Six people on a 35’ boat for 10 days, what could go wrong?
May-June 2016

If you’d rather just see pics of the trip just click here:
https://www.facebook.com/LittleYachtSales/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1185681041462607

It was time to move Caya, our Catalina 350, to some newer cruising grounds. Liz and I loved Fort Myers, but we were two hours up the river and had already enjoyed the many sights that Fort Myers has to offer. All along, the plan had been to get the boat to the Keys in April 2016. I had a slip at Marathon Marina for April-May but after visiting Marathon for a brokerage deal in March I decided there was not enough to do there for a two month stay. It’s gorgeous; it’s beautiful, but Marathon is mainly a winter mooring retreat for Canadians and Cruisers and we weren’t looking to stay on a mooring full time and floating docks were few and far between.

A new plan was hatched. We would take a trip to Dry Tortugas and Key West and then return to Fort Myers beach or Sanibel for the summer. Then I heard about the local Texas Mariners Cruisers Association’s (TMCA) planned charter/sail to Havana at the end of June and EVERYTHING changed.

Now we had a plan. Fort Myers to Dry Tortugas with a two night stop at Marco Island then on to Key West. We’d have all the fun of Key West and leave the boat there for June and July, so that we could partake in the Cruise to Havana.

So, I asked my best friend (who also happens to be my company’s Marketing Director) John Brown and my step sister Lela if they would like to join us on this cruise. The answer was “yes!” So, a crew of four was set to go.

Then, my youngest daughter, Meg, who had just finished spring semester at college expressed a desire to go. Meg views John as her “Uncle Johnny” and Liz views John as her “brother” and Lela is family. So, now we have 5 on the boat. We could sleep 7 in a pinch if really needed. Then Meg said she’d love it if a friend could come! Her friend, Kayla from Kerrville, can get off work and make the whole trip. So, I ask everyone and no one cares, but we all know 6 on a 35’ boat could present a challenge - is that going to be tight or what!? Not to mention, there is only ONE head. So, I make 100% sure everyone is good with the idea, the accommodations and the one head, and also that everyone adheres to my friend Bob Bitchin’s motto “The difference between ordeal and adventure is ATTITUDE!” I also tell them, lots of things can change our plans and weather especially. And, I throw in my personal motto “If it’s not fun, it’s not fun!” and assure the crew that we will change our plans accordingly, and we’ll keep it fun.

After a scramble of adding new airfares, more snorkel gear, and another box of stuff shipped to the marina in Fort Myers, where they are now wondering where I am going to be putting all this stuff on a 35’ boat, the day arrives.

May 26th. Liz and I, John, Meg and Kayla, just in from Kerrville the night before, all get up at 3 a.m. to leave for Hobby by 4 a.m. for our 5:45 a.m. flight to Fort Myers via Atlanta. I hate early flights, but we are literally sitting on the boat by noon that day with plenty of time for boat prep and even a last minute parts run.
Liz and the girls go to get provisions for the boat, while John and I with arrival beers in hand (we had technically just arrived at the boat) head off to the municipal marina to top off the fuel tanks and to fill the 6 jerry jugs we have on deck. Figuring it’s going to be Memorial Day weekend, I don’t want to have to wait in line at the fuel dock when we leave on Saturday morning. Then I remember, summer is low season in Florida. If this was November, there would be a line. It’s May. The fuel dock has plenty of room. Only the locals are really boating in the summer in Florida. Everyone else has gone back north. Fueling went fine and we are back at the dock to finish other tasks like filling the water tanks as well as the two extra 6 gallon water tanks and stowing everything.

