Return to Key Largo

     It was very quiet and picturesque as we pulled up anchor and headed out of Boot Key Harbor at 7:30 this morning. 


Sunrise in Marathon was breathtaking this morning!

       I spent a good part of the day down below posting the past 8 days of blogs.  I am still behind on editing the pictures so that they will be posted at a later time.  I have also removed the restrictions that limited who could view the blog. I still need to investigate the Feedburner.com, in the hopes that folks can be notified of the posting once it is completed. Oh, to be as efficient as Martha with SailBrunelle!

I couldn't choose my favorite sunrise photo.

     While underway, Pete noticed that our speed continues to drop.  He placed us in neutral, than into reverse up to full speed. We did see some sea grass release in our wake. After that we were able to gain speed, but we slowly lost speed again. Our second attempt was not a success. We are pretty sure that we have something wrapped around the prop and/or shaft.  Dan has volunteered to go under the boat once we reach Key Largo to check it out.  Since we were not that far from port, we continued the remaining 3-4 miles at 5mph. 

  
    We passed two Outward Bound Sailing vessels out for a day’s sail.  They could take advantage of the wind!

       Knowing we were due in shortly, Candi, our Harbor Master, hailed us to remind us that the Key Largo Princess was out bound at 4 PM. We simply waited for the Princess to exit the harbor before announcing we were inbound for Crash Corner.  Candi and our fleet members were waiting to welcome us.

     Dinner in our honor was pizza on the veranda. Many of the other cruisers joined us later on the veranda for tonight was movie night.  The featured movie was “Captain Ron” and is great fun no matter how many times you see it.

     It was great to be back with everyone again.

63 /1644                ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

   

Back to Marathon

     We were up early so that we could make time and hopefully grab a mooring ball in Marathon. With the help of Pierre, we were off by about 8:15.

     Our hopes of sailing were dashed with the “noserly,” winds as Lucia,( Lucia of CCYC), is fond of saying.  Clear skies, cool temperatures and crab pots pretty much summarizes up the day. Pete was at the helm as I was slightly under the weather.  We called for a mooring in Boot Key Harbor (Marathon City Marina) at 4, but none were to be had, so we dropped anchor just north of the bridge.

     Pete lowered the dinghy and was able to clean the water line that had developed some growth. He also readied the dinghy for the night ride to the City Marina dock.  Pete got in around 9:40 last night. Unfortunately, his luggage didn’t.  The airport rep would be driving up from Key West and delivering the luggage to Pete at the dock tonight. 

     Pete’s crazy trip: the jacket lost at Tampa Airport; the slide presentation prematurely terminated by an AV technician, which he ad lib to complete; the snow and cancelled flights; the cell phone finally replace because it kept dying; a new jacket ordered, delivered overnight, then stolen; then finally the lost luggage, delivered. It is finally over!

He is now, safe and sound, back aboard Pekabu III and happy to be back. . . . and I’m glad he’s back, too!

43 /1581                    ~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Errands & Projects . . .and Pete Returns

4' Tarpin that frequented the Old Harbor

Major mode of
K.W. transportation

     I got my exercise this morning running errands. Since Ace Hardware, West Marine, and Key West Marine are all within walking distance, Pete had a grocery list of items that I had added on to over the past several days.  I made 2 trips to Ace, one to West Marine with 3 bags and then a special trip to Key West Marine for one additional item.  Four items will still have to be delivered to West Marine in Key Largo on Thursday as they were not available in Key West.

Key West "Eagle"

     Once I was back on board, the trick was to find a place for everything I bought. After an hour of reorganization I was successful. The hardest was my sewing bag, the tool bag I had was perfect, but was getting moldy in the forward storage area.  I had to by 2 watertight boxes to hold the same amount of “stuff.” With the aid of Andy, one of the dock hands, we did a pump out. I also finally finished the sound blanket for the generator.

A bar, where the entire ceiling
 is covered with dollar bills

      Pete’s final leg of his flight was supposed to leave Charlotte at 6:30 PM and arrive here in Key West at 8:30 was delayed. As a result, I called and cancelled our plans with Maureen and Glen.  They were very sweet to offer to pick me up and head over to pick up Pete.  Then we could all go and grab a bite to eat. Since Pete had the same plane since Pittsburgh, he wasn’t sure how long the delay might be, we thought it best to have him take a cab whenever he arrived. We are just sorry we couldn’t spend our last night in Key West with them.

Street Performer

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Some of the crowd that gathers nightly to applaud the
setting sun.

   Earlier I did walk over and watch a beautiful sunset on our last day here in Key West. Pete and I will just have to come back and see more of the town and more sunsets together!        

