Glenns Gone Sailing

5-5-10

After a last minute weather check, we decided to sail offshore again today. Yesterday, Gary and I thought the day presented itself with one of the very best days of our lives. After our sail today, we now believe TODAY was the best day yet. I remember when my two sons were growing up and every Christmas I would say, “This is the best Christmas yet!” After many years, they caught on to the fact that I said that every year and I think the statement lost its appeal to them. Well, now that I’m “grown up”, I think EVERY DAY SHOULD BE THE BEST DAY YET, Christmas or otherwise. And for a sailor to say, “Today was the best day yet.” has special meaning to those of us who know the skill and luck (we choose to believe it’s God’s blessing) it takes to safely return to port. Yeah… the Glenn’s are still awesome and we still rule!

Since today’s leg of the trip from Fort Lauderdale to Lake Worth was longer than yesterday’s journey, we left this morning around 7:30 AM. We safely arrived at Lake Worth and were anchored in a little cove near Singer Island, just inside the inlet, around 3:00 PM.

Going out Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades Inlet was not nearly as rough as it was yesterday going out Miami’s Government Cut. The wind was not as strong as it was yesterday and it was from a better direction, providing a smoother ride up the North Atlantic Ocean. Today it was almost always directly behind us, so our day’s sail was downwind. The current was in our favor as well, so we traveled at least two more miles per hour today than yesterday. The swells were small and infrequent as well. All of these factors played a part in making the sail very pleasant.

The wind was light today, around 8 to 10 knots the early part of the day, so we motor sailed with just our screecher. This is a sail designed for light wind and it is the first (on the bow) of three sails on White Swan. (Some boats use a spinnaker, or a gennaker for the same reason.) When we were within a couple of miles to our destination, we shut the motor off and sailed the rest of the way to the inlet with just the screecher. The wind had picked up to 10 to 14 knots by then, providing enough natural power to keep us at the same pace as when we were using the motor. This is what Gary and I call “Sweet!!!” We are minimizing our carbon footprint.

Gary tried his luck at trolling again today, with the same end result as yesterday. He enjoys adding that activity to his sailing.

I had a much easier time working in the galley today. And the refrigerator hinges didn’t have stress on them today like they did yesterday.

The ocean was tranquil today and she was stunningly deep blue in color. There were few clouds dotting the azure sky. When we looked out across the ocean , and nothing but blue ocean and blue sky could be seen as far as we could see, we were once again reminded of how huge this world really is and how much there is out there waiting for us to explore. I told Gary, it’s going to be really strange when we do get to go to the Bahamas and get out into the ocean far enough that we don’t see land anywhere around us, 360 degrees. He said, “It sounds wonderful to me. I’ll like it.” And I’m sure, after we have the opportunity to accomplish a sail to the Bahamas, we’ll once again be saying, “The best day yet!!!”

5-4-10

White Swan is headed back to her new home at Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. Last night, Gary and I decided we would try the first leg of the trip offshore, if the weather looked conducive to do so. We also agreed if the ocean was too rough, we would not hesitate to turn around and return to the safety of the ICW and take that route.

After checking the NOAA website, again this morning, we decided it was okay to leave the security of our anchorage and venture out the Miami inlet, Government Cut. However, before leaving Crandon Marina at Key Biscayne, there were last minute tasks necessary for a safe voyage. We reviewed the charts for our course, made sure all hatches were secure, attached the jack-lines, took the grill off its stanchion and stowed it away, tightly secured the dinghy on the dinghy davits so it wouldn’t swing back and forth from the sea swells, put the life raft and ditch bag in the cockpit, took the sun canopies down from the bow of the boat and put the sun canopies up around the cockpit, and after putting our life jackets on and releasing the boat from its mooring ball, we were off to our adventure in the high (literally) seas.

