Home again

After Coinjock we traveled almost all the way home and anchored near Leachville, NC for the night.  After three  long days of travel we were really pretty worn out (remember we have been in cruising mode lately, trying hard to take our time).  But it seemed once we made the decision to head home it was like the proverbial horse smelling the barn.  Keep going as long as you can.

So we put the anchor down in this quiet little creek, thinking all would be quiet for the night.  Mistake numero uno.  I really didn't like the way everything felt when we were "set" but I was too tired to up anchor and start over.  Mistake numero dos.  Also, when the boat settled into position behind the anchor (the way the breeze was blowing it) we were directly in front of the other boat anchored there.  It was a very decent distance in front, but still not what Tom would like.  Mistake numero tres.  Nevertheless, we ignored those little annoyances and went to sleep.

Around 1am I awoke thinking something had changed.  I lay there for a while listening to boat sounds.  When you live on a boat for a while you get used to the way "normal" sounds.  Little creaks and groans, waves tapping at the hulls, etc. all tell you what is happening outside.  Finally I got up and went outside to see for myself.  The wind had picked up some and there was lightening off in the distance.  No cause for real worry but I stayed up anyway, dozing on the settee.  Around 2:45am everything revved up.  Rain started in earnest, the wind picked up considerably, and lightening and thunder were much closer.  So seemed the boat behind us!   I decided I needed a second opinion and woke Tom from a sound sleep.  While he was getting his bearings, our neighbor came up on his deck with a spotlight, apparently checking his position as well as ours.  We were definitely dragging slowly toward him.  Time for action. 

We started the engines and hauled up the anchor.  Fortunately we had left the chart plotter on for just such a scenario, so we could "see" where we were going on the chart even though it was dark outside except when lightening flashed.  We moved maybe a quarter mile further up the creek and reset the anchor, this time with much more confidence in the way it was holding.  By this time most of the storm had moved on and we just had a light ran to contend with.  But it was hard to get back to sleep after all that adrenaline rush.

The next morning we left around 8am and sailed the two hours to our home port at Old Mill Landing.  After tying up at the dock and turning on the AC, naps were in order.  It was great to see our friends later for dinner and to talk about our trip as well as all that had happened in their lives since we left for the Chesapeake in early July.  We are blessed with wonderful friends and are glad to be home.

Coinjock

Tangier Island Docks

We haven't had wifi since we got to Tangier Island.  No cell service either.  That's just the kind of place it is.  Tangier sits on the eastern side of the Chesapeake, an island unlike any other.  There is only one marina where transients can dock for the night and it is run by Milton Parks, an 82 year old retired crabber, the last of his generation on the eastern shore.  Milton could fill a whole book with his stories!  All the other docks that line the channel through the island are occupied by work boats and their accompanying sheds that we assumed held all manner of parts and/or equipment required by the watermen.  Town is a short walk from the docks and consists of a few restaurants, a health center, a school, a post office, and houses that date back to the time of early settlement.

The residents (about 500) ride around in golf carts and scooters or bicycles.  Some have cars that they leave in the mainland town of Crisfield.  We tried to hitch a ride with the mail boat to Crisfield but they couldn't find room for us.  Didn't really have time to sail there since we had to get back to the other side of the Bay to get our friends back to their car on Saturday.  We thought a "ferry" ride might be fun but it just didn't work out.

The garbage bins on Tangier are quite nice

After two days on Tangier Island we were ready to move on. There were two options as to where to go since we had two cars waiting for us in separate places. Our car was in Irvington and the Groening's was in Kinsale, an hour's drive away from ours. So either place would work.

Urbanna waterfront

Since we had a north-ish wind we decided on Irvington, the more southerly port. We had a wonderful sail across the Bay in 15-20k winds, no assist from the engines, and an incredibly beautiful day.  We made a last minute decision to pull into Urbanna for the night since it was a more interesting town and just across the river from where our car was parked in Irvington. There we spent a pleasant evening with a cool breeze keeping the bugs away and making for a very comfortable sleep.

