It's a beautiful day as we untie from our dock in Longboat. There are many small run around boats out even though it is Friday, many are not working or are supposed to be working from home due to the virus. The bay is calm, the sun is out and it is warm-who can blame them. Our first stop is Gasparilla Marina for diesel fuel, we really didn't need it yet but Lauryl Anne told us about the 1.56/gallon price & we can't pass that up. The gas dock was very busy & we had to float around for 40 minutes. We filled up with 260 gallons. From there we cruised the GICW south. We cast our anchor along the shore @ St James and enjoyed a quiet night on the hook.
The next morning, we cruised out into the Gulf through the Sanibel Inlet. This was the first time, we have ever seen the Sanibel Beach empty; remember public beaches are closed due to the COVID 19 lockdown. Doug was lucky enough to watch a good sized Sting Ray jump entirely out of the water and occasionally we had dolphins swimming with us. We reached Russell Pass in the Everglades and & anchored in one of our favorite spots with 2 other boats. We love it here, as we sat in the aft deck for cocktails, Dolphins playing & feeding all around us.
Next stop was Channel 5 bridge in the Keys, the anchorage is named Jewfish Hole. There is a small Marina & campground on shore here but both are closed. The Keys actually have shut down due to COVID 19, they are not allowing any visitors to enter. It's easy for the Keys to lockdown; they set up a road block @ the mainland where there is only one road in & out. We were attacked by some black bugs; we had our guard down, they got inside. We had to do hand to hand combat to get rid of them. 
In the morning, we crossed under Channel 5 Bridge & left the Gulf and entered the Atlantic Ocean. We are lucky to have another pretty day cruising Hawk's Channel. We spotted a big turtle, they are fun because they usually don't notice us till we are very close. They will look up suddenly then dive. We dropped anchor in Biscayne Bay near the lighthouse & park. The park is closed but there are many boats out. 5 boats with us in this anchorage and many sport fish & center consoles cruising around. 
Another good day out in the deep blue Atlantic. We caught the gulf stream & were going a whopping fast 10 knots! We cruised in through the Lake Worth inlet to the ICW. This is our first time using this inlet & it is a busy place. Many mega yachts, cruise ships and pleasure boats are docked, anchored or cruising & all are making wakes. Lauryl Anne had recommended we go farther in to Lake Worth North to escape the crowds. It was an improvement & we did find room in the anchorage, which is surrounded by high rise condos, a few houses & across from 2 nice looking Marinas. 
A side bar: this area is Trump territory, he has a place in Mar a Largo, not far from here so we are starting to see Trump flags-its maddening. He & Pence have begun traveling, not wearing masks & acting like the virus is gone-saying States must re-open. Cases are still increasing & currently there have been 70,000 deaths in the U.S. This virus is very contagious but as the lockdown restrictions are being lifted, some people, mostly republicans & the young adult generation are not social distancing & wearing masks. I fear many more will die.
From here, we stayed on the ICW to Ft Pierce. We didn't need to have any bridges opened-there were a few that we just squeezed under. The temperature continues to rise: 89 degrees out today. We settled for the night in the Harbor Isles anchorage across the ICW from the Ft. Pierce City Marina. The anchorage depth is less than the charts state and shallows sooner than it has in the past. Continuing north on the ICW, our next anchorage was on the SE side of the Pineda Causeway Bridge. We have anchored here before with easy in & out.
We have always wanted to stay @ Cocoa Village but the few times we tried, they were full. This time, we were lucky. The Harbor master, Ken & dockhand Robin welcomed us onto the T-dock-another easy in & out. Due to COVID 19, they checked us in dockside. The bathrooms were open for our use but not the office or lounge. We needed to fill one of our propane tanks, so we walked a mile to U-Haul. Once outside of the Village, it is not very walker or bike friendly. The sidewalks would start & stop & there are no bike lanes. Later in the afternoon, we had a nice treat: our friends Larry & Lena on Hobo who had just arrived back from the Bahamas, anchored out by the boat ramp. We met up with them in the park & caught up on their Bahamas adventure & heard how well the Bahamas was handling the COVID 19 crisis. They had an incredible story to tell that happened on their way back in the Gulf Stream. They spotted a big white suitcase type container & it took both of them to retrieve it. After opening it slightly, they realized it held a white powder that could be some type of drug. They immediately haled the Coast Guard who dispatched one of their 150 ft cutter ships to intercept them. The CG arrived within an hour & half, much quicker than when someone is in distress. They boarded Hobo from their inflatable & searched the boat and then confiscated the container. A follow up to that: it was 90 pounds of crystal meth with a street value of 2 million dollars! The next day, we walked the village & Doug found the store of his dreams: a really cool, large, old fashioned Hardware Store. We also walked 4 miles roundtrip across the bridge to the Publix & Starbucks. The Starbucks was only open for mobile orders & a staff member brought out my order. No outdoor tables or chairs to sit in either, all due to COVID19. We continue to wear masks when we go inside a public building.
From Cocoa Village, we anchored for a night, in Rock House Creek (where Hobo was spending the night also), before arriving to St Augustine. In St Augustine, we had reserved a mooring ball. Larry & Lena also stopped for a few nights so we met them for dinner. We actually walked to a restaurant and sat outside to eat. This was our first dinner @ a restaurant in 8 weeks because of the "lockdown". It was nice, the tables were all 10 feet apart & we spaced our selves safely around the table. Our server wore a mask. We walked through town twice and through some nice neighborhoods exploring & visiting Marine & Oil Supply where Doug was able to buy some hard to find items. It was very quiet in St Augustine. The streets were almost empty of people, such an eerie feeling.
On May 13, we left St Augustine and had a fast cruise to Jacksonville. We rode the current most of the way, on the ICW.
