On these overcast days we have been taking the cover off the front windows. This lets in great light and lets us see out onto the dock, but since it is overcast, we don’t get any extra heating from the sun. Boreas is like a different boat with the window cover off and we take every chance we can to take the cover off and let the light in.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Day 216 – at Marina Del Mar, Key Largo, FL - February 7, 2012
It was quite overcast today with occasional showers, so we stayed close to the boat and did indoor chores. We worked on the handbook for our sailing group (the International 110 Class) that we have been helping to edit. Since our editing is on the computer, today was the perfect day for this work.
On these overcast days we have been taking the cover off the front windows. This lets in great light and lets us see out onto the dock, but since it is overcast, we don’t get any extra heating from the sun. Boreas is like a different boat with the window cover off and we take every chance we can to take the cover off and let the light in.
Miles: 0 Bridges: 0 Locks: 0
On these overcast days we have been taking the cover off the front windows. This lets in great light and lets us see out onto the dock, but since it is overcast, we don’t get any extra heating from the sun. Boreas is like a different boat with the window cover off and we take every chance we can to take the cover off and let the light in.
Day 215 – at Marina Del Mar, Key Largo, FL - February 6, 2012
Wow did it rain last night! This is the first rain we’ve had in quite awhile so we really can’t complain. The best part of a good hard rain is that all the salt gets washed off the boat. The worst part is that portions of the outdoor carpet get damp (or in some cases soaking wet) and therefore have to be cleaned and dried.
Miles: 0 Bridges: 0 Locks: 0
Monday, February 6, 2012
Days 212 through 214 – at Marina Del Mar, Key Largo, FL - February 3-5, 2012
It has been extremely windy here for the past three days. We are happy to be tucked away off the ocean in our little cove where although we get the wind, we don’t get any wave action. We have been checking out the area by doing a bit of walking and we got a ride to the grocery store with our dock neighbor Linda on Step Two. Although Linda and her husband Glenn are here in Marina Del Mar for the winter, they are not Loopers. Their home is in New Jersey and they have been spending winters on their boat in different locations in Florida for the past eleven years – traveling back and forth on the Intercoastal in the spring and fall. They have been here at Marina Del Mar a number of times and they are a great source of information on this area.
With all this wind, we have not even thought about venturing out to go snorkeling, but we have decided that when a good day presents itself, we will take full advantage in case windy weather is the norm here this time of year.
Miles: 0 Bridges: 0 Locks: 0
With all this wind, we have not even thought about venturing out to go snorkeling, but we have decided that when a good day presents itself, we will take full advantage in case windy weather is the norm here this time of year.
Day 211 – Plantation Yacht Harbor to Marina Del Mar, Key Largo, FL - February 2, 2012
We got an early start this morning for two reasons – we wanted to get back into Hawk Channel while we were on a higher tide and we wanted to get to Key Largo early in case the wind picked up in the afternoon. We used Snake Creek to cut through from Florida Bay out to the Hawk Channel. Snake Creek itself had good depth, but from the end of the creek out to deeper water was interesting. The channel is extremely well marked and they have even added additional floating marks to help keep you in the channel, it is just VERY shallow outside the channel.
The wind had diminished overnight so the waves out in Hawk Channel were better than yesterday, but they were still in the two foot range. The waves were also not directly on the bow, but more to the side giving us a bit more of the rolling motion we don’t like. The interesting thing was that although conditions weren’t terrific, they were so much better than the previous day that they didn’t seem all that bad. To combat some of the rolling, we pushed up the speed and rode “on top” for about twenty minutes. Fully loaded like we are (with fuel, water and gear) our “on top” speed is just under 20 miles per hour. It was a good ride and we were tied up in our slip at Marina Del Mar just after 10:00am.
We will be staying here at Marina Del Mar for the next month. We heard about this marina from our friends Jack and Sheila on Windy Affair IV who did the Loop a couple of years ago. They stayed here for the winter and very much enjoyed all the snorkeling they did on the reef at the edge of Hawk Channel. Key Largo is THE place for scuba diving and snorkeling here in the Keys, so we are hoping to get out and do some snorkeling while we are here.
