Weather forecast for November 19, 2018:
Boot Key Harbor - Marathon, Florida
Low 74 high 79
East winds, 10 to 12 kts
Captain’s Log: November 13, 2018 thru November 18, 2018
The XO had a very important conference call scheduled for 11:00am on Wednesday, November 14th and, since there was no cellular connectivity at Cape Sable, we weighed anchor as the sun was just starting to turn the eastern sky pink. We had to be close to Marathon, within cellular range, no later than 10:30, and we had 34-nautical miles of the Florida Bay to put behind us.
With light winds and calm seas we motored at our top speed of 7.5 knots across an expanse of shallow water littered with crab trap buoys. There were crab traps everywhere, as far as the eye could see. Fortunately, Perfect Love has a full keel that does a pretty good job of protecting the rudder and propeller from foreign objects.
That said, the occasional 'thump' on the hull would let us know that we had just hit a buoy. On one occasion the 'thump' was accompanied by a slight shuttering that I could feel as I held the wheel, and we immediately lost 1 knot of speed. A quick glance to stern revealed dozens of styrofoam pieces floating in our wake - the prop had just blown up a buoy, and a small piece of its anchor line had likely wrapped around our propeller shaft. After about ten minutes, and without adjusting the throttle, we were back up to 7.5 knots; the stray piece of buoy anchor line had apparently worked its way loose.
The XO was down below happily catching up on her e-mails and preparing for her big conference call as we approached the Seven-Mile Bridge, and the Captain was greatly relieved.
Coincidentally, our daughter Erica and son-in-law Shawn just happened to be in the Keys at this time. Erica's annual Veterinary Conference in Key West had just ended and they were driving up to Marathon to meet their good friends Jonathan and Erica for a short vacation.
Erica and I were on the phone attempting to coordinate the crossing of our paths; our's under the bridge and their's over the bridge. So, as we were nearing the bridge, Erica and Shawn were driving back-and-forth across that same bridge, hoping to take a video of us. After several attempts, they were able to capture Perfect Love's passage from the Gulf of Mexico into the Florida Straits of the Atlantic Ocean - pretty cool! We then arranged to meet Erica and Shawn later at the Boot Key Harbor mooring field office.
The top of our mast is 63.5 feet above the water and we draw 6 feet. The bottom of the Seven-Mile Bridge, at its highest point, is 63 feet off of the water at mean high tide, and the channel is approximately 10 feet deep at mean low tide. We approached the bridge somewhere between high and low tides.
With the XO on her conference call and completely oblivious to our imminent 'tight squeeze', I inched our good ship towards the hulking, massive, ugly, massive, hulking, ugly, steel beams of the bridge. My heart was pounding, my throat was dry, my hands were sweating; I dare not look up at the mast head. I cringed, positioned myself under one of the bimini's aluminum cross-bars (just in case the instruments on the mast head came crashing down), and kept my eyes dead ahead. Slowly, slowly, very slowly we passed under the first, and then the second, and then the third beam. Finally, the forth beam was behind us; we had made it, and we still had our antenna!
At 1:30 we dropped our anchor in Boot Key Harbor just past the 'bridge to nowhere' and well before the actual mooring field begins. A quick glance around the anchorage was not encouraging. Derelict boats sitting at anchor littered this part of the harbor; it was an ugly scene. There was no way that I would anchor Perfect Love in this neighborhood for an extended period, so, with Shirley still on her conference call, I called the mooring field office to see if we could secure a ball. They told me that they would call back in a few minutes so, while I waited for the call, I called a couple of marinas in Boot Key Harbor to see if we could score a long-term slip.
To my great surprise, Skipjack Marina & Resort had a slip that could accommodate us and we immediately booked it. I called Erica, told her to meet us as Skipjack, weighed the anchor and headed for our new, temporary home. We were secured to slip #25 by 3:00pm.
After enjoying strong waters with Erica & Shawn, dockside, the four of us retired to the pool for a while and then headed out for dinner at Lazy Days.
On Friday, November 16th, Erica, Shawn and I went scuba diving off of Islamorada near Hen and Chickens Reef. We caught six lobsters but, after measuring them back on the dive boat, only one was large enough to keep, so they all got a second chance at life.
On Sunday, November 18th, Erica, Shawn, Jonathan and Erica joined us for a really nice day sail out to the Sombrero Light Tower and back. Later that evening we all enjoyed a delicious dinner and a spectacular sunset at, where else, the Sunset Grille and Raw Bar.
Until next time, may your tomorrow bring fair winds and following seas!
