Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas end of April.

[MoWndr]

My plan is to launch at Flamingo, in Everglades National Park. Make my way to Marathon and then to Key West by April 27, where my daughter will join me. Then wait for a weather window to go out to Fort Jefferson for a couple days and then back. If the weather doesn't cooperate we will wing it for the rest of the week.

Wondering if anyone else would be interested in buddy boating for part or all of the journey. I've cruised a lot in the Keys and up to Sanibel/Captiva in sailboats, but I've never ventured past Key West.

[jennykatz]

April the seas should be laying down Its about 70 mile run also there is no gas or parts if one breaks down out at ft Jefferson. please make sure you have enough fuel to make it there and back.

With that said have a great time and hopefully there will be some buddy boats to go with you.

[MoWndr]

Thanks JennyKatz for the info and good wishes.

We now have two boats. Mine and a fellow Missourian with a small cruising trimaran sailboat. We won't necessarily be traveling together each day but plan to rendezvous every night or so and to attempt the passage to dry tortugas together. Glen, the skipper of the tri has been there several years ago. As a former Master Captain, live-aboard cruiser and delivery skipper, he has tons of experience.

We are still planning on departing from Flamingo in the Everglades National Park. Low hassle, low expense, relative security and open water cruising are some of the compelling reasons for selecting that site. I've just confirmed with the park that leaving the vehicles with not be a problem. And calling around the keys, I couldn't find equivalent launching and vehicle storage solution

The plan is to be at or near Key West sometime around April 27-30 and evaluate the weather to determine if we go or not. Then we have the rest of the week to get back and explore the keys.

Other boats are still welcome for all or part. Just let us know.

[bcassal]

What a great plan! We attempted the same trip in early March. We launched in Flamingo and spent a very nice day cruisung around whitewater bay in the park. It was very windy when we were there and after spending a day on Florida Bay, we decided to trailer to Bahia Honda Park. Bahia Honda was a very nice spot. 20-30+ knot winds kept us from much pleasant boating and we trailered to Key West. We stayed at the city marina at Garrison Bight. Nice marina very near the old town. Slip and truck and trailer storage was $51/day. Pretty sweet for oldtown Key West. The tour boat was not running to Dry Tortugas, they said there were 13 ft seas there. Locals said the winds were unusually strong. Hope its much calmer for you. In any case, it's a wonderful area and I'm sure you will have a great time.

Bruce Cassal
Carpy

[MoWndr]

A follow up to this trip.

My daughter Mariah and I launched at Flamingo on April 26.We were joined by my buddy Glen who was sailing a Tramp trimaran. However it was late by time we arrived and got everything in the water so we decided to stay at the marina and leave the next morning. A hellish night at the marina. Thanks to the crows which attacked our boats, trucks and any item we foolishly left out. These guys were expert in finding food tearing open any non-metal container. They even punched into a can of peanuts by pecking a hole through the plastic lid. Glen being in an open boat suffered the greatest loss. Then there were the mosquitoes. Glen had to retreat to his truck for some relief.

Barely surviving the night before Glen was up and away by the time Mariah and I were up. So we quickly got ready and soon caught up with him out in the bay. By this time the noaa weather report was getting worse. High winds and the threat of storms for the next few days became a concern. Nice as it was at the time, Glen wisely decided to bail. We however were hopeful that the weather would not be as bad as predicted and decided to go ahead.

Arrived at Long Key just before dark, weather deteriorating. Anchored in lee and had a pleasant meal and watched a movie. Woke up at 0330 the next morning wind howling and anchor dragging. We are being pushed to shore. In only a few feet of water we started the motor and thanks to the electric windlass got in a little deeper water and tried to get away from shore before the 33 knot winds they were talking about on noaa weather forced us ashore. Pitch black, heavy overcast, no moon, no stars, no land based lights as we were too close to shore and the island at this point masked any nearby towers. Having got used to using the GPS's we watched them trying to figure out how to escape the shore. Wound up going in circle after circle. Except for the GPS our only other frame of direction in the total dark was the sea state. Going into the waves, waves on port, starboard or aft. Frame of reference not very good since we weren't sure where the waves were coming from. The feedback from the GPS was delayed enough that we were overcompensating. Then I remembered the good old compass. Mounted right there on the boat. Finally we were able to find and hold a course. Lesson learned. There are times when old technology is still the best. Once we were able to get away from the island without running into anything we were able to then pick up some tower lights that assisted in keeping a course. In a few miles we found a more secure anchorage for the now new wind direction. I'm not sure how bad it got but the storm they were talking about was visible on the cell phone display and it went right over our location.

