The view from 54 feet above. Glad I wasn’t the one to go up, although I kind of want to. But I’m terrified of heights so maybe not. Emily and I raised and lowered Stephen with lines and winches, although he had to climb a lot to help us out.
Safely anchored watching the storms roll by.
Some days it’s about the destination and not the journey. Today trekking north on the ICW was a little akin to interstate driving. Although like driving in a Tesla because we have autopilot and don’t have to steer. But not like a Tesla because we move along at 8 mph. After 5-6 hours we had a little open water so we raised our sails to check all our rigging, making sure everything was in good order after having some work done. Better inland than out on the open sea. Raising the sails and killing the engine instantly brought a sense of peace and pure joy, transitioning the day from destination to journey, just the way we like it.
"Wherever we want to go, we go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails. That's what a ship needs. But what a ship is...is freedom" Captain Jack Sparrow.
‘tis true. I've never known freedom like that of the open ocean. I was adamant; I am not doing an overnight passage. But then, I changed my mind. After months of planning, weeks of staging and repairs, emotional ups and downs, with the open ocean in front of me, freedom was calling. When you toss your bow lines or raise your anchor, and point your bow to the open ocean, there is something within your soul that changes. You breathe in the salty air, and you exhale the troubles of the world you leave behind. I don't know if it is the possibilities or the unknown, but there is something that lets you loosen the ties that bind you on the land. There are no fenced in yards, no lanes of the road, no offices with bosses and deadlines, no schedules. Freedom. If you have ever longed for freedom, perhaps my friend, you truly long for the sea.
‘tis true. I've never known freedom like that of the open ocean. I was adamant; I am not doing an overnight passage. But then, I changed my mind. After months of planning, weeks of staging and repairs, emotional ups and downs, with the open ocean in front of me, freedom was calling. When you toss your bow lines or raise your anchor, and point your bow to the open ocean, there is something within your soul that changes. You breathe in the salty air, and you exhale the troubles of the world you leave behind. I don't know if it is the possibilities or the unknown, but there is something that lets you loosen the ties that bind you on the land. There are no fenced in yards, no lanes of the road, no offices with bosses and deadlines, no schedules. Freedom. If you have ever longed for freedom, perhaps my friend, you truly long for the sea.
We sailed through the pass at sunrise. Our first anchorage making our way to the Keys was a 10 hour sail. With the predicted 10-15 knot winds, we would anchor just before the last light of the day. But forecasts are a funny thing. The weather doesn't always listen to what it is supposed to do, and our 10 hour sail quickly turned to 12-14 hours in the 5-10 knots of wind we actually had. So we were faced with entering the pass and anchoring in the dark with no moon, or we could keep sailing through the night and make it to our next anchorage during daylight. With the open ocean and calm seas in front of me, it took no twisting of my arm to convince me to sail through the night. I truly wanted to. The ocean was calling to me. We looked at our charts, and decided not only to sail through the night to the next anchorage, but sail straight to the Dry Tortugas, skipping the three anchorages I was adamant we stop at to prevent the overnight sails. We pointed our compass to 180, and 30 hours later, we were in paradise. The night passage was uneventful, no near death experiences by airplane, no pirate ships turned US Coast Guard, and no rough seas, although fairly rolly and uncomfortable seas.
I wasn't expecting the Dry Tortugas to be paradise. A National Park, 70 miles west of Key West, "dry" because there is no fresh water on the island, but also, there are no provisions, services, internet, or cell services, so we were truly off the grid. Only accessible by boat or seaplane. The main island is dominated by a fort built in the 1800s. I've seen forts plenty of times before, and was not really interested. But the real paradise of this little anchorage lies another three miles to the west. We dinghy over to the uninhabited island of Loggerhead Key. White sand beaches stretched out either side of the towering lighthouse surrounded by palm trees. I don't think there is a more picture perfect looking paradise. We explored the little island above the water line and below. A healthy, living coral reef, teaming with fish and lobsters surrounded the west side of the island. After a picnic lunch under a palm, we dinghied out another mile to snorkel a shipwreck of an old schooner where Emily got to see a shark! Three years ago, on our first sailing journey, we dreamed of sailing from key to key snorkeling and basking in the sun. Unfortunately, the winter that year was 15 degrees colder than normal, and our swimsuits were traded for down coats. It is so fun to be able to snorkel and explore and live the dreams we've had. And so, I was not expecting to love the Dry Tortugas and yet here I sit, five days after I arrived, and I am just as happy and content as the day I got here.