A Key West Sunset

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Projects

    Pete will be arriving late tomorrow evening, so I want to get most of the preparation work done today and tomorrow morning. This morning, after breakfast I started the laundry then topped off our water tanks. Since there are no available water sockets easily accessible, Pierre let me borrow their hose.  I had to straighten up things that I scattered about when I went on a hunt for the quarters.  I had gotten 2 rolls from the marina office on Wednesday, but didn’t put them in the right place. It took 40 minutes before I found them in my shower bag. I forgot I had picked them up after showering the other morning and put them in the pocket of the bag.  DUH!

     I measured the boat generator, the Honda generator and the forward shelves for netting and worked out my patterns. After lunch, I went up to the marina office to ask if it would be OK to use the socket by the rest rooms and patio for laying out the canvas and my hot knife to cut the material.  They gave me the OK. My afternoon was spent on the tile patio marking and cutting fabric.  That is after I realized I didn’t bring my Taylor’s chalk (another 45 minutes lost on a search. GRRR!)  I finally used pencil to mark the material. (That hunt is another story!)

     Pete continued to work from home.  The saga of the jacket continued.  He has never heard back from the airport or the airlines. He did order jacket from Land’s End with next day delivery to be delivered today. It was delivered today at 4:15 PM. However, the package is missing. Pete checked everywhere outside with a flashlight and none of the neighbors have it at their homes.  Land’s End is sending another one to Marina Del Mar for delivery next week, but it won’t do him any good right now.

     Betty called to check to make sure I was doing OK on my own.  Both Andiamo and Brunelle are docked in Marina Del Mar, Key Largo. They have had two days of great sailing. They will make reservations for Pekabu for our arrival on Monday.

Bandit was the last of his pack. Rascal
and Tigger were older, but he was
reunited with them today.

Bandit finally spent a weekend
on Pekabu last Labor Day.
Due to bad hips, he could never
be a boat dog, but he really loved it.

   

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Flowers and Treasures

     I set the alarm for 6:30 so that I could help Andiamo leave this morning.  Since the winds were still present from the northwest, leaving the dock could have been a bit challenge, so having me on the dock was a plus. Once they were on their way to meet Brunelle in the channel, I came back and had breakfast and spoke with Pete at home in Delaware.

     Townsend had about 10 inches of snow, Philadelphia had 14 and Hartford is looking at 20-24 inches before the system leaves the east coast. Everything in Delaware is on a 2 hour delay due to road conditions.  Once roads were cleared, Pete took advantage to get a new cell phone.  His Blackberry had taken on a mind of its own; multiple daily system locks requiring battery removals and lately it jumped into speaker mode during calls. He could not put it off any longer. He is back to being a happy camper.

Some of the flowers found on my photo safari ~
Warm temps and no snow!!

   



      I called Cameras Etc. back in Delaware and spoke with Todd.  He suggested opening up the camera and dehumidifying it then  switching out the lens.  He also gave me Nikon’s help desk phone number. I followed his suggestions then went on another photo safari around town with my lens.  The pictures of the flowers came out great.

      So far no problems so I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that something was on the connection of my lens causing the problems with not being able to take pictures.  The good news was that I was able to get some great pictures at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum of the treasures of the Atocha to show Pete. The exhibit and story are fascinating.

     When I returned back to the boat, I asked the Harbor Master if it would be OK if we stayed until Sunday morning, due to Pete’s delay. Thankfully, it isn’t a problem. I found out that UPS delivered both the canvas from SailRite and the Raspberry tea and pictures from Lin and Bruce to the marina office.  I will have plenty to keep me busy for a while.

      The canvas is to make an awning over the front hatch so we can have ventilation in bright sun or rain. I also want to make a cover for the portable Honda generator, which we currently have as a back-up on board. (Sevilla is still waiting for the delivery of the transmission, which is currently in transit.)

     After dinner, I worked on the blog and downloaded pictures, but was too tired to do anything more than that.  I am still waiting for a good internet connection to upload everything.

An entire wall of Pieces of Eight

Gold bars

      

Replica of the Spanish Galleon

The re-created debris field



     A day that was at complete opposites for Pete and me. Looking forward to having him back aboard Pekabu soon.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Stormy Night and Hogfish Day

      I was glad I checked the lines before heading to bed last night. At almost the strike of Midnight, the winds picked up and the boat started to rock.  Close to 1 AM, the rain started, but nothing too bad. By 3, we had a pretty interesting thunderstorm and by 3:30 the torrential rains had arrived.  Pete did his usual super job at setting the lines for all conditions. . . Thanks Hon!

On the left: Maureen, Glen, Kathy, Betty and John
on the right, from the back: Walt, Sue, Dan and Martha

     After breakfast, I searched for a few things on board and wrote a few days worth of blogs before meeting up with Betty, John and the Dennisons. Sue and Walt drove us in their AirStream Camper/Van to Hogfish Bar & Grill. Glen and Maureen picked up Martha and Dan and met us there for lunch. Since it is very well known by the locals and not in the very best of areas, you know the food has to be some of the best . . . and it was!