Up to this point in our sailing experience, we have been, what our cousin on the eastern shore of Maryland calls, “pond boaters” because we’ve only sailed in bodies of water where there is land all around us and some of it within our sight at all times. This is the first time we have sailed offshore and we were excited, yet a little anxious until we got past the rough waves of the inlet and turned north to set our course. After

doing so, the new direction allowed the swells to come from nearly behind us (“stern quarter” for you nautically minded people), instead of directly on the bow (which causes a lot of bouncing around and a very rough ride). The swells coming upon the side of our boat were not unmanageable and we decided to put the jib sail out and motor sail. The wind was SSE (south/southeast) at 165 degrees and varied between 9 to 15 knots.

Gary enjoyed the voyage today tremendously. He is in his element when he is at the helm. He put a trolling line out from the stern while he sailed, but did not catch a fish. (Who says men can’t multi-task???)

I enjoyed being out on the ocean and following our voyage on the paper charts. The ocean really is a deep blue…beautiful. Preparing lunch in the galley was quite a challenge. Balancing myself while swaying with the rhythm of the swells took some getting used to. Frequently catching the refrigerator door so it wouldn’t fly off its hinges while I took the necessary items from it, was also challenging. Enjoying the chicken salad sandwiches, marinated artichokes, and multi-grain tortilla chips made the memory of the effort involved in preparing the meal quickly fade. And life doesn’t get any better than having chocolate for dessert while sailing on a deep blue ocean.

Our trip took about 5 ½ hours today. The first hour was spent motoring from Key Biscayne to the last marker of the Government Cut inlet where we turned north to set our course. The last half hour was spent going into the Port Everglades inlet at Fort Lauderdale and navigating to Lake Sylvia, where we are now anchored for the night. After such an exciting day on the North Atlantic Ocean, relaxing showers refreshed our bodies and the reward of successfully accomplishing our first offshore sail refreshed our spirits. We are so AWESOME. Today, the Glenn’s RULE!!! After e-mailing our dear friend and fellow sailor, Pat Dennis, she e-mailed us back congratulating us and said we have now “grown up”. We’ve waited a lot of years to “grow up”. But, we plan on being kids at heart forever…

5/2-3/2010

From Pumpkin Key to Key Biscayne, we had one of the best days of sailing this trip. The wind was 15 to 17 knots as Lily Pad and White Swan sailed with full sails on a beam reach (wind was at 90 degrees from the bow, which is great for sailing) up Biscayne Bay. Gary and I regretted having to take down the sails when we arrived at the channel to go into the marina.

Going south from Miami, we briefly stopped at Crandon Marina on Key Biscayne for fuel, etc. Going north from the Keys, we stopped at the same marina and rented a mooring ball for two nights. The first night is usually a time for relaxing after a day of being out on the water and all that is involved with that. The next day, however, we took our bikes to shore and explored the area.

Nancy and Sandy had told Gary about a bike trail across the street from the marina and we easily found it. The winding path that led us to Crandon Park was partially sheltered by numerous trees, including various types of palms and seagrapes, which intermittently made a canopy over the path, providing shade and a welcome relief to the hot tropical sun.

We rode our bikes around the huge parking lot along the massive sandy beach. Today is Monday so the parking lot was, for the most part, empty. The numerous trash cans throughout the park were full or nearly full indicating the grand park must have been very busy over the weekend. There was a building of significant size at the park so we stopped to see if it might be of interest to us. Delightedly, we once again found relief from the hot sun when we visited the air conditioned Marjory Stoneman Douglas Nature Center, one of the main features of the park. Ms. Douglas greets you with profound words printed on the outside wall as you come toward the entrance: “Whatever the universe is, I believe it is all one. And this fragile shoreline, with its mangroves, coastal hammocks and ancient reef, is a precious part of very little that still survives of our unique environment.” I was so moved by her statement, I stood and read it over and over. I had never heard of Marjory Stoneman Douglas before today, but by the time I left her Nature Center, I found, in her, a new friend. Though she died at the age of 108 in 1998, I felt an intimate kindred spirit with her because of how she cared for and loved the environment. I was told by a young saleslady in the gift shop, Ms. Douglas is well known by Floridians and is one of their most celebrated authors. I purchased one of her books about the Florida everglades, entitled Everglades: River of Grass. She’s written other books, many being books of short stories. Miss Douglas was born in 1890 and in 1915 she became the Society editor for Frank Stoneman’s Miami Herald. Hummm…office romance maybe. I find the sequence of her name interesting, keeping her maiden name last instead of a hyphenated last name like it is done by some ladies nowadays. Today, she might have called herself Marjory Douglas-Stoneman.