Caya is heavy. Before we left for Florida in Nov 2015, I had already raised the water line up 2” because of the extra 250’ of chain in the bow and the 10” RIB hanging on the davits. Well we’re still on our lines, but the boat feels heavy. We hold 39 gallons of fuel and have five 5 gallon jugs on deck and 1 in the stern locker. We have 80 gallons of water and an extra 12 gallons in the stern locker. We have 5 gallons of gas for the dinghy and 3 gallons in the outboard tank on the transom steps. In all, we have about 1100 pounds in just fluids. I wanted enough fuel to motor to Dry Tortugas and back to Key West if necessary and some left over to run the gen just in case it became so blasted hot that everyone was uncomfortable after all it is summer. This required extra fuel on deck strapped onto stainless rods I installed between two of the stanchions. I did have North Canvas (Kemah, TX) make me a captain navy blue cover that I patterned and they cut, and it actually somewhat fit just enough to hide the big yellow jugs so they are not so noticeable up on deck.
Adding to the weight, we have six people and all the rest of the parts and crap that I have aboard and I have A LOT of stuff. John comments that we could probably rebuild another boat with what we have on this boat. Well that’s true, but I’m also of the Boy Scout’s motto “Be Prepared!” I’ve seen what a broken water pressure pump or A/C cooling pump, or water pump impellor on the auxiliary can do to a trip. Your two week trip and that of your 5 guests is ruined because a $150 water pressure pump went out. So, YES I have a lot of spares. The amazing thing is how well this 35’ boat can swallow up all the gear so that the interior is not junked up inside and heavy or not the boat handles the extra fluids and crew weight just fine.

May 27th Liz and I make one last morning run to Walmart for provisions and Home Depot to replace a defective CO/Smoke detector (I keep one in each cabin). Lela flies into Ft Myers at noon and John takes the rent car back to the airport to get her, and they catch a cab back. The girls slept in, but have found the Tiki Hut and Swimming Pool area of the marina and have decided it’s a great place to hang out. This is a just a free day to take it easy and we’ll all meet up for dinner later.

Weather wise - I have been looking at the weather as far out as I can for over a month. That and one of our dock neighbors in Ft Myers, Marv and Carol, have a great buoy report they send out daily http://www.marvsweather.com/ and all indications are light air and pretty flat seas with rain every day. In fact Marv told me the night before we left, “you’ll be motoring but it’ll be nice.” Then again there is rain predicated every day in Florida in the summer.

Looking at the chart it’s about 65 miles from where we are up the river in Ft Myers, Legacy Harbor, http://legacyharbourmarina.com/ to where we are going in Marco Island. So, I want to get a nice early start. Everyone can sleep in if they want and have A/C, the beauty of having a gen-set, and John and I will get the boat going about 7 a.m.

May 28th And we’re off at 7 a.m. Light air from the east (downwind) but too light to sail. So, we motor. The ladies are up and only the 20 year olds, which are good at staying up late and sleeping in, are asleep. So we are on our way. We pretty much have the river to ourselves till about 10:30 a.m. when it starts to get a little more active. Still less than what I thought for Saturday of a holiday weekend.

We clear out of the last Fort Myers bridge into open water about 11 a.m. and the winds are still light. We’re still motoring and it appears, as I thought, we’ll be motor sailing most of the way to Marco.

I realize once again the difference between the Texas and Florida coasts. In Texas you clear the jetties and you’re in pretty deep water as long as you stay off the shore. In Florida, there are safe water marks on some gulf exits and I am quickly reminded that they are there for a reason when I realize that I am cutting our course a little too soon and find us in 6’ of water! A quick course correction and we’re back in the deep water again. Lesson learned - pay better attention and don’t cut corners.

We have a nice 4 hour motor and hit the Marco Island entrance. Again there are just a set of markers reaching out into the gulf and some crazy instructions on the active captain remarks sections (www.activecaptain.com) about how this channel takes a hairpin turn at the land to go around a submerged sand bar so you must steer clear of it. We watch a boat about half a mile ahead of us, and sure enough he makes a hard 90 degree turn to starboard and then one back to port. If you had not seen him do it, you would swear he was in the same channel as us.

Marco is gorgeous, full of high end homes, no hotels and only 2-3 high end resorts. It’s literally the last civilized area short of a few small towns down in the Everglades till you get to the keys. As remote as it is, it’s crazy how many homes and condos are there. We pulled into Marco Island Marina http://www.marcoislandyachtclub.net about 4:30 p.m. and were promptly met by the harbormaster. In Florida if you let them know of your arrival they will help catch dock lines and set up your shore power etc. We were going to just stay one night here and leave out for Dry Tortugas in the morning, but we decided to spend two nights and leave out about noon on Monday, so that we would hit Dry Tortugas early the next morning.

After tying up at Marco, we have the customary arrival cocktails, pay our transient fees and hit the pool. We caught a cab that night to a recommended restaurant in town and John and I both had lionfish for dinner. Which I have had heard was good and we both thought it was. This evasive species is now being hunted and eaten all over Florida. Back to the boat, we’re all pretty beat and hit the sack, except for the 20 somethings who are night owls and hit the pool again.