Mel Fisher's treasure hunting vessels are docked here.

     Most of us had the Hogfish. We learned that it will not grab anything on a line. The only way it is caught is by spear fishing, which makes it a bit more expensive, but well worth the price. It is a mild white fish that is flaky and delicious.  I had the house special which was a batter fried Hogfish (lightly batter fired, broiled or blackened are your choices) served on Cuban bread with melted Swiss, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and lettuce plus French fries.  Yum!  Other items tried included the Seven Seas Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Fried Green Tomatoes, (Hog)Fish and Chips, Fish Tacos, and Shrimp Caesar. . .   

Thumbs up to all the food! 

      Despite the rain, we walked down the dock and looked at the various boats, house boats, and the spaces claimed by the live-aboard making it homey. We also saw Mel Fisher’s vessels used for treasure exploration. Both include huge pipes on the stern which are lowered into the water to “blow away” the sand.  Quite impressive! I hope we have time get over to his museum before we leave Key West. 

Wall decoration
across from a houseboat

Great artwork everywhere . . .



. . . even the ladies
bathroom!

     Once back at the boat, the winds picked up again and the rains came on and off. I worked on pictures for the blog.  While working, I received a call from Pete. His flight from Philly has was cancelled.  He has rented a 4-wheeled vehicle and is heading home to Townsend for the night. The Northeast is expecting 8-10+ inches of snow by morning.  We will just have to wait and see.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Separate Ways

     As predicted, the weather was not the best. We dodged the sprinkles this morning as we investigated the market here in Key West. Fausto’s Food Palace is more of a gourmet food market, but it is in walking distance of the marina with fresh produce and a full selection. Dan and John headed back to the boats with the groceries, while Martha, Betty and I headed to the Restaurant Supply Store and the Bakery next door. On Martha’s recommendation, I picked up 4 small oil lamp/candle inserts, which will burn for many hours.  At the bakery, I purchased a great looking and aromatic apple turnover for later.

     When we returned, Brunelle headed out to the mooring field. They will be off to Marathon probably tomorrow if the winds are favorable.  Andiamo will be meeting various friends for lunch and dinner.  I placed our order with Omaha Steaks for delivery at Marina Del Mar in Key Largo and went on a photo safari here in Key West.  Unfortunately, my camera is giving me problems, so I returned home to investigate in by owner’s manual and internet. I will call Cameras, Etc. tomorrow.

     Above is some of the great ways people have fond to accent/decorate their homes. I wish I had remembered just where I had seen some of the other outrageous decorations, but these will do!

     Pierre and Kathy Irving aboard Shalamar, in the next slip, invited me aboard for dinner. My apple turnover joined Kathy’s find of cream and Key Lime cream filled pastries that topped off our Chicken Cacciatore dinner. We spent a delightful evening discussing everything from our children and photography, to the Bahamas.

     When I made the “big trip home” (all 2 feet!), I recheck the lines.  There is a substantial front that is working its way down the state of Florida. The “nexus,” as Pete often refers to the red line that often accompanies these fronts, is completely across the state. Currently from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale with a tornado watch box covering ¼ of the state and it is heading in this direction.  The only good news is that the red line stops before it hits the Keys, so hopefully it will continue to lessen as the night progresses.

With love, to all our Good Friends. . .from Key West

   I checked in with Heather and texted Pete good night and will keep my fingers crossed that it is a relatively quiet night.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Days of Ups and Downs and Ups

     Pete had to fly to Philly for a National Sales Meeting.  The Philadelphia wind chills were hovering in the teens and he only had is medium weight jacket.  Unfortunately, it was lost somewhere switching planes in Tampa. Thankfully, he had his sports jacket for some warmth and George picked him up directly at the airport and took him directly to the hotel.  The forecast for tomorrow is snow. Hopefully, his plans will not include any long outside excursions.

     I spent a good deal of the day catching up on my writing for the blog. I still have plenty of pictures to edit. The internet connection here is also giving me problems with posting.  I might have to wait until Pete returns so I can use the air card for posting.

The Rydam

     We all met at 4:30 to walk over to Malory Square, the traditional gathering point to watch to sun set. Our hopes were not too high as the clouds rolled in this afternoon. John and Betty reminded us that there are also street performers on the Square that are part of the experience. With only 2 wrong turns, we were there by sunset. The wrong turns were easy to make.  There were new hotels built since we blew into town with the Applebaum’s and Freedman’s 4 years ago. Add to that, the Rydam cruise liner was docked taking up most of the boardwalk. It pulled away from the dock at 6 PM and sunset was at 6:15 PM.  It would have obscured most of the view for most of the people. Since we could not see the sunset, this show was a pretty good substitute: seeing a huge ship cast away from the dock with its bow, mid and stern thrusters. Then it backed up and did a pivot turn without any assistance and sailed off into the haze.