Miles: 17.1 Bridges: 1 Locks: 0
The wind had diminished overnight so the waves out in Hawk Channel were better than yesterday, but they were still in the two foot range. The waves were also not directly on the bow, but more to the side giving us a bit more of the rolling motion we don’t like. The interesting thing was that although conditions weren’t terrific, they were so much better than the previous day that they didn’t seem all that bad. To combat some of the rolling, we pushed up the speed and rode “on top” for about twenty minutes. Fully loaded like we are (with fuel, water and gear) our “on top” speed is just under 20 miles per hour. It was a good ride and we were tied up in our slip at Marina Del Mar just after 10:00am.
We will be staying here at Marina Del Mar for the next month. We heard about this marina from our friends Jack and Sheila on Windy Affair IV who did the Loop a couple of years ago. They stayed here for the winter and very much enjoyed all the snorkeling they did on the reef at the edge of Hawk Channel. Key Largo is THE place for scuba diving and snorkeling here in the Keys, so we are hoping to get out and do some snorkeling while we are here.
 |
| looking down Snake Creek as we travel toward Hawk Channel |
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Day 210 – Sombrero Dockside Marina to Plantation Yacht Harbor, Islamorada, FL - February 1, 2012
We are headed back north! Well, technically it is more like north east right now, but we will not be going any further south. The location we are recording as “the furthest south Boreas went on the Loop” is the Sombrero Key Lighthouse where we went snorkeling a few days ago.
We left Sombrero Dockside Marina at 8:45am and headed out the main entrance of Boot Key Harbor. We had hoped to be able to use Sister Creek to leave, but the tide was down and we were a bit concerned about the depth at the mouth of the creek. Our plan was to test traveling on the outside (in Hawk Channel) and see if we thought we could make it all the way to Key Largo today. If not, we’d turn around, go back to the inside (in Florida Bay) and go to Plantation Key tonight and then on to Key Largo tomorrow. The forecast was for winds today was 15-20 knots, but diminishing as the day went on. We got about two miles in the Hawk Channel before we decided it was going to be too uncomfortable for a 50+ mile journey. We were seeing steep waves and swell in the 3+ foot range. The waves were basically straight on the bow, so no side to side rocking, but there was definitely some slamming into and off of waves. Our friend Greg from Grianan would say there were potholes in the water and that is definitely what it feels like when you fall off some of the waves.
So, we turned around and headed back under the Seven Mile Bridge and into Florida Bay. Conditions in the bay were “moderate chop”, which means waves around one foot. It was an uneventful trip for the remainder of the day. There were three places where we had to travel in manmade channels, dug through very shallow areas. They were all well marked and easy to navigate, but it was quite eerie to see how shallow the water was just outside the channel.
We were tied up at Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina and sipping cocktails before 4:00pm. There are a number of other Loopers here and we’d like to stay an extra day and catch up with everyone. However, the forecast says that tomorrow is the only “good” day for travel for the next few days and we are anxious to get to Key Largo.
Miles: 49.6 Bridges: 1 Locks: 0
We left Sombrero Dockside Marina at 8:45am and headed out the main entrance of Boot Key Harbor. We had hoped to be able to use Sister Creek to leave, but the tide was down and we were a bit concerned about the depth at the mouth of the creek. Our plan was to test traveling on the outside (in Hawk Channel) and see if we thought we could make it all the way to Key Largo today. If not, we’d turn around, go back to the inside (in Florida Bay) and go to Plantation Key tonight and then on to Key Largo tomorrow. The forecast was for winds today was 15-20 knots, but diminishing as the day went on. We got about two miles in the Hawk Channel before we decided it was going to be too uncomfortable for a 50+ mile journey. We were seeing steep waves and swell in the 3+ foot range. The waves were basically straight on the bow, so no side to side rocking, but there was definitely some slamming into and off of waves. Our friend Greg from Grianan would say there were potholes in the water and that is definitely what it feels like when you fall off some of the waves.
So, we turned around and headed back under the Seven Mile Bridge and into Florida Bay. Conditions in the bay were “moderate chop”, which means waves around one foot. It was an uneventful trip for the remainder of the day. There were three places where we had to travel in manmade channels, dug through very shallow areas. They were all well marked and easy to navigate, but it was quite eerie to see how shallow the water was just outside the channel.
