Home are the sailors

I am sorry, but I miscalculted fuel use and am reposting this for the sake of correctness. We used 4.0 gal/hour and made 2.0 MPG, which is very close to our 2006 trip figures.

Over the last three days we have indeed made some tracks! First was a 70-mile day getting to Cedar Key from anchorage near Tarpon Springs. Next was the trek across the Big Bend to anchorage near St George Island, another 130 miles, arriving at 10:30 PM. Finally, today we got home from St George Island, a 104-mile run. At an average 9 miles per hour that's about 34 hours of underway time in those three days. We are a bit tired.

Overall we ran the boat 1499 miles in 50 days, about 30 miles per day on average, consumed 749 gallons of diesel fuel and racked up 185 hours on the engines. that is 4 gallons per hour and 2.0 miles per gallon. Due to the distance goals we set for each leg of our trip, we tended to run the boat at higher engine RPM than we did on our 2006 trip up the Tennessee River where we got about 2.2 MPG, and we ran into a lot rougher waters than on that trip where it was flat all the time.

Today, we ran across two trawlers that had made the run across the Big Bend the day before we did and chatted with them on the radio. I think one of them will be coming to spend a day or two at our pier.

The boat ran well with only a valve cover gasket requiring replacement on the port engine. There were no issues with the generator this trip. It was not run much because the mild weather made for comfortable sleeping without air conditioning. The air horns had a relay go bad; it was replaced. And, of course, the biggest single expense of the trip was replacement of the radar. That cost more than twice the fuel bill.

As noted above, the weather was mostly just right. We got rained on only one time, and that was at night. The only problems we had with weather was when we were sort of stuck due to winds being too high for a comfortable open water transit.

Our greatest reward was the wonderful people we met - you do meet the nicest folks when boating.

Like the bear that went over the mountain, we saw what we could see. We probably won't go over that specific mountain again, but there was talk of a trip down to and across Lake Okeechobee and then up to the St Johns River for a look see down that body of water, but first we need to get Mary to the Grand Canyon.

Hope you enjoyed the blog of out excellent adventure. This closes out this blog.

Ugly, Bad and Good

The ugly part was trusting both the cruising guide and the channel markers at Cedar Key. We got underway at o640 this AM intending to make a daylight run of 113 miles to St George Island in the panhandle. We came in the Main Ship Channel from the south yesterday and were intending to depart via the Northwest Channel due to its some 16 mile shorter run to the panahandle. Even at low water, we should have had enough water in the NW channel, but we didn't and had to spend 2.5 hours waiting for the tide to float us of the mud - right in the center of the channel.

The bad part was the fact that with the delay we were required to run the Dog Island Channel in pitch black.

the good part was that we enjoyed the smoothest sea we have seen in an open water transit thus far.

Tonight we sleep in our own bed ashore.

The Scarlotte O'Haras

Much like the famous damsel in distress in "Gone With the Wind," we find ourselves dependent upon the "kindness of others" as we awaken in the friendly embrace of Jeff and Suzanne Wright's pilings and friendship. And of course, their dogs, Clancy and Clare (infringer's rule 1: you might forget your hosts' names, but NEVER their pets).



We had intended a longer stay with our friends, but forces of nature urge us onward on two different fronts. First is the fair forecast for Thursday and Friday upon the big waters of the Big Bend. Second is the Mary magnet of all her family, especially the grand kids who NEED all the treasures she has freighted us down with. We have probably dropped a half knot in speed due to the souvenir weight.



So this morning we bid adieu to our good friends and pushed along through the ICW a mere 36 miles to Anclote Key anchorage. If all goes as planned, we have seen our last pier and set our feet on the ground for the last time until we arrival home.



Our plan is to avoid the long over night passage crossing of the Big Bend by staging through Cedar Key 70 miles north of Anclote Key where we are currently anchored. We will anchor again at Cedar Key on Thursday night and then run 113 miles (near the limit of what we can run in daylight) WNW to Dog Island. At that point we will be within the protected waters of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and 95 miles from home through familiar waters we don't even need charts for any more.



Cedar Key is a less than desireable location due to its rather unprotected anchorage, but if the predicted light easterly winds prevail, we should have a decent night. At any rate, it is a place we can hang out during darkness in order to get daylight running hours in the Gulf.

