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Thanksgiving Cruise To the Keys

5K views 26 replies 11 participants last post by  FijiSomeDay 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey All,

So first...any of you southern sailors planning a cruise over Thanksgiving? I've managed to swing some time off to do an 8 day cruise with 1 day of weather fudge factor and we're taking Jendai to points further south. Here's our itinerary so far:

Day 0: Position boat in Lake Sylvia (~ 10 pm)
Day 1: Leave Lake Sylvia early and sail down to Homestead to Black Point Marina (family event to attend)
Day 2: Leave Black Point early am and make our way to Thursday Cove, north Largo. Spend night at anchorage.
Day 3: Re-position to Tarpon Basin in Largo proper. Tow kayaks over to Pennekamp w/dinghy and go kayaking.
Day 4: Leave Tarpon Basin and make our way to Islamorada. Anchor in Islmaroda Basin near Lorelei.
Day 5: Depart early and pass through Snake Creek, proceed to Molasses Reef and pick up a mooring ball. Snorkel for a few hours. Then go to anchor at Rodriguez Key
Day 6: Depart Rodriguez, proceed through Angelfish Creek and up the bay to Elliott Key or Sands Key (depends on weather). Thanksgiving chicken roast at anchor :D
Day 7: Leave Elliott Key and proceed either to Key Biscayne or Dinner Key (depends on weather)
Day 8: Leave Miami and proceed back home to Fort Lauderdale.

Waters may be skinny in areas like Snake Creek, Angelfish Creek, Black Point...but my cruising guide from Claiborne Young has been pretty spot on in other areas like Biscayne Bay and they've personally sounded things so I'm hoping for the best and factoring in some tidal assistance.

Looking forward to lots of serenity and sunsets!


P.S. - you wouldn't *BELIEVE* the list of projects and chores to get the boat ready for this trip. Everything from cleaning and organizing the lazarette to replacing various burned out bulbs. It was a 47 item punchlist...phew!!!!
 
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#4 ·
Down to 12 items on the punchlist and still have 3 days before departure. Made the provisioning run tonight and picked up a spare anchor/chain/rode package on sale. New West Marine superstore is just massive.

Interesting...I cant figure out is why West Marine charges more for splicing a chain/rode package onto my existing Lewmar Claw spare anchor than just buying an economy fortress knockoff anchor + chain+ rode package. It consists of the the same chain + rode that would be spliced onto my spare and an anchor...yet is $50 cheaper. W...T...H?? Only West Marine could pull that kinda stupidness off and still look at me with a straight face.
 
#7 ·
Ok - here is the Day 1 summary.

Originally, we were planning on leaving last night, but a cold front ripped through with winds and rain that would have generally made for a miserable night at anchor in Lake Sylvia. We may have had the anchorage to ourselves, but whats the point if you're hemmed in down below...vs having one more night playing with the dogs and sleeping in your own bed. The decision was made...we would leave before dawn.

A few short hours later, the alarm clock was buzzing at 5 am and we made our way to the boat...not hard, its in our back yard :D We pushed off the dock by 6 am and made our way up river. Surprisingly busy at that time in the morning - as soon as we hailed Davie Blvd bridge, we were hailed by at least 2 fellow sailboats from our club. Turns out, there was a regional race up in Hillsboro and a few boats were making their way up for that race.

In any case, we made our way up river towards the inlet. All the while, the winds were rising...uncomfortably. Upon crossing 17th Street Causeway bridge, we made ready to sail, just as 3 separate frieghters decided to either enter port, leave port, or leave dock. *ugh*. Just as well, we crossed into the main channel and clocked winds of over 25 knots sustained. Doable, but just no fun for our boat. So, we turned around made our way south down the ditch.

It should be noted, I hate taking ICW down to Miami...bridge after bridge, crazy currents that can stall you at full throttle (around the bridges in Hollywood I noticed), and just a lot of traffic which really didn't fit in the theme/mood for this trip we wanted to take. But what was one to do. We made great time, nailing nearly every bridge per schedule. Wife has worked out a system to chart out opening times, tides, and our hull speed to near perfection. We were in Miami in less around noontime.



Soon, we were through the City entirely and on the open Bay. *FINALLY* we sailed. Winds were still in the 17-20 knot range, but with none of the nastiness of open ocean swells and breaking waves. Just a lot of 3-4 foot, short period waves that the Bay is known for. So we deployed a reefed genoa and double reefed main...and we *STILL* made 6.5 knots pretty good for a Winnebago with kayaks, dinks, and jerry cans strapped to the topsides! Soon the city was just a hazy figment in the distance.


We realized something as we enjoyed the sail...the Bay was practically ours alone! The small craft advisory was still in effect and all the boats were gone...we were alone for *MILES* around for much of the day. Just some other sailboats, and even those thinned out as we neared the Featherbeds.