The nature center had six small aquariums that housed inhabitants of the local waters. It had an art gallery, gift shop and numerous handouts of informative literature of the local sea life and other facts about the Florida environment, as well as information about Key Biscayne. It would be worth a visit to the nature center just to pick up a map of the area.

While I was in the gift shop, Gary studied the map of the park and saw there was a garden on the opposite end of the park from where the nature center was. Upon leaving our air conditioned reprieve, we rode our bikes once again across the huge parking lot (seriously, it’s at least one mile long) and found the gardens. We were greeted by a loud bird’s call, of which we had no clue from what bird it came. Surprised, we found peacocks roaming freely in the gardens. We were not only amazed at the spectacle of them, we were amazed at how many there where. What a sight!

To say the acres of gardens were lovely, is an understatement. In one of the fountain ponds, a swan couple glided over the water’s surface toward us, as though they instinctively knew we wanted to take their picture. We already have a swan picture aboard White Swan, but it is soon to be replaced with the new one we took today of this graceful couple.

We rode our bikes on the partially shaded paved paths throughout the gardens and ended up riding on an unpaved path at the far side of the park. We thought maybe we would find a way out to the road, but we ended up in a hammock with no outlet. Actually, it was a little eerie. We quickly turned our bikes around and went out the way we came in.

Sandy and Nancy had told us about a grocery store within biking distance, so we turned the opposite direction from the way we needed to go back to the marina. A mile or so down the bike trail, we passed Nancy as she was biking back to the marina with groceries.

While we briefly chatted we her, we neglected to ask how much further the store was, and after what seemed like an endless hot journey, we found it in a strip mall, on the second floor. How many grocery stores do you know of that are in a strip mall on the second floor? Since we didn’t want to carry a heavy load of groceries, we purchased a few light items and then had lunch right there at the grocery store’s sub shop. Dr. Gary Glenn is living the high-life now folks. Ambiance is all in the eyes of the beholder, and air conditioning offered all the ambiance we needed to entice us to have lunch in a grocery store.

For those of you who plan to cruise in this area, the Winn Dixie grocery store is approximately a 30 minute bike ride from Crandon Marina. Go across the street from the marina and you will easily find the bike trail. Turning right on the trail takes you to Crandon Park and to the Village of Key Biscayne, where you will find the grocery store and other shops. The Winn Dixie is on the corner of Crandon Blvd. and W. Enid Drive. If you are riding your bike on the same side of the street as Crandon Park, the street sign reads Sunrise Drive (the street is named W. Enid Drive on the other side of the street). A bank occupies the corner of the street that is visible from Sunrise Drive (look across the street). There is a bike rack on the W. Enid Drive side of the building, as well as an escalator or elevator that you use to go up to the store. We had so much trouble finding this place, I doubt we will ever forget where it is.　

After allowing our body temperatures to drop down to normalcy, we ventured back outside into the noonday sun. Our options were to hurry back to a hot boat on the mooring ball (no electricity, therefore no air conditioning) or continue to enjoy what breeze there was from riding our bikes and see more of the park. We chose the later. From the saleslady in the gift shop of the nature center, we were informed of a boardwalk in the park leading to a fossilized mangrove forest. Fortunately, the boardwalk was on our way back to the marina. We easily found it, and it led us to a deck that overlooked the fossilized black mangrove forest, which just looked like a reef in the water below us. If you didn’t know what you were looking at, you would think it is just another reef. However, it is a very special feature of Crandon Park, and it is believed to be over 6000 years old.

Instead of going directly back to the boat after leaving the boardwalk, we went past our turn to the marina and went up on the bridge that connects Key Biscayne to Miami. Again, our resident informational Keys experts, Nancy and Sandy, told us sometimes you can stand on the bridge and see stingrays and other large fish in the water below the bridge. Unfortunately, our timing wasn’t right and after a few minutes of standing in the hot sun and seeing nothing swimming in the water, we rode our bikes back to the marina store where we indulged in ice cream and bought a bag of ice so we could enjoy a nice cold drink on the boat.