As we depart Lower Florida, we would again like to thank the good folks who have hosted us and become our friends. The old adage that you meet the nicest people afloat (or associated with boats) was never truer.

Misbehavin'

Yes, we were BAD. We went into the renowned Crow's Nest Restaurant and gobbled up everything we could order. Seafood bisque of the first stripe, swordfish with Bearnaise, and Mary had her first-ever order of stone crabs, which I had to assist in cracking. Then we retired to the boat, bloated, to sleep it off. Mary was even too full to attempt the house creme broule.

But before that, we rode a couple of the marina loaner bikes around town there in Venice. What a pretty town! It was full of broad boulevards with overhanging trees. The downtown shopping district looked well kept and was of a style gone a generation or three ago. We rode back to the marina in a spitting rain.

I am considering penning a cookbook entitled "The Ford-Lehman Cookbook" subtitled "Use That Hunk of Hot Iron for Something Besides Propulsion." Every time Mary wants to heat something up in the nuker, I tell her I'd be happy to open the engine room hatch and place the item wrapped up in foil on either of the Ford-Lehman main engines laboring away under her feet. She hasn't taken me up on it yet, but today she placed an item on the teak deck in the sun to take some refrigerator chill off it; so maybe she's coming around to my way of thinking.

This cooking idea is not so half-baked either. Temperature control accomplished by placing the items to be cooked on different parts of the engine. Having done a temperature study of the engines at cruising speed with my infra-red thermometer gun, I have a very good idea about where to place things. Why I could even get out my big black magic marker and ink the various expected temperatures on the engine for easy reference. My ear plugs are handy for when the world's resounding approval is received.

Enough of this reverie, as we are getting close to the Wright'shome here in Treasure Island, and I must attend more closely to my navigation.

South then north and running for cover

Fortunately, the "bread crumbs" were faithfully recorded in Coastal Explorer yesterday, and we were away from the pier at 0750 this morning, waving goodbye to Roxanne, Serrin and Gail. Thanks again, folks - you are all keepers! We are the richer for this experience.


After an hour of twisting and turning, we finally emerged unscathed into Charlotte Harbor where we went southward for and hour or so before we could turn westward for another hour or so after which we again returned to our northward trek.


We have a 40% chance of thunderstorms later today (we are, after all, nearing the thunderstorm capital of the world), and we will thus remain inside the ICW rather than run the faster outside route. We will probably stop at the Crow's Nest Marina and Restaurant in Venice for the night, where the food is legendary.

Tomorrow promises better weather, and we will see if we can get as far as Treasure Island where I need to start some weather studies about crossing to Apalachicola. At present, it appears that a weather window will be available to cross in in 72 hours.

Doing the circuit in Punta Gorda

This is the way to cruise - get up, walk up to the inn for breakfast, get underway for a leisurely 23-mile cruise, pick up a local pilot, and be treated like long-lost family by very kind people (the pilot's family).

But first, we have a raid to report. While preparing the boat to get underway, a noise was heard on a nearby open boat which was assumed to be the owner getting ready for a fishing trip. Lids of various compartments and containers could be heard opening and slamming shut. Upon finally glancing up to see what was going on, the pictured escape artist otters (four) were seen slipping out of the boat the way they had probably come aboard.

As we appraoched the inlet to the EXTENSIVE canal system of which Chris and Gail Wilkinson's backyard is a part, we were directed by Chris to a pier adjacent to the boat ramp just inside the entrance where he boarded us for the 50-minute ride toward their home around the perimeter of their massive development. As we were on the flying bridge away from the computer below, I prayed that the plotting software was faithfully laying down a "bread crumb" track in our wake so we would be able to find our way out tomorrow when Chris would not be available to pilot us out.

We were kindly given permission to settle into the vacant pier behind the home of their neighbors Seth and Roxanne who were very gracious to us vagabonds of the sea. This pier was a bit more suitable for us than Chris's pier.

We met Gail and daughter Serrin and her charming 17-month old son Eric upon landing and then spent the rest of the day and into the evening in the pleasant company of this group of ex-Seattle-ites. We were treated to lunch out at a large and busy waterfront establishment and a fine steak and chicken diiner with homemade brownies and ice cream later on.

Mary learned from the ladies how to make organic homemade yogurt, and we were also treated to homemade pumpkin bread.

Things just keep getting better, and I don't wanna go home! Thanks Chris, Gail, Serrin and Eric for such a great day and for extending your friendship to strangers.

