To the end of the continent

[InertBert]

Since it had been about 11 minutes since I was last out sailing, it seemed like it was time to go sailing.  My wife informed me that she had booked a campsite at the Sugarloaf KOA on mother's day weekend, so I hooked up the trailer and headed down.  I was worried about the trailer hubs getting hot, so I greased them before I left, but it was the van that betrayed us with a mechanical failure.  The e-brake stuck on and was scorching hot.  I found a place to pull over and k?i?c?k? ?t?h?e? ?h?e?l?l? ?o?u?t? ?o?f? fix it, and the rest of the drive was uneventful. 

Tent-mahal setup at the campground.

How children "camp" in 2013

Don't give me that look.  I may be a tourist on this island but you're an invasive species after all!


Thursday we ventured into Key West

The shipwreck museum was boring but the butterfly conservatory is very cool.  Now my wife wants me to build a butterfly conservatory in our yard.  I've put it on my honey-do list.

Key West is the same as it ever was.  Lots of tourist traps, mojitos, walking, and Banyan trees.


I guess I should get to the "sailing" part huh?  Well, we left out of the Sugarloaf KOA ramp and headed out toward Looe Key Reef.  Since I'm not smart enough to figure out how trade winds work, or realistic enough to admit that a C16 doesn't point very close to the wind, I had planned a day of sailing into a 15kt headwind, and I wasn't making good time.  The wife and kid had about enough sun and not enough water or chocolate by two o'clock, so it looked like I was going to cut bait and head back. 

This is where you ride when you complain too much about my poor planning.  The kid thought that "tubing" behind a C16 was actually kind of fun, up next: wakeboarding!

Friday night I met some European backpackers, and we stayed up to late and drank too much wine.  Saturday, the wife was ready for a day poolside, so I made a brief morning sail to find some empty waters to go for a nice long swim.  Saturday night, we met up with "High Tide is Up" and her husband who played a wonderful set at the KOA.  A bit of "Seminole Wind" and plenty of Buffet covers was wonderful.  My son even wanted to try his hand at pool, what else are you going to do as a five year old staying up too late?


Sunday we packed up camp and drove up to Pennekamp park on Key Largo.  We planned on going out to Dry Rocks Reef and dive at Christ of the Abyss.  Again, I wasn't smart enough to plan a wind appropriate route, even though I was highly aware of the wind(I spent the whole morning complaining about it).  We left out of the park at about noon and headed NE through the mangroves.

Obviously that is an "unconventional" choice of routes for a sailboat, but going to the south is EXACTLY what they would expect!  The boat sailed fine through the narrow forest channels and we made good distance toward the reef.  (My dayjob involves kayaking in mangroves so I am very comfortable there).  We broke out into the open ocean and headed for the edge of the continental shelf.  About six miles offshore, the treetops were dwindling above the mirage, the water turns DARK blue, and the waves get *expletive deleted* large.  The little boat sailed very well in the long rolling waves.  We were rocking and rolling at about 5kts, charging up one side of the wave and surfing down the other.  The big waves were too much for one delicate system onboard however, my son's stomach.  He had a few bouts of seasickness, and I had some second thoughts about mooring and getting sideways in these big waves, so again we were waved off our mission at the last minute.  This time, we made the distance, and were right on top of the reef, but felt it was best not to stop.  (I only get seasick when anchored anyway).  We made a dash for the southern channel and pulled up to the boat ramp as the sun was going down (good thing we didn't stay and dive). 

The grand totals for the weekend were two busted reef runs, fourteen sighted loggerhead turtles, over 50 miles sailed, uh "several" drinks consumed, and one very memorable and enjoyable vacation.  I got sunburned in all the right places, and not once did I have to swim back to shore.  I'll call that a success. 

[Billy]

Bert,
Great write up! I just attempted to my 1st one (see my post) and after reading yours, my literature skills are lacking to say the least. I am planning a trip to the Keys in the near future and your post has only re-in forced my desire!

But we definitely need to have a rendezvous here at St. Joesph Sound.