We enjoyed our day exploring Key Biscayne tremendously. Going ashore while cruising has been one on our greatest pleasures. Often times, there is no where to tie up the dinghy, thereby not allowing a shore excursion. But when possible, going ashore adds so much to the experience of cruising.

The best part of the whole day was going to dinner with Nancy and Sandy. We took the city bus to the Village of Key Biscayne, and Gary and Sandy decided upon the restaurant, Origin Asian, and it turned out to be fabulous. The evening hours presented a cool breeze and we sat outside beside a fountain pond. Our meals were wonderful and our last night together with our dear newly acquired friends, Nancy and Sandy Graves, was very special. I say “last night” because tomorrow we are parting ways, as we continue to go north to our new home in Melbourne, Florida, and they reunite with Ed and Cheryl to continue their journey to the Bahamas.  Bon voyage, our friends.

We arrived at Bahia Honda State Park at noon and a short time later we were on our way to Marathon. Unlike, the previous two times we tried to navigate Hawks Channel in rough, unmanageable water, the ocean provided calm seas. The trip was uneventful (yeah) and we arrived at Marathon around 4:00 PM. The three Gemini sister-ships, Lady Bug, Lily Pad and White Swan were once again united. We gladly accepted Ed and Cheryl’s invitation to come aboard Lady Bug and enjoy a movie, Momma Mia, with them.

4-28-10

The next morning, we left Marathon, to continue northward. The hot afternoon was exaggerated by the light wind. The light wind also imposed motoring upon us, rather that sailing. A quiet evening was spent at our anchorage for the night, Jewfish Hole, behind Fiesta Key and the KOA campground. Fortunately, the store at the campground sells ICE CREAM.

4-29-10

There was enough wind today to motor-sail to Islamorada. We anchored in the Lorelie Anchorage. We took the dinghy to shore in search of fresh vegetables and meat. After successfully accomplishing that task, we went on a search for diesel, finding the Worldwide Sport Fishing Marina. This is an awesome place with a huge store (a fisherman’s dream) which houses a replica of Ernest Hemingway’s boat, Pilar. They also have a large aquarium with lots of tropical fishes. Their best amenity is the restaurant, which all of us returned to for dinner and live entertainment. The six of us had a wonderful evening of good food, fun and laughter.

4-30-10

Rainy and overcast. We’ve decided to stay put at Lorelie’s Anchorage. We checked the cruising guide to if there was anything of interest that we might want to do. There is a Dive History Museum and a Sea Encounter, but we decided to do neither. Since we’ve enjoyed this area, we’re sure to return and possibly consider these tourist attractions then. Good day to just veg-out on the boat.

4-26-10

We decided we’d better not leave White Swan unattended on the hook (anchored) while we were gone overnight to Key West, so we motored her into the small marina at Bahia Honda State Park and rented dockage for the night.

Nancy told me about the nice showers at the campground that is just around the corner from the marina, so I slipped into the shower house and splurged with a leisurely shower for my birthday.  It was a hot, humid morning, so the tepid water of the shower was invigorating.

The morning greeted us with a gentle breeze that kept us comfortable as we walked to the bus stop that is just outside the entrance of the Bahia Honda State Park.  There is a bus transit system that runs the full length of the Keys, which makes traveling from one Key to another fairly easy.  When you don’t have your own car or you don’t have the time required to go where you want to go via your boat, the Key‘s bus system is a great alternative.  In talking with some people on the bus, we were informed a significant part of the Key’s population uses the inexpensive bus transit system because they have lost their cars during hurricanes.

Seeing an area by land is very different than going there by water.  There is a totally different ambience to any place when you go there by water.  However, it was a good experience to see the lower Keys strictly by land. On the bus ride to Key West we spotted the anchorage we used at Newfound Harbour, which was as far south, in the Florida Keys, as we got with White Swan.