May 29th. As usual, I was first up. I got my coffee and go to stretch my legs and I see a dock cart with a phone charger in it. One of the 20 somethings must have gotten a cart ride home last night. Everyone wanted to go to the beach, so we finally get our act together about 2:30 p.m. and get a cab to South Beach and the place is PACKED. Low season or not, everyone from Miami it seems has come to Marco for the Holiday weekend. Luckily, there is an air conditioned beach bar and we hang out there.

May 30th. I’m in a hurry to go, but there is no need to hurry. In order to hit Dry Tortugas in the daylight, we don’t want to leave before noon. I set a time to leave the dock at 11 a.m. so that we can top off the fuel at Rose’s Marina on the way out. There are NO facilities of any kind in Dry Tortugas. No fuel, water or ice and no trash disposal. You bring in what you need and you take out what you brought.

Since my first offshore trip in my 20’s from Grand Cayman to Corpus Christi, TX in a 31 Dufour with no A/C, no refrigeration and no bimini, I have been very averse to NOT having those things. I can live with no A/C and even lived in a house for 2 years in South Texas with no A/C. But that was 25 years ago. So in Caya, comfort comes first. I have a huge bimini with 3 sided sun shades. I hate the sun. And I do like things cold and I LIKE ICE. I have a regular 12vt refrigerator on Caya and it has a freezer side that we crammed full of food and still found room for two 10lb bags of ice. In addition, I have a 35 qt Yeti cooler we use as a helm seat and I have a 50 qt Canyon cooler (Yeti competitor) that I bought and use as a seat in the 10’ Caribe. It’s a way better seat and storage than those wood planks you get. Between the freezer, the Yeti and the Canyon we had 80 lbs of Ice! Yes, I LIKE ICE! Who doesn’t want a cold drink? As a last resort, I have 4 ice cube trays in the freezer that if doled out will make a round or two of cocktails and if reinstalled will be frozen again by morning and again by that evening.

Time to leave Marco Island and we top off fuel at Roses Marina. By noon we do the hairpin turn out and head offshore and there is NO wind and NO seas. Like mill pond in the morning flat. It’s crazy. What little wind we have seems to be off the starboard bow (typical). Hours later at about 18 miles out, the high rises of Marco start to fade on the horizon and it’s still flat. We have the main up for some stability and the wind has finally started to clock around to the east as was predicted. John says let’s fly the chute!

Caya has the typical cruising chute with the ATN snuffer. It was on the boat when I bought it and it’s obviously never been out of the bag. We get it up and it really does help the boat take off. We’re able to finally kill the engine and sail under Main and Spin.
We toss a lasagna into the oven about four and it’s ready just in time for dinner. We’re still sailing under main and spin as the sun sets. No green flash, but it’s still a great offshore sunset.
As usual at sunset or sunrise, the winds tend to get fluky and can get stronger or go light. By 9 p.m. we’re back to the main and motor sailing. One thing about heading to the Dry Tortugas, there are these HUGE white towers that run all the way down to the perimeter of the park. And I mean there are 7 mile lights on them, so they are really tall and easy to see. One guy told me to get to Dry Tortugas from Fort Myers, “just follow the towers.” I did a google search for info on the towers and nothing came up, but I have heard they were for radio transmissions possibly during the cold war.

It’s comfortable enough to sleep down below with the hatches open and John and I split up the watches with 20 somethings crashing out in the aft cabin and salon and the ladies in the cockpit. That left the starboard settee and it was perfect for off watch for me or John while one or the other was at the helm.

John and I have sailed a lot of miles offshore together and for just an overnight sail we don’t worry much with setting times. One guy crashes about 9-10 p.m., relieves a guy at 12:30-1 a.m. and then again at 3:30-4 a.m. It works out fine. If we were going more than a night offshore, we would have set up a more rigid schedule.
The entry from the north to Dry Tortugas says go to the “I” floating marker that is one of the perimeters of the park and then head south past a reef called “middle ground” to the east and then head for the outer marks entry into Garden Key. At day break we’re an hour from the “I” marker and by the time we get there we can see Fort Jefferson on Garden Key 6 miles away. The water goes from 100’ deep to 30’ just passed the “I” marker and the water turns instantly that super blue that you want to see.

