Florida Keys by Sail

[Papillon]

Chapter One

I am taking the liberty of sharing our vacation to the Florida Keys with my fellow C-Brats. Although we didn’t make the trip in our 22 C-Dory Angler (Papillon), due to the high cost of fuel and limited funds. We did go by water, in our 25 foot Macgregor sailboat.

We cast off all lines from our home dock in Naples, Fl. on Saturday, October 25, 2008 motoring south on the GICW to Goodland, Fl. just south of Marco Island around noon and arrived in Goodland at 4:00 p.m. , planning on using the time to get our sea legs and check out our onboard systems.

We docked at the Calusa Marina next to a couple who were on their way to Marathon, Fl., which was where we planned to make our next stop as well. We were both watching the weather with a sharp eye, as the wind predictions for Florida Bay was a bit in questions. Seeing that the average depth of the bay is only 7 feet and the wave height was predicted at 5-6 footers it is not a good idea to go across when you may very well find the hard bottom much to soon in these conditions. Sunday morning winds were stronger and no sign of letting up so we decided to wait it out back at home and try again next week. Our new sailing friends decided to anchor out at Goodland and do the same.

We were a bit disappointed by had no desire to start our trip hanging on the hook for 3 or 4 days when we only had about 10 days of vacation. We watched the weather all week and it didn’t break until Saturday, Nov. 1. We cast off in the dark at 6:30 a. m. and motored out of Gordon Pass into the Gulf at daybreak and begin out sail to Marathon, Fl.

Sailing all day with light wind out of the NNE we sailed SE to Marathon with our first sunset we were off the coast and near Goodland, where we had motored to in only 4 hours the weekend before. Sailing my be slow…but it sure is quite and cheap, gas wise that is.

The week before we first planned to leave I had decided that I really needed an auto helm and had found one on ebay and with some good luck, I had won the auction in time to get it before leaving and I have to admit, I don’t know how I could have done it without “Leroy” helping out on the tiller. We sailed all night and covered the 94 mile run, arriving at the 7 mile bridge at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Leroy and I had been at the helm for 26 hours and we looked forward to some “Zee” time.

We motor/sailed about half the way when the wind clocked around to the SE (on our nose) and total gas consumed by my 8 hp kicker was less then 5 gal.

We took a mooring ball at Boot Key Harbor for the night and proceeded to hit the showers and giving the puppy’s shore leave which they looked so forward to at last. The afternoon was reserved to resting from the long haul.

Our friends who had waited out the weather in Goodland had made the run across Florida Bay on Thursday and had some problems, a broken shackle on the main sail and dodging the crab pots and keeping their dingy from coming onboard with the following seas. We had suffered almost the same problems when the winds shifted on us as well, the mainsheet bracket broke on our mainsail but only after I had furled it and went to attached it to the topping lift did I discover it had fallen apart on the bimini top.

Mike & Bev were on the mooring ball next to us and they invited us to The Dockside Lounge for drinks and entertainment. A good time was had by all and we were back to the boat by 8 p.m. and ready for shuteye, as we planned to head out early for Bahia Honda State Park, about 14 miles SE of Marathon.

Photos available in my Album or at the following link
http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album225&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

[JamesTXSD]

Enjoyed the first installment, Mike. Going by sailboat is a whole different experience, huh?

For any Brats not familiar with the Mac-25, it is a trailerable sailboat, swing keel, with decent accommodations below; one of the few trailerable sailboats to be inducted into the Sailing Hall of Fame. A good sailboat to use in potentially shoal draft conditions.

Best wishes,
Jim

[Pat Anderson]

Mike - indeed, keep us posted on your trip. One day we'll get to Florida...

Is the MacGregor also the one with the water ballast? I seem to recall we were talking a few years ago to a guy in the Gulf Islands, I think he said his Honda 50 could plane the Mac when the ballast was drained. It seemed like an intriguing idea at the time. I would guess there are some compromises on the sailing side to be able to achieve this?