We sailed with no concern of powerboat traffic...even sailed *THROUGH* the Featherbeds channel! :D

But then we made our course to Black Point. This was the most nerve wracking moment of the trip. As we neared the channel, neither the chartplotter, the depth sounder, nor the handheld sounder could agree on depts. We saw depts as low as 5.5 feet (and this was near high tide) go by on the depth sounder while the handheld stated 7 or 8 as we came close to the channel entrance. Nevertheless, we made it in...tide was pretty high, even the jetty was covered by water. I am concerned about getting out in the morning as high tide is at 4:30 AM and we plan on leaving at 6. Will figure it out then!


Soon, we were in the marina basin, and after a bit of docking drama (current was stronger than expected), we were safely tied off and cleaned up. We grabbed our clothes and awaited the lift the family party that night at my wife's aunt's home. Just returned to the dock from the shindig and getting ready to go to bed....what a day. One of our best with the boat ever.

Till the next update! May be some time as we'll be at anchor with limited net connectivity
 
#11 · (Edited)
Ok, here is update on Day 2.

We started early this morning from Black Point Marina...bleary eyed and definitely moving slowly. High tide was at 3 am and low at 11 am - so even at 5 am wake-up, it was still a falling tide. When you draw more than what the charts say, you make with the tides :D

After yesterday's docking dramatics, the wife and I made it a point to have a docking departure plan. We were on the end of a t-dock, with a significant current pushing us backwards. Since the dock in front of us (B-dock) was longer than ours, we would have to turn into the fairway fighting a current. Immediately, we saw that this would be tough to do. So, it was time to come up with an alternative. What we realized is that we could walk the boat backwards into an open area as D dock was even shorter than C...leaving us nice open basin of sorts to make our escape. So the dock escape plan was put into effect and successfully executed. Hardest part of the whole affair was getting our dock lines off of the ratty pilings.

Before I continue our story...a word about Black Point Marina. Its a powerboaters dream. Loud bar that had a live band out till late. Bathrooms were absolutely disgusting...to the point where we came back aboard. On top of that...no showers! If we weren't forced to be in Homestead...avoid this in the future.

Anyway, back to day. We left the marina and right into the teeth of a 22 knot breeze from the east. Was hoping things would have moderated overnight, but it seems like the winds were even stronger this morning than they were last night. Weatherman...geez, what do they know! Front was supposed to have passed long ago In any case, we notice that our depths were higher than when we entered the channel with the jetty even further under water. So we had some comfort as we sounded ourselves outside of the channel and into the Bay.

As we made the last turn out of the shallows and into deeper water (all relative...9 feet, hehe), we put up the sails, just in time for a squall line to come through. Nothing major in terms of rain, just a lot of gusts. So with a deeply reefed genoa, we still were making good progress to Card Sound. At times, we crossed 6.5 knots with a hankerchief of a genoa...beam reach the whole way down. About half-way down, the squalls passed (but the winds stayed high), but we saw a great sight.

I'd like to think this was a good omen


Soon enough, we were making our way *OUT* of Biscayne Bay and into Card Sound.
The best part of this is that the entrance to Card Sound is a dredged channel that we approached with another sailboat that was clearly motorsailing with their main up. Whats the saying? Anytime there are two sailboats, its a race? Well, with our shred of genoa, we beat them to the entrance....then proceeded to sail through the channel itself. Woo hoo!!!

Now we're in Card Sound...virgin territory for us. Never been this far south on our own boat. Yeessss!!


We unfurled more genoa and then proceed to haul butt in Card Sound. Had the whole place to ourselves! Sadly, soon it was time to transition out of Card Sound and into Little Card Sound. Thought about doing it under sail, but there was couple of fisherman anchored right in the channel and the charts said very shallow outside the marked channel. So nix that...engine on again. Oh well.


As soon as we crossed into Little Card Sound, we unfurled the genoa...right in front of oncoming power boaters. As we cracked off, I think we caught them off guard. It was fun :D

Rest of the day was spent transitioning Barnes Sound, and soon enough we were approaching our anchorage for the day...and it was only lunchtime.



We set to make anchor and the first bit of drama hit us. The windlass remote just wouldn't worked. Now the history of our boat is that the windlass remote has never been right. The dealer, in his infinite wisdom, took the oem remote that must have broken and spliced on a trolling motor connector and housing. Now, this has *NEVER* worked. TO fix it once and for all, I spent the better part of 1/2 a day upside down in the anchor locker undoing the dealers sloppy work. Removing the bad remote and plug-in port, scraping off all the silicone caulk he used (guess he didn't read MaineSail's guides on bedding components) then epoxying shut his screw holes, redrilling new ones and mounting everything up with a new remote.

