Florida Keys - Marathon

After completing our journey to the Dry Tortugas National Park, Grace and I anchored a couple nights off of Boot Key. While there we ran into our friends Dick & Anne of S/V NATI. While writing this blog and going through pictures, I was really disappointed... I was so happy to see Dick & Anne, I never even took a picture. I mean, they had us on NATI for a Packers game. They came by our slip when we got Distant Horizon settled in for a longer stay. They passed us a few times in the channel. They invited us to meet for dinner.... and not a single picture. Sorry guys.. next time.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

While we were out for dinner with Dick & Anne, Grace took my camera and took this picture of the sunset... Yes, I had my camera and no pictures of our friends...

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Since I was flying back with Grace to Baldwinsville to get her ready to go back to school, and I would be gone over a week. We wanted a slip for Distant Horizon. Some place where she would be safe and secure. It was not easy finding one. This is peak season for visiting boats. We finally found an available slip for Distant Horizon at Panchos Fuel Dock. Surprisingly, the prices were very, very reasonable; especially considering all other marinas were full and the mooring field was also full. Panchos is not a tourist marina. It is primarily for fishermen... commercial fishermen. Here are a couple pictures of them mending their nets, getting ready for King Mackerel season, which is followed by Spanish Mackerel season.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

When I'm sailing, my youthful exuberance always comes percolating to the top when I see dolphins. It really doesn't matter how often I see them, I run for the camera and then make a beeline for the bow. Sometimes I remember to take a picture. I just love to watch them. I think it's mutual too. I swear that I've seen dolphins roll on their side and are watching me.

Next to them, I love pelicans... It's probably weird, but I love to watch those ugly awkward looking birds gliding gracefully with their wingtips just touching the water. It's like they're feeling their way. Here, I caught a pair resting or, more likely, waiting for a tourist to toss them some scraps.

I got a little creative with the post-processing of this shot, but it was close to sunset and the sky was boring. Plus, it felt great to turn the left side of the brain off... even if it was for just a little while.

Pelicans feeding without the help of tourists

Friday, January 30, 2015

One day, I was sitting on a bench at Pancho's Fuel Dock; drinking my morning tea. The bench faces out toward the Boot Key Channel, which is the main entrance to Marathon. I noticed a cautious visitor at the other end of the dock, about 30 feet away. It was an Eastern Great Egret.  I slowly raised my camera and took a picture. I was surprised it didn't fly away. It just turned its head from side-to-side looking at me. When I looked out at the channel, I could see the bird move a little closer. This continued... I took a picture. it checked me out. I looked away. It moved closer. The bird was just 8 feet away. I was wondering how close it would get. Then, a boat pulled up to the dock and it flew away.

Eastern Great Egret

I still wonder what was on its mind... does someone sit there and toss it food? It definitely did not like the boat.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

I was cleaning things up on the boat. The binnacle is bronze and the compass sits on a teak block. I took this apart to clean the green bronze to restore it's color. The teak block is being refinished too. When I'm done a new chartplotter will be installed with up-to-date charts. The relevant part to this story is... I Worked ALL day! ...and those who know me... know I have an aversion for the "W" word. ;-)

Too much of anything is not good for you... and that goes double for work. There's a reason it's a four-letter word, ya' know!

So, I decided to take a walk out to the 7-mile bridge for the sunset. It seems to be a popular spot because the walking bridge was full of people taking their sunset photos.

So, for all you folks stuck in the north...  Here is a sunset photo to help you thaw out. Stare at the photo, then close your eyes and transport yourself here.It was a 70 degrees with a stiff breeze.

Many people awaiting their sunset photos at the 7-Mile Bridge

Tortugas Trip Day 10 - Boot Key

Today, Grace and I rose about 7:30am. The plan is to launch the tender from it’s current resting place on the cabin top. We would then row to the Marathon Marina to see if our key cards still worked. When we departed, I had forgotten to return the key cards and the gate clicker for the car. The cards are no big deal, but the clicker has a $25 deposit, which I wanted returned. The cards did not work.

So I went to the office to turn the cards and clicker in to ensure my refund. After doing so, I asked the girl at the desk if she could possibly enable the cards, just so we could take a shower. She hesitates as she is not supposed to do that. Them after explaining this to us, she did enable the cards. Grace and I both took showers. It felt great to take a hot shower after 9 days. I wondered how great it would be after nearly three weeks when I sail to the Azores. After the showers we returned the keys to the girl at the desk as she had requested.

