Key West Naval Air Station

Day #8: The favorite bumper sticker around here is "I love jet noise". To stay here you better love jet noise, there's a lot of coming and going. Our walk around the Bases's southwest side was called on the account of rain--unfortunately we were already a mile into the walk when the downpour started. More boat projects today. Nellie may not be moving but she's getting some TLC anyway. Holding at 195nm. DBH

Bed Race Redux

Day #8: Not much cruising to talk about today--unless you'd like to hear about fixing myriad pilothouse screw holes with bungs? No? Thought not.

The winds are still up. The boat next to us had been in Palm Beach waiting for a weather window. Like us they decided to cruise to Key West rather than just sit around waiting. The weather still doesn't look promising for another week.

Yesterday I mentioned that we saw some bed racers. Today's picture shows one of the teams shortly after crossing the finish line. Are flip flops what serious athletes are wearing now?

In the Key West Naval Air Station Marina. 0nm today and holding at 195nm for the trip. DBH

Exploring

Day #7: We wake for the first time in a week with no expectations of moving Nellie. Henry, our dinghy will not be so lucky.

Why did we name the dinghy Henry? Amongst cruisers it's well known that dinghy's go AWOL at the first opportunity. I think Houdini, the escape artist, learned everything he knew from a dinghy. Anyway, Nellie and her first husband Henry, my great grandparents, had their own parting (when divorce was scandalous!). Naming the dinghy Henry reunites the star-crossed lovers and, just as importantly, reminds Nellie's crew to keep a constant vigil less Henry wander (again).

The strong NE wind pattern that chased Nellie all the way to Key West is still blowing. As the upper yellow line in today's picture shows, it's a 10 mile down wind run from the Key West Naval Air Station (NAS) to downtown. The winds make the seas lumpy, at least for our 10' dinghy. A little damp but undeterred we arrive in Key West's main Harbor. Downtown Key West is an R-rated Disneyland. On Duval street we watched bed races--basically four scantily clad people pushing a bed on wheels. In the bed was another scantily clad person. Best I can figure, the point of the race was to make the 'athletes' thirsty as they all ducked into a bar seconds after crossing the finish line. Back in the dinghy it was time to figure out how to get home, upwind the whole way, without getting soaked. On the chart was what appeared to be a drainage ditch that bisected the Key and then paralleled the runways of Key West International (the lower yellow line in the satellite picture). In retrospect calling our route a drainage ditch is unfair. It's actually a mangrove lined drainage ditch. Lest you think I jest here's a picture as proof.



The good news was we made it back to the Naval Station without getting soaked.  The drainage ditch jungle tour was an added benefit. 20 mostly dry nautical miles in Henry while Nellie remains at 195nm for this adventure.

Key West

Day #6: We're up with the sun anxious to get underway before the winds pipe up. As predicted they are 10-15 knots and help push us along. The 2 to 3' seas hit the stern, port, quarter making for a comfortable ride. We're a little more guarded on this leg of the trip as it's the first time we've ventured offshore. In short order we're comfortable with the motion and get into our one hour watches. 'Watch' is apt description of the job because in the open ocean the autopilot does the steering. The watch stander's job is to dodge the occasional crab pot float and to scan the engine instruments. We see several big sea turtles. Shortly after lunch time our foray into the Atlantic comes to an end as we enter the channel leading to the Boca Chica Naval Marina, Key West, Florida. Today's picture is of the beach only 200 yards from where Nellie's docked. This isn't the Bahamas but it's a good plan-b for now. 38.8nm today and 195nm total.

First Landfall in the Keys

Day #5: We left our nice quiet anchorage before breakfast to start today's long run south. In what has to be the perfect cliche, we motored past Key Largo with the radio blaring Buffet songs, the sun bright, and a trade wind blowing over blue-green waters. We watched dolphins swim around the boat. But suddenly there was trouble in paradise--Nellie's shallow water alarm sounded. How could that be? We were in the middle of the channel. Honest. We power down, check the charts again, then look over the side. Two dolphins smile at us mischievously as one of their buddies swims directly under the depth sensor.