It worked like a charm at anchor, so I was stumped why it wouldn't go now! Well, of course, the simplest answer is usually right. After much cursing, I decided to check the breaker. Sure enough...it had popped. Flicked the breaker and the thing worked like a top. **HA!**

SO, we set the anchor and had a great evening. Just kidding. We dragged. Yes, a Rocna dragged. First time, we dragged likely because I didn't snub it well enough and the shock loads pulled the anchor. But damn if I didn't take half of the bottom with me when we hauled the anchor up. What a mess. Tried cleaning it off and resetting....and again, we dragged. I think we didn't clean up the mess on the anchor well enough this time. But, third time was a charm and now we've been set for over 7 hours with a nice circular arch on the GPS showing our track at anchor. Its set :D


After a day or relaxing, cleaning up, launching the dink, and general laziness, it was time for the sunset and dinner. Winds were calming down, but still gusty out of the northeast. The cove we are in is perfectly protected from those winds so its nice here....but I can still see whitecaps out in Barnes Sound. Should be a nice night at anchor under a carpet of stars.


Horrible pics, but hey, you had to be there. Just as we were setting up for dinner, new dramatics! Turned out I had left the radar on standby and it had eaten our banks. Well, since we had the cove to ourselves, I felt no qualms of running the generator. Too bad...it should be nice and quiet here, but we'll turn it off in a few and enjoy a few hours of peace before bed! And for now, we're off!

Take care everyone!
 
#15 · (Edited)
Hey Jendai, I may take my boat over to Elliot key (near Cesar's creek) Fri-Sun.

Which way are you planning on heading back? if inside call me on the cell.

-And homestead's bayfront park is a smaller marina, and I think nicer, but bathrooms are no better. and in general less facilities than black point. (no restaurant, just snacks/bait and fuel). but channel is also half as long. But no live band/bar/noise either...


-pm sent

ps: those may be manatee's not porpoise. especially likely in Barnes sound and tarpon basin. (manatee's normally take less frequent breaths than porpoise)
 
#16 ·
Well, they cant always be warm breezes, cocktails, and beautiful sunsets. Today….today was a very trying day…tiring as well. It started off so well too. I guess thats what everyone says in hindsight.

We were up with the sun. I've noticed that we're now in synch with sunrises/sunsets and mores as the days go along. Something about being out there in the elements with no TV and limited internet (although this is much easier now with 4g phones with tethering). Knowing that our trip today would be a quick hop, no more than a couple of hours, we planned on taking it easy. It was supposed to be a day of kayaking at Pennekamp.



So, we had a nice breakfast, listened to the radio, got the weather report, dropped the dink (to tow), and generally meandered. We got a bit too greedy with the amps thinking that we were motoring later…but more on that later. Soon, the itch to move bit us and we made ready to raise anchor. Before starting the engine, I noticed our battery bank was down to 68%…I don't like it going below 70%. We were in the "amp hole" and I didn't think we could dig our way out with the motoring ahead to take it above 90% so that our reefer could keep things cold.

At around 10:30 am, the anchor came up and we were off. Leaving that beautiful cove was tough, but we had miles to go! Well, only about 8 miles :D We navigated into the channel and entered Jewfish creek. A bit surreal, but Jewfish Creep is bordered by dense mangroves that border a deep (by Keys standards) channel. Periodically, there are side creeks that all make for a cool little maze that seems much too small for anything small skiffs to pass through. Soon though, we were in Blackwater Sound.



This sound would be fun to sail, but we decided to motor through. The batteries being depleted wore heavy on me. We did see what appeared to be a boat being ready to be sold. Being trailed by a dinghy, they were doing several tacks back and forth, while the person on the dink was taking pictures. I was impressed to see her able to get the dink on a full plane, stand up, balance her camera and take what I would assume be the leading shot on Yachtworld,

By and by, we were leaving Blackwater Sound. My charts had this showing as low as 4 feet, but we never saw less than 6. As we rounded the channels towards Tarpon Basin, we knew we were in Key Largo proper. We saw pockets of what could only be live-aboards with a few outlying houseboats for the hardy ones that wanted to be left alone. Even boats that seemed to have turned into reefs themselves…attached tot he bottom by their growth. Wow. We turned off the ICW and felt our way slowly into the basin.

Now, my charts had me running skeered here. Although I was sounding good depths, thoughts of going clunk-clunk on the bottom kept us far into the basin and right in the teeth of a gusty NE wind. We put down the Rocna and it caught on the first try. Ok, caught isn't descriptive enough. It basically pile drove into the bottom then YANKED us bank with authority. This anchor was *BURIED* and I knew we were set for the evening. So, we snubbed off and made ready to launch the dinghy. After all, we had a great day of kayaking planned in Pennekamp. Oh the plans of men….

So, get the engine all rigged up, turn the diverter valve to the internal tank…and I see fuel dropping into the dinghy through a hole in the cowling. Balls in throat moment here. Not only is this bound to be engine trouble that could sink the rest of our trip, I am dropping fuel mere inches from the Florida Keys, a protected sanctuary where the mere thought of discharging anything can result in what I assume is major jail-time…so the rumor goes :-( Luckily, I am quick with the diverter valve and had an oil boom is nearby. The mess in the dinghy bilge was sopped up and the diagnosis began.