In the morning we hauled in the anchor chain and were surprised to have some difficulty dislodging the anchor from the bottom, usually not a problem for us. We finally managed to get the anchor up to the surface of the water and found it attached to a very odd assortment of “something.” It took three of us to deal with what turned out to be a medusa-like tangle of old rope and rubber tubing, all entwined with a small anchor and line. We wound up cutting the line attached to the anchor so we could untangle it from our anchor and haul the whole thing up onto our bow. It was a muddy, smelly mess. Apparently a smaller boat had tangled their anchor up in this rubber stuff and been unable to haul it up, ultimately cutting loose their anchor to free themselves. It's anyone's guess as to where the rubber originated. We then pulled over to the town dock to pump out the heads and get rid of this detritus. It took what seemed like gallons of water to clean up ourselves and the trampoline of our boat, which required some additional scrubbing to eliminate the grime left behind. Unfortunately, we were too overwhelmed to take a picture. It would have been a good one.

Tom with one of the dogs at Dog and Oyster that keep
 other critters (like deer) from eating the vines

So off to Irvington we went to off load our guests' things into our car and head off to the Dog and Oyster for some wine tasting (it was Sunday after all and we just could not pass that up). After that we had lunch and drove them to their car and headed back to our boat for a calm night at anchor.

Grapes almost ready for harvest

Sunset in Carter Creek, Irvington, VA

Tom had tried to line up crew for another week or two of sailing (Pat had to be home by August 30) but could not work out the details, so after some debate we decided to take the boat home ourselves and come back for our car after getting Kentris to Jordan Creek. A bit inconvenient but better than having Tom left to single hand the boat later. So we are making our way down the ICW, heading home. We are docked for the night at Coinjock about 80 miles from Jordan Creek.

Solomon's Island and beyond

Thursday we moved from Solomon's Island to St. Leonard Creek, a distance of about 9 miles. We had heard about a marina up this creek that was opened by a Hollywood starlet and was a must see party place. Vera's Beach Bar sits on a high point of land overlooking the creek. The restaurant is festooned with different colored lights and has a colorful beach area with tables and chairs lapped by the water. There are actual palm trees (as well as fake ones) along the beach. We anchored across the creek from Vera's and took the dinghy over for a late lunch. The food was very good. Too bad Vera is no longer around. She must certainly have been an interesting character. Apparently, the weekends are when the place comes alive because things were fairly quiet on a Wednesday. Just as well for us since we had started the day with several mimosas, added a few beers as the day progressed, and then finished up with pina coladas and margaritas at Vera's. By evening we were ready for bed.

That was not to be however. We watched lightening and clouds move in for about an hour after dark as we sat out on the trampoline enjoying a light breeze. Around 11 PM the rain started and got heavier with lightening and thunder all around. Very little wind though so we sat snugly on the hook watching the light show and hoping the lightening would find some other target.

This morning we hauled up the anchor around 8 AM and headed out to the Bay. It was overcast and calm. The starboard engine would not start which Tom and Dave eventually decided was the fault of the starter motor. It had been difficult to start for several days but today it was a no go. Fortunately we had a replacement on board which was fairly painlessly installed and the engine cranked right up.

During the starter ordeal, the chartplotter screen went blank and the remote mouse we use at the helm stopped working. Back to doing things the old fashioned way for a brief period. A new battery in the mouse took care of that problem. The chartplotter came back up once they plugged the battery back into the starboard engine.

So crossing the Bay in light winds was just fine in light of all the activity we had to contend with. We headed to Tangier Island with both sails up and, I'm sorry to say, both engines assisting. Batteries needed charging and the wind was too light to get us there before dark.

Solomon's Island

 We made it to Solomon's Island yesterday but since there was practically no wind, we motored most of the way with a little jib assist.  Lots and lots of boats here but surprising few onshore shops or things of interest.  We walked around a bit, found a bar for a happy hour cocktail, and then headed back to the boat to be entertained by a couple trying to anchor just outside the mooring field.  It seemed they really didn't know what they were doing, but after about six attempts, they did get their anchor to hold.  As long as there is no wind they should be OK.

One nice thing here is that you don't see many derelict boats laying around as you do in many other places.