Tomorrow, I will lower the mast before we depart to get us ready to run under any of the numerous bridges north of here that are under 16.5 feet without having to wait for them to open.

Cadging grub at Cabbage Key

We got underway at around 1100 today after breakfast on the beach at Fort Myers Beach and moored at Cabbage Key Marina at 1430 - not such a long day. With the dozens of FAST boats flying out of the Fort Myers area and headed the same way we were, we felt like a person walking along the lane dividing striped line on a busy freeway! Where the channel is narrow, the boats (some quiet large) just squeezed that much closer to us. I swear, some of these boats would rival a World War II PT boat of size and power. Muscle boats are very popular here - where's the recession?

Cabbage Key is one of those kind of places every jurisdiction should have at least one of - old Florida style and reachable only by boat. This jurisdiction with the buzillions of boats it has needs two or three of these. We are the biggest boat here and half of us sticks out well into the basin.

After getting settled in, we took a walk around the mile or so long nature trail, climbed the 1930s era water tower, and generally hung around until our dinner reservation at 1830. There are a few rental cabins and a large old-fashioned restaurant.

Tomorrow, we will get underway after breakfast and head inland to Punta Gorda to visit with Chris and Gail Wilkinson who we know via the Trawler and Trawlering email list will meet for the first time in person. They have a berth for the Calypso at their place and have offered us their hospitality. We are looking forward to this visit but will unfortunately have limited time with them - this time.

Schmoozin' while cruisin'

We spent the night anchored in the rich folks' backyards again last night in Port Royal, just inside Gordon Pass. As you can see from the picture, Mary enjoyed being invited to tea in the home of one of the little old rich ladies while I was stuck checking engines and handling fuel management.

This morning I watched as the nearest 70-80 foot sport fisherman's boat boy came to work at 0800 to administer the daily bath. I wonder if some smart guy has started a boat service like the pool guys have?

The weather was perfect with no A/C needed. As predicted, the winds have veered (that's changing clockwise for you lubbers) to the east with a vengeance. This was the wind I scooted up here from Key West yesterday to avoid while in open water - it would have obviated any such open-water activity. So we are hugging the shoreline today (as planned) for the relative calm water while we wander up to Fort Myers Beach on a 3.5-hour run. I love it when a plan comes together. MAN! is this wind ever whistling! We are showing a degree or two of port list due to the force of the wind on our starboard beam, but we are riding well without just a bit of "jiggle" from the wavelets hitting that side. Thank goodness for the lee we are enjoying. The crab pots are easier to see and avoid in this calmer water too.

I noticed a fellow trawler northbound a bit farther out at see and called them to find out how they were riding out there. A delightful conversation ensued as we discovered Al and Rosie Scwartz in Nautilus also bound for Fort Myers Beach. We agreed to meet later for dinner. Since they were going to a mooring ball, they came over about 1800 by dinghy, and after sitting around enjoying each other's company for awhile, we all trooped over to the Matanzas Inn for dinner. It just doesn't get any better than meeting fine folks like Al and Rosie while out cruising. THey own and operate a resort and marina in Michigan (www.riverviewresortand marina.com) in Michigan in the summer and cruise their boat (stored on the hard in Charlotte Harbor) in the winter.

Since we were down to 50% fuel, and Ballard oil (cheapest on the coast) is in Fort Myers Beach, we took on several hundred gallons before we headed over to Moss Marine for a marina stay of a day of so while we re-provision foodstuffs.

I spent last evening and part of this morning filling the forward fuel tanks from the aft tanks by running the diesel through the polisher (while Mary was at her apocryphal tea party). that way all the new fuel from Mr. Ballard will go aft, and I can continue my practice of using polished fuel from the forward tanks on each day's run. The VERY LAST thing I want while running through any unpleasantness or in a channel is to have engine stoppage due to fouled filters. I changed the starboard engine Racor fuel filter (foot-tall filter with big clear bowl on bottom) in Key West before yesterday's run because it had begun to show 2 or 3 inches of mercury on the vacuum gauge. That's really pretty early considering the engine will run with 10-15 inches of vacuum, but I am overly cautious in this area.

Mary is MUCH improved from her tummy bug and "sat up and took nourishment" this morning. She's looking forward to a "run ashore" from the Marina in Fort Myers Beach. Her attitude took a dramatic turn for the better yesterday at 1600 as we regained cell phone contact with the rest of the world off shore from Marco Island.

