2009

Windwalker Log - Florida Keys Sea Trial, May-June 2009

05/24/09	Lake Worth, FL Wow! All we were planning on doing today was loading up the boat, storing the car and spending the night aboard so that we could leave the dock around one hour before the 10am high tide tomorrow morning. High tonight was around 10pm - and we didn't want to depart after dark. After dinner at home, our cab came at 7:30pm. We were at the boat at 7:45 and were both struck by how high the water was. All of the last week's rain was having an impact and Windwalker was very high against the dock. Let's leave now!!!! Amazingly enough, we started the engine, untied and were through our first bridge (Donald Ross) at 8pm. A speed record! We followed another smaller sailboat through the bridge and down the intracoastal. A mistake on our part. We should have passed him. By the time we got to the PGA Bridge we were going to be about 5 minutes late and the bridge-tender could not be pursuaded to open late for the 2 sailboats. The current was stiff and we were now stuck holding in place for 30 minutes in the dark. Our original intention was to dock off of Old Port Cove in the northern part of Lake Worth. But by the time we got to the turn-off channel at around 10, it was way too dark to see the unlit markers for the channel. So we kept on towards the Lake Worth inlet anchorage. Most of the ICW markers were unlit and while we had our chartplotter on, it was still a very tense ride. The other sailboat stayed less than a boat-length behind us; we guess he wasn't comfortable with what he was doing either. Iris stood on the bow with binoculars and flashlight and tried to highlight the markers as we approached them. Once we got to Peanut Island, the city lights made navigation a lot easier and we were anchored by 10:15! Phew - don't want to do that too often!
05/25/09	Venetian Isles anchorage, Miami, FL We needed fuel and so weren't going to be able to get as early a start as we would normally get for a trip to Miami. Anchor up at 7:15 and we were side-to at the Riviera Beach Marina fuel dock at 7:30. Out the inlet at around 8am. The skies were dark with thunderstorms further inland and we were without wind. As we passed the south end of Palm Beach we saw a wonderful rainbow. Fred also saw dolphins enroute - always a good sign ;-) We had a slightly adverse current for most of our 70+ mile trip, but we made good time with the new engine and a fairly clean bottom. Ominous clouds built up as the afternoon wore on and a severe thunderstorm warning plus a marine warning was issued for our area as we motored between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, but we were fortunate and the storm crossed into the ocean north of us. We entered the Miami inlet with a flood tide and Windwalker flew down Government Cut at around 10 knots (a first time for us as it is usually a security zone when cruise ships are present.) We were anchored by 7:30pm and felt good about the day. Frosty (now 17+ yrs old and frail) did get sea-sick and also had a seizure, but in general did well during the day. We noted that for Memorial Day weekend, there were very few recreational boats out and about.
05/26/09	Rodriguez Key, FL We left the anchorage around 7:30am and since there were cruise ships in port, had to take the (longer) Fisherman's cut. The deck wash (which Iris uses to clean the chain and anchor as she brings it up) was not working. Something we can look at later. Once again - no wind, very few folks out on their boats, and thunderstorms surrounding us. But the seas inside Hawk Channel were flat and we made excellent time motoring. We sure were achieving our engine break-in! Fred noticed that the salt-water pump on the engine was leaking and we checked it fairly frequently. We were the first boat into the anchorage and even by nightfall there were only about 5 boats. Very quiet for a holiday weekend. Iris hurt her finger while freeing the anchor on the bow - but it was probably just jammed; painful but not broken. We tentatively planned on staying put tomorrow to do chores.
05/27/07	Rodriguez Key, FL All the other boats left while we remained. We noticed that the a/c driven refrigeration was working great on the freezer side but wasn't cooling too well on the refrigerator side. We knocked off several chores quickly - Fred checked on the pump leak, fixed the anchor wash and cleaned the bottom in the clearer waters. For once we were hoping for rain to wash the thick coating of salt on the boat, but a brief shower did nothing. We swam a bit and relaxed. We'll see how the pump leak does tomorrow. About 5 or 6 boats came in at dusk.