Since Nancy lived in the Keys years ago, she pointed out places of interest to us while we rode on the bus to Key West. She stepped into the role of tour guide for the rest of the day, taking us to some of her favorite places.  The first restaurant we went to for lunch is one of the local’s favorites.  Pepe’s is a quaint little restaurant, half of which is outside with a crude leaky roof and dirt floor.  It was raining while we were there, so while we waited for a table we huddled next to the bar which offered protection from the inclement weather.  Going to eclectic places like Pepe‘s, is always a special experience from the norm.

Finding a place to spend the night was our next thing to do.  Nancy suggested different places she knew about and after checking out the Galleon, we made reservations to stay there.  Even the least expensive lodging in downtown Key West is expensive, around $200 a night.  Since we only stayed one night and this was my birthday present from Gary, we didn’t spend a lot of time looking for the absolute cheapest lodging in town.  Our room at the Galleon was comfortable and very near Mallory Square, which we planned on visiting during the evening hours.

Duval Street is “the” street in Key West. We spent most of the day traversing this street, frequenting various shops of interest to us. Jimmy Buffet’s Margaretville was one of our favorites.

We also went on a tour of Ernest Hemingway’s fabulous house with it’s inground swimming pool and beautiful gardens. We saw lots of six toed cats, decendents of Hemingway‘s own. Even before Mr. Hemingway had six toed cats, they were considered to bring good luck to sailor’s. These good luck symbols jumped ship and began populating Key West. They roam freely today, and are still regarded as good luck.

After appetizers and a drink at another haunt of Nancy’s, On The Roof,  we parted ways.  They needed to catch the bus back to Bahia Honda and we walked around, visiting shops until it was time to go to Mallory Square to watch the sunset.  Most people visiting Key West attend the daily ritual of watching the sunset at Mallory Square.  It’s reputation did not disappoint us.  Street entertainers were everywhere throughout the square, bidding an audience.  Tips from the spectators are customary and expected, so the larger the audience each entertainer acquires, the more they are rewarded if they present a good show.

After we were mesmerized by the beauty of the sunset over the ocean, we went to dinner at A&B Lobster House, which is a five star restaurant at the harbor.  The meal was great, as expected, but there was a loud, highly intoxicated, group in the restaurant.  The remaining patrons verbally expressed relief when this obnoxious group left as we were tempted to applaud their exit.  Subsequently, the rest of the time spent at this lovely restaurant was delightful.

Gary and I had a memorable time in Key West celebrating my birthday.

4/24-25/10

Our unplanned return to the lovely island of Bahia Honda Key, allowed us to experience it more thoroughly than our initial visit there.  For that reason, we are glad our plans to return to Marathon yesterday did not come to fruition.  The other reason we stayed two more days on this island is because the wind became so intense it made H awk Channel unbearably rough.  We soon found out in our attempts to go out into the channel that the ride back to Marathon, enabling us to reunite with Ed and Cheryl, would be a very uncomfortable three to four hour journey.  So, we waited for the wind to lessen and I was able to guide Gary to all the fascinating places I visited the day before.

Nancy and Sandy told us about a small museum in the park and we visited it as well.  There we learned more about the indigenous plants of the island, watched a video of the making of the original great railroad of the Keys built by Henry Flagler, received numerous pieces of informative literature regarding the island, and a presentation of wild birds via taxidermy.  One of the “stuffed” birds displaced in a glass case, all by itself, was a tall great white heron.  We’ve never seen a great white heron in the wild, nor did we know they existed.  It’s amazing how much we don’t know.  And traveling aboard White Swan to new places has given us a wonderful opportunity to learn new things.

Since we were unable to get back to Marathon, and celebrate my birthday tomorrow with Ed and Cheryl as well as the present company of Sandy and Nancy, we decided to do Plan B.  Nancy, Sandy, Gary and I are going to take the bus to Key West for my birthday celebration.  Our friends will spend the day with us and then return to Bahia Honda Key while we spend the night in Key West.  It’s too far to take our boats there for one day, and we would risk getting “holed up” there for days on end because of the strong winds.  Taking the bus is the best option with the weather as it is.  Since we can’t be in the Bahamas for my birthday, I’m thrilled to get to go to Key West.

