Keys Trip 2026

[Roland of Macatawa]

Sad to hear of your troubles.
Was enjoying following your adventure.
But you made a wise choice to abort until a later time, post-repair.

Please keep us informed about the needed repairs to the SunCat.

Best Regards, Roland

[passagesfromtheheart]

Hey, Carl and Chris ~ So sorry to hear the news -- sure hope everything gets straightened out AOK -- thank you so much for keeping us all posted -- safe travels back home!

[crazycarl]

As Chris and I walked north to catch the bus to Key Largo we passed a church and I hear someone say, "call them". Once at the bus stop and the large lot we intended to leave the vehicles, I noticed sheriff postings on 3 vehicles with for sale signs on them. The postings warned if the vehicles weren't moved they would be towed. Now we needed to think. I looked up the number and called the church explaining our situation. The director said it wouldn't be a problem as long as we moved them before the children arrive at 7:30am. I do believe it was the Holy Spirit telling me to call. When we arrived in Boot Key Harbor, Chris mentioned a YouTube couple he follows that are here. After getting on the bus, a young couple run on and Chris immediately recognized them as the YouTubers. We conversed until they got off. What are the chances? Bob, the owner of the storage business had our vehicles lined up and ready to go when we arrived. Driving back there was a vibration coming from the starboard side of the trailer. About half way the fender came off. Inspecting the tire, it appears it was never balanced. Arriving at the ramp I replaced the now unevenly worn tire with the spare. As I type I am sitting in the boat contemplating whether I ever want to trailer sail again.

[passagesfromtheheart]

As Chris and I walked north to catch the bus to Key Largo we passed a church and hear someone say, "call them". Once at the bus stop and the large lot we intended to the vehicles, I noticed sheriff posting on 3 vehicles with for sale signs on them. The posting warned if the vehicles weren't moved they would be towed. Now we needed to think. I looked the number and called the church explaining our situation. The director said it wouldn't be a problem as long as we moved them before the children arrive at 7:30am. I do believe it was the Holy Spirit telling to call. When we arrived in Boot Key Harbor, Chris mentioned a YouTube couple he follows that are here. After getting on the bus, a young couple run on and Chris immediately recognized them as the YouTubers. We conversed until they got off. What are the chances? Bob, the owner of the storage business had our vehicles lined up and ready to go when we arrived. Driving back there was a vibration coming for the starboard side of the trailer. About half way the fender came off. Inspecting the tire, it appears it was never balanced. As I type I am sitting in the boat contemplating whether I ever want to trailer sail again.

I'm so sorry, Carl (and Chris!) about this situation -- I feel your frustration, for sure! As I'm preparing to embark upon my first season of trailer sailing, as opposed to slipping my boat, your story gives me great pause -- you both went to a lot of work to prepare your boats for this trip, plus the travel time/efforts to get there. From your earlier posts on this thread, I am glad that you both did get to enjoy some nice days until things unfolded as they did...I sure hope you keep trailer-sail adventuring with Miss Adventure -- you inspire me so much!

[crazycarl]

Tuesday morning promised rain and it delivered. We waited for it to stop/slow and headed south out of Boot Key harbor and the town of Marathon. Once outside we raised sail and the light winds gently pushed us to the 7 mile bridge opening. Chris decided the wind strength and direction wouldn't cause anymore damage and with the rigging tightened once again he also sailed on. About midway a dolphin surfaced next to me and that always raises my spirits. I couldn't help but feel this may be the last time I sail a small boat in these waters so I made sure to "take it all, in". Passing under the bridge we headed straight into the wind and the outboards were put into service. Amazingly, I had no difficulties with the motor on this trip. I arrived at the ramp much sooner than Chris and had my trailer in the water and was preparing to load the boat when he arrived. Pulling the boats was easy and I took note on how nice this public ramp was. Breaking down the boats and readying them for the road we too, out time and just as our sails had dried, the rain started again. I left everything but my daypack and phone in the boat and headed headed north. After checking into a hotel in Homestead I disconnected the trailer to make the drive to dinner easier. Then I showered, shaved, and opened my last beer. Once Chris arrived and settled in we headed to a steakhouse and had an enjoyable evening. In the morning we met in the lobby for breakfast, said our goodbyes and headed for home. The first hour of the drive was congested, but once I was north of the Miami area it opened up and I continued until the South Carolina welcome center where I climbed inside the boat and slept for a couple hours before moving on. I arrived home at 4:45 this morning and just now received a text stating my son in law is in Key West. He is flown down there every January for an all expenses paid week long fishing trip on a 44' boat owned by a supplier to the company he works for. Nice perk.

Sorry no pics, the .jpeg extension on the iPhone is not compatible with this site's .jpg and I couldn't find an app to convert them. I also have some video, but the upgrade to windows 11 deleted the editing software on my desktop and I haven't found one simple enough for this very low tech old man.

[crazycarl]

A couple of the videos from the trip...

[crazycarl]

Cleaning out the boat today. I have enough food left over for an entire summer of outings. When the weather warms, (down in the 20s last night) I'll store most of this in the Orion. I had "Beef in Gravy" from Hereford and it surprisingly good. The beef was tender and flavorful. Boil the bag and then I pourd it over the instant potatoes. Couldnt have been easier. I'm going to try these 2 this weekend.

[crazycarl]

Found a couple more pics on my old android.

Chris on the high seas

Chris sailing near dawn

Crossing under the Channel 5 bridge

[passagesfromtheheart]

Carl, it sounds like you and Chris wrapped up the trip well before parting ways to respective home bases — the videos were great — I didn't know you had a YT channel — I just subscribed and hope you continue to share there as well as here!

P.S. The close-up pic you took of Chris and his Sun Cat is absolutely stunning — love it!

[kickingbug1]

dont give up trailer sailing, remember the CLR is in june. all you need is a spare tire and some lock washers

[crazycarl]

I'll be dropping the damaged tire off today for replacement and already replaced all the hardware for the fenders. I need to find a good way to secure the ratchet strap to the trailer. It came off several times on the trip.

[kickingbug1]

   i have trailer sailed for years, however. never the distances you have travelled. i have done the same things with all four of my boats. safety chain attached to the bow eye and a ratchet strap attached to the motor mount and to an eye bolt on the rear crossmember  of the trailer. i also put a piece of swim "noodle" on the strap to eliminate chaffing on the transom. my trailer also has full length guide on boards on either side of the keel. the  boat never moves.

[kickingbug1]

oh yeah, happy birthday

[crazycarl]

Thanks Steve!