12/01/2008 Miami to Key West

11/24/2008 Today was a quick jump over to Key Biscayne from Miami. I needed to get the traveler back working again as I have sailing friends from Denver and California coming in on Tuesday. I sailed under jib alone for a couple of hours and then had to motor as the wind was on my nose for the last leg for the day. I took the boat into No Name Harbor located in Bill Baggs State Park on the southern tip of Key Biscayne. This is a nice protected bay and I have staged my last two trips out of here.

I worked on finding a West Marine that is located in Miami. The good news is they have they parts, the not so good news is how to get to the store. It worked out very well for me. I have friends that I raced against in Colorado now living in Key Largo. The better news is that Karen worked in Key Biscayne and could stop at West Marine for me and was able to pick up the parts. Now I am back in business.

11/25/2008 Today I will have a boat load of people joining me. Coming in are Richard, Leslie and Taylor Allen from Denver. Debby Platt is from California. We have all raced on each other boats over the years. I caught up on the laundry and did some grocery shopping to get us through the next day until we would get to Key Largo and load up there with food for the week.

The Allen’s arrived on time at 4:30 and Debby made it in by 6:30. The shuttle bus was able to bring them right to the bay and there wasn’t much walking needed. After sundowners we moved the boat out into Biscayne Bay for the evening anchor.

11/26/2008 On Wednesday I had a boat load of friends for a trip from Key Biscayne to Key Largo. Joining us today is Wes and Karen Tone and their two boys Tyler and Bryce. We started off with some nice winds out of the north east and started with a sail. We had a real good time catching up and sharing stories of our racing exploits over the years.

As the day was going on we needed to start up the motors and push on as we would have early sunsets this time of the year. This is something I need to get use to as my last two trips in the Keys on my Corsair and been in the summer with much longer days. This affects how far you can travel in a day. Wes lined up the use of a dock on a canal in Key Largo from a friend of his from the local club. We made it in just as the sun was setting. I thank Jerry for allowing to use his dock behind his home. He is going to allow me to use the dock to store my boat when I head home in a couple of weeks for Christmas.

When we were off the boat, Wes let us borrow his car and we made a trip to the grocery store to load up on ours supplies for the rest of the week and a couple of runs to the gas station for fuel for the boat. We then had a wonderful dinner at Wes and Karen’s including shrimp, stone crab and grilled salmon. It was the wrap up of a perfect day and I am very thankful for friends like Wes and Karen.

11/27/2008 Happy Thanksgiving!!! I have been looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving on the boat this year. I did not know what we would do or eat, but I was sure it would be special. We decided to stay in the Key Largo area. We had a late start today as everyone was catching up with their sleep from traveling in from the west. We then headed out to a couple of reefs to do some snorkeling.

We first went to White Sands Bank and got use to the water. Everyone had wet suits except for me, but that really was a non-issue for me. The water was just above 70 degrees, but when I starting swimming and the blood was moving, I had no issues. The one thing I was concerned about was jelly fish. There were some large jellies, but swarms of little ones. I was able to swim through them and did not get stung. After White Sands we went over to Molasses Reef. One of the most incredible snorkeling experiences I have ever had. It was a little bit deeper than most reefs I have snorkeled around, but the water was super clear. There we saw the largest fish and largest schools of big fish. We saw barracudas, parrot fish, angel fish, corals yellow jack and a smaller black tip reef shark. The coolest experience for me though was swimming with a large sea turtle. I was able to swim along it and it did not seem bothered at all. The turtle was a gentle animal in the water. What a day. My disappointment on my own behalf was then I did not get an underwater camera to share some of the sights with all of you reading the blog.

We then motored over to Rodriquez Key and anchored for the night. For Thanksgiving dinner this year we decided to pass on turkey and cooked up a pot of Jambalaya that I found in the October issue of Cruising World. The Jambalaya had chicken, sausage and shrimp in it. We also had a salad and loaf of bread. For dessert we bought a Key Lime Pie from the grocery store. We decided instead of dirtying another dish we all ate the pie straight from the pie tin. It was a fun time and we all enjoyed the meal. Just like any other Thanksgiving dinner we were stuffed and ready for a nap. We turned in early as we had a long day ahead of us to keep moving south.

11/28/2008 Today was a motor day the whole day as there was almost no wind. We stopped at one reef for a little bit of snorkeling and pushed on to Marathon. We made it into the bight just as the sun was setting. We were greeted by the very friendly and informative bridge tender. After he raised the bridge, he told us about the anchorage and the mooring balls. We decided on a ball and he told us to check in with the marina in the morning.

We decided to get off of the boat for the evening to stretch the legs and had dinner ashore. It was a good dinner and then back to the boat for an evening of movies on the laptop.

11/29/2008 On the 29th, we were able to sail the whole day making good time and sailed all the way into Key West. Finally some good sailing for my guests. The seas were too rough for any snorkeling so we sailed right into Key West. We stayed on the anchor for the night and I had a slip scheduled the next day for us.

11/30/2008 After we tied up, everyone headed off for showers and a day of sight-seeing in Key West. I stayed back and caught up on cleaning the boat. She has not had a good wash down in a couple of months and she was deserving the special treat of washing with fresh water. It was also a good way for me to relax also.

Then the rain broke loose. I had not seen this strong of weather on my whole trip. We had winds in the mid-40s and heavy rains. It was so rainy that the streets of Key West flooded. This was the beginning of a cold front coming in the will dictate the weather for a good part of the week. We then met for dinner and had a great time celebrating my 46th birthday in Key West. I was also imbibing in a little rum. We had a wonderful dinner at the Conch Restaurant on the wharf and a good time with more movies.