Splish, splash, we made a dash

Suddenly, the weather predictions for today showed a settled sea of 1-2 feet and winds in the single digit range out of the north - not so bad. So I gave our slip rent to John Caffrey to turn in this morning when the office opens, and we got underway at 0640 for the first leg of our homeward voyage.



Needless to say, the predictions were for a bit less sea than we have been seeing all day, but they are not as bad as they are going to get in the next day. Once on the mainland coast, we have a lot more alternatives, and after we get to Fort Myers Beach tomorrow, it will be a couple of short miles to get into the protection of the Intracoastal Waterway.



For now, we have Marco Island in sight to starboard and will bypass it in favor of a previously used anchorage at Port Royal just inside Gordon Pass.



Mary has had a tummy bug and has spent the day abed, leaving me to fend for myself here at the conn for the 13-hour transit. So, I have come up with a new definition of rough seas. It's too rough if I cannot safely open the refrigerator and successfully make a sandwich without accidentally spreading mayo on my hand instead of the bread. It wasn't too rough today! :)

This is a view of the Logger Head Key lighthouse (2.7 miles west of Fort Jefferson) at sunset our first day at the Dry Torgugas. Red sky at night, sailors' delight, goes the saying, but we have heard it wasn't that way last night out there.

We got moored at around 2100 after running the channel at full speed with both chartplotters online and radar overlayed on one of them and Mary holding the searchlight on the channel markers (she hates this part cuz the light is heavy). As the last line was put on the cleat, a ferocious thunderstorm broke over us as the fast-moving front blew through the area.

Our friends John and Helen Caffrey of Zephyrina greeted us and help us moor but had to run form home as the rains started. They report having a rental car and wishing to help us run some errands before we both maybe depart Sunday.

Yesterday's experience has been confirmed as a validating experience for us. John and Julie aboard the Island Chariot (who I helped put out a second anchor the other day) sailed into the marina an hour ago with a harrowing tale of the events of last night in the Fort Jefferson anchorage. The winds howled, and boats dragged anchors (one went aground). Chaos generally prevailed, and no sleep was gotten. John said that I must have known something he didn't when we abruptly left. He said they left this morning at 0800, and it was very rugged for a good portion of their trip today.

Julie said some boats left but returned.

I have been studying the weather predictions again this morning and find that until this weekend, we would be fighting northerly winds while making a run across the western end of Florida Bay from Key West to the Naples area. Predictions on one day of the next several are for up to 21 knots of northerly winds - NOT our kind of weather. While not the best of weather, Sunday looks doable, at least for the moment.

Yo yoing to/from Dry Tortugas

Saturday 11 April 2009
As Key West and our connectivity fade over the horizon astern of us, I am turning to Word as a repository for the Chronicles of Calypso. I’ll copy all this into the blog when we get back to “civilization.”

We have just exited Northwest Channel, which leads, you guessed it, NW out of KW. We experienced little winds and a foot or so of wave and swell as we ran down the south coast of Key West. If it had been a flat calm, we would have gone the shorter route to the Dry Tortugas south of the shoals separating the Atlantic from Florida Bay.

For now, we are in very calm waters headed west. By 1100 we are alone on an aqua-marine sea about 30 feet deep. We can see none of the very flat parts of the Marquesas Keys 7 miles SW. We dodge the occasional lobster or crab pot buoy as the only sign of civilization. Weather is mostly cloudy and hazy with a light breeze from the south. Temperature in the cabin is 75, and we have the windows and doors open for perfect comfort.

We just crossed an area designated as a danger zone. Surface navigation is unrestricted, but no anchoring or other bottom activity is allowed due to bottom mines! Hmmmmm.

1520 and we have both had a nap; me on the settee; Mary leaning over on me on the pilot bench. Saw a fast catamaran loaded up with tourists heading for Key West via the southern route. We are in the strait between the end of the shoals and the Dry Tortugas with light winds and 1- to 2-foot seas off the port bow – no spray on deck this trip. Should begin to see some of top of Fort Jefferson in the next hour or so.

1635 – fort ho! A long low blocky shape has appeared through the haze at 3 miles. Pretty crummy visibility, if you ask me. Anyway, the electronics didn’t lie; there is something out here.

There is a sailboat about 2 miles ahead us us apparently headed into the park. We should catch up before too long.