The cruising dream is far from just uninhabited islands, reefs to snorkel, and warm sunshine. The cruising dream is also about the people you meet. Here in our little picture perfect anchorage in Dry Tortuga, we are joined by another 4-5 sailboats. One, a cruising couple from Norway that has sailed 11,000 miles in a year and a half. Oh the world they have seen! Spain and Africa, Guatemala was a favorite, and with a weather window they are on their way to Cuba. Cuba, just 90 miles to our south. If we had the papers, we could be there in less time than it took us to sail from Tampa Bay to Dry Tortuga!! And then there is Adventure Man Dan. A 27 year-old that has traveled the world. From Alaska to Africa to Dubai, Australia and many points in between. He holds several world records in spear fishing, and three months ago bought a boat to circumnavigate and chase bigger and better fish to spear. Along the way he brings along crew members, adventurous souls ready to put in some elbow grease in trade for the experience. Current crew members are David, a cross country tour guide from Kansas City, and Graham, an Outward Bound counselor that grew up racing sailboats and working on big schooners on the east coast. We trade breakfast on their boat for happy hour on ours. We sit, we dine, we swap stories and share experiences.This, this is a big part of the dream, and we are truly loving it. With Adventure Man Dan, we make plans to set sail together come morning. Next stop, The Marquesas Keys, another uninhabited chain of islands, with coral reefs and great snorkeling. I have big hopes in my next writings to share of the lobsters we get to feast on after Dan takes us spearfishing.
We sail to the Marquesas Keys and meet up with Dan and crew for a day of exploring the islands and fishing. Emily challenged the guys to a dinghy race. We won, but it was an unfair race from the beginning. Nonetheless, put a smile on her face. I didn’t get a lobster dinner, but delicious mangrove snapper!! Speared, filleted, and cooked by Dan. Best fish tacos I’ve had, served at sunset on his boat as we swapped stories of the day and previous adventures.
Group photo credit: Adventure Man Dan
After a few nights, we bid farewell to Adventure Man Dan, it was time to head to Key West for provisions. I walked a mile to the grocery store, but Stephen found a canal he could dinghy to that was basically in the grocery store parking lot. Thank goodness. I can walk a mile for groceries, but carrying 2 weeks of food back wouldn’t have worked. Stephen met me to help with the groceries, and walking to the dinghy this sign makes me a bit nervous.
It is almost sunset and we are under a dark bridge. Too bad that sign wasn’t visible from the water!! Getting groceries is almost always an adventure!! As is laundry and doing the dishes, and other mundane chores that are relatively easy on land. I've written about it before, but it is still a point to make about green living. Laundry day takes a bit of elbow grease. I certainly don’t mind trading a washer and other conveniences for the opportunities we’ve had. But some things have taken me by surprise. I thought being off grid would equal being green. We have power from solar panels, although it is limited. So no hair dryer, coffee maker, or microwave. We are in constant battle of choosing between green living and using our precious water supply. At home we never use paper plates or napkins, but at sea, washing dishes uses a lot of water. But then paper products make more trash, which we have to store somewhere, so we have to make choices between water and storage. And sometimes we need clean skivvies, but that uses a lot of water. When you don’t know when and where you will be able to fill your water tanks, you have to use water conservatively. Maybe one day we’ll add a water maker to the boat, until then, choices have to be made and we’ll do our best. So someone back home skip the paper plates until we get back!! But the real problem on the boat, we are almost out of chocolate and we can’t catch that in the sea!
I count myself lucky when we are able to find a laundromat that we can actually get to. It provides plenty of time for making my provisioning lists and checking it twice. As of this writing, it has been about three weeks and I would LOVE to be able to wash clothes in a machine!!
The hustle and bustle of the city life in Key West was not for us. With water tanks, pantry and fridge full, we set sail again. Making our way, we spot a tiny little island, ok, I guess it was a sand bar. Anyway, it’s just sitting out there in the middle of the ocean. We make a spontaneous decision to go and anchor for lunch and then explore our little island above and below the water line. Well worth the stop, for Stephen caught two lobsters we would later grill for dinner. Thanks honey!! They were delicious.
We anchored near Big Pine Key, preparing for a front that would pass through in a few days time. The Keys are very shallow, and so well protected anchorages for a sailboat with a 5 ft draft are hard to come by. So while there wasn’t anything extra special about this Key, and it wasn’t a perfect anchorage, it was the best around and so we’d have to hang tight until the front passes.
"Bring me that horizon." Captain Jack Sparrow
When you raise your anchor and head to the open ocean, you don’t know what lies ahead. Perhaps an uneventful passage, perhaps something thrilling, perhaps something magical. After sailing a passage in open water it is exhilarating to see land in the distance. A tiny, uninhabited island, no more than a dot on a map. Within it lies the same mysteries of the unknown. Ready for us to explore, to find what magic or adventure it holds.