Our entry into Garden Key is easy and there are about 8 boats at anchor. We find a good slot in the 3 sandy fingers that are best for anchoring and we drop the anchor in about 15’ of water in a 1-2 knot current. Anchors are not something to take lightly. As big as possible and as much chain as possible is always the best option. Fortunately the Catalina has huge rollers and I can carry a 45lb Rocna and 250’ of 5/16 chain (not to mention the other 33lb Bruce with 50’ chain and 200 of rode that is also on the bow). John sets the anchor nicely, and because of the opposing wind and the current we are anchored with the cockpit into the wind, actually nice, and the anchor being set nearly under our stern. We throw out 100’ and don’t worry about it.

Wow WE ARE HERE!

We want to check out the fort, but we all want to get in the blue water, so we drop the dingy, put on the outboard and jump off the back. It feels great. The visibility is not that great here but you can still see the bottom really well and it’s blue all over with some spots that are just that super deep blue.

We must smell or something because within an hour of anchoring 4 boats have left. Actually, it was Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend so I figured a lot of people have to get back.

We cool off and we’re supposed to check in at the fort with the park rangers, so we decide to motor in. Caya has a huge dinghy for this size boat but we can carry it. A 10’ Caribe with 8hp Honda (that I call the 8hp POS, it runs great but has let me down a few times so it’s gonna get replaced!) but even with this big of a dinghy, we can’t put 6 in it so we do two trips to shore.

Fort Jefferson is unreal. Its walls are 8’ thick but was never really finished. In the process of being built, rifled cannons were invented that made even the 8’ thickness obsolete. It of course was also a prison, and I cannot imagine being left out here as a prisoner. There would be no need to post any guards. No one could possibly escape.
You can tell that the structure must have been a huge undertaking by the size of it. It takes up almost the entire island except for some area where people can camp. There is a snorkeling spot for boaters and people who come off the once a day ferry boat that comes in on the north side. Meg and Kayla want to go there after the fort tour, so we dropped them back off later and showed them how to call us on the hand held VHF. They like the radio idea and everyone is enjoying no cell phones or internet. We truly are “out there” and it’s really nice!

After an exploration of the fort, the nearly all night sail and lack of sleep is taking its toll and we decide to head back to the boat to swim some more, take it easy, get dinner going and just do nothing.
John and I do a quick fuel burn calculation and know we have plenty of fuel to motor all the way back to Key West, and we don’t see any reason why not to sleep comfortably, so we fire up the gen-set. From down below, you wouldn’t know you were floating 100 miles from civilization.

There was a storm that had been developing and we knew there was a possibility that this storm, which eventually became Tropical Storm Colin, was going to form off Yucatan (less than 300 miles from us) and was going to come north and east and come right over Key West towards where we were. The forecast for this to happen was four days away, and everyone was wanting to see Key West and have an extra day there. So, we elected to spend one more day at Dry Tortugas and snorkel at the reef called “Little Africa” on the backside of Loggerhead Key then plan for a 5 p.m. departure that would put us in Key West early the next day. While I would recommend a much longer stay at the Dry Tortugas, with 6 people on board keeping things moving worked best for us.

June 1 It’s my sister’s birthday, so I use the Delorme http://www.delorme.com to send her a text from Dry Tortugas to say Happy Birthday. I thought it was pretty neat.
There is one mooring ball at Loggerhead Key and while we can see the island and the light house from here, it’s 5 miles away as the crow flies, it’s a much longer trip by boat as there are huge reefs to go around. We are leaving early enough that we think we can get to the mooring ball before anyone else and save us a 5 mile dinghy ride (again two trips will be necessary because of 6 people). We weigh anchor and head out. We clear Garden Key. Hauling ass with a following current, we hear another boat calling the Garden Key rangers to tell them they are at the mooring ball at Loggerhead. Damn. Normally, if this were anywhere else you could just get close and anchor but not in the Dry Tortugas because there is limited anchoring to about a square mile around Garden Key due to the fact that most of the area is reef not to mention it’s a sanctuary. So, we turn around and now have the 3 knot current against us and its slow going. Well we’re not in any hurry but 7 knots coming and 2 knots back makes for a long trip back.

Just inside the Garden key channel this is another anchorage that is marked at Bird Key Harbor and it’s just sandy 15’ bottom surrounded by reefs and its’ at least a mile closer to Loggerhead than where we were. So we pull in there, anchor in 15’ of water and we’re the only ones there except for sea plane that buzzed us on the way in.