Grace and I walked to the Overseas Highway and crossed to have breakfast at the 7-Mile Grill. During breakfast, some sports news came on the TV. Suddenly it hit me… Did the Packers beat the Cowboys? We had been gone so long, we lost track of the football Sunday’s.

After breakfast, we walked back to the marina and sat on a patio where I could check my emails… and the Packers website. The game was TODAY! … In an hour! We knew we could watch at the 7-Mile Grill, but we had just eaten and would have felt too guilty to just sit there for a few hours. We decided to go back to the boat to see if I could find a Wi-Fi signal to get updates.

As luck would have it, as it does sometimes for the unprepared, my friends Dick and Anne on S/V NATI came motoring up behind us as I was rowing the tender back to our boat. We explained our predicament. Dick and Anne didn’t hesitate to invite us to their Catamaran and see if they could pick up a TV signal. We jumped at the opportunity. However, Dick could not find a single “over-the-air” signal on the TV.

NATI anchored off Boot Key

We did sit and visit all afternoon in their cockpit. Dick used his iPad to get the game updates. He was able to find the video replay for the game deciding call that was overturned in the Packers favor. The replay officials got it right! Packers won and are moving on to Seattle to play in the NFC Championship game.

After the game, we rowed back to Distant Horizon, promising to see Dick and Anne once more before we leave for Syracuse.

Grace cooked dinner as had become our usual custom. She made “Stovetop Chicken in White Wine Sauce”, which we had over rice and spinach. Also as part of our usual custom, I did the dishes after dinner.

Another beautiful sunset from Boot Key

We were planning on sailing to Bahia Honda State Park tomorrow, but after listening to the weather it would take about 4 hours to get there, and possibly 9 hours to return the next day. We decided not to try and make the trip.

Tortugas Trip Day 9 - Boot Key, Marathon

When I awoke this morning, I started to call around to see if there was a slip for us anywhere in Marathon. To my astonishment, the Marathon marina was full for the rest of the season; Burdine’s was full for the rest of the season; the City Marina was full for the rest of the season; the mooring field was full with a waiting list of 30 boats. Our options looked dismal at best.

I decided to focus on higher priorities. We needed a pump out and it would be nice to top off the fuel tank. We had used 10 gallons of our 50; averaging a gallon a day. That was more than I would have liked, but certainly acceptable. Marathon Marina had fuel, but no pump outs at the fuel dock. Burdine’s had both fuel and pump outs, but they would not pump out after 10:45am. Their restaurant opens at 11:00am. It was 10:10 now.

I told Grace to get moving we had to get to Burdine’s before 10:45 for the pump out. She was alright with that. We weighed anchor and were underway in just 10 minutes. As we were motoring in to the harbor, an inflatable tender was slowly coming up behind us. I wasn’t sure why they weren’t passing as there was plenty of room for them to do so. I’m focused ahead, to keep us in the narrow channel but fully aware of the drone from the small outboard engine closing on us. I take a quick glance back to check our position against the channel marker behind us. You need to know your position from the marker ahead and behind to ensure you are actually in the channel. They were now just 30 feet directly behind us. Just as my mind is questioning again, why don’t they just pass? I hear the familiar tone of Dick’s voice. It was our friends from the sailing catamaran NATI: Dick and Anne, along with a friend of theirs who had been sailing with them the past week.

We exchanged some pleasantries. Dick expressed his surprise that Grace survive sailing with me. She said “barely”… nice! They were taking their friend back to Ft. Lauderdale airport to fly home. We agreed to meet up later this week.

When I pulled into Burdine’s, the dock master asked what they could do for us. Knowing the time constraints, I said, “First, we need a pump out and then 10 gallons of Diesel”. He looked at his watch, glanced up to the restaurant, back at his watch and finally replied, “Let’s get this done in a hurry, then.” Phew!

After getting that all set and paying in the office, I checked once again on a possible slip for the boat while I go back to Syracuse with Grace… no luck. I did get permission to leave the boat on the end of the fuel dock so we could go to the restaurant.

While sliding the boat back, one of their tenants gave us some suggestions. The one that worked was to check at Panchos Gas Dock. Theil did have a slip for us. Amazingly; his prices were by far the most reasonably priced… just a little more than Upstate NY prices. In my search for a slip I temporarily thought maybe Key West… Well, at $45/foot of boat length per day. That thought did not last long. That’s $1575 per day for over a week! That is a seasonal rate for Lake Ontario!

Now, Grace and I could relax and have an enjoyable lunch. We knew the boat would be in a secure safe place while I traveled back and forth to Syracuse.

