Cruisers Afar

May 8, From Denny and Rhonda

I Made It!!!!!

ADAGIO is a marvel of 1972 technology. Without a whimper she took me from Englewood, on the west coast of Florida,
to Indian Key (in the Everglades), Tarpon Basin (Key Largo), Lake Boca Raton, Grant Farm Island (friend with a mooring ball),
Daytona, Drum Point, Georgia (went "outside" at St. Augustine and back "inside" at Jacksonville, then thru Fernandina
Beach and up to Drum Point all in one day), Moon river (Ga.), John's Island SC, Barefoot Landing (Myrtle Beach-glad there
was room to tie up), Mile Hammock Bay, Pungo River (south entrance to Pungo/Alligator River Canal), Great Bridge, Saltponds.
Whew!

Special thanks to Rhonda for staying with her Dad and taking care of things at home after the death of her mother, and Kerry
May for technical and moral support by phone along the way. Have not unloaded the camera yet, but I took sunrise and sunset
pictures every day. Will send some pics to the Fleet 30 website when I get a chance. I saw Wayne & Mille Morris (Irish Fever)
in Ft. Pierce as we passed each other. They are now in Key West at the Sunset Marina.

We will be in the Salt Ponds Marina for the next month, then on up to Yankee Point for the summer, and more cruising
adventures with Fleet 30.

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

From Wayne and Millie Morris, May 2008

Hello Family, Friends, and Fellow Sailors,

We are tied up at the dock in Key West.

Wayne and Nonne left Hampton April 21 at 0830 taking the ICW down to the Cape Fear River, and out into the ocean,
in at Fernandina, FL leaving the next morning, taking the ICW to Lake Worth due to weather. From Lake Worth,
outside in the ocean to Key West, arriving Friday, May 2nd.
TOTAL DAYS 11 ... Amazing....time considering it took us 6 weeks in November 2006 to get to Lake Worth, before
crossing to the Bahamas.

Wayne said leaving Lake Worth he had a VERY difficult time steering to starboard to continue south as the boat wanted
to go to port back to the Abacos, to Great Sale, treasure Key, Green Turtle, and MOST of all to Great Guana to go to
NIPPERS, my favorite bar in all of the Bahamas.

Millie "officially" assumes her position tomorrow morning as she has been in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Kendall, and
Philidelphia, for training and nursing conferences.

The weather is BEAUTIFUL and finally Millie is not complaining about being cold.

IT'S WARM 85 degrees today, winds 10-15 from the East.

The marina is very nice and quite protected, with Condos surrounding us.

There is also a huge mountain landfill like Mt Trashmore for those of you in Virginia, that offers protection also.

Please continue to keep in touch and come visit any time.

We have a forward berth that is a full size bed for guests, with their own separate head/shower.

Here is our new address:

Wayne & Millie Morris

s/v IRISH FEVER

c/o Sunset Marina

5555 College Drive

Key West, FL 33040

Wayne Morris

s/v Irish Fever

Cell 757-404-3433

March, 2008, From Denny and Rhonda

Greetings friends and fellow boaters. This picture shows the view from our new marina, the Royal Palm. It's still in Englewood,
just a little further north.

Our previous marina, Cape Haze, had an issue with "live-aboards", or "long-term cruisers". So we came here, and we love it!
The view of Lemon Bay and the ICW is great, shops and restaurants are nearby, we can walk to the 93 acre bayside park,
and the new Tiki Bar opens tonight. This dock is more exposed, so when the wind blows, we get rocked to sleep.

We plan to head for the Keys mid-April, and should be back in the Bay by mid-May in plenty of time for the Memorial Day
cruise. We might even make the Mother's Day weekend in Portsmouth. ADAGIO is out getting a bottom job, but will be back
in the water tomorrow for more local cruising before we leave. We've been staying on the dockmaster's 40' Silverton, which
is very nice.

Happy Cruising. Denny & Rhonda.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

January 2008, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello, All. We made it up to Cape Haze in one day after leaving Marco Island. The Gulf was so flat, we went all
the way to Boca Grande Pass on the "outside". Cape Haze is a few miles south of Englewood, which is south
of Venice. Except for the occasional "cold front" (lows in the upper 40's, highs in the upper 60's), the weather
has been wonderful (lows around 60-65, highs in the mid 70's to low 80's). Today we took the dinghy to a very
secluded beach on Don Pedro Island, a state park accessible only by boat. But they still have a large pavillion,
picnic tables and "facilities". It's amazing how Florida has carved out so many state parks in areas dominated
by multi-million dollar homes and condos. The picture attached shows Rhonda in her element, searching for shells
on a nearly deserted beach. Looking forward to a visit from a Baltimore friend in early February. Anyone else
interested?

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda

PS: Please forward to anyone I missed. Also, let me know if you got this more than once. Thanx.

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

January 2008, From Denny and Rhonda

Hello, Everyone. We had a great New Years celebration with cousins in Miami. Watched the fireworks from the rooftop pool of a
Marriott in South Beach. We got there by anchoring at the entrance to Collins Canal, taking the dinghy up the canal and walking
the 8 blocks to South Beach. Coming back to ADAGIO that night was scary, going under bridges a foot higher than our heads,
with local homeless people sleeping on the banks. Then, on to the Keys, and a 5 day wait for winds to die down. We spent 3 nights
in tarpon Basin, and 2 at Islamorada. By then at least we could dinghy ashore and enjoy the fun at Lor-e-lei's. Denny even got to
play a few songs at one of the local pubs. We left Sunday and followed the West Coast up to the Little Shark River in the Everglades.
This picture was taken near sunset, but hardly captures the serene beauty of this place. Dolphins could be heard breathing all night
long. Today we had a nice ride up to Marco Island, on emerald green gulf waters that were remarkably flat. We hope to be in Sanibel
tomorrow, and Cape Haze (Englewood) by Wednesday for a couple months of R&R at the marina of the same name. We'll be close
to Holly and some old friends in Sarasota, and hope to receive guests from up North (hint...).

Love to all
Denny & Rhonda

Denny Botkin & Rhonda Burrell
411 Walnut St #4189
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043
757-846-6154 757-846-6300
ADAGIO

From Denny and Rhonda

Well, we finally left Stuart this morning, after a wonderful Christmas in King George with Rhonda's parents. We are anchored in Lake Boca Raton about 40 miles north of Miami. We hope to hook up with cousins in Miami tomorrow who are in town for the Orange Bowl (yes, they're Hokies). Then on to the Keys, and up to Englewood on the west coast, if all goes well. Here's another sunset picture. When we got here at 4:30, this place was full of boats rafted up and partying. Now all is quiet....

Love to all, Denny & Rhonda

ADAGIO

December, 2007, From Denny and Rhonda

Hi, Folks. Not much to report. We love it here. Low 80's during the day, and upper 60's at night. Very little rain. Great little
town with lots of shops and restaurants. We now have Florida drivers licenses and tags. Here's a snapshot of the anchorage
(mooring field). Can you spot ADAGIO?

Love to all. Denny & Rhonda