Waiting for the weather
27 April 2009 | KEY West, Florida,
Sky clear, Air Temp 76F, Water Temp 78F, Wind E@20-30
Fort Taylor, Key West
Well, we got to Key West five days ago and did beat the wind in. Our concern was getting in before the winds clocked east and came up. That would have left us out in the Stream with the wind dead on the nose and in huge seas. But we made it OK.
We motored into Key West with Seabird about a mile ahead at about 2:00 pm. Although it seemed slower than our passage down, in fact it was 18 hours faster. It was a much more direct route which made the difference. And during the day the other boats that we were crossing with came in as well, with the last one straggling in next morning. They had gotten too far south and were well trapped in the stream and had a long struggle north to escape. But all are safely in.
We checked in on Thursday with no problems. Our Cruising Permit was due to expire on Friday but we were told we would have to come back on Monday to renew it. I had expected something of the sort from last year. Apparently "the computer" won't allow them to start the renewal process until the old one has expired. But it didn't make any difference as the weather was keeping us here in any case.
By Thursday afternoon the wind had arrived, and in strength. Since Thursday afternoon it has been blowing 20-30 knots out of the east, our destination. Seas outside the reef are reported to be 10'-15' and higher in the Stream. So we have stayed put. Every day at least one boat goes out and tries it, and returns soaking and shaken. Yesterday it was a Manta 42 Cat next to us. But they were back before noon, and spent the rest of the day blaming each other and drying out the boat.
Up to yesterday we seemed to fill the days with "real" projects such as shopping, haircut, re-fuelling, replacing lost or broken stuff (spare GPS, etc) but yesterday we did some touristy stuff, visiting some local historic sites and just walking. And if you have to be stuck anywhere, Key West is as good a place as any with its excellent supply of weird sights. The wind is not supposed to let up until Wednesday but this morning it started lighter, so perhaps we'll get out tomorrow.
But today's project is the Cruising Permit. From here, we're off up the coast to Miami, then we'll rent a car to run across to Naples to pick up our bikes that we stored at Bruce and Dianne MacDonald's last fall. Then if we can get a decent weather window, we'll go back offshore to hop up to Charleston. But that's a long way away from today.