This last week has been hectic to say the least. On Monday, August 22nd, Chapter Two left West Palm Beach, Florida with the intent to sail to the Keys and stay for an undetermined amount of time. It began with beautiful weather and nice calm waters with afternoon showers rolling in around 2:00 p.m. I soon realized that we forgot to check into a fishing license before starting out and therefore, didn’t risk putting one out in case we were stopped by the coast guard. Tonight, we will get on the Wifi and purchase one at our next marina. Pat had made a reservation at Bahia Mar marina in Ft. Lauderdale for our first evening stopover. Upon arrival, Pat and Josh found a local restaurant called Coconuts which had a dinghy dock that was easily accessible around the corner from the marina. It was a beautiful evening and stopover. This is when we became more concerned about the tropical depression and the direction of movement. There were many predictions on which way it could turn and travel on either coast.

Tuesday morning, we pulled out around 10:00 a.m. and made a short hop to No Name Bay in Key Biscayne. It’s a beautiful shallow protected wildlife park with mangroves on two sides and a walking path. There was also a restaurant on site which offered an array of food choices. It was a peaceful anchorage and a great place to weather the evening storms as they moved across the coast.

Wednesday morning, August 24th, as we cleared the markers and started to enter the channel heading south, a squall with large amounts of lightning and thunder consumed our boat. A boater is always worried about lightning strikes. Needless to say, I was very stressed but Pat and Josh took it all in stride. Suddenly, there was a loud strike and boom right above the boat. The electronics went off and the compass started spinning around. We thought, “Oh S#%t, we got hit by lighting. With the compass spinning and total cloud cover we couldn’t see which direction we were pointing. Finally, the compass stopped and discovered we were headed the wrong direction. Josh went below and flipped the breakers on the electronics a couple of times and finally regained power. We don’t think we got hit, but it was very close. Pat recovered the boat and pointed us south toward Key Largo. The weather cleared and we had a comfortable cruise down the coast. Our next stop was Pilot House Marina near Key Largo. The entrance to the channel was 4-1/2 feet at low tide and we draw 4.3 feet and knew it could be close. Fortunately for us, it was not low tide but entering the canal was interesting. It was very narrow with two feet clearance on each side in a few places. Josh and I had the extra fenders ready on each side just as a precaution and I kept thinking, “their better be a marina at the end of this channel”! After 10 minutes, the marina came into sight and a few dock hands came running as we pulled onto the fuel dock. They certainly weren’t answering their radio so we just formulated a plan to tie up and find someone to direct us to our spot for the evening. After fueling, CH2 was secured for the evening and we headed to the marina showers. There was a nice restaurant and bar on the dock that served excellent food with live music. It’s always nice to get off the boat for a few hours. We did notice a fish processing plant that sold fresh fish just across the small bay. Tomorrow we will buy fish before moving onto our next stop because we haven’t caught any thus far.

Thursday morning, Pat and I bought Lobster and a nice grouper for our evening dinner before leaving the marina. Once again, the day began with nice clear skies and smooth water but the tropical storm was still uncertain as to the path it would take as it neared Florida. It appeared the Keys could take a direct hit and were trying to decide whether to turn around and head north or keep going. We decided to continue on our journey south with a contingent plan to continue on around to the west coast of Florida to Burnt Store Marina where we have our “hurricane plan”. That evening while26t navigating the south end of Marathon Bay, we discovered that we couldn’t pass under a 65 foot power line to enter the bay for the moorings. Our mast is 75 feet, 8 inches. So darn frustrating because it’s not listed anywhere in the cruising book or on the maps. We were told to anchor outside the lines near a bridge for the night. A storm was quickly moving over and we were racing to get anchored and the boat secured for the evening. It turned out to be a good anchorage from the storm but a really crappy bay with shallow water. Thankfully, we were moving on the following morning.

Friday morning, August 26th, was a short day because we only planned to travel 35 miles to Stock Island Marina in Key West. It was a serendipitous place for us as this was our start line for the Blue Planet group in January 2015. We were glad to make a stop there and say “hello” and be thankful for the opportunities we’ve had this last year in traveling the world. It is a beautiful marina with many amenities but also very expensive. I did make time to do laundry while Pat changed the fuel filters and check the engines. Later in the evening, we took the dinghy across the bay to a local restaurant called, “Hogfish” where we had dined in 2015. It was interesting to view the many monohulls, catamarans and house boats moored all around this restaurant. They were quite the collection of living spaces.

By Saturday morning our plan was to keep moving toward Burnt Store Marina on the west coast because Key West would take a direct hit from the tropical depression and we weren’t sure we wanted to weather the storm there. We pointed the nose toward Marco Island at 7:00 a.m. but it would be a long day because we had 92 miles to cover traveling along at 7 knots. The day started with fairly clear skies but managed to put out the fishing lines to hopefully catch dinner. I did manage to reel in a nice size Mahi before the sky turned gray with rain showers all around us. The winds weren’t in our favor and the waves were choppy and swirling which felt like we were being tossed around in a washing machine. We tried to sail the wind angle but it pushed us further and further off course with a plan to tack back as we neared Marco Island. Unfortunately, an engine died and Pat and Josh spent hours trying to troubleshoot the problem and discovered a clogged fuel line to the engine. By this time, it was 5:00 p.m. and we were 5 hours from Marco Island. We dropped the sails, ran both engines and powered through the rain and wind right on our nose. I had to manage the seasickness while we took a beating, but I knew the end result was a decent few hours of sleep. As the hours slowly ticked by, I stayed vertical as the guys managed the boat. Finally, at 11:00 p.m., we entered the channel into the river where Factory Bay marina was located on Marco Island. Josh and I stood on the bow with flashlights so that Pat could clearly see markers and obstructions. By 11:30 p.m., we were tied on the dock and securing the boat from the rain. After showers, we all crashed for the night. Tomorrow, we have 72 miles to cover before arriving in Burnt Store Marina.

Sunday, August 28th, began as beautiful clear day with few clouds in sight. I woke Josh long enough to help shove off and then he went back to bed to catch up on sleep. Pat and I motored out of the channel and found decent wind at 14 knots so we raised the main and took off sailing at 8-9 knots with no engines. It’s nice to have the quiet sounds of the ocean versus the humming of engines. We were able to sail 50 miles with just the main and jib before squalls started popping up and had to drop the main with the high winds. At this point, it was time to make the turn toward Charlottes Bay and cover the last 20 miles with the engines. Most of the time we were into the wind but the waves had calmed down and it made the storms much more manageable. After entering Charlottes Bay for the last 10 miles, there was 30 knot winds directly on our nose which slowed us down to 5 knots. The end result would be arriving at our base for the next few months and protection from the tropical depression and major storms during hurricane season. As we motored into the marina, we were thrilled to be back in a friendly, comfortable place that was familiar to CH2 and crew. We were moored on the dock with the boat secured by 8:00 p.m. It was good to be back! Now, we can rest for a few days before working on the boat.

Monday morning, August 29th, Josh booked a flight back to Seattle. He fulfilled his commitment to help crew while moving the boat from West Palm Beach to Punta Gorda, Florida. Pat and I were grateful for his help and expertise because he’s the type of guy who has a cool, calm, demeanor who can hold it together in stressful situations. THANK YOU JOSH! I was sad to see my son leave but he has to return to his college life while we move forward into retirement.

After repairs, the plan is to spend time cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean and continue raising awareness for global warming and the effects of climate change. Come visit us!