We were tied up at Plantation Yacht Harbor Marina and sipping cocktails before 4:00pm. There are a number of other Loopers here and we’d like to stay an extra day and catch up with everyone. However, the forecast says that tomorrow is the only “good” day for travel for the next few days and we are anxious to get to Key Largo.
Miles: 49.6 Bridges: 1 Locks: 0
 |
| Brandy IV making her was in Florida Bay |
 |
| looking north into Everglades National Park - the camera does not do it justice, but the water here is amazing shades of turquoise, blue and green |
 |
| not far away from the channel marker is VERY shallow water - where you see brown versus blue, you know it is shallow |
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Day 209 – at Sombrero Dockside Marina - January 31, 2012
We spent today getting ready to depart from Sombrero Dockside Marina. We made a trip to the grocery store, did some laundry, topped off the water tank, loaded the bikes back on the boat, secured the dinghy and checked the engines.
We are also experiencing something we have never experienced before as boaters. We must leave Sombrero Dockside Marina tomorrow because someone else has this slip reserved for the month of February. The problem is that the weather here is not very good for departing – the wind had been blowing VERY hard (over 20 knots with gusts to 30 knots) for the last two days and it is not forecast to be much better tomorrow. However that doesn’t matter. We have no choice. We must leave our slip tomorrow. As Great Lakes boaters, this is a very unusual circumstance. Since most Michigan harbors are harbors of refuge, boaters don’t get kicked out of their slip. Also if the weather is poor, people don’t move their boats, so no one would be coming in to take a slip when the travel conditions are not good.
There are other travel circumstances that make this a very different situation. There are two ways to travel around the Florida Keys. You can travel “inside” in Florida Bay or “outside” in the Hawk Channel, which is technically the Atlantic Ocean. The Hawk Channel is inside the reef that lies just off the Keys which generally makes the waves and conditions in the channel milder. We hear from many cruisers that you can travel inside any time and that the conditions are never bad – we find that very hard to believe. The other problem with traveling inside is that our next stop in Key Largo can only be accessed from the outside. There are very few locations where you can cross from the inside to the outside which makes traveling inside and then going outside difficult.
You can probably tell I am a bit frustrated about this situation. I’m sure everything will work itself out – and how bad can it actually be – we’re in the Florida Keys!
Miles: 0 Bridges: 0 Locks: 0
We are also experiencing something we have never experienced before as boaters. We must leave Sombrero Dockside Marina tomorrow because someone else has this slip reserved for the month of February. The problem is that the weather here is not very good for departing – the wind had been blowing VERY hard (over 20 knots with gusts to 30 knots) for the last two days and it is not forecast to be much better tomorrow. However that doesn’t matter. We have no choice. We must leave our slip tomorrow. As Great Lakes boaters, this is a very unusual circumstance. Since most Michigan harbors are harbors of refuge, boaters don’t get kicked out of their slip. Also if the weather is poor, people don’t move their boats, so no one would be coming in to take a slip when the travel conditions are not good.
There are other travel circumstances that make this a very different situation. There are two ways to travel around the Florida Keys. You can travel “inside” in Florida Bay or “outside” in the Hawk Channel, which is technically the Atlantic Ocean. The Hawk Channel is inside the reef that lies just off the Keys which generally makes the waves and conditions in the channel milder. We hear from many cruisers that you can travel inside any time and that the conditions are never bad – we find that very hard to believe. The other problem with traveling inside is that our next stop in Key Largo can only be accessed from the outside. There are very few locations where you can cross from the inside to the outside which makes traveling inside and then going outside difficult.
You can probably tell I am a bit frustrated about this situation. I’m sure everything will work itself out – and how bad can it actually be – we’re in the Florida Keys!
Days 207 & 208 – at Sombrero Dockside Marina - January 29-30, 2012
We’ve spent the last couple of days relaxing on the boat with Fred III. It has been great having him here – not just because we enjoy spending time with him, but because boat chores get done when he is here (hee hee hee). In fact, Fred and Fred changed all of the fuel filters today. We hope to see Fred III again (maybe with Mark and Taylor) as we move further north along the east coast this spring.
While we still had a car available we also did some grocery shopping, picking up things that are difficult to carry on a bike.
Miles: 0 Bridges: 0 Locks: 0
While we still had a car available we also did some grocery shopping, picking up things that are difficult to carry on a bike.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)