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Pat,

The MacGregor you are talking about is a 26x or m... water ballast with the ability to use a 50 hp motor. Mike's has a weighted swing keel, no water ballast. Uses a small outboard (4-6 hp) as an aux. Good sailing boat.

Best wishes,
Jim

[Papillon]

Pat:
Jim is correct as always about the Mac X & M and to add, they now take up to a 70 hp and yes there are compromises, but in my openion you end up with a crapy sailboat and a crapy motor boat. Blue Water Yatchs in Seattle is one of the largeest dealers and parts suppliers for Macgregor.

[Byrdman]

Mike... Keeping track of you and your travels. Sure missed you at the Gulf this year.

Safe travels.

Byrdman

[El and Bill]

Mike -
Great First Chapter. Bringing back many fond memories of our sailing on our Flicka through the Keys. Looking forward to Chapter Two.

[Doryman]

Enjoying your posts and hoping to get some ideas for our cruise there in Jan-Feb.

Warren

[Papillon]

Chapter Two

At 10:30 a.m. Monday morning we left the city dock in Boot Key after taking care of all the little things like walking the dogs, topping off the fresh water tank, dumping the port-a-potty and adding ice to the 5 day…or open me 5 times Igloo cooler whichever comes first.

It was a beautiful day on the water. We were motor sailing with just the head sail out. Totally relaxed, puppies asleep in the cockpit. We arrived Bahia Honda at 12:30 p.m. and decided to take a spot along the seawall to make it easier to walk the dogs.
They had very nice walking paths, restrooms and showers. The views from the old railroad bridge made for some wonderful views. The marina snack stand served up a very tasty Cheeseburger in Paradise. I got in 12 more hours of much needed sleep Monday night.

On election day morning we awoke around 6:00 a.m. and I make coffee and we enjoyed it at the picnic table’s right beside the boat. We cast off for Key West at 7:30 a.m. and sailed down Hawk Channel on the ocean side.

Judy shampooed her hair in the cockpit and spent most of the day waiting on it to dry. Sort a like watching paint dry….real excitement. Thank goodness for the US Navy…for I enjoyed the take off and landing of the fighter jets at the Naval Air Station Key West on Stock Island. As we were rounding the point to of Key West we were further entertained by the “Go Fast Boats” as we were soon to find out this was the week of the National Powerboat Championships. We arrived at Key West Bight and tied up at the T-Dock of A&B Marina. Here we set among the rich & famous for the mer sum of $3.00 per ft. The puppies were received with open arms everywhere we went in Key West. Say what you want about Key West, a town that loves dogs is “Ok” in my book. More about our time in Key West next time.

[Papillon]

Chapter Three

We have only been in the Keys for 3 days now and we have both come down with “Key Disease”. This is the condition where folks come down on vacation and decide to say. The hard part is finding a way to make some income while enjoying paradise. Some will know this a way to reimburse the cruising kitty. Well I started by telling everyone who wanted to pet my puppy’s that would be $5.00 please. One lady told me I hadn’t been in Key West long but I sure do catch on to the local ways in a hurry. Dare to say, I must not have made myself clear enough, for I didn’t collect a dime and at least 50 people petted my puppy’s.

We enjoyed sunsets, and the Mallory Square entertainers as there were no cruise ships in port on Tuesday night. It was not as crowded as when the mass of tourist from the big boats are in town. Some of the places we eat were Pepe's Cafe, 806 Caroline St. , Kelly’s Caribbean Bar and Grill, 301 Whitehead St. , Damn Good Food To Go , 700 Front Street, A&B Lobster House (Raw Bar),700 Front Street. All the food was outstanding, and we were able to enjoy our meals with our puppy’s at our feet.