Here are  some of the examples of this we have seen in the last few days.

Anybody for a free boat?  This one doesn't look as bad as some we've seen.

I guess some people just lose interest in their boat or get to the point where they can't take care of it anymore.  Someone needs to figure out a way to recycle some of them into useful items.

St. Mary's River

August 18, 2013

We were able to sail across the Potomac yesterday, about a 3 hour trip, to an anchorage at St. Mary's City. The term “city” is used rather loosely here as there is not much there except a replica of the site of the first settlement in Maryland. After anchoring off the coast from St. Mary's College, we took the dinghy in and walked around the small, very pretty campus and then over to the site of the first state house and other buildings associated with the settlement.

The Dove as seen from the water

As we walked out to peer over the high bank overlooking our anchorage, a fellow walking his dog came up and introduced himself. We talked for a while about the area and he offered to take us on a tour of the Dove, a replica of one of the two ships that sailed into this river in 1634 bringing the first settlers to what later became the state of Maryland. What a treat that was. It is a beautiful wooden ship built in the 1970's by Jim Richardson and maintained by a group of volunteers.

It began to rain later that day and continued all through the night and most of the day today. We needed to have the holding tanks pumped out, so when the rain ended we headed back down the river to Smith Creek where we plan to stay for the night before heading to Solomon's Island tomorrow if the weather will allow.

Now anchored in Jutland Creek in a beautiful little cove with herons and ospreys as neighbors.  New joker valves installed in the heads after the pump out, making their function so much better.

Kinsale, VA

This is the first time we have had wifi since we left Irvington.  We are at the dock at Port Kinsale Marina waiting for friends to arrive to sail with us this week.  Having showered ourselves and the boat, hauled the garbage we accumulated over the week to the dumpster, and taken a bike ride, we are now ready for cocktails.

Last night we spent an evening at anchor just around the point from here in a quiet little cove.  Watched ospreys and an eagle soar around us as we tried to catch a fish. They were jumping all around the boat, but none wanted what Tom was offering them.  We had sailed from an anchorage on Indian Creek near the town of Kilmarnock where we had stayed two days waiting for the cold front-associated-weather to settle before heading out.  The Bay was a bit chopped up still but we had light wind just enough off our nose to be able to sail most of the way to the Potomac.  Once there, the wind pretty much died so we motored into the Yeocomico River and our anchorage for the night.  It was a beautiful day with clear skies and cool temps.  So nice after all the heat we have had on the Chesapeake.

The trip took about 7 hours which we have decided is longer than we really want to do anymore.  We used to think that was a regular day of travel on the boat but not any more.  "Cruising" is more to our liking now that we don't have any schedules to worry about (as in work).  Maybe that is a function of age but I like to think it is more related to wisdom. We have been happy to poke around some of the beautiful creeks and rivers that feed into the Bay, not going any further then a few hours at a time.  Of course, if we absolutely had to get somewhere, we 
would if we had to,or  if there was nothing to explore along the way.  It is fun to sail a while if the conditions are right but that is often not the case.  The wind is too much or too little or in the wrong direction, or the water is rough, or it's raining.  When you live on a sailboat for a time, you find the perfect sailing day is a rarity. 

August 12, 2013

We found the boat just as we left it with no apparent issues having taken place while we were gone.  I don't know why there is always so much "stuff" to schlep back and forth from boat to home, but it never ceases to amaze me.  We thought we were leaving most of the stuff on the boat this time and there would be little to bring back.  Wrong.  This time the item taking up the most space was our new genoa sail, all tucked away in it's tidy bag.  That's the last time it will ever be that contained!  And we'll never get the old sail folded up that small when we switch them out.  Don't know how they did it at the factory.

We finally got everything on board and put away and turned the air conditioner on (hurray for shore power!).  While that was cooling down the boat, we headed to the grocery store for last minute produce, etc., then found places to put all that.  Cocktails were in order after all that work, followed by a slow dinghy ride up the creek.  Tomorrow we'll head a few miles up the Rappahanock to the Corrotoman River for the night.  There's not much there so probably no internet.