4-22-10

Note:  Looe is pronounced “Lou”.

Today Gary and I ventured out into the Hawk Channel aboard White Swan without an escort (Lady Bug or Lily Pad).   We checked the weather and it was suppose to be a nice calm day. We studied our paper charts and followed our GPS directly to Looe Key. All without incident. YEAH for the Glenns!

Snorkelers at Looe Key

When we arrived at Looe Key around 11:00 AM, there were already a few tour boats there with excited snorkelers swimming in the waters around the reefs.  Mooring balls are provided at no charge at Looe Key so boater’s anchors won’t damage the fragile reefs.

We easily picked up a mooring ball line and got on our wet suits, snorkel masks and fins and I was the first one in the crystal clear blue water.  Even though I’m hesitant to get in the water just anywhere, you take me to a reef to snorkel and usually I’m one of the first to jump in to see the fishes and coral.  I love it!  So does Gary.

The day could not have been more perfect for snorkeling.  As I said in the previous paragraph, the water was crystal clear, so the visibility was excellent. Gary’s guess is we could probably see for 50 feet or more.  The water was relatively calm with manageable swells.

There was an abundance of different species of fish around the large reef of Looe Key.  We saw queen angels, different kinds of parrot fishes,  sergeant majors,  barracudas,  yellow tail snappers, and many other species. The most exciting fish we saw was a huge jewfish (also know as goliath grouper) that was hanging out under our boat.  It must have been at least four feet long and weigh over 200 pounds.  (We later read in our fish guide they can grow up to six feet long and weigh 600 pounds.)  We stared face to face with it for a few minutes.  It did not scare us because it showed no signs of aggressiveness.  But, trust me when I say, I kept both of my eyes on its huge mouth just in case it started to open…

Crystal clear water showing reef at Looe Key

There were very few hard corals at this reef.  However, we saw numerous soft corals, including big purple fans.  When we scuba dive or snorkel in the British Virgin Islands, we often see flamingo tongues (pretty pink spotted snails) attached to the purple fans, so we both looked for them at Looe Key, but neither of us found any.

We snorkeled for almost an hour before getting back on the boat to eat something for lunch.  Then we got back in the water and enjoyed looking at all the reef presented to us for another hour before getting back aboard White Swan and motoring to our evening’s anchorage.

Sunset over Big Pine Key at Newfound Harbour

Captain Gary’s study of the charts led us to an anchorage off  Big Pine Key named Newfound Harbor.  We successfully navigated directly to it without incident and we anchored for the night.  Yeah, we did it all by ourselves.  ‘Intimidation” of the Florida Keys is no longer in the Glenn’s vocabulary.  “Respect” yes, “intimidation” no.  The finale for the day was the magnificent sunset we were privileged to witness.  We have yet to lose interest in the sunsets and sunrises over the water.  I only wish pictures or an artist’s brush could truley capture the beauty of what we have seen in real life.

Talk about feeling like we are in the Bahamas…today certainly made us feel like we are there.  Being “over there” couldn’t possibly offer any more enjoyment than our experience today as we snorkeled at Looe Key and then saw tonight’s sunset.  We thoroughly enjoyed our day today.

4-23-10

We enjoyed snorkeling so much yesterday, we decided to stop by Looe Key and snorkel some more before heading back to Marathon on Vaca Key to reunite with Cheryl and Ed.

The wind was a little stronger this morning and was suppose to pick up a little more in the afternoon.  We got to Looe Key around 10:30 in the morning and by the time we arrived, the wind’s contribution to the swells increased their size.  We felt we could still comfortably snorkel even with the swells, so we donned our snorkel gear and jumped in.  The water was rather silty due to the wind and swells, but we could still see enough to enjoy the snorkeling.  We did so for about an hour and then we returned to the boat for lunch before getting underway.

The seas offered a rougher ride than what we anticipated, as the wind continued to get stronger.  The bumpy ride was getting more and more uncomfortable as we were nearing Bahia Honda Key.  Then the engine starting acting up, and actually stalled one time.  Both of those factors played a part in our decision to change our destination of Marathon and return to Bahai Honda Key instead.  (Plan A is to have Plan B.)