05/28/07	Long Key Bight, FL We didn't have far to go today and wanted to do some snorkeling. We left at around 8:45 and motorsailed to our first stop - Hens and Chickens. It was way too rough in the S/SW winds and we kept going. Next we tried Alligator Reef light and picked up a mooring. There was about a .5 knot of current so we swam against it. There were large schools of fish and little in the way of coral since it's more a stop for diving on ship wrecks. We continued on to Long Key Bight. We were expecting South winds so the anchorage was potentially iffy, but we'd had good holding before. Fred did the first oil change on the engine and then went for a dip. By evening thunderstorms were in full force and 6 sailboats (including us) were anchored in the area. We assumed that a few of the boats were Sea Scouts as their base was close by and they were flying pirate flags... During the day, the salt-water pump had continued to leak and our concern grew. Fred called All Keys Diesel in Marathon and ordered a new/spare seal. We figured that would be the minimum we needed should the original seal fail. But it wouldn't arrive via UPS until Monday. And we weren't in a hurry to just sit in Marathon on a mooring - been there, done that. Wind forecasts weren't great for anchoring outside the harbor.
05/29/07	Long Key Bight, FL The forecast for the day was abysmal and there was no point in heading to our favorite snorkeling spots or on to Marathon. All of the other boats left in the morning. Lines of thunderstorms passed over us all day and static from the storms disrupted any am radio listening ;-) Once storm stayed overhead for quite awhile with very heavy rain. We were seeing/feeling 4' waves bounce us around from the protected direction (west). And the silver lining - the boat was finally cleaned of salt! The first of the evening boats started arriving at 4pm during the height of a particularly severe thunderstorm. We saw 30 knots and it probably got higher than that. Iris tried the SSB in the evening and heard Herb (the Canadian weather forecaster) giving boats weather routing information. Fred went to bed early and Iris got to bed around 10:30 but by 11:30 there was another severe storm. We stayed up to ensure we weren't dragging. Our anchor was holding fast! No one else was moving either.
05/30/07	Jew Fish Banks (off Fiesta Key), FL The forecast was slightly better. We were tiring of staying on the boat and wanted to do something ashore somewhere! Still not great snorkeling weather. We decided to go dinghy exploring and headed out to sea to get to the ocean side of Long Key State Park. It was wavy, we were having a very bouncy ride and we were going to have to go around shoals and dry flats to get to the closest beach. We aborted our trip in that direction and decided to seek the park via the mangrove canals through the Layton subdivision. We found the lake we were seeking, but it was only about 1/2 foot deep and all we accomplished was a nice sight-seeing tour of this waterfront community! We returned to Windwalker - we still hadn't gone ashore anywhere since Sunday night! We waited until after a thunderstorm at 2pm and moved through channel 5 to the bay side, anchoring off of Fiesta Key (KOA). We anchored at around 2:30pm and put the dinghy back in the water since we planned to go ashore and see if the restaurant (previously closed whenever we'd been there) was ok for dinner. At a minimum we'd have a walk - or so we hoped. We went for a swim at around 4:30 but thunderstorms began in full force at around 4:45. We were waiting for an opportune time to go in for dinner but by 6pm storms still surrounded us and we weren't going to abandon Windwalker and head ashore for long. So we ate aboard and went in for ice-cream at dusk. Good thing - the restaurant wouldn't have been all that special. But we walked around as we enjoyed our desserts. Back at the boat, the generator was clogged. Fred cleared the clog enough for Iris to finish her refrigerator run. And really loud music emanated from the shore as the live performers partied on til around midnight. We ensured that our SSB weatherfax worked with our new(er) laptop and all worked well. Tomorrow it's time to head to Marathon.
05/31/07	Marathon, FL We debated going to Marathon via Florida Bay. We'd had these discussions before. The tide is only 6" and the water depths are pretty shallow. We need 6 feet and a lot of the way is around 7' with a few shallower channels. But we were going to chance it. Oops - a thunderstorm at 6am with forecasts for more, and then potential problems with our holding tank made us reconsider. We raised anchor and headed back to Channel 5 and oceanside. Iris started the engine driven refrigeration and nothing happened. She took the wheel as Fred went below to see if it wasn't something simple. Of course not. And we don't like to run the generator while motoring because we won't be able to distinguish between engine or generator noises. The fridge wouldn't last until Marathon - so we anchored once again in Long Key Bight so Iris could run the generator/refrigerator. Meanwhile the skies opened up with yet another downpour. Our moods turned sour. At 10:30 we were ready to continue on to Marathon. Enroute we saw a large sea turtle and a large waterspout looming over Vaca Key amidst the numerous thunderstorms. Fred convinced Iris that we needed to snorkel to improve our spirits so we veered to Sombrero Key. The visibility wasn't as good as we'd seen a few days earlier but the coral was pretty and Iris saw a large shark - her first impression was that it was a nurse shark, but on thinking about it - it sure had a hammerhead shape to it. In either case, it wasn't interested in the snorkelers above it and went on its way. Iris called in to request a mooring for two nights and got the mooring assignment. We went through our former nemesis bridge (Boot Key Harbor bridge) - which is now permanently open and un-manned, and were moored by 5. We dinghied in at 5:30 to check in and to dispose of 8 days of trash. Austin, the assistant harbormaster, gave us a keycard to the new, beautiful bathhouse. Marathon Municipal Marina is one of the few places that significantly improve each time we're there! Time for the cook to eat out! We had a belated 36th anniversary dinner at Annette's Steak and Lobster House across the street and picked up a Sunday paper. Once again we noted very little boating activity. There were a few liveaboards and many more boats moored for long-term storage - sans crew. The day ended far better than it had begun!
