Waiting in Key West

Akimbo sits at a dock in Key West.  Reed and JD are aboard.  We’re waiting for a persistent north wind to clock before crossing the Gulf Stream and getting into the Bahamas.  North bound Stream, south bound and gusty wind, new crew…these things don’t add up.  Remember what i said about weather delays?  I’m itchy to get underway, but i’m not stressed.  Enuf days are budgeted in this leg to wait.  But marinas aren’t cheap.  I’ve been scouring the charts and think i’ve found a place we could anchor about 20 nautical miles up the coast.  That might be a good intro for the crew.  And it’d feel good to feel Akimbo sail. 

Looking back on the first leg…i feel like i’m rubbin’ a little rust off of me and ironing details out on Akimbo.  Hoping we get smoother and smoother.  Greg, Rick and Marty.  Thank you very much for getting me off to a good and heartfelt start.  Our bonds have grown.  You were great.  We did well – and ate very well too.  Curious – when i was sailing alone, this keyboard was my companion and i wrote more.  And now, i’m rushing to post this? 

Before dawn at Venice Inlet, another cold front came thru and our third day was a RIDE!  Under solent jib alone, i think 8.5 knots was our best speed over ground.  We screwed up our courage at the sea buoy to Boca Grande and gybed for the channel – which the charts show has migrated south of its buoys.  It took some faith to leave all the buoys to port, but big breaking waves made clear where the deeper water was.  Once inside, in Pine Island Sound, our anchorage was just off the intracoastal waterway and a little exposed. With our draft…there weren’t many other options.  But we slept well to be ready for our overnight passage to the Dry Tortugas. 

140 miles in 28 hours.  Most of it went well, but after dark, downwind with lighter winds, the rigging shook hard as the left over swell emptied the sails and they then re-filled.  As our angle on the Tortugas narrowed, before dawn, we started motoring.  Once onto the bank, we unrolled the genoa and finished under sail again – style is everything.  Once anchored, i saw something under Akimbo.  A tail?  If so, it was attached to some biggish animal.  A small manatee?  Turns out it was a big goliath grouper.  We needed food and sleep, so we waited until morning to pump up Sea Cow (“Sea Cow lives!”) and go ashore and snorkeling. 
We hoped to depart for Key West before sunset on our second day but the wind didn’t cooperate, so we stayed an extra day.  After that we had a very nice night sail, leaving the Marquesas to weather (south) of us – close hauled under double reefed main and solent jib, slowly gaining 30 degrees on our course as a steady 20 knots of wind clocked.  It felt good to be on the move again.  Before dawn we hove to for about an hour near the sea buoy, to wait for daylight to make our way in.  Voila!  We are here.  Thank you very much. 

So…how’s this going?  Quite well.  What can i/we improve?  I was able to sailmail Reed and John from Dry Tortugas about the weather day.  Once here, my phone worked but i don’t expect that in foreign countries.  It helped that John had a rental car – and i don’t expect that again.  Feels like we should look at rendezvous days as dedicated solely to that – one crew stepping off, another stepping on, cleaning up, taking care of any chores, inventory and restock food…maybe allow for a little more transition time.  Hmmm.  What else?  I’ll let you know if i have any ideas, please do the same for me.  Again, big thank you Greg, Rick and Marty. 

In the immortal words of Errol the cabbie in Belize, “Love, brother, love.”