Off with the cowling and immediately I see the problem. It was a cracked fuel line…but it could not have been in a worse place. Tohatsu/Nissan/Mercury decided in their infinite wisdom to use molded elbow fuel lines to connect external tanks to a diverter valve. Not only that, they used, low-profile thin walled 1/4" fuel line. I had replaced much of the lines in the engine with normal 1/4" fuel line and beefier in-line filters…but the crack was in a location I hadn't gotten to. And my spares aboard weren't enough for the run I had to replace. *UGH*

Gears started grinding…and the kayak was deployed. It was decided I would go ashore and find parts. The wind was getting stronger by the minute, and recall, we had anchored far into the basin. I was worried bout being blown off into some mangrove eddy, never to be found again…but surprisingly, the normally unstable cheap-o kayaks I had was in a groove! It handled the chop exceedingly well, and soon I was tied off to the dinghy dock and off to find West Marine, supposedly a quick hop from Key Largo gov't center.



What felt like miles of walking and I found West Marine. Made my way to the hoses/lines section…and they're *OUT* of 1/4" inch line. Unbelievable. The only thing I could think of was to now get OEM inline filters (ones I had thrown out for being crappy) and split the lines I did have to make it all work. Nope….no Mercury/Tohatsu/Nissan filters. The off-brand ones they did have were so big/bulky that they'd never have fit under the cowling. I talked to a guy there and he recommended I go to Napa. One problem, I'm on foot…and Napa is 4 miles away. He then recommended a harley rental outfit that services motorcycles and may have fuel line and inline filter. Off I went..but I did buy hose clamps and two collapsible water containers…$40 (ring ring goes the register).

Sure enough..the harley place is shuttered. As in out of business. Now i'm getting steamed, and its not just from all the walking in the sun. Insult to injury is that I'm walking back/forth across the highway from the entrance to John Pennekamp…where we were supposed to be kayaking through mangroves at this very moment. arch…back to West Marine to see what I could jury rig up.

They were out of 1/4" fuel line, but they had plenty of 3/8" inch line. My thoughts were to splice in an expander to take 1/4" inch line to 3/8", swap out the barb on the inline filters I have with 3/8", then reduce it back down to 1/4" at the carburetor. More hose clamps and barbs were bought…and off I went back to Government Center. Get into the kayak, not so gracefully, and off to the boat. When I arrive, the wife has held down the fort valiantly, and she is running the generator because she noticed the batteries were low….I'm so proud because usually its me thats tweaking and fiddling the power management aboard.

Now the fun really began…I rip off the cowling on the mercury while in the dink, and it seems like *EVERY* attempt to do something would be coordinated with a gust that would knock my screwdriver out the slot it needed to be in. The fuel fumes were sickening, the sun was hot, and the wind was howling. All in all, I was not a happy camper. But, thankfully, was able to gut through it, and as the last hose clamp was tightened, I said a silent thank you to the powers that be. Cruising does not foster atheism :D

Two pulls on the starting chord…and we were a stinkpotter!!!


Now, it was off to shower…and I used precious amps, but the smell of fuel oil, sweat, and what may have been mild heat exhaustion was worth the expenditure. I emerged human. It was right around 3 pm and I was starving. So we loaded up the dink with our new water containers, lights, miscellaneous safety gear and *OARS*. Back to the dinghy dock and of course, the outboard sputtered at low speed and cut out. Thankfully, we ghosted in and caught a piling. It started right up again, but I am thinking a carb rebuild is in the cards, which sucks because I just this nasty chore 2 months ago.

But we were ashore, and it was off the find a place for luner (like brunch with lunch/dinner). I'd been hearing good things about Hobo Cafe, and at only .25 miles away, it was winner in my book. This was the beginning of our day starting to look up. Spectacular food (conch fritters, yellowtail snapper with artichoke lemon sauce, brownie a la mode), coold drinks, and air conditioning. Aaaaaaaaah

Leaving refreshed, we made our way back to Government Center with a slight detour for 20 lbs of ice for the cooler. We stopped at the water hose and filled up our ten gallons of water (this will be useful for washing hands, dishes, etc as we mount it right at the kitchen sink), hopped in the dink and cranked. Engine roared right up but would stall at low speed or idle. Again, I suspect the low/idle jet is clogged. But we managed to get it going and off we went back to the mothership



Now, I'm listening to the Monday night football game on Sirius and writing this summary as the generator tops off the batteries. Winds are piping up really making me reconsider the whole solar vs wind gen debate...seems like even calm anchorages have enough winds to crank amps (and boy do we use power). Alls well that ends well...
 
#17 ·
After yesterday's dramatics with the the dinghy, it was nice to end the day with the anchor dug in so deep. We passed out early and slept….deeply. I"ve never been at anchor and slept so soundly. No one eye open to make sure we weren't dragging or getting awoken by winds or passing squall. Just deep sleep and getting up later than sunrise….a luxury!

After getting up, I started my normal routine of position check, battery check, coffee and so on. The batteries were ominously low. We were only showing 72% SOC on the battery monitor. Thats *AFTER* running the generator last night. *ugh* we would be motorsailing today as I don't like the batteries being that low. This time, I would remember to turn the radar *OFF* rather than on standby.