06/01/07	Marathon, FL It rained lightly around 2am but we didn't have to worry about dragging vessels. After breakfast but before our generator run, we dinghied ashore to complete our check-in and take showers. The dinghy engine idle was acting up and we stalled a lot on the short ride from and to Windwalker. Back aboard, Fred adjusted the outboard and then Iris cleaned the aft quarter of Windwalker which was gray from engine smoke from the break-in period. Our pump seal wasn't due for delivery until around noon, so we decided to go ashore for lunch and then to walk over to All Keys Diesel to check on our part. We checked out Keys Fisheries - a bayside fish market/marina/restaurant for lunch. It was pretty casual with outside seating only. The food was fine. The marina and bay view was pleasant. Iris had considered anchoring bayside near the restaurant and dinghying in - but there was no real place to land, so it's not clear that would have been a good idea. Now for our part. We walked a few blocks to the shop and Fred asked if our part was in. Nope. Can you trace it? The clerk, suffering from a bad cold, called the source to get the tracking number and then checked it. Lo and behold - UPS showed that the part had arrived in the morning and that she was the one who received it. A bit chagrined, she found the part. We were glad that we'd gone in person! We purchase the part and an oil filter and made our way back to the boat for a hot and lazy afternoon. Once again there was very little activity in the harbor. Things are really depressed! It's getting late in our two-week trip and Iris had hoped to get to Cape Sable and Little Shark River. It's really late in the season to head there - the Everglades are full of flying things in the summer - but we wanted to see it! We had a light dinner and planned our trip.
06/02/07	Bahia Honda Key, FL We were up at 6 to get a refrigerator run in as well as a short trip ashore for a shower. Iris checked out the radar on her Palm Centro/Sprint PDA and it looked really bad for Cape Sable. The westernmost Keys as well as the western shore of FL were engulfed in thunderstorms. This is not the day to head to a very exposed anchorage such as Cape Sable. We headed out of Boot Key Harbor - we were going somewhere. It would be about an hour to our decision point - either continue through the Moser Channel under the Seven Mile Bridge to Cape Sable or go to Bahia Honda anchorage. At our decision point the storms had only gotten worse and Bahia Honda it was to be. We were the only boat there when we arrived at around 11am. It took us a couple of tries to get our anchor well set and the current was stiff. This is not a place we leave Windwalker until we've seen the tide turn and until we've gone through a slack period - which was scheduled for around 3pm. We put out a lot of scope and enjoyed the beach view - not a lot of activity going on there either. Around 1pm an 80-85' ketch called Calypso Gypsy entered the anchorage. Another sea-scout boat! Now where is he going to anchor it? The captain dropped anchor less than a boat length ahead of us and dropped very little chain. We both got up on deck and made it clear that we were displeased. When the current would go slack the boats would most certainly hit if not before then. The first-mate saw our alarm and spoke with the captain (they were close enough to hear a lot of it) and they let out a lot more scope. But still way too close. They prepared to unload their 18 sea-scouts and the boys started jumping into the water and swimming to shore. We started having our loud conversations with the first-mate insisting that they should consider moving. Unperturbed, they assured us that they would stay aboard with the engine running and leave well before slack. Fred started taking photos of their boat so that when we would be struck, we'd have documentation. They noticed.... One of us remained in the cockpit at all times. Whenever their vessel came within 20' of us, they'd kick away with their engine. We were very uncomfortable and we also had hoped to swim at slack. Slack came and went and they were still there. They started to round up their kids and left by 3:30 - but by then the current was getting too high for us to go for our planned swim. We've been disappointed in the seamanship or lack thereof of all the sea scout boats we've encountered (and there have been many). We think the Boy Scouts are not learning good seamanship practices from their adventures. The first-mate seemed somewhat embarrassed by the actions of the captain. He told us that he was going to become the captain next week. That didn't necessarily make us feel better. We waited until the reverse current built up to make sure we were set, and then headed to shore at 4:30pm to have some ice-cream at the park shop. We just made it in time as they closed at 4:45! We walked around for about an hour and were back onboard at 5:45. We watched in amazement as a sailboat motored into the park marina. The channel depth is around 3 1/2'! We were even more surprised when they popped out at 7:30 and went through an anchoring drill. It seemed like there were 7 or 8 people on the boat but the owner or charterer was shouting out a lot of directions as they were planning on using two anchors. We hope they get a good set!
06/03/07	Mid Cape Sable, FL Our time is running out - we only planned on a two week trip. But the radar looks better than it has in days and winds seem favorable. Let's go for one night and check out Cape Sable! We got through Moser Channel - guarded by a single pelican, and had a wonderful beam reach all of the way. We only saw a couple of boats in the distance. One, a sailboat, seemed headed on to Little Shark River. Another, a trawler, was motoring along East Cape (as were we), before it too headed north. We stopped to see if the wave action would allow us to anchor at East Cape (Iris' preference for its long beach). The wave action, wind and current wasn't great. Let's go on to mid-cape. A pod of dolphins greated us in the shallow waters. We moved to just south of the channel into the nearby 'lake' but we were still about a 1/2 mile off shore in about 7' of water. The current was very strong. We were concerned about dinghying to the beach because if our outboard failed, we'd soon be very far away from Windwalker!. So we stared at the beautiful beach, lined with mangroves. We saw a small flats boat arrive and fish for awhile before leaving before dusk. We put down the ladder intending to swim. The dinghy was on board. Fred checked the current and was hanging on to the ladder for dear life. He managed to take a 'joy' bath while hanging on but when Iris wanted to do the same, he discouraged her. There was no rescue possible should either of us let go and the one in the water would have to swim to shore and perhaps walk along the beach far enough in the other direction to be able to return to the boat. Not a great scenario. So she stayed onboard. We ate dinner in the cockpit, armed with our trusty fly-swatter to bat at the numerous and innocuous black flies and the occasional vicious deer fly. Before dusk, we went below, screened in from the anticipated mosquitos. A building thunderstorm stayed on land and we had a quiet, hot night in the Everglades!
06/04/07	North of Channel 5 Cut We got up a few times in the night as the boat was turning with the shift in current. When Iris got up to medicate Frosty at about 6am, she heard a high pitched sound above the fan we had running in our stateroom. Our port screens were covered with mosquitos! A couple of small ones were inside but the bloodthirsty creatures were tracking us. Neither of us was going to go outside until absolutely necessary. We moved to the settee for breakfast and suddenly those screens were darkened. They were tracking us! We left rapidly - mostly winning the battle against the creatures altho' a deer fly managed to get Iris as we sailed away. She 'got him' later.... We sailed by one of the Everglades boundary signs complete with it's own cormorant. We were glad that we didn't make it to Little Shark River - the insects would have been unbearable anchoring amidst the mangroves. And here we were over 1/2 mi offshore with a decent breeze! Perhaps another time. We had another great sail as we headed back to Moser Channel. About an hour out we saw an approaching thunderstorm. We reefed our sails and soon thereafter were in a deluge! Over 20 knots on the nose with a downpour that brought our visibility to zero for about 10 minutes. We continued to motor through Moser Channel and for an hour or two until the winds sufficed in Hawk Channel to sail again. Given the wind forecasts and tired of Jewfish Banks and Fiesta Key, we went back through Channel 5 and anchored on the north side of the channel in some shallows. Great spot except for stiff current once again. We anchored at around 6:30 - a long 55 mile day. Another sailboat anchored close by.