We moored alongside the Fort Jefferson visitor pier (2-hour maximum) at 1715 and immediately went to the credit card satellite telephone there and tried to make a call to brother Jim to cancel our float plan. After over a half hour of conversation with the sat phone technical support people, it became obvious that the credit method was not going to work, and they finally agreed to connect us on an emergency basis. Anyway, we were able to let people know where we are.

By 1835, we were anchored with our old-fashioned fisherman anchor and wandering about amongst the half dozen or so vessels already inhabiting the limited area. From our vantage point, we were able to see a spectacular sunset behind the Loggerhead Key lighthouse.

The fort is closed at sunset, but the lights on the pier were on for a couple of hours afterward while some park employees and contract New England brick masons gathered to fish and chat. Later, the looming bulk of the fort was blacked out but for a lone light seen through one of the second story embrasures.

Sunday, April 12, 2009
We went to sleep with a light wind out of the east and some rolling, but during the night I woke up to find the water surface glassy calm. Today has seen a pretty steady east wind and moderate rolling. Our Magma flopper stopper could probably use a twin on the other side, but as it is, I am sure it is helping reduce the rolling.

We got the dinghy launched and went to the dinghy beach before the tourist catamaran ferries from Key West arrived at 1030. We “spectated” while they moored to the pier and disembarked their crowd and then joined the guided tour of the fort given by the tour guide brought along by the ferry line. After the tour, we returned to the boat for lunch and then went back ashore shortly before the ferries left.

We found out that Fort Jefferson is the biggest masonry structure in the world after the Great Wall of China. Abandoned in the late 1800s as obsolete. It suffered hurricane damage and neglect as well as damage from it own iron embrasure covers, which swelled under the brick as they corroded causing the brick exterior to be spalled off into the moat. That damage is now being addressed in part.

We accosted the much-vaunted National Park Service historian (a double masters degree in fortification design and architecture) and talked him into a tour for the boaters beginning tomorrow at 0900. He says that will give us time for a good session before the ferry boats arrive – it being a bit awkward for him to be giving tours at the same time the ferry boat guides are taking their charges around.

In the afternoon hours, we walked around the entire moat wall and then into the fort to look at areas we’d missed earlier. Then we informed the other boats in the anchorage of the special tour tomorrow as we made our way back home.

As we are expecting a bit more wind tomorrow and into Tuesday, I felt it wise to add out 40-pound CQR anchor and 120 feet of chain to the old fisherman anchor we put down yesterday, which has 20 feet of chain and 120 feet of 5/8-inch twisted anchor rode out. They are about 60 degrees apart off the bow to the east and southeast. I will sleep better now.

Surprisingly, I am getting clear broadcasts from the marine VHF weather channels. Mary even has a good FM music station on the entertainment radio system. Unfortunately, the weather forecasts are not as mild as what I was getting from the computer websites before we left Key West. The best time to leave here this week still looks to be Tuesday night, but we will have 10-15 knots of wind astern with probably 2-4 foot seas – NOT the seas state I would like, but better than being from off a beam or the bow.

We heard the good news that the captain of a high jacked US freighter off Somalia was rescued after Navy SEALs shot and killed three of the pirates. Through a complex series of events, the captain had ended up as a hostage of the pirates in one of his ship’s lifeboats while his ship steamed off to its destination after USS Bainbridge showed up on the scene. It was from the Bainbridge that the SEAL snipers snuffed out the pirates. Thank goodness AMERICA responded in an appropriate manner. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot more dead and captured pirates in the future. I was yelling in approval and sounding the ship’s whistle. Hoo-rah!

As dusk settled in well, I was out on deck and happened to look down into the water to see a LARGER brown shape approaching the boat. I was initially in mind of calling it a nurse shark due to the general shape, but after it settled into a position just under the swim platform, it became evident we had been adopted by a 6-foot long grouper. It hung out with us for an hour or so before we noticed it gone.

Monday 13 April 2009
Winds were brisk in the 15 MPH range this morning making launching the dinghy a bit interesting, but we had an appointment with Chris Zeigler, the fort historian for a special tour for the boaters. We both ended up a bit wet as we made our landing on the course sand dinghy beach where the surf wanted to fill up the dinghy from astern – we had to hurry to drag the dink up on the sand.

