January 15, 2012 SundayRodriguez Key to Boot Key Harbor Marathon, FL

Fiu left the Rodriguez Key anchorage at 7:45 AM with a strong northerly wind blowing around 15 to 20 knots with an occasional gust to 27 knots.  So this quickly became a repeat of the day before with strong winds from our backs and sides.  This kind of sailing is tiring because the waves are approaching Fiu from our rear starboard quarter.  What seems to happen is when the wave is under the middle of the boat the bow will turn and the wave will enhance this action.  We counteract the turning of the boat with a hard turn of the wheel in the opposite direction of travel.  Do this every three to ten seconds and one needs relief quite often during the voyage.  We are fortunate to have autohelm.  This self-steering mechanism is based on a bearing or compass direction.  It takes a few seconds for the system to discover a change and then send a signal to correct the change.  Basically, autohelm is not reactive quick enough to counteract the wave action that changes the boats direction in this case.  It is however, great in all other instances!

While pulling up the anchor it became entangled in an old anchor lines left by someone else.  It was easy to untangle and we were on our way!  We caught the wind almost immediately and spent the day on another wild ride!  We traveled between 6.5  and 8.9 knots. 

An interesting boating circumstance occurred just before arriving at Vacca Key and the entrance to Boot Key Harbor.  We were overtaking an older sailboat on their starboard side.  Just as we were almost abreast of them the boat turned toward us.  The rule is the overtaken boat maintains course and speed until the pass is made.  While I turned to starboard to avoid collision the shoal was quite close to us and I dared not venture too far or risk grounding.  We were close enough to see the captain and a lady give me a dirty look which I ignored.  It seems there are more rules of the road (other than official) than I realized!

The entrance to Boot Key Harbor was a welcome site since the last two days were spent surfing!  We talked with Pat and Walt and agreed to enter the harbor knowing we were unable to get a mooring ball this day.  The mooring field was full!  We motored in slowly and decided to anchor just off the channel just past the retired bascule bridge by red 16.  The water is shallow here and care needs to be taken to avoid grounding.  We anchored at 2:30PM and readied the dinghy to get to the harbormaster to register for a mooring ball.  We were put on a waiting list at number 11 and 12. 

There will be more to come following our daily adventures in Marathon!

Captain Sid

January 14, 2012 Saturday Miami to Rodriguiz Key

When things seem tough!

The day started out with a 20-25 knot wind from the north with cooler air coming in.  We had anchored near shore along the Rickenbacker Causeway so there was little fetch (fetch is the distance over water the wind has to create waves).  Obviously the longer the distance wind travels over water the more likely waves will be taller and bigger.  Even with little fetch the waves were already 1 to 2 feet high!  We had agreed with Pat and Walt to meet them at the entrance of No Name harbor, a favorite spot to anchor safely for many transient boaters.  With the wind at our backs we literally surfed the four to five miles from the causeway to their anchorage.  We met up with them part way down the channel that meets up with the Hawk Channel.  The northerly winds were exactly what we needed to cruise (surf) our way to Key Largo, specifically Rodriquez Key.  It would be a lengthy day even with the wind at our stern.

Sunrise near South Beach

The Hawk Channel averages about 15 to 25 feet deep.  It is separated from the Keys by a coral reef that is the third largest living reef in the world.  What this does is keep the large ocean swells and waves to a minimum.  It makes for a quick and safe way to get to the lower Keys without hitting bottom in the shallow inland waterway where the depth is only 4-5 feet deep in many spots.  However, we went the inland route two years ago and the scenery is much better and we did touch bottom once or twice.  The interesting part of the ICW here is that the water is only 7-9 feet deep for much of the distance to Key Largo from Miami.  The first time we traveled at 6 knots in 7 feet of water was a lot scary!  After checking the charts a few more times I was convinced it was safe to motor that fast in that shallow water!

Bon at Wheel in 25 knot winds

As we rounded Elliott Key and headed to Key Largo we gradually changed  direction as the Keys turn from a southerly  to a westerly direction.  The wind though was still out of the north and we were able to reach for the entire day.  Rodriguez Key is just off the south or ocean side of Key Largo near the entrance to John Pennekamp Underwater State Park.

Approaching Rodriguez Key

We arrived early in the afternoon and had plenty of time settle in and have a couple of Pusser's (BVI) Painkillers!

Sunset at Rodriguez Key

Recipe:
      2 to 4 oz rum
      1 oz creme de coconut
      1 oz orange juice
      4 oz pineapple juice
      shake with ice and top with a touch of nutmeg


Captain Sid