Chart plotting and weather are crucial to cruising. Not only for where we go, but also for riding out storms. We’ve been watching the coming front for a week or more. Here in the shallow waters of the Keys there are very few (if any) anchorages with good protection from all directions, which you need when a front passes through. Sometimes it may take a day or two or more to sail to a well protected anchorage, so planning ahead and watching the weather are vital. Interestingly, there is perhaps less stress with 30 knot winds when we are at sea. While we wouldn’t choose to go out in a storm, we know that our boat can handle the weather if needed. She isn’t fast, but she is stout and tough as nails. At anchor there are more, or at least different worries, such as your anchor dragging when the winds shift, or derelict boats dragging and hitting our boat. Depending on the situation, at times we might take shifts for night watch while at anchor to make sure all is safe. But usually Stephen doesn’t sleep much when it is windy so he is up checking on things regularly. So the only adventures tomorrow will bring are rocking and rolling in the anchorage, maybe a good book, and hopefully the rain will give the boat a good wash, she’s a bit salty!
Well what do you know, we meet up with Adventure Man Dan once again. We met in Tortuga, sailed together to Marquesas, said our goodbyes, but ended up meeting again in Key West. Said our goodbyes once more, and lo and behold we meet again in this little anchorage waiting out the weather. This time when we said our goodbyes, we all knew it was a little more permanent. After the weather passed, we raised our anchor and drove by their boat, wishing them fair winds with a blow of the conch horn. Dan will be in the Keys a bit longer, preparing for the Bahamas, and we are turning north, making our way back to work. Emotional for me to point the bow north, I am nearly in tears. Which also could have been brought on by desperately wanting a proper shower and a laundromat, but discovering the high winds would keep us from docking at a marina for the night.
We aren't going to Cuba, but interesting just how close it is!
Just like yester-year. Every morning in Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, families gather around the radio (VHF radio that is, on channel 68) listening to a mix of the day’s weather, stories, jokes, buy/sell/trade, daily specials at the local cafe, community activities, welcoming newcomers and saying good bye to those sailing on. It is a fun way to start the mornings. Boot Key is an amazing cruising community with 200 mooring balls and that many more anchored around. This is our second time passing through. Unfortunately the waiting list is always too long and we’ve never gotten a mooring ball. Last time they called us on the day we left and we had made it to the top of the list. But none the less, mooring ball or not, if you are a cruiser, this is a place you don’t want to miss.
Well what do you know, we meet up with Adventure Man Dan once again. We met in Tortuga, sailed together to Marquesas, said our goodbyes, but ended up meeting again in Key West. Said our goodbyes once more, and lo and behold we meet again in this little anchorage waiting out the weather. This time when we said our goodbyes, we all knew it was a little more permanent. After the weather passed, we raised our anchor and drove by their boat, wishing them fair winds with a blow of the conch horn. Dan will be in the Keys a bit longer, preparing for the Bahamas, and we are turning north, making our way back to work. Emotional for me to point the bow north, I am nearly in tears. Which also could have been brought on by desperately wanting a proper shower and a laundromat, but discovering the high winds would keep us from docking at a marina for the night.
We aren't going to Cuba, but interesting just how close it is!
To look down on the underwater world and see the abundance of life, swimming along in harmony without a thought of us above, gives us an interesting perspective. When we are sailing along above the water, we aren’t just sailing along the water, but we are sailing above a whole world beneath us, that now we are lucky enough to have seen.
We tied up to a mooring ball in pretty rough waters and geared up for snorkeling Looe Key (which does not have any land above the water), about five miles south of Big Pine Key. This was a truly amazing spot. Some of the areas were rather deep for snorkeling, maybe 10-25 feet. But it was such a unique viewpoint that it was more captivating than many of the shallower reefs we’ve snorkeled, and we saw more and bigger fish than at most places we’ve been. Along the way, Emily would pop up and identify the fish for us. She’s been captivated by and studying fish for years. No better science curriculum than getting to identify types of fish in their own environment. Sadly, we also received lessons of the environmental impact we humans pass on to the natural world. While we have snorkeled many beautiful live reefs in the keys, we have also seen so many dead or bleached reefs, and it is heartbreaking.
Don’t be fooled, I was terrified the whole time!! I’m a mess in the water, and I can’t help but have the "Jaws" mindset. But, even with the fear, there are some things worth doing, and this will always be a favorite.
And I apologize, I am a terrible underwater photographer so no pics of the reef or fish worth sharing!! As I've said before, I am too focused on staying alive to take good pics :)