It's amazing how fast the currents are in the lower keys. For example, today at 1645 EDT under Seven Mile bridge's forth span from the east there was a 2.6 knot current. How do we know? Simple, with the RPMs set for 6.4 knots, Nellie was doing 9 knots; all the while running a chicane of bridge pilings and telephone poles. In a word, it was, exciting.

After spending 8 weeks on the hard earlier this year working on the boat, Dave and I made a pact this trip to just relax and take it easy. Pictured here is Dave taking it easy. As soon as his first watch of the day was over he was off to the stateroom to install the new bow thruster isolation switch. I think his idea of relaxation is a bit different than mine :-)

This evening finds us snug on a mooring in Boot Key Harbor. 60nm today and 156nm for the trip. VJH and DBH

Into the Florida Keys

Day #4:  For the first time on this trip we're in wide open water and there's not a single condo or yacht in sight.  The distant mainland to starboard appears as a low, gray, amorphous mass.  We're motoring on Biscayne Bay, south of Miami.  East of us small blotches of land mark the beginning of the archipelago known as the Florida Keys.  The dramatic contrast between this openness and the last few days' congestion is dramatic.

Even after a late start today we managed to get to Key Largo arriving just after sunset.  Now at anchor we're all alone with nothing but nature.  Today's picture shows Nellie side-tied on the New River in the heart of Ft. Lauderdale's downtown.  The 3rd street bridge is in the background.  58nm today and 96nm thus far.  DBH

Anchor Alarms

Day #3: With high winds I always worry about dragging anchor. A big fear is being woken up from a deep sleep by the sound of rocks or pilings grinding on the hull. To help prevent this Nellie has several anchor alarms on board. All but one is high tech. It was the low tech method I employed last night after the winds abated. Having an all chain anchor rode means there's lots of noise when the chain rubs against the hull. But this only happens when the winds or currents are strong enough to really move Nellie about. To prevent this noise, and to take the load off the windlass, we normally put a rope bridle on the chain. Not using the bridle is actually like setting a very sensitive anchor alarm--the slightest amount of noise means we might be dragging. So, no noise means there's nothing to worry about. In last night's still conditions the low tech alarm worked like a charm.

As today's picture shows, it was another tortuous day on the ICW. Once in Fort Lauderdale we headed up the New River. This narrow, twisting waterway is chock-a-block with beautiful homes, big boats and passes right through downtown. In the heart of it all we pulled over and tied to the seawall. 16.6nm today and 38.6nm for the trip. DBH

No Sitting Around

Day 2: With no weather window to cross to the Bahamas in the foreseeable future, and a strong desire to go cruising, we slip the dock lines and head south. And south we shall go until Key West is to starboard.

We're having to acclimate to Florida's high temperatures, high humidity and afternoon thunder showers. At 6PM I'm on anchor watch during a downpour with 20kt winds. I hope Captain Ron is right when he said, "They come on you fast and they leave you fast." (Update: right he is. Four hours later the stars are out and winds calm.)

We've had a hard time getting Nellie's factory original, 45 lb, stainless, Danforth anchor to set. Try as we may we continually embarrass ourselves by dragging it all around the anchorage. Clearly the flukes are not digging. But by short-scoping, i.e. putting out enough rode for the anchor to touch bottom plus about 10', before backing down, the flukes will dig in. We've had good luck with this technique several times in a row now. Funny how different anchors require different techniques to set well.

It's been a nice relaxing day. Someone even got to do some cross stitch.

At anchor in Lake Boca Raton. 22nm today and 22nm total for the trip. DBH

Provisioning-- mostly

Day 1: We board Nellie with literally a ton of provisions. Stowing them and our gear (and a three mile walk through town) exhausts us. While there's a great anchorage 300 yards from the slip we elect to stay tied to the dock for this evening. Having shore power and thus air conditioning is a definite bonus.

What looked like a potential weather window for the Bahamas was nothing but a chimera. The winds dropped but the sea state didn't. The seven day forecast shows more of the same. Time to consider some other options.

In Palm Harbor Marina, West Palm Beach, FL. 0 nm today and 0nm for the trip. DBH