The weather continued to rain and blow all of the next day, with predictions to have more of same for then next 3-5 days. So after two nights we took advantage of the slower morning winds and made it back to Flamingo and took out just in time to beat another thunderstorm. We shopped for a car for Mariah in Ft. Lauderdale the next 3 days. Lots of wind and rain. Then the weather let down and we went back. Mariah had until Monday before she had to be in school so we were determined to get some good time on the water in the 3 days we had left. Repeated the launch much more efficiently, but still pushed daylight Friday. Arriving at Matecumbe Bight after dark.

Next day we went to Bahia Honda. On the way we hit something in the water and could immediately tell the motor was feeling and sounding different. Stopped and raised the motor to find that the propeller was badly damaged. It still ran but poorly. After calling and talking with TowBoatUS, the local captain suggested a location where we could find shallow protected water, where we could change the propeller. It took some doing and without local knowledge we pissed off some Tarpon fishermen. But we got it done. Easier than I thought it would be. Thankfully I had a new spare prop. Don't leave home without one! As it turned out the new prop was a lot better than the old one in performance and fuel economy. The old one had some rough edges but I thought it was ok. Now I know how much a few dings can affect performance. Will get another prop before I head out again.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Made it to Bahia Honda just in time for some root beer floats before the store closed at 1700. Then up to the bridge for some photos. Back on the water and anchored on the north side of the key. Got in some kayaking, enjoyed a nice sunset and the super moon that night. Next day we stopped at East Cape on the way back to Flamingo for a bit of shell hunting.

All in all a memorial trip.

Lessons learned.
Don't forget the compass as a primary navigation tool.
Carry spare parts.
Make sure you have thoroughly tested everything prior to taking a long trip. I was using my Asus Transformer tablet on this trip for navigation in addition to the Garmin Chart Plotter. It is much superior in my opinion. The larger screen. The Navionics App with its vector maps and the BackCountry Navigator Pro app with its, NOAA charts and Aerial photos on the large screen were very usable. Until the battery ran down after about 6 hrs. What I didn't know was that although the charger uses a usb connection, it will only charge with its charger. I had thought that USB was USB. Not so. Now I have the right charger for the 12 volt outlet and I'm ready. All was not lost though. The same apps work on my smart phone and even with the smaller screen they were still more than adequate.

I will add another post later with a link to some photos/videos.

[El and Bill]

We are birdwatchers and on our trip to the Dry Tortugas in April the migration northerly of warblers across the Gulf (with a rest stop in the Tortugas) was marvelous. Have a great trip.

[thataway]

Nicely told story. Sorry that you did not achieve your goals. After having spent several days at Flaminco and adjacent areas I can sympathize with the crows. Many people put tarps up to protect their cars and gear! However it is a neat place. The Rosette Spoonbills were nesting when we were there. Great birding!

You can have the prop reconditioned. Thisway came with a prop which had some rough edges. You can smooth these uup with a course file or rasp (good to carry aboard, along with the spare prop).

[MoWndr]

Bob,

Yes, Flamingo is a nice area. Over the years I've been there a number of times. Usually earlier in the year and no mosquito problems. I like how it gets you away from the crowds.

How bad a prop can they recondition? The blades are bent and dented an inch or two from normal and some material lost. I don't know what we hit. There was a big bang. Didn't see anything before or after.

Scott

[MoWndr]

Here is a link to some photos and videos from the trip.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/mowndr/sets/72157629883499638/

Scott

[thataway]

It depends on the skill and equiptment avaliable at the prop shop. I have seen props on the Colorado River rafts (Grand Canyon) pounded out and filed where there was considerable damage and then used the next day. You want to be sure it is not badly out of balance, or it will cause problems wiht the seals in the lower unit (and maybe the bearings/gears).

Take it in and see-if bad, it will be cheaper to buy a new prop. The SS prop will not ding up as easily, but can cause more gear damage if a bad object is hit.

We were at Flaminco in Feb, and no misquitos. Next year we will try Everglade city.