MIDORI ADVENTURES

The winds were exactly as predicted and we slept well last night.

We depart our anchorage at 7:00 a.m. with the mainsail already raised, and very shortly have the jib sail unfurled. We are heading almost due south across Florida Bay. The wind is light out of the NNE at 10 mph with a following sea. We dodge crab pots for the first 3 1/2 hours, but by 10:30 a.m. we can see the towers of Marathon and the green mark for Bullard's Bank and the silhouette of the Seven Mile Bridge on the horizon. From here on, the crab pots seem to be fewer.

The sun is sparkling off of the bright green water and we enjoy the remainder of our 2 1/2 hour journey with an outgoing tide pushing us along and under the Seven Mile Bridge.
The air is definitely warmer today in the Florida Keys!

Captain Brian contacts Boot Key City Marina by VHF as we approach the old bridge. The office confirms that there are no mooring balls available and advises that once we find a place to anchor, we should dinghy in to the marina office to register and get ourselves on the waiting list. We were expecting this.

Captain Brian finds a gap in the very crowded anchorage and we proceed to go through our anchoring procedure - he up front at the windlass - me at the helm. The first attempt did not hold. We tried to come about, but had no forward gear on the starboard engine - yikes! I managed to do a "360", as Brian pulled an old rusty lawn chair off of the anchor. The second attempt was successful, laying a minimum of 50 ft of chain rode. I was able to get reverse on both engines (go figure) and back down on the anchor.

Not the ending we had anticipated to this beautiful day!

We have traveled 35 nautical miles in 6 hours, with an average speed of 5.7 knots and a maximum speed of 6.9 knots.

Stay tuned,

First Mate Lynn