Urbanna, VA

Wednesday

View from the town dock

We motored across the Rappahanock to Urbanna on Monday and anchored off the town dock.  The river was smooth enough to water ski on so there was no sailing that day. Urbanna is a great little historic town with just about everything a cruiser could want within easy walking distance of the harbor.  We did a walk about town, stopping by the grocery store for a few items.  Found a couple of thrift stores, several clothing/gift shops, and one really nice art gallery.  Washed our large pile of sweaty laundry at the very nice town dock facilities and got to sit in air conditioning while the clothes washed and dried.

Tuesday morning we went into town for breakfast at the drug store.  Quite a scene there with men sitting at one loop of the 50's-style soda fountain and women at the other.  We were told that all the latest gossip is discussed there every morning by the dozen or so folks who congregate there regularly.  We met the Urbanna mayor who moved one stool over in order to allow the four of us to sit together.  The breakfast special that morning was two biscuits with sausage gravy and two eggs for $3.95.  Such a deal.  We all had the special and discussed town issues and Carolina basketball with the mayor.

We're finally learning how “cruising” mode works from our friends on Polaris. Previously, Tom and I have rarely stayed in one place very long on our sailing trips. Usually a day or two in one place and we've moved on to new sites, thinking we needed to “see it all,” I suppose. Since hooking up with Polaris, we've stayed several days in one place, gaining time to explore the community at a much slower pace and in more detail. I like this much better. It is so much more relaxing.  Today we took a long, leisurely dinghy ride up the creek to explore areas we are unable to reach on the big boats.  Lots of pretty scenery with a mix of new, expensive houses along side older, been-here-forever small homes.

Kentris anchorage

Since we have some commitments at home in the next few weeks, we are planning to leave the boat here and come home on Friday. It has been a bit daunting to find an appropriate place to leave Kentris during this time. We thought we had it worked out one way but that fell through. Then we called around and found quite expensive rates at the marinas close by. We considered leaving her anchored right where we are currently, which has good holding and is well protected, but that was not our favorite option. This morning we found a dock to keep her at back in Irvington. If there is a major storm we'll have to come move her off the dock but hopefully that won't happen and we'll know she is well cared for while we're gone.

July 22, 2013

Getting ready to leave Irvington after a fun day yesterday. It was a lazy Sunday – slept late, ate a hearty breakfast, did a few boat chores and then went into town. We sat in a little coffee shop, The Local, drank iced coffee and soaked up the air conditioning while we indulged in free wifi.

Tom and I rode our bikes around town a bit after that and came across a pretty little vineyard that was offering wine tastings in the afternoon. After the Polaris crew got out of church our plans were to ride the trolley that took travelers to two other small towns in the area. Now it sounded like it might just be prudent to end our excursion at the vineyard later to taste some local wine.

So after a light lunch we all waited at the trolley stop for the trolley that did not come. Thirty minutes later, it dawned on us that just maybe the trolley didn't run on Sundays. A quick call to an area hotel (which had a trolley stop marked on our map) confirmed that to be the case.

Plan B: visit the vines. The wine (made exclusively from the grapes grown here) is named Dog and Oyster, presumably because they have watch dogs among the vines to keep the deer away, and because they also serve delicious steamed oysters. We all sampled the five wines available and then ordered a chilled bottle of one of their whites called Pearl to share. Tom ordered oysters which only he and I ate since Denise is allergic to shellfish. Attitudes were adjusted quickly and it didn't seem nearly so oppressively hot as before. Laughter abounded. Seemed as if that wine was quite special and so several more bottles were purchased to take with us for later!

Back at the boat, we were just about ready to sit down to dinner on Kentris when a thunderstorm rumbled in. Lots of rain but not much wind so all was well (and cooler too).

We have become Farkle addicts and now have our very own set after receiving “the prize” given to the first round winner last night. Thanks to our buddy boat for thinking of such things.

July 21, 2013

Irvington, Virginia

Kentris went back in the water ("went over" in local terms, or "splashed") uneventfully on Friday morning bright and early. What a relief it was to be out of the boat yard. After taking on fuel, we sailed to Fishing Bay, near Deltaville, VA where we met up with our friends from the Rat Club on their boat Polaris.