Mary and I had listed a bunch of questions we wanted him to answer, and I posed them to him at appropriate times in his tour. It was a real treat to get the expert to our small group of boaters. It was especially interesting to hear him talk about how his small apartment in one of the lower level gun casemates leaks during the infrequent rains much as described in the letters home from soldiers 150 years ago. He says the cement securing the brickwork also tends to drop small bits of grit into his cereal bowl; so he keeps his food and electronics covered all the time. Rangers do a 10-day “on” hitch followed by a 4-day off stretch in Key West.

Mary got into the small souvenir shop before we went back to the boat to ride out whatever the weather decided to throw at us. As we were finishing up placing the dinghy in its cradle, I heard a startled expression from Mary who had gone around to the starboard side. I was surprised to see a full-sized brown pelican standing on deck staring us down. It didn’t seem too concerned, but after the visit was appropriately documented via photographic evidence, the thing was coaxed onto the cap rail for a clumsy, but effective take-off (after depositing a small gift, which was promptly washed over board).

Our afternoon entertainment has evolved to time spent with binoculars in hand watching the new arrivals seek safe holding ground in the limited anchorage area. We now have 20 boats here, and at least one of them in uncomfortably close to Calypso. Our two anchors out off the bow will make for an interesting recovery tomorrow as we must veer closer to boats on either side of us to get over the top of the anchors to break them out of the bottom. Oh, well, that’s for tomorrow. For now the winds are down to about 12 MPH, and we can see some moderation of the rolling we have been putting up with – I hope that continues.

So here I am in the middle of nowhere cooking a couple of hamburgers as the sun sets when this guys approaches us from astern in his dinghy clearly intent on direct communication. “Hey, it’s me, Tommy Poppell,” he says. It was none other than our past commodore of the Panama City Coastal Cruisers on his way to Mexico. I told him about the couple in the sailboat off our starboard bow who had just come in from Honduras. This place is a real crossroads.

Tommy stayed for just a few minutes at the swim step, too tired to climb aboard, and relayed his tale of woe about a 24-hour trip into the wind in 12-foot seas from Fort Myers in his sailboat. Goodness, that’s like having to walk uphill both ways to school as a kid, through the snow. He said he’d had to use 12 gallons of his precious 42 gallons of diesel and was considering going to Key West to refuel. I offered him all he could take, but for now he has demurred. We’ll talk some tomorrow.

Later on, we had disappointing weather forecasts from the several NOAA weather stations (Naples, Tampa, and Key West) that I can hear. There is a strong front moving through central Florida cutting off our route to the mainland. Seas are not predicted to really settle down between the wind shifts associated with fronts, and even if they were to do so, predicting just the right hour to depart in the face of impending bad weather is akin to playing Russian roulette with you life.

Tuesday 14 April 2009
We awoke to find the winds shifted to the south, as predicted. A weather forecast from Key West, which said the winds will die off to a tolerable 10 knots later today and tomorrow, will give us a chance to leave early in the day tomorrow, after the riotous seas we can see on the far side of the reef have died down a bit. Once across the first twenty miles of relatively open waters we would be behind the protection of the shoals, where seas are predicted to be 1-2 feet all the way to Key West.

If we leave early enough in the day tomorrow, we can get phone contact with the staff at Boca Chica in order to arrange a berth before they quit for the day. Otherwise, we’ll have to settle for anchoring off Key West or paying the ruinous dockage rates there.

The more I listened to the NOAA broadcasts on the marine VHF radio, the more it became apparent that a predicted wind shift from SE to NW will be associated with the ferocious front currently south of Tampa (and apparently headed our way). I went over to Tommy Poppell’s boat to view his Sirius weather system on his laptop after dropping Mary off at the pier for some last minute shopping in the fort bookstore. His graphic depiction showed a very angry-looking weather front already at Fort Myers. Leaving for Naples on our original schedule would have been sheer folly, if not worse.

I became uncomfortable with even remaining in the Dry Tortugas overnight for a run back to Boca Chica.
In return for a call to Boca Chica to reserve a slip for tonight (and one for Island Chariot, a sailboat coming back later) on Tommy’s satellite phone, I repaired a bent stainless steel shackle using my vice and hammer and drilled a safety wire hole in the pin for him (being the good guy I am, I didn’t charge him for the broken drill bit).