While going through the narrow passage of Flagler’s old railroad bridge, we held our breath as the engine sputtered a bit.  Thankfully, White Swan was good to us and got us safely back to the Bahia Honda State Park anchorage.

Sandy and Nancy were still at the anchorage and Sandy came over and helped Gary check one of the fuel tanks for contaminates.  There was nothing wrong with the fuel in the tanks, but some water was found in the bowl of the fuel filter.  They surmised the intermittent performance of the engine was due to the bouncing of the boat and droplets of water getting into the fuel pump.

View of Bahia Honda State Park from Flagler's old railroad bridge.

Geckoes on butterfly house in butterfly garden at Bahia Honda State Park

While the guys were working on the engine, I took a pleasure trip to shore and snorkeled at the beach, walked up to a scenic lookout on the old Flagler railroad bridge, went for a walk through the butterfly garden, and enjoyed an ice cream cone purchased at the state park’s gift shop.  “Alone time” is a rarity when a couple is cruising on a boat, and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It also gave me opportunity to really check out the amenities of the island, which we did not do the first time we were at Bahia Honda Key.

4-21-10

Note: Bahia is pronounced, “Bay-ah” by the locals.

White Swan at Bahia Honda Key

We no more than reunited with the sailors aboard Lady Bug, when White Swan and Lily Pad headed further south to Bahia Honda Key, which is the first island of the Lower Keys.  Nancy used to frequently go to Bahia Honda Key to the state park when she lived in the Keys years ago.  She became the resident Keys expert at this point.  She gave us numerous pointers on what to do and see while we were in the Lower Keys.  She and Sandy planned on going to Bahia Honda Key after Vaca Key and she suggested we might like to go there as well, after I was voiced my desire to see sandy beaches instead of mangrove swamps.  Bahia Honda Key has some one of the few natural sandy beaches in the Keys.  I mistakenly imagined the Florida Keys to be nothing but sandy beaches and palm trees.  Not so.  However, the Lower Keys have more beaches than the Middle and Upper Keys.  My personal opinion is, if you want nothing but sandy beaches and ocean, you might as well stay on the east coast of Florida.

On the way to Bahia Honda Key, we stopped by Sombrero Key which is a reef with a lighthouse on it.  Even though it is called a key, there is no land visible above the water.  Sombrero Key is used as a snorkeling site and there are mooring balls provided there at no charge so boaters won’t damage the fragile reefs with their anchors.  Lily Pad and White Swan were secured to mooring balls and then the four of us enjoyed snorkeling in the clear blue water.  There were lots of fish, soft coral and sea fans at this site, but very few hard corals.

Lily Pad led the way into the anchorage at Bahia Honda Key.  The reef, that is at the beach of the state park, jets way out into the channel and close attention must be given to avoiding it as you navigate your way through the opening of the old Henry Flagler railroad bridge which allows entrance into the harbor at the park.  We were thankful for Lily Pad leading us into this tricky entrance.  After successfully anchoring in the harbor, Gary and I took our dinghy to shore and tied it up to a piling in the marina while we took a walk along the water’s edge on one of the beaches on Hawk Channel at Bahia Honda State Park.  The water displayed different shades of blue, with the lighter pastel blue being the most shallow.  Some people were snorkeling over the reef in the waist high water.

Beach on ocean side at Bahia Honda State Park

Further up the coastline is another beach, unseen from the beach at the state park, which is a topless beach.  We passed the topless beach as we sailed down Hawk Channel, but we were a couple of miles away and unable to see the people (even with binoculars).  Nor did we walk far enough to reach that beach.  A third beach on the island was at the harbor where we anchored for the night.  This beach has buoys in the water lining the designated swimming area, warning the boaters to stay away.