Polaris on the hook

The heat was still oppressive but at least there was a good breeze to keep things manageable. That breeze became an annoying chop though later that night when we were trying to sleep and the boat was bobbing up and down relentlessly. I guess good things always come at a price, right?

Saturday morning we left that anchorage with only a reefed main sail. The wind was 15-20 with gusts a little higher, but we were thinking it would be higher in the Bay itself. That didn't develop and we had a fairly comfortable sail north to the Rappahanock River. There we encountered a heavy current against us and wind 18-22k almost directly on the nose. After making very little headway for several hours, we finally got out of the current, shook out the reef and pulled out the genoa to race a monohull for the last several miles, making over 7 knots. Nothing like a little competition to liven things up.

Near Irvington, VA

We are now anchored in Carter Creek at the town of Irvington, VA. It's cloudy (!) and we are hoping for it to stay that way so it won't be so hot. We are planning a trip into town this afternoon to locate internet (and air conditioning so I won't drown the computer while typing) and take a trolley ride to some surrounding towns. We didn't bring our wifi antenna with us this trip so we are limited in getting on line. Haven't been able to connect to any unsecured sites from the boat like we have in the past.

Quote of the day from the local coffee shop:

"You can't have everything.  

Where would you put it all?"

Here's a picture of our boat in the slings just coming out of the water yesterday.

We're ready now to start painting.

July 16, 2013

Yesterday the Kentris was squeezed into a travel lift that was barely large enough to hold her, lifted out of the water by two very large (and hopefully strong) straps, power washed while in the slings, and then moved to her position in the boat yard and left to stand on her keels in the hot sun. She is not very happy here, out of her element. But it is a necessary evil in order to restore her undersides close to their former pristine beauty.

Tom started early this morning sanding all the rough spots and removing the barnacle “glue” remaining after the power washing had removed the barnacles and slime. It has taken multiple hours with him dressed in protective clothing and respirator. I think he has taken four showers so far today. Oh, did I forget to mention that it is 95 degrees out there? And very high humidity as well. Yes, it is pretty darn uncomfortable and we can't run the AC because that system uses the water that we are not in right now.

The little marina that we are using has none of the luxuries you might find in larger, better known facilities, such as an air conditioned lounge, internet, pool, restaurant, etc. It's a waterman's marina with few pleasure craft, mostly crabbers and fishermen. But it has a large enough lift for us (which can be hard to find) and the price is right. This whole process is not cheap so if we can safely save a few bucks, we will. And we are located in the great sailing area of the southern Chesapeake Bay, so when we get back in the water, we'll spend some time sailing with friends who are currently off somewhere on their boat, having a good time while waiting for us to get this job done.  It looks as if it will be Friday before we they can "splash" us.  Have to wait on new parts.

Some other friends have loaned us a car to use while we are here. They are due to bring it this evening, so tonight we are going to find an air conditioned restaurant and sit there for hours and hours! It is way too hot to cook much on the boat. One of the men who works here has brought us multiple tomatoes, 2 eggplants, some peppers, and some basil from his garden. How wonderful is that? In the morning, before it gets too hot, I plan to make a vegetable concoction of some sort that we can just warm up for dinner tomorrow.

No pictures today.  Sitting outside a Starbucks to use their internet and didn't bring the camera with me.

Hey folks,

So here I am back on the blog site.  It has been a long while since we did anything interesting enough on the boat to think about writing it down for others to read.  Remodeling a house, moving x2, life just gets in the way.  Anyway, for what it's worth, here's the story so far.
               

The trip up the ICW has been fairly uneventful. We dodged thunderstorms every afternoon, and luckily had  only had a few sprinkles of rain from them until we hit Norfolk (more about that later). We got our refrigerator running again after fiddling with the wiring, but cannot get the solar controller working so have to charge batteries with the engines. Since we have mostly been motor sailing, that has not been a problem.