John, Lela, Meg and Kayla elect to do the first dink ride to Loggerhead. They will come back and Liz and I will go. So I tell John remember the handheld VHF in case the POS Honda 8hp gives you trouble and there is an anchor in the dingy. The direct path takes them over a reef but its deep enough for the dink and it’s a LONG ride there. 15 mins later with the Steiner Binocs I can still see them going. But they called and said they made it, and would call back when they are leaving so we can know when to expect them.
As it turns out, a month before, I had just sold a Beneteau 44CC to a nice couple from Fort Myers and they were coincidentally going to be in DT the same time we were. We heard the VHF come on and it was them that beat us to the Loggerhead mooring ball and they were calling the park rangers for some assistance as their engine would not start. The rangers were sending someone out. I got on the radio and called them and we walked through what it was doing and I figured it was the solenoid on the starter and if they could jump it to get it started they could get home as they were leaving for Fort Myers that day anyway. That did turn out to be what it was they called and thanked us and said they were on their way and I did check in with them when we got to Key West by email and they made it home fine, they just didn’t shut off the motor.

So Liz and I had a nice 2+ hours on the boat, alone and in this serene deep blue anchorage. It was nice just sitting there. John forgets to call when they are heading back but suddenly I hear the outboard as the sound on the water travels well and they are headed back. Liz and I had just about decided not to go but they all said it was so neat and worth it so we unload them, we load up and off we go.

Wide open on the 8hp this is still a 20-25 min ride and literally if this outboard quit and it has before, you’d hope the painter tow line on the dingy, which is 30’ long and the rode on the anchor, another 20’ will be enough to snag something on the bottom till help arrives. I decide right then and there, the next thing I am buying is a 15hp Yamaha. We need the extra power and the reliability. The dink really is your car when you’re out cruising.

We make it to Loggerhead and it’s a steep incline to the beach. Liz and I pull the dink up as best we can but it’s still a little in the water. I set the anchor out also 20’ up on shore and bury the anchor. I turn on the vhf to tell John we’ve landed and the low battery alarm comes on so it’s a quick message and I said we’re signing off. That thing was fully charged 2 hours ago and it’s a nearly new radio so if must have gotten left on or something. So we walk to the lighthouse, around the back to the reef that is called “Little Africa”. It’s marked with some buoys but everyone said just swim out to where the Pelicans are. So we did and wow what a reef. I’ve never seen so many small fish in a school with large tarpon swimming between them and a pelican just reaching in for a bite once in a while. It was a very, very cool reef and you could tell it was so unspoiled because it’s hard to get to.

We finished our swim and start to head back and look at the lighthouse and lighthouse keepers house some. There is another house that appears to be falling into the water with big keep away signs on it. We get back to the pier near where we landed the dink on the beach and there is a memorial to some poor young guy who lost his life while the dock there was being built. There is another fishing boat on the mooring and I look out and I can see Caya WAY out there. I mean I can see the fort better than I can see Caya but I can see it. This is at least 4 miles and going back it’s going to be into the wind and little seas we had. Fun!

So we get to the dink and OH S--T, it’s full of water in the back. The tide must have come up some moved the dink a little more sideways and waves slapped on the tubes enough to start filling it. GREAT, Just great! I panicked a little (after all the VHF is nearly dead and I look up just in time to see the center console at the mooring pull away at 25 kts) but I did have a thirsty mate hand pump and we try to pump it out me with the hand pump, (that also has a hole in the hose!) and Liz (who was way calmer than I was) using a yeti koozie but the waves keep bringing more water in. Now it’s heavier too but we manage to try and pull it up a bit more on the beach to line the transom up to the waves and we pump and bail like mad men. As the old saying goes the best bilge pump is a scared man with a bucket and wish I had one now. I make a mental note to get a collapsible bucket for the dink as this would have taken 2 mins to clear! We get it low enough but every few minutes a wave spills a bit more in then I tell liz, we just need to float it out of here, see if the engine will start (the fuel tank was floating also) and just get out of here. We can pump the rest out if we can get moving.