Then it was hightail it to the pier and get Mary aboard and in gear for immediate departure. After hurriedly retrieving the dinghy and both anchors, we got underway at 1220 for an after-dark return to Boca Chica. With 4-6 foot seas just outside the reef, we had precious little time to prepare any lunch before it got too rough to be opening the refrigerator door and dealing with food and drink.

For about three and a half hours we were getting a pretty rough ride until we got behind the shoals where we were protected against the south winds and swell all the rest of the way to Key West.

We are passing through Key West as I write this, and we will arrive Boca Chica at 2200.

So long, Key West

We have enjoyed our stay in the Key West area seeing the sights and making new friends, but it is now past time to move along to our turn-around point of the Dry Tortugas National Park.





Weather reports indicate we will get a bit of a blow Monday afternoon and Tuesday with very nice conditions prevailing on Tuesday afternoon and into the morning on Wednesday with winds and seas tending to blow us along toward the mainland. Guess we will have to make a night passage to the mainland. What is one to do? It's the weather, mon.





For you Navy types, reveille and breakfast for the crew was 0600 today with the Special Sea and Anchor Detail set at 0745. We were underway about 0800 and found little or no wind at sea with just a foot or two of swell.





Today's trip will take us west to the Key West channel, bypass Key West to its west and continue northward into into Florida Bay. There we turn west toward the Dry Tortugas. We are taking this track because the southeasterly winds will make the more direct trip a bit rougher than going north of the protecting shoals.





The blog will be kept on a Word document and then copied to this website after we get back within cell phone range of "civilization."

Planning a move

This is a picture of the Civil War-era section of Fort Zachary Taylor's west casemate and the current-era turista. A good portion of this fort was built over with the concrete structure of pre-WW I coast defense artillery emplacements where a single modern disappearing cannon replaced dozens of these old black powder muzzle loaders. One of the more interesting things about this fort is its amazing collection of civil war cannons and munitions still on the premises (excavated in 1968). My guess is that it was too difficult to remove the stuff due to the lack of roads to Key West until the early 1900s. Anyway, the builders of the newer sections of the fort ended up using many of the old cannons as armor by simply piling them up in front of the new disappearing cannon positions and pouring concrete over them - you can see old cannons protruding from the concrete where it has failed and spalled off.

We took the Caffreys to dinner and a bit of shopping in the downtown district the other night and had a delightful time. Mary made her selections for the granddaughters' souvenir gifts - a major accomplishment.

Yesterday, while taking John Caffrey to Home Depot, I got two calls, one from FEDEX and one from West Marine informing me parts and mail were ready for pickup. I collected those on the way home and wish to report to Autrey and the world at large that our air horns are once again in full-throated operation. Yee-haw, toot, toot. The replacement lazarette fan will go in today. We went through all the mail Autrey forwarded last night and found no budget-breaking bills; so I told Mary we don't need to go home - picture that one flying like a lead pig.

For our afternoon and evening entertainment, we retraced our path on land eastward where we spent the best part of a breezy hour in the middle of the seven-mile bridge waiting for an accident to be cleared before we could get into Marathon. It was a pretty day which got cooler as it went making us wish we had a swaet shirt. That was the remnant of what blasted you folks in our home territory over the last few days.

On the way to Marathon we stopped in at the popular Bahia Honda State Park and walked on part of the old roadbed which had been built over the top of the original 1913 railroad bridge. The tidal current flowing out of Florida Bay into the Atlantic was nothing short of awsome.

Speaking of weather, we seem to have a window, and I am making plans for westward movement to the Dry Tortugas. By Friday night, predictions are for the winds to die off to a reasonable degree, and by Saturday, the seas will be much calmer than the current 6-8 feet. Even better, the predictions for winds on Wednesday are for light breezes and seas which will waft us landward as we make the long open-sea run from the Dry Tortugas to the mainland. We will be out of touch electronically, except for a satellite phone on the pier at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in the Tortugas. We will make a call to Phillip and/or Jim (they are the people listed for the Coast Guard to call if our emergency satellite beacon is turned on by us) upon arrival and another upon departure. Once in sight of Naples, we will cancel our float plan with Phillip and Jim.

I will be looking at the weather predictions twice a day until we depart to ensure they are stabilized and no untoward weather phenomena are headed our way. One nice thing John pointed out to me yesterday is that the ferocious tidal currents through the Keys will be with us as we run through the Northwest Channel right by Key West on Saturday morning as we make our way to the Florida Bay side of the Keys. There, the shoals to the west of Key West extend for about two thirds of the 70 miles between Key West and the Dry Tortugas giving us sheltered water from the southerly breezes and seas for our trip out there.