After lunch, we took the boat back to anchor off Boot Key. We spent the rest of the relaxing.

That evening, we watched another amazing sunset and did a little star gazing.

A catamaran coming in to Boot Key to anchor at sunset

Tortugas Trip Day 8 - Boca Grande to Boot Key

This morning I rose early, around 5:00am to weight the secondary anchor. The plan was to weigh that anchor, leaving the primary anchor set, and prepare the boat to sail before waking Grace. I took the sail cover off.  Then, while hauling in the anchor line of the secondary anchor, I encountered a wrap. This means the boat turned 360 degrees in the same direction, rather 180 degrees one way and back 180 degrees the other.  I had to untangle the two anchor lines.  I was able to get most of it done, but finally woke Grace up to motor over the primary line for me. In doing so, the tangle came undone. And the secondary anchor was stowed.

I prepared the mainsail to be raised. At anchor we were facing into the wind. So, it seemed best to weigh the primary anchor and immediately raise the main sail before turning to head out of the channel. This plan worked almost perfectly and we were away by 7:00am.

Shortly after exiting the channel, I prepared the staysail and jib. We would be sailing at an angle into the wind most of the day. This boat is a cutter with two headsails, which works best in these conditions.

Once the sails were set, we were off and so was the motor. It wasn’t long before the winds died down and the motor was back on as we motor-sailed ahead. Throughout the entire day, the perfect winds to sail back that were forecasted never appeared. We search for wind and sail just as the wind would change direction, or die down and we’d be motor-sailing again. The direction was the worst.  We were forced to tack back and forth all day; making the distance traveled much greater than planned.

American Shoal Lighthouse

In this next picture, we have just tacked away from the American Shoal Lighthouse. You can see it in the background. Yes, I am getting "The Look" from Grace for pointing the camera at her... even worst. That smile means I am in trouble for doing so. :-)

Our original destination was Bahia Honda, a Florida State Park with a nice beach and showers. Since it was taking so long to make forward progress, we had to abandon that plan. The entrance to the bay did not have any channel markers at all. We would not be able to find our way in, through the missing section of the old railway bridge in the dark. We decided to go all the way to Marathon.

Marathon does have channel markers along the channel, but only one is lit at night. We would have to anchor off Boot Key for the night and enter at daylight… but enter to where? We did not have a slip. That problem will have to wait until tomorrow to be solved.

Finally, around 11:00pm the forecasted winds arrived. For the last two hours of a very long day, we sailed marvelously directly towards out destination. At 1am, as we arrived we saw many anchor lights off Boot Key.  If someone forgot to turn their anchor light on, I would run the risk of running into their boat. Not having great depth perception at night, I opted to just anchor at a reasonable spot away from everyone else.

After setting the anchor, and getting the boat prepared for the night, I still had to wash the dishes. All week, Grace has cooked dinner and I did the dishes. The original plan was to alternate, but this seemed to work best. I always made breakfast, so I did not want to make breakfast and do dishes when I got up. Grace volunteered to do dishes, but I would not let her.

Tortugas Trip Day 7 - Boaca Grande

About 3am, it appeared we had dragged our anchor.  Two more times in the next 30 minutes it happened again for a total of four times. It would only drag about a boat length and reset each time.  I was concerned about the shallow water behind us. It was dark and the current appeared to be screaming past us at a high rate. I pondered the problem for a while and formulated a plan. I felt it was too risk in the dark to pick up the anchor and try to reset it farther up the channel. So, we would motor out at about a 45 degree angle and set the secondary anchor. Once both were set, and the anchor lines balanced, we would not only have twice the holding power, but would also be positioned between the anchor; closer to the middle of the channel with no shallow water behind us.

I had to wake Grace. I had to teach her how to drop the anchor and let out the line. To help her, I flaked a good bit of line on deck beforehand. I was to drive the boat. This is opposite our typical anchoring, but the driving was critical. On our first attempt, I signaled Grace too soon and the anchor was not set where I wanted it. I weighed the anchor, flaked the line, and we tried again. On this second attempt everything worked out very well.

Anchored safely, or should I say relatively safely at Boca Grande, Grace and I settled in for a slow, relaxing day. The weather was foul with nasty winds; the channel had a tremendous current. So much so, that the boat faced the current, not the wind while at anchor. And while the current changed direction with the tides, the boat sat sideways across the channel, not facing the wind (sometimes) , and not facing the current. Distant Horizon was constantly changing direction and always in motion. The anchorage was exactly as described, however; well protected from waves and fully exposed to the wind.


