Sailing inside the reefs
14 November 2017 | Rodriguez Key
Helen
We endured another lumpy night. There was lots of wind and some rain. We both got up early and hauled anchor by 6:30 so that we could go thru the cut at high tide. We motored to the end of Key Largo and before Palo Alto Key thru the Angel Fish Cut with only the port engine. Then we headed south on the Hawk Channel which runs between the Florida Keys and the offshore reef to the east. We sailed with jib only and made speeds up to 7 knots. It was a fabulous sail down wind. Our plan was to stop at the Molasses Reef, but the mooring balls were no where to be found, plus the waves were too sizeable. There was 2 - 3 foot waves and that would have been difficult to snorkel with the 20 knot winds. So we headed to the lee of Rodriguez Key and anchored off this island. After lunch, Mark worked on the port engine. He pulled the starter again and wrapped the external oil line which he suspected had a pin hole leak. He ran that engine but there is still a drip. He helped the situation but did not solve the problem. He may have to wrap further or replace the line all together. We were going to put on our snorkel gear and scrub some more on the bottom of the boat, but the winds were still high and the big waves were a problem. We both snorkeled up to where the anchor was dropped so at least we got some swimming exercise today. Then took showers off the back stairs. Ready to start dinner. Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Avery! And to tell everyone that we miss all of you! So thank you for your emails, calls and comments on the blog. We will be watching more of 24 tonight.