     We walked back to Brunelle, where we had dinner courtesy of Glen and Maureen. The news for Seville is good.  A transmission has been found in Virginia, courtesy of Resolve, (Mike’s one of our CCYC members). The yard will be able to install it in 3 days once it arrives. Glen will sleep better once everything is done. As usual, conversation bounced all over and included topics pertaining to the Bahamas. Food was delicious and a great time was once again had by all.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Margaritaville, et al.

     Today is the day to explore.  Pete has to leave for Philly tomorrow, so we had “reservations” at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville at 1 for the 8 of us. Pete managed to get all of us hats from the marina before we left. Pete and I walked down to Duvall Street ahead of the rest so we could explore and take pictures while they stopped in at West Marine.  Pete found a Pandora Key West “Eagle” for my bracelet.

    Besides drinks, most of us had “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” for lunch.  They were really good and the servings were generous. Then we made the necessary stop at the Margaritaville Store. 

     Pete and I agreed to meet up with the group later so we could continue our explorations.  We opted to do the Conch Train Guided Tour.    We missed it last time we were here with the Freedman’s and Applebaum’s.  We were glad we did it this time. The 90 minute tour crisscrossed historic Key West.  We saw and learned a lot from Dan, our “Engineer and guide.” Some of the interesting facts of Key West’s history included: At one time Key West was the richest per capita city due to ship’s salvage (all the ships breaking apart on the second longest coral reef in the world), all animals are protected (hence the Key West “eagles” are descendents from the fighting cocks of immigrant Cubans’. The bank across from the train station was begun by the immigrant Cuban cigar makers (who didn’t trust American banks).  Stony Street is so called, because the Union soldiers would march by on this road and the confederate supporters would throw stones at them, and the homes that were build in “the Meadows” were built by ship builders without nails.  These homes have weathered all the storms for the past century and beyond because they give and sway. Lastly, at the only Catholic Church on the island, a nun built a grotto to pray during storms.  Since the grotto was built, no hurricane stronger than a force 2 has hit this island.  Today, many still visit the grotto when storms are near.

The Former Cuban Bank

Some of the great architecture found just
on Doral Street

     When we returned back to the boat we learned that friends of John and Betty had pulled into A & B Marina on the other side of the Harbor.  We were included in the invite for cocktails aboard Forever Young. Richard and Lorie purchased this beautiful 72’  Hatteras 10 years ago with no previous boating  experience.  I was amazed at Lorie’s criteria for a boat. “The most boat we could handle.” When questioned further, she was referring to bedroom space and bathrooms! What might have been a rocky beginning has definitely turned into a wonderful cruising lifestyle for both of them. They were very gracious in sharing their experiences. We look forward to seeing them again . . . out on the water.

     We returned and grabbed more munchies and watched some of the semi-finals of the football game between the Jets and the Steelers aboard Andiamo. Once again “boater’s midnight” beckoned and we returned “home” to Pekabu. Oh yea. . . Kelli will be thrilled . . .  Steelers made it to the Super Bowl this year!

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete 

Time to Move into Conch Harbor Marina, Key West

     Jay and Pegg returned to St. Augustine today. Dan had to take them to the car by the dinghy dock. His return trip was wet. The winds kicked up from the north. Yesterday, we were in the high 70‘s with light breezes. A front was coming in, dropping the temperature and increasing the winds. These winds also changed the plans for Dan to dive under the boats to change the zincs and check the bottoms of Brunelle, Andiamo and Pekabu before we move into the Conch Harbor Marina. 

Kinda sums up the
 Key West Philosophy!

     The winds remained steady from the north at about 10-15 until about 3 PM. Temps are in the low 60’s and the skies are overcast. Thankfully, we moved into the marina around noon.  Since it is best to be stern in, Pete was able to back into the slip even with the enclosure, AND with the winds. 

     We docked next to Shalamar, a 44’ Choy Lee.  Pierre and Kathy are from Newport, RI. and we chatted for awhile.  Once Pekabu was settled, Pete and I went up for burgers up at the pool. Martha and Betty joined us for drinks.  The temperature continued to drop. It wasn’t until around 4 that the front came though, with gusts up to 38 MPH. Even having a breakwater, with a slight opening, we “hobby horsed” for hours. It made dinner aboard Brunelle a bit interesting. Thankfully, none of us experienced any sea sickness.  Maureen and Glen joined us for another delicious dinner. Part of the discussion included how much cash we should have on hand for the Bahamas.  Martha reminded us that there are bank machines on the Bahamas; they all have the $3.00 fees. Maureen read that many places just take cash. We don’t need thousands, but will need to asses our needs. The wine jokes continued as “Double Dog Dare” joined the “Yellow Tail” wine for our dinner selection.

    Once again, a truly great day.

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete