Stars, Sails - the Parallax View

A family of astronomers at sea... coming soon to a galaxy near you...

28 May 2020 | Fort Myers, FL
13 February 2019 | SW Florida
25 May 2018 | Fort Myers, SW FL
02 September 2016 | Fort Myers, FL
11 July 2014 | Fort Myers, FL
04 July 2014 | Fort Myers, FL
01 July 2014 | South Jersey Shore
23 April 2014
11 November 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
05 July 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 March 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
11 March 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 February 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
24 January 2013 | Fort Myers, FL
25 December 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
15 December 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
28 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
25 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL
07 November 2012 | Fort Myers, FL

Useppa Island to Key West

23 November 2011 | Key West
Heather/ sunny and 80 F
Departed anchorage at Useppa Island, headed out the San Carlos Bay inlet. Here is the last bit of land we passed on the way out under the Sanibel Bridge:
Sanibel Bridge

Grant looking back at Fort Myers. We had originally thought we would spend some time here, so had visited it by land. Nice place, and cruiser-friendly:
Grant looking back at Fort Myers

Got the jib out as the wind (predicted to be ESE) was from the west...
jib out

Derek took some pics too. We were dodging crab pots, so someone needed to be at the wheel even with the autopilot on:
Heather helming

As the sun set, Fort Myers looked rather sparkly from seaward:
Fort Myers as sun sets

And as the sun sets, our little friends, the crab pots, are still visibly there (see that little silhouetted crab buoy?). We had been hoping they would thin out as we went farther and farther from harbor.
crab pot buoy against setting sun

Notice the magnetic deviation from the "true" course:
true Course
magnetic course

Twilight lingers, and the crab pot lines are still crossing the course:
crab pot twilight

With our two engines chugging away and the wind shifted to "on the nose," we are a bit nervous about the crab pot minefield we will pass through in the darkness... we dodge them as long as there is any light to see by...
Crab pot buoy in near-darkness

The waves built a bit as we got farther from shore. It was a bit like dealing with all the powerboat wakes, only more continuous. We had set up for a good shaking even though we expected none (forecast). Later that night, the starboard engine suddenly stopped -- about 9:50 PM. We were right beside a Fish Haven on the chart, and we thought it likely that we'd finally caught a crab potwarp in the prop. It couldn't be restarted. Our speed on one engine dropped to 4.6 kts. But the wind had shifted to SE by that time, and we could pinch it a little and help our speed out with the jib, so we rolled it out again, and indeed it helped the speed by about a knot, even sheeted in tight:
putting out the jib in the dark

I tried a few pics of the stars and such, but they did not come out all that well. Before dawn, the waning crescent moon was beautiful, "the new moon in the old moon's arms."
new moon in old moon's arms

After about an hour of "false dawn" -- visibility getting better and better -- the sun rose. The waves had settled down as we approached the coastline again. The crab pots would be back -- Ted Germann had warned us about those on the phone the evening before -- but they were not really thick yet. The clouds made the sunrise dramatic:
sunrise as we head to Key West

The water temperature was up to 76F, and the light was growing, as Derek went over the side to check the starboard prop. Were we dragging a trap? Did a potwarp wrap our propeller? The water had made the transition to the bright water we recalled from the tropics:
Derek going in to check prop

He dove swiftly, and the prop was completely clear:
Derek swimming
Of course, Derek then tried bleeding the fuel line, but discovered that although fuel was getting as far as the secondary filter, the engine was showing signs of being straved for fuel. So he decided to change the secondary filter when we got in.

After Grant woke up, he went forward and found dolphins!
there are dolphins here!

Derek decidedc to come back for the camera. Just as he did, two of them jumped!
jump

Derek got a pic as they swam:
free

Land ho! Outlying keys of Key West:
land ho

The Green "1" had been our target for the last hundred-plus miles:
green one

We had to take the jib in again as the wind had died. On just the port engine, we were doing about 4.9 knots. Until we got next to Key West, and the amazing tidal currents there! Check the speed (SOG)... our own would be about 4.9!
7.2 knots!

The cruise ships can make the island look very small:
cruise ship overshadows Key West

As we negotiated the long channel into the Naval Air Station's Boca Chica Marina, it was beautiful but hot and airless. The ICW mile marker on the chart was in the 2000s!

The marina comes with its own manatee:
manatee or giant gray butt in water

Grant found that the marina's beach came with his own private island:
grant's island

More tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving!
Comments
Vessel Name: Parallax
Vessel Make/Model: 37' Prout Snowgoose (1982)
Hailing Port: Pensacola
Crew: Derek, Heather and Grant
About:
Two astronomers, looking for variable stars and adventure. After cruising the Caribbean aboard S/V Paradox for 18 months in the early 90s, the crew swallowed the anchor and had a child, always planning their next Great Adventure: cruising under sail with Grant, showing him the world. [...]
Extra:
We knew that if we ever got a catamaran, we'd want a name to celebrate her twin-hulledness. Parallax is seeing the same thing from two slightly different points of view, which with our two eyes is what gives humans our depth perception. It's also a good metaphor for one of the benefits of marriage. [...]

S/V Parallax

Who: Derek, Heather and Grant
Port: Pensacola