So we float it out and it gets deep fast and I tell Liz you’re going to have to hold us off from getting pushed on the beach so the motor stays in deep enough water. So I get in, she’s holding it off really well but it’s hard. A quick prayer and 5 pulls and it starts. I will never cuss those new fully sealed no vent cap outboard gas tanks again I hate them because they swell up and don’t sit flat but if this had been the old kind with the vent it most likely it would have filled up with water. So Liz is in nearly knee deep water and has to jump up another 18” or so to clear the tubes and somehow she does it. I hit reverse and we back out and I spin it around to face the waves and we start moving. I tried the old pull the transom plug and the speed of the dingy will drain the water out. Nope, it was filling us up as we were not going fast enough. So I set the tiller towards Caya and keep the hand pump going and get it down to about 2” at the back side.

It's a slow motor even at WOT and I’m dreaming of a new 15hp whilst glad I have a wife who doesn’t get scared too easily and together we got it done. Just like when the damn motor quit on us at Cabbage Key and I had to row that thing about a mile back to the boat. If that is the biggest issue we have on this trip, no big deal. We were not in any mortal danger and if John had not seen us coming within an hour of darkness, he would have pulled anchor and motored over to find out what the issue was.

So we cut back over the little reefs a bit slower because it’s hard to tell the depth but I figured they were at 3-4’ and we make it back to Caya, tell our tale and I’m ready for a beer. We had drinks in the cooler in the dingy but I was so concentrated on getting the dink back I had forgot. Looking now back at Loggerhead from Caya that 4 miles looked like 8. I got to get that 15hp!

So we raise the outboard, raise the dink, get stuff ready and John has put 15 gallons of fuel that was on deck into the tank and it’s nearly full again so we don’t have to do that offshore and we’re out of there by about 5pm and we head back out of the Garden Key. We go between Hospital Key and Iowa Rock and head south and east to the outer mark that is the perimeter of the park. The wind is going to be on the nose all the way and maybe even some current. We raised the main for some stability and just start motoring setting the course above the Marquesas Keys to the outer buoy on the Northwest Channel into Key West.

Before dark we got a great dolphin show by one lone dolphin who rode our bow wave for about 30 mins and gave everyone a show while we watched him from the deck. He finally bid us goodbye and swam off but we got some great video of him.

We had a nice but hazy sunset, an easy dinner and settled in for the overnight motor to Key West. It was about 75 miles and I knew already we were going to hit before daylight so when I came on the watch at 330 to relieve John I started slowing the motoring down so that we’d at least hit the channel at day break and we did. The outer sea buoy is about 8 miles out so it’s close to another two hours to motor in.

We were staying at the Conch Harbor Inn for Thursday-Sunday night and it’s within walking distance to Duval Street and all the activities. We left DT at 5pm and we pulled into CHI at 830am. Celebration arrival Bloody Marys were in order and I think we had more than 2!

We got checked in, found out the pool there is NOT owned by CHI but Dantes Restaurant and the marina guests have use of the pool but the restaurant and pool opens at 11am and closes at 5pm and marina guests get to use the pool till 7pm whereby they promptly throw you out. Weird pool hours till I saw the crowd that uses the restaurant and pool. It was wall to wall people. Well Meg and Kayla enjoyed it and CHI also has decent bathrooms and a free laundry so Liz promptly started washing stuff. CHI also had this weird little fenced in with a locked gate boaters section of a yard that had hammocks, grills and chairs. It was next to the pool. It was sort of neat and the 20 somethings liked to hang out there off the boat into the wee hours of the morning.

Lela was flying out at noon on Sunday and the soon to be named Tropical Storm Colin was going to form later on Monday night, so we elected to call our time at CHI a day short (when boating always have alternate plans when making the first plan) and we checked out and motored the 8 miles around to the south of Key West to Stock Island Marina Village http://www.stockislandmarina.com where Caya would be living for the next few months. It’s a more remote marina compared to being in Key West but’s its fairly new, all floating, has good security and is close to the airport.

It was also decided with the potential 6” of rain coming the now 5 of us didn’t really want to sit on the boat for 3 more days while it poured so we elected to clean up the boat, do all the laundry and we got a rent car to head out to Lauderdale by about 5pm. Meg had some friends in Lauderdale and her and Kayla were going to visit them for a few days and their plan was to leave on Sunday anyway, so we all just left together and killed a few days in Lauderdale (looking for slips for the fall for Caya) till our late Wednesday flight out. As it turns out TS Colin got Key West pretty wet for a day or so but went way further north and hit closer to Tampa. We could have stayed on Caya, but it was getting tight with that many people for over a week so it was nice to get off the boat, BUT the bottom line is we did have six people on a boat for over a week and 4 of those days with very little shore side time. We had no issues and no conflicts and everyone enjoyed each other’s company.