06/05/07	Rodriguez Key, FL There were a several thunderstorms over the course of the night and we were up a lot. We raised anchor at about 8:30 and raised sail shortly after going under the bridge. We wanted to take another shot at Hens and Chickens for snorkeling, but there was 2-3' chop and we sat on a mooring for a few minutes before deciding to continue on our way. We had more nice sailing (broad reach and a run) to Rodriguez Key. After anchoring at around 3pm, Fred tried out the engine driven refrigeration to see if a fuse he put on the system would be adequate. He quickly shut it down, concluding that there was a problem with the clutch. While we were swimming, he checked the generator thru-hull from the outside and pulled out a large chunk of seaweed. Our flow problems were solved! By nightfall there were about 7 boats. And the requisite thunderstorms surrounded us. On the radio we heard that Miami South Beach was drowning under a severe thunderstorm which lasted 4 hours. Cars were floating in the floods, the airport was closed and bridges were closed. Good thing we went to Cape Sable or we'd just be arriving at the inlet during the height of the storm. Maybe luck was still with us!
06/06/07	Miami, FL At 12:30am another storm struck. Fred went out to let out more scope on our chain snubber. Two sailboats put on their running lights and started manuevering. Clearly they had dragged. The winds were high. At 2:30am another storm came through. This time no one moved about and there was more rain than lightning. At 6am we started discussing whether or not to stay another day or try for Miami. The forecast was for a repeat of the prior day with heavy thunderstorms. We leaned towards staying. But at 7:30am, while running the refrigerator, the forecast changed slightly and we decided to go for it. We stopped running the generator (assuming that we could run it while sailing enroute), and raised anchor. At 9:15 we started the generator while sailing and got in about 30 minutes before the wind died. So we started to motor. By 12:30pm we were surrounded by thunderstorms and the forecast seemed bleak. We lucked out again as the storms cleared before we entered the inlet at around 3:30. This time there were ships in port and we took the Fisherman's cut. We were anchored by 4:30. We had a pleasant dinner below due to the numerous showers. The near full moon peeked in and out of the storm clouds - it was beautiful. The harbor was totally quiet - devoid of activity. We both went to bed early.
06/07/07	Lake Worth, FL We were up before 6. Do we leave for Lake Worth or stay? We ran the generator while we debated. Our fall back plan would be to cut into Ft. Lauderdale if the weather or forecast deteriorated early enough. Only one ship was in port (the Carnival Valor - which we took last year for our 35th anniversary!). Normally the rules are that Government Cut is open if fewer than 2 cruise ships are in port. Fred hailed the patrol boat next to the Valor to ask if the channel was open. The Valor's captain answered and his communication was unintelligible. Iris wanted us to go for it - the worst that could happen would be that they would make us turn around. We headed out Government Cut - keeping our distance from the Valor. When we were mid-way through our passage we heard a powerboat (who saw us) call the Coast Guard and ask if the channel was open. Someone (not sure whether it was CG or another vessel) responded that the channel was closed because a ship was in port. Ooops! But no one bothered us and Iris was still sure we were in the right. A few minutes later the Coast Guard came on the radio and announced that there was a security zone around the cruise ship (implying the channel was open). We were right and it saved us probably a half hour! We quickly found the gulf stream current and were sailing with an additional 3 knots. We were making as much as 10-10.5 knots but mostly around 9.8! How thrilling. Maybe we'll get to Lake Worth prior to the bad storms. By 12:30pm the storms started to build and the warnings came out. There was a severe and persistent storm in the south end of Palm Beach County. It was now a race. We got in the inlet and were anchored by 3:50 (a speed record for us from Miami!) and at 4 all hell broke loose with the arrival of the storm. Iris was unhappy with how close we were to our neighbor sailboat and a couple of hours later we moved to another spot in the anchorage. We had a pleasant dinner in the cockpit, pleased with the engine performance during the trip and overall, happy with the boat's sea-trial. A long to do list - but not unexpected.
06/08/07	Palm Beach Gardens, FL We once again wanted to take on fuel. We raised anchor at 7:15 and docked again at Riviera Beach Marina. We were having an uneventful trip up the ICW to our dock when we approached the Donald Ross bridge. It was clear that a large powerboat headed the other way, was not going to give us way through the bridge altho' we were struggling with current. Iris motioned for him to slow down. Fred gave him a less polite motion as we were struck by a 4' wake just as we were going through the bridge. The captain came on and yelled at us for being afraid of a little wave - we must have never been out on the ocean. Other insults ensued. But we were through the bridge and minutes away from docking. We docked right at 10am - half an hour before high tide. But we were punished for the altercation - Fred dropped our favorite boat hook while docking. It didn't float (unlike another boat hook we have). It'll have to be retreived when next Fred uses SCUBA to dive on the bottom. But we were safe, all was well, and Frosty showed herself to be quite the crew!