Soon, we cleaned up and made our way back to the Key Largo Government Center dinghy dock. With 2 collapsible jugs, we loaded 10 more gallons of water and took off to find gasoline for the dink/generator. After walking for a bit, I realized this is stupid…we'll just fill up gas at a marina…so turned around, and we went back to the mothership. She's looking a bit rough after all the salt and no rain to rinse her off. When we get home, I'm going to treat her to a top down wash, wax, metal polish and teak treatment.

After that, the anchor was hoisted aboard and we made our way back through a minefield of crab pots. This would be a theme today….Jendai does battle with crab pots. They are *EVERYWHERE* in the Keys. Hugging the channel, and at times, even crisscrossing your path in anchorages.



We left this part of Key Largo through Grouper Creek, following the ICW in relatively deep water. Another narrow creek with mangroves close by, it was interesting to see the wildlife just beyond the first line of vegetation. All were pretty shy, except this guy, who decided to brazenly cross my path. Since dodged to avoid hitting him, I guess he wins that competition of wills…hehe



Soon, we were in Buttonwood Sound. This normally would have been great sailing …about 2 miles to the next channel, but our battery situation kept the engine on. We tried throwing up a genoa, but realized that we'd stupidly tied down the kayaks over the furling line, preventing the sail from releasing. Mental note was made to fix the strapped down kayak situation but we moved on.

As we neared the next channel, this one bordered by some houses that were really nice. Wondered if this real estate implosion in Florida has made these homes more affordable, or if they're still the purview of the the 1%


A curios thing happened as we neared the next channel after the nice houses. The water started changing color. It was turning into many hues of turquoise…what you would *ExPECT* water in the keys to be! Its official…the Florida Keys start *AFTER* Buttonwood Sound. Before that, the water could be the same as Biscayne Bay…but now, it was tropical



Soon, the water was just the most beautiful shade…but also *VERY* shallow. We traversed the ICW and between dodging a million crab pots, then sharply turning back to avoid shallows, it was nerve wracking. Beautiful, but nerve wracking. Sailing would have been nice here, but the crab pots were so densely placed that it was nearly impossible to proceed without snagging a few if you weren't vigilant. So we kept on.

Now, we neared a point where I'd fearing. An extremely shallow stretch of the ICW in the waters off Tavernier. We neared, and the sounder kept dropping…and dropping…and dropping. On top of that, crab pots. Soon, the sounder was reading depths *LESS* than our known draft. I don't know how this worked (maybe I needed to reprogram our keel offset or we were heeled enough)…but we proceeded at sub 1 knot. It was particularly bad around marker 64A…where by all means we should have gone aground, but luckily didn't Maybe the bottom was silty.

After that stitch, I asked the wife for a beer. My nerves were a bit shaky. It did the trick…soon, we were back on our way…sounding around 5.5' pretty much the rest of the way. The winds dropped and we were able to see practically every contour of the bottom, especially as we traversed the cut near Cowpens. So strange to see Sergeant Major fish just chilling as you go by…unreal. I hope we get to snorkel these waters…the weather is turning for the worse later this week, so we may not get to…we'll see.

Then, before we knew it, there it was. Our next anchorage. Tantalizingly close….the multi-hued water looking so inviting. The sun high in the sky showing every contour of the bottom. A nice breeze from the East/Northeast making things comfortable. What a sight…..except for the fact that the basin was a minefield of crab pots. *UGH*. They were EVERYWHERE.

We held position for 5 minutes plotting our course through this minefield, while another sailboat came and took position behind us. Soon, we powered up and followed our corse…and I noticed the other boat came right in behind us. Cool in my book, why recreate the wheel. Finally we made our way across the line of pots and to my chosen spot…only to have this yahoo behind us ACCELERATE, practically waking us and beat us to the spot we had chosen out!!! Unbelievable! Even here, you cant get fully away from the nature of people in S. Florida.

With a stiff stare, we made our way across the entire basin to an area I had secretly plotted out. Not really an anchorage and away from the bars and marinas, but for us, it would do well since we don't go into those except to fuel up anyway. Finding my spot, we approached…the colors were just stunning. It all worked out for the better anyway.



The hook was deployed and set on the first try. Again, we felt the comforting THUNK and yank back of the Rocna. Man, I love this anchor…our old Claw would have never set well on the first try.

Once the hook was set, we cleaned up the decks, deployed the dinghy, then took naps in the cockpit. I checked the batteries, and to my joy they showed 100%. This is surprising because having checked them at Cowpens, they were still showing only 78%. I think these batteries are reaching the end of their life and will be on the list of projects to take on when I get back to home dock.

Definitely going to invest in solar panel projects as well as better insulation for the reefer before the next trip. I can feel hot and cold spots on the cabinet covering the fridge…can only imagine the amps being wasted. But that is for another day.