I watched election night returns at A&B Raw Bar which is at the end of our dock, so it was a short walk directly into the bar at the end of the gang way. Being a left wing liberal I enjoyed the returns along with a plate of raw oysters as I watched the owners of all those big yachts tied up next to my little $5000.00 sail boat cry in their beer. That will be all on politics.

On Wednesday the first heat of powerboat races started around 10:30 in the morning. There were three heats ran with the last around 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon. Although I am not a big fan, it was interesting to watch and loud as hell. The course took them deep into the harbor and you got a up close and personal look as they made the turn right in front of us. It is my belief that as gas prices were falling across the country last week, we would have seen a much deeper fall if not for the Powerboat races taking place when they did. Based on the thousands of gallons of gas they must have used kept demand up enough to slow the decline in prices nationwide.

We visited Mel Fisher’s Maritime Museum at 200 Greene St. Mel Fisher is the treasure hunter who discovered the Atocha and her sister ship, Santa Margarita on July 20, 1985. I had the honor of meeting Mel back in 1987, my first year in Florida. I found him to be a very down to earth simple, humble man. Oh yea, I checked to make sure I still had my gold wedding band after meeting the man. Gold had a way of finding Mel , I am not so sure it was the other way around.

[captd]

Sailing was always my 1st dream, but alas it was not to be. Mis Dee did not like heeling over in a brisk stiff 30 knot breeze. I bought a puffer to learn to sail about 35 years ago. Now I have the sail kit for the Portland Pudgy. It sails quite well.

I tell you all this to repeat a story I once heard: It seems the harbor Master was standing out on his dock when a small 6 ft. dink with a bearded man rowing toward him, gave him the high sign. He asked " What is your slip rent ?" Dock master says, $1.50 a foot. Sail boater says, Wheeeeo (whistle) Could I use your bath room? And that is where the term "Whistle pisser" came from.

I am one of the few whistle pissers in a power boat. We can not stand to pay those slip fees.

I am enjoying the virtual sail down into the Keys, thanks and keep it coming.

captd

[Sea Wolf]

"Whistle Pisser", eh?

You don't suppose we could suggest that as a name the next time one of these new Ranger 21 Tug owners asks for name suggestions, do you?

Na, probably not!

Ohwell, just trying to be helpful!

Joe.

[Papillon]

Chapter Four

We cast off our lines at A&B Marina at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6 wanting to get out of the harbor before the Coast Guard closed the harbor for another day of races like they had done the day before. We found out later that the next set of races wasn’t till Saturday. All the same we were on our way back up the outer coast motor sailing with a steady head wind on our nose. Judy spent most of the day in the cabin with her dogs cuddled around her while she enjoyed a good book. Leroy and I stayed at the helm and enjoyed the view. It was mostly overcast with a few patches of blue every now and then. The Navy jets were there to keep us company for the first several hours.

I had originally planned to sail to Surgerloaf Key and spend the night on a ball at the KOA there. Just to check it out for future use but thought I had seen enough of the lower keys and would maybe head on to Bahia Honda for the night. That way the next day or two would give me time to go north of Marathon to Long Key which would make a shorter passage across Florida Bay on the finial leg home.

There was another sail boat ghosting us on our aft portside and I contacted him to determine his plans. The S/V Quest was heading for Ft. Lauderdale and told me if I planned on anchoring out at Bahia Honda to be careful for his last visit there that the bottom between the bridges had been scoured out by the currants and was poor holding. I thanked him for the heads up and we continued on shadowing each other the rest of the day.

As we approached Bahia Honda around 4:30 p.m.….all I could think about was those outstanding Cheeseburgers they served up at the snack stand. Now if I could only get to dock before they closed the stand…..wheeeeee….we made it. They had shut down the grill but had two…count them..two burgers under the heat lamp…I made it.