We anchored the first night just south of the Alligator River bridge where we thought to find some calmer water. It was a bit rolly, however, so we were glad to get up and out of there in the morning. We'll chose a different location next time if there's a SW wind.

ICW canal

The Albemarle Sound was a bit rowdy. No surprise there. But we were able to turn off the engines after that crossing and sail up the North River. Nice wind and calm water. Anchored in Blackwater Creek, a quiet little stream surrounded by marsh grass. Calm night except for the skeeters.

The next day we stopped for fuel at Coinjock and started through the many bridges and one lock between there and Hampton Roads.  We were actually able to coordinate the bridge openings well and only had to wait a while for a railroad bridge to open back up after a train passed. 

Great Bridge Lock

There were heavy clouds all day but no rain.  But as we were navigating the area around Portsmouth/Norfolk, we were hit with 2 blinding deluges.  If you have never been on that particular stretch of water, you need to know that there are very large barges and naval ships that regularly pass through there.  There is also strict security surrounding the military ships docked on both sides of the river, so you can't get too close and blow them up, I suppose.  Anyway, it can be difficult to find a place to tuck into to wait out the weather.  And you can't anchor very easily either in 50 feet or more of water.  So we pointed into the wind a little out of the main channel, turned on our navigation lights so we could maybe be seen, and hoped for the best.  It seemed like forever but the rain did eventually abate and we were able to move on to anchor in Willoughby Bay just before entering the Chesapeake.

Willoughby Bay is a large, relatively protected bay surrounded by Norfolk Naval Base and the highway that enters the tunnel to Hampton, VA. It would have been a great anchorage except that helicopters flew over and around the boat all evening and even after dark for a while. Some might say a small price to pay to be settled and no longer dealing with the weather.

Friday morning we woke up to drizzle and gloomy skies.  We couldn't decide if we wanted to head up the Chesapeake as planned or wait until the weather improved.  Finally, after checking the weather reports and radar several times, we felt like the worst storms were over.  So we sailed the 30 or so miles up to Severn River, once again dodging showers on a few occasions.  We are currently anchored off Severn River Marina with our friends Dennis and Denise "next door".  We had another (and hopefully the last for a while) deluge last night just after returning from a potluck dinner on shore.  Had about 5 inches of rain to bail out of the dinghy this morning but it needed a good cleaning anyway.  Today we're doing nothing much but relaxing.  Planning to get the boat hauled Monday afternoon and then do some sailing around the Chesapeake.

                  

No Name Harbor

Our final stop before heading outside and up the coast to Ft Lauderdale was the southern tip of Key Biscayne in a little harbor without a name.  Well, technically the name is No Name Harbor.  The harbor is well protected from just about any wind direction and has water 10-12 feet deep right up to the shore.  The deep water makes for a bit of an anchoring challenge when you consider the number of boats that often anchor here.

We normally try to use a formula to determine how much anchor chain to put out.  This takes into account the depth of the water, the wind conditions, the type of material on the seabed (sand, mud, etc.), and the fact that we have chain instead of rope on the first 100 feet of our anchoring tackle.  In 12 feet of water, we would usually put out around 60 feet of chain, more if the wind was blowing and if we had room.  Some would say that is generous.  My feeling is that I like a good night's sleep and don't want to worry about a dragging anchor.  However, with boats all around us, that much chain would have put us on top of the boat behind us.  And, if the other boats have less chain/rope out and the wind direction changed, we might swing sideways into one of them.  Many of the boats in this harbor had fenders out on the sides of their boats, apparently anticipating that this might happen.  Since the wind was not so much a factor with protection from the trees on shore, and it was forecast to stay east for the next several days (and not change direction), we felt fairly comfortable with considerably less than 60 feet.

One of the bike trails

View of the beach as we were leaving.  Key Biscayne on the right. Miami in the background

After setting the anchor, we took our bikes to shore and rode into town for a few supplies.  The harbor is surrounded by Bill Baggs State Park where there are miles of really nice biking trails along lush natural areas.  There is a nice beach on the Atlantic side with a functioning lighthouse.  There are fishing piers and camping sites, all within a mile or so of the town of Key Biscayne.  We stayed one night here two years ago as we waited to make the crossing to Bimini.  It's a convenient harbor for those looking for a weather window to cross.