At low tide, either side of the channel was dry. Here is a picture of the warning buoys, high and dry.

Tortugas Trip Day 6 - Dry Tortugas to Boca Grande

The forecasted winds were from the North to North-East, which was favorable for our direction of travel. There were 4-6 foot waves forecasted, but we would sail south of the keys to reduce the fetch making the waves, hopefully, smaller.

At 4:00am we were up and ready to go. We did all the possible preparation last night and things went very smoothly. By 4:30am we weighed anchor and were quietly slipping away in the dark. The unlit channel was a challenge using moonlight helped. to light the way, but did not provide the easily identifiable silhouettes of channel markers like it did when we arrived. The angle was different. We had another advantage now that we did not have n our arrival. We had our previous GPS tracks on the chart plotter from our arrival and also our trip to/from Loggerhead Key to guide us.

When we reached the north side of garden Key, the wind was quite strong; stronger than predicted for overnight and stronger than predicted for the coming day. We raised the mainsail with the planned reef set; transiting towards the exit channel. We were motor sailing.

By the time we turned to go down the channel, the winds were over 20 knots. We were now on our course to head south of the Keys and would maintain this course for the next several hours. The wind was not as predicted. I continued to motorsail for two more hours at a slow rate, as the wind was too close to our nose to raise either the jib or staysail. When the wind is close to your nose, it means it is coming straight at the boat. A sailboat can sail into the wind, but not directly into the wind. Instead it has to sail at an angle, like 30 degrees to the wind, which makes the distance traveled.

Finally around 6:30am, the wind backed and I was able to raise the jib. We shot from 3.7 knots (motorsailing) up to 6.3 knots (with no engine) in an instant. We stayed over 5 knots and sometimes 6 until noon when the wind veered to our nose again. Luckily we had reached the Marquesas. We investigated for about an hour to find a suitable anchorage spot with no luck and decided to move on to Boca Grande.

We investigated a few spots along the Boca Grande channel and decided to anchor at a wide spot in the channel. There is no place to anchor except in the channel here. The water goes quickly from 24 feet to less than 2 feet. I tried to stay to the right.

This channel has been cut by the fast moving tidal currents.  The channel runs south to north on the western side of Boca Grande Key. It’s only about 60 feet wide. There are sea grass flats on either side of the channel on the north end of the island. At low tide, these grass flats are above the water. At high tide, they are submerged. This is supposed to provide excellent protection from large waves, and no protection from the wind. The current is so strong the boat will follow the current, not the wind. This means every 6 hours when the tidal current changes, so will the direction in which Distant Horizon faces… a lot of movement. Even so, this is the best place for us and protection from the waves is the primary attribute we considered.

We could have made it back to Key West, but that anchorage has virtually no protection from the wind or waves as they are being predicted. So, staying here for two days is our best option.

It was a long and busy day, and on the open water there wasn't much to take a picture of. However, as though to compensate for all that, we were treated with a very unusual sunset.

It was like the sky was on fire! As you can see, there was just one other boat anchored here. So, it was very peaceful.

Tortugas Trip Day 5 - Garden Key and Bush Key

Today was another relaxing day. We knew tomorrow was a hard day of sailing. We needed our rest. Even so, we took the tender out and rowed to Bush Key where the frigate birds nest. Nobody is allowed ashore, so we just drifted and took a few pictures.

Frigate Birds nesting on Bush Key

After that we rowed back to the fort. Along the way, we were lucky enough to encounter a turtle. Not your regular at home terrarium turtle, but one that was just as wide as our tender. It was a brief encounter. The turtle dove for the protection of the deep. We also drifted a bit trying to get a picture of the pelicans. One comes and visits our boat each night and seems to pose for pictures, but on a moving boat at late twilight, I was unable to get a good picture.

Another animal that we saw often was a Goliath Grouper. We saw him hanging around the boat, but at first we thought he was a manatee. It wasn’t until he came closer to the surface that we saw that the fins aren’t right for a manatee, so then we thought it was a small shark. When he finally came even closer, we could see that it was a Goliath Grouper, about 10 to 12 feet long. He liked to hang out underneath the tender, which was quite nerve-racking for us because he is longer than the tender!

Goliath Grouper

Hermit Crabs were pretty common around the fort

We spent the rest of our last day wandering around the fort, and taking some final pictures.

