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.