Boats came and went throughout the evening.  It is a short ride to Miami.  As far as I could tell, there were no anchors that dragged during the night.

Boca Chita Key

 Monday on our way back to Ft Lauderdale, we stopped at Boca Chita (not to be confused with Boca Chica near Key West.)  This island is located between Sands Key and the Ragged Keys on Biscayne Bay's eastern shores.  We had thought about stopping there earlier in our trip but never got to it.  Wish we had!

Docking basin

Wall built with coral "stones"

This key was purchased and developed in the 30's as a private residence of Mark Honeywell of Honeywell Computers.  It was later sold to the U.S. government in 1985 and made into a park.  There is a well protected basin with wooden docks all along the walls where boats are permitted to stay overnight for a $20 fee.  Bathrooms are the only amenity besides the dock spaces and you must pack out all your trash. But in spite of that, on the Monday afternoon we were there, the place seemed quite popular.  We were told it is packed on the weekends with people coming over from Miami.

One of the buildings still standing on the key

The island is really pleasant with the ocean to the east, deep channels on the northern and southern ends, coconut palms, walking trails throughout, and nice stone work that was part of the original compound.  And there is a beautiful lighthouse that was unfortunately never permitted to be lighted.

Lighthouse at the entrance to the basin

Hermit crab

We had a fun time walking around the island, picking up shells along the beach, some of which contained little hermit crabs inside.  (Callie thought they were very interesting.)  We could have stayed another day or so if we'd had time.  It was just that kind of a place.

Callie the boat cat

We've had our cat on board Kentris since we began this trip.  Initially doubtful about her ability to adjust, we have found she is much happier on board with us than staying at home with someone coming over to feed and occasionally pet her, even if this is on a daily basis.  She has always seemed very stressed out when we have returned from a trip of any length of time.

She has gotten more and more brave as time passes.  She would not come out of the salon when we first started out.  Now she regularly ventures out on deck, even if the boat is moving (as long as it is not too bouncy).  She especially likes cruising the deck at night after everything quiets down.  I like to think she watches for pirates while we sleep!

At the check-up she had at the vet's office before we left, she was told she was getting a little chubby and needed to watch her weight.  So she has been on a diet (when I can keep Tom from sneaking her little treats when I'm not looking).  This has probably been the hardest thing she has had to deal with.  She really is food oriented.

So this blog entry is dedicated to Callie, our great little boat kittie.  She has been much fun to have on board.  If you are considering whether your cat could be a reasonable pet to have on a boat, go ahead and try it.  A kitten might adjust more easily, but Callie is 13 or so and she has done really well.

Sailing is so exhausting

Pirate watch again?

Can't a girl take a bath around here with a little privacy?

Will this rolling ever stop? (This is not a trick photo.
She really does brace herself like this sometime when the seas are rough.)

If I lay here long enough they are bound to put some food in that bowl. This diet is killing me!

You have to catch a nap wherever you can around here.

Exploring Marathon

Boot Key Harbor City Marina is a really well-organized facility. There are an incredible number of boats in the harbor and yet things run quite smoothly here. For the price of your mooring ball, you have the use of two large dinghy docks, with separate sides for soft and hard dinghies, a large number of private shower rooms (although they could use some maintenance), TVs, internet, cruisers library, laundry, outside tiki bar area, and once a week pumpout from your mooring. They have a pumpout boat and you are scheduled for a particular day when you sign up for a week of mooring. There is also a cruisers' net on the VHF at 9:00 every morning where, if you are so inclined, you can get all the latest on what's happening in the harbor. The weather has been rowdy most of the week we have been here so there has not been much socializing going on. We're thinking that will change this weekend when it's supposed to be calmer and there is a seafood festival happening right next to the marina.

There are lots of things to see and do around here. We visited Sombrero Beach recently.   It's a nice sandy stretch of beach with one end bordering on Sister Creek.  There are some palms for shade, bathrooms, picnic tables, etc.  We were able to ride our bikes over there and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon.  If we had some chairs, a picnic lunch, and maybe a little less wind, it would have been just about perfect.