One of the two seaplanes that come and go several times a day

Distant Horizon at anchor in front of Fort Jefferson

Loggerhead Key from Fort Jefferson

Distant Horizon anchored with the tender ashore

Garden Key and Bush Key have joined together. The shoal has blocked the channel between them

 
It started to get dark. Notice the light is lit in the lighthouse. This lighthouse is at the top of the fort.

Garden Key Lighthouse

Before leaving, I followed my ritual of stopping by the Ranger Station. Each night, the ranger would print out the latest weather forecast for me. Ranger Hall was not there tonight. Another ranger was, but her was just visiting and did not know how to print. Since there was virtually no change since the previous day, I was happy just to read it so we could make our final decision. As That Clash put it so well…”Should I stay or should I go now…” That was the decision upon us.

There were two cold fronts coming. The first would bring blustery conditions with high winds and even higher gusts for two days. Then a good day based on the High Pressure system that would follow. Then another cold front was to follow that. If we stayed, we had one day go, and that was if the forecast was accurate. If we were to escape the Dry Tortugas before the approaching cold fronts arrived, it had to be tomorrow.

We were unfamiliar with our possible destinations and they were not well documented. The Marquesas was the closest location that may provide shelter in the storm. It was shallow all around and we would have to anchor in the lee of the island about a mile from it. Boca Grande was next with a fast running current in the channel, no protection from the winds, but absolute protection from the predicted 5-7 foot waves.

Grace and I discussed our options before going to bed. To arrive in the Dry Tortugas, we had favorable winds; an early start; and no complications. Yet, we arrived well after dark. The Marquesas and Boca Grande were both closer than Key West. We would still need an early start.

Tortugas Trip Day 4 - Fort Jefferson and Loggerhead Key

In the morning, Grace and I went back to the fort early; before the ferry arrived with the crowds. This would enable us to have a peaceful tour of the fort on our own. It was a bit overcast, but cleared as the day went on.

Grace standing in front of one of the fort's cactus. This is a desert island!

Looking down one side of the fort on the second level

A Gunpowder magazine on the fort's parade grounds

Grace at the end of a hallway on the inner second level

From the top level of the fort, we had some great views to!

The same gunpowder magazine as seen from above

A view of the interior wall from above

A view of the north anchorage. Nobody ever uses this one.

The nice thing about Japanese tourists... they will always take a picture for you

Frigate Birds

The day before, Ranger Hall suggested we take Distant Horizon over to Loggerhead Key to do some snorkeling. Today was the day we decided to take action. After lunch we would weigh anchor and depart Garden Key for the short three mile (as the crow flies) trip.


Once at Loggerhead we had to catch a mooring. Anchoring is prohibited. This rule is to protect the delicate coral in the area. Catching a mooring is something neither of has done before.  I drove the boat close, and then gave the helm to Grace. From the bow, I directed her to the mooring ball. She brought us to within a couple feet. Even with the slight rolling, I had an easy time grabbing the pendant of the mooring ball with the boat hook; running my line through it; and then tying the other end of my line to the other side of the boat. After adjusting the length of my line so as not to put too much strain on the mooring we were ready to take the tender ashore.

Loggerhead Key

Loggerhead Key Lighthouse

Fort Jefferson as viewed from Loggerhead Key. The fort's big cannons could shoot this far.

We loaded up our snorkeling gear and I rowed a short distance to shore. From there we walked across the island according to the ranger’s directions. Along the walk we passed the Loggerhead Key Lighthouse. I peaked in, but a sign prohibited entry. There were also two homes powered by a solar array.

We entered the water right where the ranger told us and snorkeled out. We were going through sea grass and a deep hole of sand…as the ranger said, “If you are in sea grass and sand, you haven’t gone far enough yet… keep going”. As we swam up out of the sand pit and over a little hill… is it a hill when it’s under water? We knew we had arrived. The directions we were given were to an old coral head for a look at how all the reefs used to look. It was amazing! More types of coral than I can remember, so many colorful fish, it was like living in a National Geographic movie. It was breath taking. We swam around and just drifted; watching the fish come and go in and out of the coal. Some just stay there waiting, supposedly for their next meal. We actually visited four of these coral heads, which were close in proximity to each other.

Eventually, I felt myself shaking and knew it was time to get out of the water. Grace seemed ok with that. We had agreed on the buddy system before entering the water.

After we were back at the beach we discussed how amazing the coral was. It was my first time snorkeling. Grace let me know it’s not always like that. In fact, she had never seen anything quite like that before either.