While enjoying the burgers on the balcony of the marina office and enjoying the view the pesky little no-seem’s arrived. Judy was not to keen on going on the hook outside the marina basin, and I wasn’t to keen on sticking around to become bug dessert. We shoved off with the sun setting and headed for Boot Key….14 miles up the coast. Let me remind you all here that 14 miles in a sailboat with a 8hp kicker fighting the wind equates to 4 hours away. That means we are entering Boot Key around 8 p.m. and the drawbridge closes at 7pm. So here we are 4 hours later…Judy standing lookout while I watch the chart plotter/sudo radar for sticks….Daymarkers…in the dark. We make it through the entrance to Boot Key without hitting any sticks and decide to drop anchor just in front of the bridge. There are several boats in the harbor on the hook and Judy is at the helm and I am on the fore deck ready to drop the hook. I gave directions to move further away from a nearby boat and Judy doesn’t seem to understand…I am sure she just can’t hear me…so I increase the volume and she increases her volume back at me. Rather then get louder and wake the other boaters I go back to the helm to take over the helm an “do the job right”. I give her gas and she doesn’t go anywhere. Judy said I told you so…..by the way did “You” raise the keel? Hum…I check the depth gauge and see we are in 1 foot of water with a 5’ swing keel in the down position….At last we have run aground. After raising the keel we motored a few more feet away the nearest boat and dropped the hook. Bedtime for Bonzo.

[Papillon]

Chapter Five

When morning came we motored over to Berdine’s dock which was only a few hundred feet from where we were anchored and topped of the ice and walked the dogs. The folks at Berdines’s were very friendly folks and we made several stops there to gas up and walk the dogs. It was easy to come and go from their docks with lots of room to manuvour the boat in a cross wind.

We motored on into Boot Key and hooked up to a mooring ball next to our friends Mike & Bev aboard “Walküre”, their homemade is a AS-29, designed by Phil Bolger. The design is really unique, and provides some special features than make it ideally suited to this journey. The boat is 29'6" long, 7'10" wide. It has two retractable "bilge boards" instead of a fixed keel. This makes it able to enter places where the water is shallow. It can navigate in water less than 2 feet deep. It also has two masts mounted in tabernacles. The masts are counterbalanced. This makes it very easy to lower the masts for getting under low bridges. Mike built the boat over a four year period part time.

Judy and I and the dogs took a walk to Publix Supermarket today to get a few things. That is a one mile walk to and from and I had to carry the dogs part way back. Next time I will bring bigger dogs…so they can carry me. We took a rest break by having lunch at the Cracked Conch Café on the way back. Their food was outstanding , but their service is indescribable. Rose , our waitress first showed up at our table on the patio with two cups of iced water for the puppy’s and then returned with two cups of chopped ham for the puppy’s as well. Then she said she had all the important stuff taken care of and would be able to take our orders now. From that point on, I couldn’t find anything wrong with this restaurant. When you are in the area, stop and ask for Rose and tell her your buddies of the “Papillon’s”.

The wind has picked up and the forecast isn’t looking good for a departure from Marathon for a few days. We joined Mike and Bev for a visit to the Crane Point Museum, Nature Center & Historic Site. Another 1 mile hike…just across the street from the Publix Supermarket. It was a interesting place to learn about the keys from a “Green” point of view. They had walking trails , wild bird hospital, and lots of gods little creatures running about.
We enjoyed a few hours there and the company.

Back on the boat , I cooked chili for dinner. Don’t make a face, but it was of the can kind. I was pretty damn good for coming out of a can. After dinner Judy headed to shore to take a shower and walk the dogs.

Upon returning she said out of the blue…why don’t we head out tonight since the wind has died down, so not really enjoying the waiting anymore then she did, I said why not…..All events after this moment we are blaming on Judy….she started it.

[Valkyrie]

Mike,

You just mentioned our favorite restaurant, The Cracked Conch Cafe! I spent many hours there about 20 years ago when I spent the winter on the hook in Boot Key Harbor and we always go there a few times when we visit the Keys. We always get a table way in the back on the patio.

Thanks for taking us back there.

Nick
"Valkyrie"