John and I are returning late in June for a double handed run to Marina Hemingway in Cuba going with the TMCA group. We had Liz and Meg going but Meg now has to finish summer school and Liz decided she needed to be at home for a while.

The Pics of the trip are here:
https://www.facebook.com/LittleYachtSales/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1185681041462607

Some notes or answer to questions I have been asked:

For a 35’ Caya (a 2006 Catalina 350) has great water and fuel capacities.

80 gallons of water and I have a water meter to read actual gallons used.

We also had two 6 gallon jugs for emergency reserves in the transom lazerette.

We carry 39 gallons of fuel and burn roughly 1.2 GPH at 5 knots at 2200 RPM. We brought along 6 jerry jugs (another 30 gallons) although we overfilled a few because we had 31-31 gallons when we filled them all.

We figured motoring from Marco to DT (and we sailed about 5 -6 hours) we burned about 20-22 gallons.

Caya’s dink is a 10’ Caribe RIB. I replaced the worthless seat with a 40 qt Canyon Cooler http://www.canyoncoolers.com (IE YETI style). I bought the canyon because it was a scratch and dent model and cheaper and it fit the width of the dink perfectly. It’s also strapped down to two pad eyes in the hull with a Yeti tie down kit. The only downside is you need to move the cooler to put air in the dingy but the cooler is way more stable and solid to sit on AND it’s a cooler you can put drinks in it. Or if you’re going ashore to get groceries you can put them in there and they will stay cold till you get back to the boat. Besides the cooler, I keep a tiller extender to get the driver closer to bow to help plane the boat (you can actually sit on the cooler), a Mantus collapsible dingy anchor and rode, life jackets and dingy ladder. I also I added a RIB thwart seat cushion storage bag I found online and modified it some and screwed it into the cooler lid. So now I have storage for the anchor, VHF etc. When on the davits the cooler gives me room to put in the ladder, life jackets etc. As mentioned the cooler will hold nearly 30 pounds of ice and we filled it on Monday morning and when we raised the dingy up on Thursday at 4pm there was a lot of water in there but there was till ice. We also got in and out of it throughout the trip.

Ice management wise we use the 35 qt Yeti in the cockpit with drinks in it and usually about 15# of ice. We have 30-35#s in the dingy cooler and depending upon frozen food 10-20#’s in the freezer in the galley. As I said I like Ice. When we left Marco we had 75#s.

I installed a Seagull Water purifier filter https://generalecology.com/category/marine-rv at the galley and it saves a ton of buying bottled water. This thing will filter out Mexican tap water so it will make your tank water taste just fine. 10 days on the boat and no one ever complained about drinking tank water. Expensive, $600, (and LYS is a dealer for them) but worth it. Try carrying two cases of water a mile from the store to your boat and you’ll buy one.

We use yeti thermos and such for ice and drinking water and everyone aboard has one. Your water stays colder just way longer than a glass of ice and water. It also doesn’t get spilled.

We bought a variety of these collapsible cookware items http://www.nauticalscout.com/collapsible/ at the Annapolis boat show last year and they work really well. The kettle heats water faster than the old stainless one I had and the collapsible bucket is going in the dingy from now on.

What spares do I carry? These are the main ones:
March 110vt A/C cooling pump and complete new filter housing and enough hose to re plumb thru hull to pump.
Pressure water pump.
Bilge pump and float switch.
Shower sump pump and float switch.
Electric head discharge and intake pump.
Two complete spares kit for head, joker valves gaskets etc (if you have one head and its electric, you better have spares. We also have a 5 gallon bucket and a toilet seat lid that fits on it just in case)
Rebuild kit manual bilge pump
Rebuild kit for ice box pump out pump.
Complete Universal diesel water pump, 3 water pump impellers, 3 belts.
Assorted oils and transmission fluids
3 max prop zincs and bow thruster zincs.
Panda 4kw gen-set 3 impellers, 2 belts, complete spares kit Panda recommends.
This doesn’t include all the spare hose clamps, wire connectors, wire, s/s screws, bolts, nuts, tapes, paints, lubes etc etc and it ALL FITS ON THIS BOAT!