On our walk back to the tender we retraced our steps. Once by the homes again, a couple of rangers were walking by and we had a short chat with them. They told us about their duties and explained about the site. The newer of the two homes was for the island caretakers. The other older, smaller stucco home was for visiting rangers. They were indeed powered completely by the solar array. There was a watermaker, so they have an ample supply of fresh water.

We continued on back to the tender, rowed to Distant Horizon, dropped the mooring, and headed back to Garden Key. The mooring is for temporary use; limited to two hours so that others could use it. It is prohibited for overnight stays. But on that day, there was only us and the rangers.

We dropped anchor in the anchorage by the fort a little after 5:00pm. We hurried to the fort to catch Ranger Hall before he left for the day. We thanked him for the directions and told him how awesome the coral was. He asked about a few types of fish and seemed pleased we enjoyed it. He gave me the updated weather forecast and headed back to Distant Horizon for the night.

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Tortugas Trip Day 3 - Fort Jefferson on Garden Key

Grace and I wanted to sleep in a bit due to our later arrival and long sailing day yesterday. However, I launched the tender and rowed to Fort Jefferson on Garden Key. Last night, I was told to check-in at the Ranger Station at 8:00am.

The Dry Tortugas are a National Park. It is remote and provides no facilities. You must even bring your own water. That is not a problem on Distant Horizon. We have two 50 gallon water tanks of fresh water. 
There are only three ways to get to this National Park: Fast Ferry, Sea Plane, or your own boat.

Fort Jefferson on Garden Key, Dry Tortugas

Nobody was there, so I filled out the park entrance form, paid the fee and dropped it in the metal mail slot. Then, I went back to Distant Horizon.

After Grace and I had breakfast, we rowed back to the fort and signed in at the Ranger Station. Ranger Hall gave us a nice overview, but had to go. There was a Coast Guard helicopter approaching. He said they never just visit and was surprised he was not informed in advance of their arrival.

We wandered around the fort and walked on the beach. Along the beach we talked with a couple from the boat nearest ours. The man was asking about the weather. He said he was new to sailing and didn’t have a firm grasp on what the cold fronts meant. I explained the cold front and it’s impact as it pertains to sailing.

We knew we had a few days before it would impact us. The next morning they were gone when we got up. The ranger said they had been here two days and wasn’t surprised to see they left. That was the plan they had given him upon their arrival. Good! I thought I scared them with the cold front explanation.

Eventually when we were getting hot, Grace and I rowed back to Distant Horizon in the tender.

A great view of the sunset; right from the cockpit of Distant Horizon.

Last night we arrived by moonlight. Tonight the moon once again dominated the night time sky.

Tortugas Trip Day 2 - Key West to Dry Tortugas

We had a rolly night behind Wisteria Island at Key West, but an uneventful one. 

After breakfast, we weighed anchor (raised the anchor) and started out the Key West Northwest Channel for the Dry Tortugas. There is no real place to stop along the way. We need to make this 68 mile journey in one leap… today.

While in the channel, we motored. It’s a long channel several miles long. With the tidal current against us, it was slow going. As we were transiting the channel, the Yankee Freedom III passed us. That is the Fast Ferry to the Dry Tortugas, which Linda, Grace, and I took last year.

There’s a reason they call it the Fast Ferry. In just a few minutes, it was out of sight.

 

Once outside the Channel we raised the mainsail and headed west. 

Most of the day was wonderful sailing on a broad reach. That’s when the wind is coming from one side slightly behind the boat . The boat sailed well. Later in the day, the winds had veered and were coming almost dead behind us. I don’t have a spinnaker, so we had to adjust course and were losing speed and of course that is time to our destination. I put the jib out on the whisker pole to hold it on the opposite side of the mainsail; not really wing-n-wind as we were still on a broad reach. I don’t have a preventer rigged on this boat yet. A preventer, prevents the boom from crashing wildly from one side of the boat to the other when the wind is coming from behind. That crashing of the boom is called an accidental jibe and can be very dangerous for the crew and the boat. Our speed increased to over 6 knots, which was fantastic! 

By 4:00pm, the winds died down and veered again. We started the engine to start motorsailing. This would allow us to sail more directly to the Dry Tortugas, but making the wind less effective since the boat and wind would be travelling in the same direction.

It turned dark before we reached the entrance channel. We still had an hour to go to reach Garden Key where the anchorages were. Only three channel markers on the main entrance channel are lighted. Once inside, none of the channel markers were lit. We were blessed this night with a clear sky; the day before a full moon. The moon was high with a clear sky and we found our way into the anchorage without an issue.