Anyway, soon the sun was starting to make its descent. It gets dark quick nowadays, so we showered and made ready for dinner. Our goal was to find Loreleis Cafe/Marina which is rumored to have the best sunset view in the area. We found it, and were *NOT* disappointed. A meal of Florida Stone Crabs, Caesar Salad, Old Bay Shrimp and the obligatory Key Lime Pie was made so much better with this as the backdrop



The service was laid back here, but we had to flag down our waiter as I realized I had forgotten to turn on the anchor light on the mothership. While I had the GPS coordinate of the boat, I wasn't looking forward to a scanting hunt for a sailboat in the anchorage in the dark. Too bad, really, as the guy singing was just getting warmed up. Next trip, when I have more confidence in the outboard, we'll stay out late at night tearing it up.

For now, I have to settle on written this journal entry under a carpet of stars that seems to stretch on forever and Jack Johnson playing on the Sirius in the background ….not bad :)

Take care all!
 
#18 ·
Well, here it is…Day 5 summary written in the forward cabin with the breeze blowing through and the Honda puttering away on the swim step. We decided to stay put here in Islamorada rather than make an early move out to Rodriguez Key. There is a front about to move through, so while everyone is relaxed and fulfilled, I feel a bit of trepidation. Like this moment is just going to be so fleeting and taken away with a stiff Northeast wind and rain. Well, enough of that…plenty of time to deal with it later. For now, the anchor is set in deep even with this SW wind and a lee shore of Islamorada. The anchor alarm is set and the windlass works :D

The day started off splendidly. We were up with the sun after a deep night sleep. Surprisingly, the fisherman weren't screaming out to the flats early and the anchorage was calm as a millpond. As I was making eggs and toast on the stove, I heard the wife call out. Soon, they were upon us…DOLPHINS! Yess!!! I love these beautiful creatures. They were obviously in hunting mode as they circled all the crab pots in a definite pattern…probably looking for any scragglier that was not able to get out of the way. So goes life. Their hunting mission over, soon they began playing! We saw breaching, tail slaps, as well as what seemed like sprint races. Pretty cool…!!



After breakfast and the view, we made an inventory of chores to do today. This is when we decided to stay put for the day pending this upcoming front. Rather been in the Gulf side than the Ocean side in strong North/Northeast winds. Soon the chore list was made, and we got into our routine. We've made it a habit to use these portable tanks for our "day" water to wash dishes, hands, etc. If there is water left over in these 5 gallon tanks, we put it in the mother ship and refill at a marina dockside. After the tanks were topped up, we prepped the dink and off we went to find Bass Pro Shop/World Wide Sportsman. I needed a few things like salt-off, a scrub down brush, a siphon, a fuel tank smaller than 5 gallons but bigger than 1 gallon and a few sundry odds/ends. We navigated a narrow channel and bordered by mangroves on one end and a series of working boatyards/marinas on the other. Some *BIG* sailboats back here, and the water was nice and deep. Everything was really looking nice and clean…no trailerparks on the water here, just clean boats being kept up nice. Soon we were at Bass Pro/Worldwide Sportsman who had an awesome dinghy dock as well as a great marina.



Worldwide Sportsman was a bit of a let-down considering my expectations were that this store would be like my local Bass Pro megastore in Fort Lauderdale. Then I remembered, that the size of that store would probably straddle the entirety of the width of Islamorada :D Expectations leveled, we picked up what we could…but couldn't find everything. The siphon was particularly tough not to find. My home store usually has these $6 wonders where this tup with a copper fitting and a marble form a suction, allowing me to fill diesel from jerry jugs easily and cleanly. I guess it just didn't sell well here. We did get the gas tank and filled up a couple gallons thinking it would come in handy for the dink and the EU2000.

Back to the mothership We tried getting up on plan…but the extra weight was a no go. In retrospect, I suspect that this is where I may have damaged the transom…but more on that later.

Back at the mothership, we put things away, and realized that we needed to make another trip. Guess there would be no snorkeling or kayaking today either, hehe. Thats ok, our chores shoreside give us lots of perspective on the areas around us. I was just hoping US-1 wouldn't be a 4 lane highway as it was up in Key Largo. In any case, I decided I need a break from chore doing and knew what would hit the spot. In the dink we went and raced to Loreleis where we tied up the dink and made way to the bar. But here is where I noticed a lot of water in the dinghy bilge. Not good :( Didn't think too much of this at this point because had things to do and drinks on my mind. It was almost noon after all. Drinks ordered along with a caesar salad to share - because we're just not getting enough roughage with our cruisers diet, I was craving something green, leafy and fresh.



After settling up our bill, we made for US-1…discreetly. The dinghy dock is for customers, and I'd read on Active Captain that they let you use it for errands. But why be obtuse about it. We made our turn to head towards Ace Hardware and CVS about 1 mile up the street.

My wife had a brilliant idea about 1 block up after she spied the ocean side of Islamorada on a side street. (insert image of side street). We walked to see the ocean side and with this south/southwest breeze, the ocean was glass calm as well. So cool. My wife then said why not take this side street north to our destination. It was shaded, it was quiet, and it had great scenery on both sides. On one side, we could spy the mega-mansions (by Keys standers) right on the ocean. Some of these homes were more compounds with outer living quarters…but of course behind wrought-iron gates with keycode entry pads. The other side of the street were homes that were much more affordable…thats all I'll say to that, hehe.



Soon, we were at CVS, bought our sundries…backtracked to Ace Hardware where I picked up my siphon tubing. Sure this wont be as nice as my marble-siphon home, but sure beats standing on the transom holding a jerry jug to a fuel fill in bucking waves!

Back to Loreleis. Walking through the marina, I spotted this in the marina. Only in the Keys, hehe.

(


To the dinghy dock, and here is where things got really dicey. The dink had practically sunk. I'm thinking a seam was leaking along the pontoon/fiberglass bottom ridge. Asking for a plastic cup from the bar, we pumped out the bilge and decided that this dink was going to get services when we got home. Its only 6 years old, but its lead a hard life. We started up the engine, backed off the dinghy dock and made for the mothership. About 2/3rds of the way there, we see more water…and thats when I spot it. There was a 4" crack in the base of the transom on the port side of the dink….*CRAP*



Immediately, i back off the throttle of the dink as I could see that the torque of the engine was flexing the rotted part badly. We hobbled back to the mothership, using the cups from the bar to pump water back onto the right side of the boat. After tying off as quick as possible and unloading everything, I practically yanked the engine off the transom and put it back on the pushpit bracket. The dink is officially out of commission. We are now a kayak only cruising couple. Thank goodness the wife insisted on bringing the kayaks…I was about to leave them for space reasons.

At this point, since we were stuck on the boat, I decided to make the best of it. We took turns swimming off the transom, then rinsed off with freshwater and soap. Before we knew it, it was time to prep for dinner. As the potatoes roasted and the steaks were grilling, the wife noticed that the sky was particularly clear today and the sunset would be a good one. We decided to eat on the foredeck and say so-long to the sun…until tomorrow at least. Dinner was the best meal yet, the drinks were cold and the breeze was so nice as this was the view



Thats not even the best pic…the better ones are reserved for my memory :D

Wow…what a day. Time to head below…write an update for Sailnet, shower off and to bed! Tomorrow will be an interesting day with 20 knot winds forecast from the NE. Need a full nights rest to face that.
 
#21 ·
Day 6 update...we are at anchor in Largo. It was a rough night at anchor in Islamorada. Currently, we have really bad connectivity to 4g as I am probably in the most secluded anchorage I have *EVER* managed to get my boat into. We just had Thanksgiving feast, bird and all and I am now trying to relax in the cockpit as heavy gusts periodically buffet us. More to come later!
 
#22 · (Edited)
Ok - so I've found that if I sit not he foredeck with one arm extended, I am able to squeeze just enough for 1 bar of 4g coverage…and then tether that to my laptop. So there will be an update tonight. Oh, and there are fireworks displays off in the distance…must be 10 miles away.

I'll pick up either late last night or early this morning. In either case, the gist of it is that the weather was turning for the worse. So much for red sky at night, sailors delight! I woke up at 1 am like a bolt by the slapping of our hull in the chop...but lucky I did get up. I made a quick check of things, found that we were right in the teeth of 20-25 knot gusts from the West/Northwest…making the entire Gulf Coast of Islamorada one big lee shore. Right then and there, I knew I wouldn't be sleeping well the rest of the night.

To top it off, I see that a large sport fish has anchored close by us upwind to the west. How he managed to do this in the dark without snagging a crab pots is a mystery to me. After giving him a staredown, I go down below and start figuring out batteries and look at weather. Knowing our plan to go on the outside was not to happen this trip, I try and locate anchorages that would be good for a strong North/Northeast wind flow. If you have West winds in Florida, they are only prelude to a cold front and strong NE winds coming soon. Especially in the "winter" time from November - March.

Deciding to pop up and have one more look, I see that this sportfish has gotten closer to us. Yep…its dragging. Badly. There are already flash lights up in the fly bridge scurrying about. To that, I take my spotlight and shine a blast of 1 million candle beams (its a big spotlight) onto his foredeck, then to my mast. He got the message. For the next hour, I saw this boat wind its way through this anchorage nearly picking up set anchors and barely miss banging into boat. Likely snagged every crab pot around! What a disaster. Made a note to go by them in the morning and ask them how their night was, but for now, I tried to grab some shut-eye…it was a fitful sleep.

Getting up early, the anchorage was surprisingly calm. Knowing that the front was on its way, we decided to pull up and get going asap, even eating breakfast en route. On top of that, I had amp, water, and fuel conservation on my mind. Having brought 10 gallons of diesel and topped off 5 y'day, I wanted to keep my other 5 for emergency use only. That would mean as much sailing as possible today. BTW - the sportfish was long gone…they must have found a marina.

Motoring out of the Islamorada anchorage didn't seem so bad. Waters were wonderful colors again. We left Islamorada seeing significantly less crab pots as we saw going in. Either they were blown away, or our buddy in the sportfish took care of 'em for us :) Again though, I was itching to kill the engine and sail. Easy peesy right? Except that the front had arrived in full force with winds right in our teeth (from the North/Northeast) and up to 25 knots. So we did what we had to do. We motored a bit longer



Before we knew it, we were on infamous marker 64A. Again, I was sounding nothing under the keel…only this time, there were dolphins to distract us. They say that dolphins are a good omen…I sure hope so! They played in our bow wake for some time away from the marker and then mysteriously as they came, they were gone.



Once we cleared Ramshorn Shoal, I tried to put up sail. Our main jammed in the in-mast furler, something its been doing since we bought the boat new. What a pain the behind…our next boat will not have this system I have decided. Lazy jacks would be good enough.

Regardless though, we got up the genoa and under reefed sail made good progress up the sound. We sailed as much as possible to conserve diesel, making many tacks, but really learning how to use our electronics to our advantage when making tacks. Finally figured out how to use the wind instruments well enough to make predictive tacks. The pinnacle of this effort was making across Blackwater Sound with only 1 tack, furling sail just as we arrived at the channel markers for Gilberts, then smartly turning in and crossing into Barnes Sound. Felt good doing that.



The day could have been much shorter if we'd motored, but again, I'm being stingy with fuel right now...and it gave me time to plan out a suitable anchorage for tonight. I settled on Steamboat Creek after reading Active Captain reviews and studying charts. This anchorage lies at the Northeast corner of Barnes Sound. Seemed nice and wasn't a repeat of our night at Thursdays Cove. Too bad that we wouldn't be able to snorkel as this is an American Crocodile sanctuary (yeah…no way).



The entrance into Barnes Sound had us immediately on alert. This Sound is much wider sound than the others…and the winds were positively howling. Gusts were 26 knots, and sustained were around 20. The air was even noticeably colder, and the water had lost all of its colorful tropical hue. Its like there was a sign telling us that you should be aware…and the mood aboard reflected it.

Nevertheless, Jendai put her shouder into the wind, and under reefed genoa alone, we powered up the sound at above 6 knots over ground. Again, we made it across the sound with minimal sail change. As we neared the anchorage, I didn't see any letup in the wind, nor was the chop any better. I was getting worried that I'd been led astray by Active Captain…wouldn't be the first time, but still.

Finally, as we got closer to the creek, the winds started sitting down. The gusts would still pour over the mangroves and hit us, but the sustained winds weren't buffeting us anymore. Having learned my lesson in Thursday Cove, I kept pushing in closer and closer until we were less than 1000 feet from the shore. The sounder was still reading 8 feet and the charts said mud. We needed to get away from these winds too - I was beginning to grind my teeth every time a gust hit.

Soon we were anchored and I set up the drag alarm. We finally showered off the days sweat & salt and both took quick naps. Before too long a nap, we got up to start cooking. Its Thanksgiving Day after all! A meal of fowl, mashed potatoes and pan gravy, green beans, and pecan pie was all prepared within a couple of hours and we sat down to our feast. Many a thanks was said, as the winds died down and the anchorage was calm.





Nearly as soon as dinner was consumed and the dishes cleared, the winds started picking up again. I'm now in the cockpit watching my handheld GPS with the anchor alarm…looking for *ANY* sign of anchor dragging. The odd thing is this, generally things are calm….then about once a minute, a *CRAZY* gust just pours over the mangroves and causes the boat to lurch back against the snubber. Its a recipe for the anchor to dig in further (that would be good) or in a wind shift, for it to pop loose and us to go careening into the mangroves. Hopefully the forecasts are right about direction fo wind and its stays out of the NE…just not as strong as they've said.

This is by far the most secluded anchorage we've stayed at. I can see a blanket of stars above. We barely have cell signal. And even the shore lights of Florida mainland are not present. Its quite eerie and surreal…made me check my lifelines extra carefully for fear of falling in never to be found again.

Wife is already in bed by 8:30 pm…and tomorrow is going to be another long day beating/bashing up Card Sound and Biscayne Bay…so its off to bed I go as well.

Take care all, happy Thanksgiving!!!
 
#24 ·
Day 7 update...we are home. Decided to cut the trip short as the weather was cold and we weren't looking forward to life w/out the dinghy (rotted out transom). Needless to say it was a loooong day with the wind on our nose, but we still managed to sail a lot. In the end, we had to motor up the ICW back to Fort Lauderdale. MOre on all of this and more when I get up in the morning tomorrow. So tired right now...
 
#26 ·
Glad everyone likes the thread...I still have Day 7 summary to write up. Been too busy getting back into the swing of things at home. Boy do I wish I was still on vacation and its only the first day back at work.

I'm open to answering any questions people have. Kind of like an Reddit AMA thread :D
 
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