Doodling about in Key West

Well, we have done the Key West "sunset thing" down at the wharf near Mallory Square. There was a cast of thousands there including numerous street performers juggling, playing musical instruments, and doing "performance art." The people who have been here many years back recall it as a local sort of tradition without all the hoopla, but that is clearly a thing of the past. Mary was miffed that there were no conch horns blown, and I would have admired a cannon shot. The crowd here at our marina wanders down to our end of the pier for the view and somebody somewhere in the marina has blown a conch every night we have been here for sunset.

We have accomplished several more sightseeing events including the Hemingway House, the lighthouse, and watching Michael McCloud sing at the Schooner Wharf Bar (my chief goal here in KW).

The sailboat next door, crewed by John and Helen Caffrey of Gulf Breeze, had a minor plumbing leak today and ended up needing a crow's foot wrench and a extensions to get at the offending fitting. We trawler guys are known for tool stashes. We were rewarded with carrot cake from them Helen -yum.

In Helen, I have finally found somebody with a DSC radio who has not conducted a DSC-to-DSC call wherein the radios link up and nobody else can understand the conversation. We ran a test, and where we also requested each other's position. The Zepherina's position came back displayed on my radio as well as on the Garmin 4208 chart plotter. Kewl!

On board the Calypso, I replaced the engine room blower today and had to order another one for the lazarette which had also burned out - will be here at a local store on Tuesday. Our kind neighbor, Autry Hazzard will be FEDEXing the relay for the now-silent air horns to me tomorrow along with a sack full of mail. Then we will spend the rest of the week catching up on admin - ugh!

Vance Nelson is being very patient in an effort to coach me in the process of wiring up the laptop to be able to talk to the new Garmin chart plotter so i can plan routes on the computer and send them to the plotter. After numerous configurations, I still have no connection. I am beginning to wonder if the piece of software I ordered from Garmin where the route is saved to an SD chip and then uploaded into the plotter is the only way I'll be able to accomplish this task.

For those who may think we are stuck here forever, I can report some favorable weather forecasts for next weekend. So far, Saturday and Sunday look OK, and if we can just get that weather to carry over into the following week for a couple of days, we can at least get out to the Dry Tortugas and back to Key West, if we can't move on to the Peninsula at Naples from the Dry Tortugas. In any event, we have to have some decent weather to get back to the mainland.

Bobbing in Key West

Today we are bouncing a bit as the wind is blowing up the channel to the marina at 20-plus MPH. It will shift and slow tonight, but for now. one must be careful to ensure the right finger lands on the right key.

Tomorrow would be an excellent day to take off for the Dry Tortugas, but then the weather forecasts show us being stuck there for a week or so braving 20-plus MPH winds and seas in an anchorage not wholly protected. Not our idea of fun. This place is better for now.

We have gone to the Navy recreation office and bought a bunch of cut-rate tickets for various sights and sites around town. At full fare, I'd have to say most are way over-priced, as is everything here. As it is, we are paying about 2/3 for our chosen entertainment, and I am still not impressed with what we get for that. At $3.50 per car, I think the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park will be more to my liking. There they dug up a whole pot full of civil war cannon and munitions in 1968 - supposed to be biggest collection around.

I completed the installation of the new valve cover gasket on the port engine and expect no more messy oil leak into the drip pan. Will test later.

My Garmin chartplotter (the device I ad to buy to display the Garmin radar I bought in Clearwater) continues to provide tinkering fun. It has inputs for the Automatic Identification System (AIS), the VHF radio (to log Digital Selective Calling traffic), a depth sounder, engine instruments (if I had digital instruments), GPS, electronic compass, radar and maybe some other things I haven't thought of.

I finally got the AIS input working after some tinkering, and now ship which send that information are tracked on the laptop, chartplotter charts and the radar display on the chartplotter. Hooking up my electronic compass to it allows me to "hook" radar targets so the unit can track them for collision avoidance. Next stop is Radio Shack to get some more wire to connect my marine VHF radio to the thing. I still prefer the depth sounder to be separate and to have a laptop as my primary charting reference because it uses actual raster-scanned charts versus the "derived" electronic charts the chartplotter uses.