! However, the beauty of the trip and introductions to new friends made the trip well worth the struggle.

We stayed in Solomons for ten weeks, tackling various boat projects and enjoying new friendships that will last a lifetime.

Despite our love of Solomons, Maryland and Spring Cove Marina this is not a location where we can stay year-round. Around the first of October, the coming fall season is apparent. And right after that it quickly gets much colder than either of us can withstand.

Our goal aboard Dejarlo has always been exploration of the warm tropical waters of the Bahamas and Caribbean. Due to the pandemic, we were cheated out of our first visit to the Bahamas last year. On October 20^th, we departed Solomons, Maryland one more time to travel another 1,000 miles south along the east coast. Destination: the Bahamas and eastern Caribbean!

Our first major destination would be Sebastian, Florida where we would complete more boat projects (they never end) and provision the boat for several months in the Bahamas. We arrived at Sebastian River Marina on December 4^th, after a journey of 46 days, 973 nautical miles, 21 anchorages, 10 marinas (some to ride out storms, some to re-provision and do laundry, some just because we like the town and wanted to get off the boat to explore), and 142 gallons of diesel fuel.

Click below to see a short video of some of the sights from our trip along the coast and down to Sebastian.

[If you’d like to see our track along the east coast for the past couple of years, CLICK HERE. Be certain to click “View All Tracks” to see the entirety of our travels.]

Whereas Spring Cove Marina in Solomons, Maryland has become our summer home, Sebastian River Marina, in Sebastian, Florida is the place we call home in the winter as we make our way further south for our crossing to the Bahamas. We’ll be here for about six weeks as we complete more upgrades to Dejarlo and visit with cherished friends living in the area.

After that, we’ll depart Sebastian and head about 200 miles further down the Florida coast to Key Largo, where we’ll enjoy friendships made during our last stay there and make the final preparations for our 75-mile Gulf Stream crossing to Bimini in the Bahamas. At this point in the pandemic, rules for entry into the Bahamas include having taken a COVID-19 test within five days of arrival. We’ve determined that the best place for us to get the test and make the crossing, all within the 5-day window, is Key Largo.

So, around mid-January, we’ll depart Sebastian and begin the journey down to our anchorage at Rodriguez Key, about a mile off Key Largo.

We’ll talk to you again from there.

Have a joyous holiday season, everyone.

Stay safe!