Atlantic side of the park

Overlooking the park

A look down the old bridge

Tom's son Aaron and his wife Lauren are visiting us for a few days.  Since they have a car, we drove over to Bahia Honda State Park for an adventure.  The wind was howling so we had to find something else interesting to do besides sailing.  This park has a tiny harbor where smaller sailboats can dock.  There are campsites and cabins to rent, a concession stand, and some trails, one of which leads up to the old bridge that was part of Henry Flagler's railroad.

The tiki bar at Salty's

After exploring the park's trails for a couple hours, we thought a little lunch and a cold beer were in order, so we stopped at a place on the way home called Salty's.  Slow service, but the food was good and the ambiance was "keysie."

Marathon Revisited

Friday we decided it was time to leave Key West and head north (or more accurately, east at this point in the Keys).  The anchorage where we had been for almost a week was quite rolly from passing wakes and wide open to winds from the north.  It was already uncomfortable from time to time and 30k north wind was predicted for this weekend.  I didn't want to stick around to see what that would feel like. 

You can't always trust the wind forecasts, although we have found  http://windfinder.com to be the most accurate of the sites we routinely check.  On Friday they were calling for light to moderate wind from the southeast which would make for a reasonable sail for us up the Keys.  As we turned around the west end of Key West we were met with rough seas and 20-25k winds on our nose.  Kentris was bucking the waves and taking water over the bows.  Callie and I were not very happy campers.  As Tom raced around closing the hatches we had left open thinking things would be fairly tame, I tried to keep the boat on course.  Finally around the island and heading east, things calmed down just a bit and we got the sails up with a reef in the main.  At least the wind was in the forecasted direction so we were able to sail.

Eventually the wind moderated and the sea became less rowdy but we managed to average 7 knots even with the reefed main, and never had to turn the engines on until we were ready to come in the channel to Boot Key Harbor.  An unusual sailing day for us.  We did, however, hook another of the thousands of crabpots we had to negotiate along the way. Tom had cut the pot loose when we first caught it but there was still line wrapped around the prop, so we stopped briefly when we got to the channel so that Tom could cut that line off and we could use that engine.  Now we are happily hanging on a mooring ball and ready to do some exploring around Marathon.

Fort Taylor State Park

The fort and moat

We decided to ride our bikes over to Fort Zachary Taylor today which is located on the southwestern end of Key West.  For a small fee you can enjoy a very nice park with a fort to explore, bike paths, beach access and even a concession stand with decent food and beer.  It was a rather warm day in town but out there a nice breeze was blowing off the water to cool things down considerably.

The fort was constructed during the mid-1850s.  At the onset of the Civil War it was held by Union forces.  It was also used extensively during the Spanish-American war in 1898. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in the 1970s due to the large collection of Civil War canons, etc. which were found buried there. Originally surrounded on all sides by water, with only a bridge to the mainland, the land has been filled in so that there is only a moat around the buildings now.

Beach and pines

 It is apparently also popular as a beach destination.  There were quite a few more people than we expected to see on a Thursday morning when no cruise ships were in town.  People had brought picnics and beach chairs and were enjoying the sun and waves. Tom and I set ourselves up in the shade of the trees that surround the beach.  The sound of the wind whistling through the pines above us was very relaxing.

After reading for a while and getting a bite to eat, we rode around the bike trail to view the fort from the opposite side.  We had explored the building on a previous trip, so this time we didn't go inside.  We have been finding our fold-up bikes very useful in getting around town.  We only had one until we got to Marathon, but bought another on sale at West Marine while we were there and have put it to good use.

View from the beach

Driftwood?

Our rides

Scenes from Key West

I don't know how it happened but somehow the format of the blog got changed and I couldn't get it back the way it was.  It's probably easier to read this way anyhow so now we have a whole new look.

Here are some pictures that capture a little of Key West.

Rooster #1

Great little bar and restaurant

Still life

The marvelous Catman

Catman and Hanibal

Key West Bight

Sunset on Mallory Square

Rooster #2