Marco to Little Shark River
06 June 2010
[Note: I made a change to the way I was composing this blog and found an embarrassing number of errors. They are not all typos; this keyboard has been fluky for a while now and when I type certain character sequences too fast, it goes crazy.]
Right after our last post, we went back to the dinghy and motored around to the rear of the Winn-Dixie grocery store where we got some a few provisions, including some fish that I somehow managed not to catch for myself along the way. We got back to the boat, relaxed, and prepared dinner. The dolphin (or Mahi-Mahi as the Hawaiian name goes) was not the freshest but it was quite tasty when pan seared with a Cajun rub. After dinner, we made our next two days' passage plan.
An hour before sunset, we took Clyde for his first ride in the new dinghy. We landed at the Esplanade dinghy dock and he set off in his harness and leash with Diane in tow. The first half of the walk went well because there were few people. Then as we tried to complete a full circuit, the traffic increased and he got temperamental. We reversed our tracks and all went pretty well.
As it stands now, we plan to leave very early tomorrow to make it to Cape Sable by nightfall. The winds are expected to be light, so barring a thunderstorm, we will have no wind to sail with and little breeze Tuesday night. The next day should be long as well as we hope to make Marathon in the Keys by Wednesday sunset.
Tues 1 Jun 10
Hah! Light winds they said? We spent over 8 hours motoring directly into 2-4 foot waves that made for a wet, slow, uncomfortable ride. Axiom number one in sailing that the wind direction is always coming from your intended destination. Axiom two is if the wind is behind you, it must be too light to do any good. We had the former. But let me start at the beginning.
The night was quite pleasant, although I still slept in the main saloon with the fan running for the first half of the night. Knowing we wanted to awaken early, I slept fitfully after about 0200. At 0500, Diane snuggled up for a short while until we arose near 0600. It took but 10 minutes to prepare to get underway so we were off in the pre-dawn twilight of another beautiful morning.
Amazingly, we had ridden the tidal flood current into our anchorage and then got to ride the ebb current back out; that is rare. Once past the shoals at the edge of the pass, we turned south and were able to motorsail to good advantage for a short while. Then, our course to the destination and the wind direction just wouldn't work together, so we furled the sail and purely motored.
I was trolling the lure again when the "clicker" on the reel let us know something was hooked. I slowed the boat and asked Diane to turn back toward the fish so I could reel it in better. It was a Spanish mackerel (the only type of fish I have caught trolling in the Gulf), but it was not hooked in the jaw, but rather snagged on its side. I filleted it quickly and we cleaned the cockpit and resumed our course.
The wind direction had been forecast correctly, but the strength was much stronger and building. Before long we had the waves I mentioned earlier and we were hobby-horsing like crazy. 2-4 foot waves are not bad, but when they come 2-3 seconds apart, that is crazy. We were slow to secure things for shipping water across the deck, so we got some down below in the galley. Diane was not pleased, but we buttoned up better and carried on.
At one point, the average speed was so slow (each wave knocks out some momentum) and the ride so uncomfortable, that I elected to turn 45 degrees off course to port (closer to land) and put out about 1/3 of the foresail. This had several effects: it let us take the waves on an angle which is less stressful on the boat and crew, the sail acted to steady the boat, and it added almost two kts to our forward speed, which kept our progress decent even with us turning off course (VMG to the sailors).
After the immediate improvement and then a few hours of further improvement as we got closer to land, we decided conditions warranted turning directly back to our destination and motoring the rest of the way. By the way, Cape Sable was no longer our destination, but rather Little Shark River. I am typing this while Diane is minding the helm, so more later...
Well, our decision was half right. I had elected not to enter the anchorage at the mouth of the river, but rather to stand offshore one mile to help avoid the nasty bugs. We anchored and before we could do much of anything we had biting flies coming several per minute. They are very slow to react so it is not unusual to have a 90% kill ratio, but after we killed 20 we decided to move. We are now anchored three nm from the nearest shore and a little closer to our next stop, Marathon.
