Looe Key
Today is Friday. For most of the day it was very hot and humid, with no breeze. Then a predicted cold front moved in, with a very heavy 30-minute downpour, followed by winds that reached up to 60 mph in less-protected areas than where we are moored. Now the temperatures have dropped about 20 degrees and we have the comforter back on the berth.
On Wednesday Lori and I took the boat out to Looe Key, a state park and protected marine area that is entirely underwater. It's located about 10 miles northeast of the bay where the KOA is located, out in the Atlantic on the edge of the reef that defines Hawk Channel, the main shipping channel along the east coast of Florida. On our way out of the bay I misread the channel markers and did not pay sufficient attention to the color of the water (it gets browner as it gets shallower) and ran aground. This time the boat was really stuck and we were not able to push it off. So we called Vessel Assist (our membership paid for itself in full with what this one call would have cost) and within about 20 minutes a nice young fellow showed up in an open console cat with twin Suzukis -- basically the same configuration as the Tom Cat but without the pilothouse. In short order he got a line to one of our aft D rings and pulled us off the sandbar. He led us out the channel and since I turned on tracking on the chartplotter I was able to capture a record of how we got out. The more time I spend in the skinny water of Florida the more I learn, so it's been educational.
We had a tough slog out to Looe Key from the bay -- we had to run at displacement speeds and were only able to get up on plane returning to the bay. Once we got out there we had a difficult time finding a mooring ball to tie on to that had any kind of interesting features beneath the water. We returned somewhat disillusioned.
Earlier in the week we had met a couple working at the KOA, Bob and Barbara. They had previously owned a KOA in Jerome, ID before selling and going on the road full-time. Bob has read Beebe and wants to buy a Nordhavn so he and I had a lot to talk about! We had invited them to go boating with us later in the week when they were not working (there are a large number of retired people who work part-time for the campground as "Work Kampers".)
When we saw Bob and Barbara again we told them of our disappointing trip but decided to give it a another try yesterday (Thursday). What a difference! The waves were much smaller and we were able to get up on plane leaving the bay until we got to Looe Key. Barbara and Lori snorkled while Bob and I talked and kept an eye on the girls. They reported seeing a wide variety of beautiful fish, vegetation, but not much live coral (the reef has been heavily damaged by anchors and other problems -- the state is trying to protect what is left as much as is possible.)
After returning to the marina and cleaning up, Bob and Barbara took us to the
No Name Pub, a pizza and beer joint that is, "A nice place . . . if you can find it." The walls are covered with dollar bills on which customers have written messages or drawn artwork. Very good pizza!
We're planning to stay here through the weekend, and hopefully by Monday the worst of the cold front will have passed by and we can head north toward the Okeechobee.
Warren