Cheryl (left) and Ed behind her; Nancy (right) and Sandy behind her

There is a small marina at the state park and they run snorkeling trips from there, taking people out to a huge reef called Looe Key.  Gary and I located Looe Key on our charts and decided we would venture out on our own tomorrow and go there.  It will be the first time since we’ve been in the Keys that we will navigate somewhere by ourselves.  Actually, sailing in the Florida Keys was a little intimidating for us at first.  The paper charts are not the most user friendly and you have to know how to get from point A to point B using the paper charts because the GPS only shows a limited amount on the screen.  We are very thankful to have had such good mentors to introduce us to sailing in the Keys, namely Ed and Cheryl Byers, and, Sandy and Nancy Graves.  Gary and I think we could have mastered it by ourselves, but having the others to guide us certainly made our first trip here a lot easier.  Thanks to their tutorage, we now feel we could come back again and successfully navigate the Keys on our own.

Clear blue sky and royal blue ocean

Regarding our sail down Hawk Channel: Today is the first time we have actually sailed outside the ICW.  Hawk Channel runs on the outside (ocean side) of the chain of islands comprising the Florida Keys.  Obviously, the ICW runs on the inside of the islands, making it more protected from the wind and waves of the Atlantic Ocean.  There is a barrier reef between Hawk Channel and the Atlantic Ocean, which minimizes the swells (waves) coming from the ocean.  However, Hawk Channel is not nearly as protected as the ICW and navigating it requires good weather and light winds.  We had nice weather today for our trip down the channel and motor-sailed with just the jib out.  The water was a beautiful royal blue and crystal clear.  Today was the first day we really felt like we were in the “Bahamas of the United States”.

4/19-20/2010

We realize now we are not going to have enough time to go to the Bahamas.  When planning this trip, we read in the cruising guide a minimum of one month is necessary to go to the Bahamas because of dealing with the weather.  We had the month of April to make the trip, but more than half our time has passed while we have been waiting for the proper weather conditions to make the passage.  The extended forecast indicates there will be no break in the weather any time soon.  Hopefully, there will be another time when White Swan can venture to the Bahamas.

Since our reality check, we have decided to enjoy the Florida Keys the rest of April.  Our travel today brought us to the city harbor in Marathon on Vaca Key.  We are now in the Middle Keys.  We picked up a mooring ball in this busy harbor.  I always enjoy being hooked to a mooring ball, as we don’t have to worry about our anchor dragging during the night.  And just as important, we don’t have to worry about others’ anchors dragging in the night.   For those of you who don’t know what a mooring ball is, it’s a large ball-shaped float permanently anchored to the bottom.  It has a rope attached to it, that you pick up with your boat hook and then secure it over a cleat on your boat.  Most busy harbors have a mooring field because  1. More boats can stay in the harbor., and  2. The city or whomever owns the mooring field makes revenue from the rented mooring balls.   And as previously mentioned, for the boat owner it’s safer.

That evening, Sandy, Nancy, Gary and I rode in our dinghies to Burdine’s restaurant and had a lovely dinner.  We enjoyed having our meal on the waterfront deck until dusk came and the No-See-Ums attacked us.  We quickly paid our tabs and enjoyed the breezy ride in our dinghies back to our boats, leaving the No-See-Ums behind us in the still air.  From now on, we”ll probably try to be on our boat, with the screens in the hatches, before dusk arrives at this anchorage, to avoid another encounter with the No-See-Ums.

The next day, we loaded our marine bikes onto the dinghy and rode them to the nearby grocery store.  Afterward, we met Sandy and Nancy at the Stuffed Pig restaurant for lunch and then we went to the fresh seafood market.  With each couple parting ways, Gary and I chose to ride around and see what else we could find close to the marina.  We found a turtle hospital that gives educational tours.  Remember the saying, “If you want to revisit a place, don’t see everything there is to see.”  We want to come back to the Florida Keys again, and we’ll hopefully tour the turtle hospital at another time.

By the time we got back to our boat, Ed, Cheryl and Molly had made it to Marathon to reunite with us.  The three sister ships were on mooring balls all in a row.  It’s always impressive to see a group of the same model of boat in a harbor.  We are often asked if we are traveling together.  A few times, there have been one or two other Gemini catamarans in the same harbor along with the three of ours.  Usually, we meet the owners before leaving port.