It was a grueling day at times, but overall not too bad. Getting water below was the part that made Diane the most upset, but overall she handled the day well. We are now sitting below with a nice breeze funneling through the boat and sipping the first of several cold ones. It was a 12-hour day today and while it was not strenuous, it sure is taxing.
If you are wondering why we haven't exclaimed what a wonderful cruise we are having, that is because we are still sorting through the almost inevitable problems that happen. We surely enjoyed our time with our club friends the first night, and were glad to celebrate the new dinghy/engine despite the unexpected expense. The evening in Smokehouse Bay, Marco, was very pleasant. We look forward to getting some things sorted out in Marathon and plan to spend tomorrow and Thursday nights there.
Wed 2 Jun 10
The evening was a mixture of bliss and challenges. As expected, the wind and seas lay down (went light and calm) and boat gently rocked all night log, so that was the bliss part. We were awakened near 0200 by a boom of thunder and I quickly roused to investigate. All I could see for several minutes was cloud-to-could lightning and the timing between flash and bang indicated a two mile distance and increasing to the north.
Once that was past, we got a gentle rain at first that we loved for both the sound of it and the washing off of the accumulated salt. Following that, however, was a torrential rain that made me realize we had not pulled the drain plug on the new dinghy. I quickly estimated that the water weight in the dinghy could get significant if I did nothing, so this as the challenge part.
I was out in the relatively cold rain lying on the swim platform reaching under the dinghy to get to the plug. I managed to do that with swift success, but as I was doing it I thought that a silly slip and I could be in the water with Diane still snug in her berth. The chilly rain cooled me down to where I could regain sleep comfortably and we both enjoyed the rest until about 0600.
It was an eerie silence that greeted us when we went topside just before dawn. It was something to savor, and we did until we weighed anchor and got underway shortly after. The wind forecast was for southerly breezes up to 10 kts. That prevented us from using any sails until quite long into the passage when the wind shifted to the southeast for a while. It was a boring passage under motor alone, but at least if the wind was not going to help us, it was almost calm. The sea had leftover swells from storms in the night, but was otherwise flat for the longest time.
At one point, after the Keys were in sight, I noted that the depth sounder readings were about 2 feet shallower than the charts indicated. Not knowing it a shoal had built up and not wanting to plow into it, I slowed to 3.5 kts and watched the depth sounder hover near 8 ft for almost an hour. I finally decided to trust that the bottom would not suddenly rise up too fast for me to react and resumed making 5.5 kts.
About the time we neared the widely-spaced navigation markers approaching the keys and warning of shoal banks, the wind picked up and we could motorsail to good advantage. Even with the engine on, it was nice to have the sail full and drawing well.
Before long we were under the Seven Mile Bridge and turning for Boot Key Harbor. We took on diesel, gasoline, and water at Marathon Marina and continued in to pick up a mooring ball. The person on the radio and at the desk was the same one we saw two years ago on our way to the Bahamas. I recognized her and she did us, even remembering our temporarily lost dinghy episode. You really need to go through life treating others well because you are bound to see many of them again, especially in the cruising world.
We got to the check-in desk well prepared to use the new shower/bathroom facilities; it was wonderful. They have added an additional dinghy dock and wonderful laundry facilities, too. Cooling down after the dinghy ride in the blazing sun required a cool beverage and sitting in front of a fan below. Even Diane needed a fan and that is unusual.
For dinner I prepared the mackerel I had caught the other day in the same Cajun style as the dolphin. It was really quite delicious. After cleaning up, we took Clyde in the dinghy to the marina dock and strolled the short distance to the local park. There were far too many people enjoying the park for Clyde to get comfortable; in close quarters he is fine with strangers, but in public places he gets quite skittish.
Back at Diva Di, we read in the cockpit until it was dark, and then went to bed with both of us pretty tired.