Newfound Harbor-Key West
June 15, 2021

After our initial weather earlier in the evening, it was a very quiet night. Our disappointment for our stop over at Key West was the slip we had reserved has been cancelled. We called and spoke with someone at the harbor on Sunday. We had questions about the power line we had to go under to get to the Marina. The information available said it had 50 ft authorized clearance. We have a maximum mast height of 47 ft or less. This individual took our reservation with the understanding we were going to clarify with an engineer at the power company on Monday. After speaking with the engineer from the power company on Monday, we called back and were told they had no slips available. We think they were not comfortable with us coming in. Oh well, mooring balls are cheaper!

Calm trip today. Not enough wind to sail but we did put out a little bit of sail to help push us along. We decided to stop at Stock Island Village Marina to get fuel and water, 10 miles from Key West.

Found the mooring ball field, Garrison Bight, which is part of the city marina. What a disappointment. The wind was picking up as we approached the mooring field. We went up and down the rows looking for a mooring ball. We found one and I was pulling it up with what I thought was a pendant, a gentleman in a dinghy came by and told me we would have to use our own lines. He said the person who was here before just cut the lines when he left. I did not appreciate this remark until I realized that I could not get a line through the ring. We went to three more until I found one that that was not covered with multiple cut lines. That is when the fun really began. I caught the ring from the bowsprit only to lose the hook overboard when I could not hold the ball. We retrieved the boat hook and tried again. Charles could not understand what I was trying to tell him about the little ring on top of the mooring ball. When he finally saw what I was talking about he concluded we would have to catch the mooring ball from the swim platform. I got my line ready to thread through the ring. On the first pass, every time I tried to catch the ball it would spin, and I could not get the ring. Second pass, the bot drifted to far away from the ball. Third pass, I reached under the outboard motor, snagged the ring no threaded a rope through it before boat could drift away. I had to stop the process to get my laughing out of the way. Around again and we got the second line threaded. Now the mooring ball is attached to the rear of the boat and we have to get it pulled forward. Meanwhile the wind is really blowing, and a storm is approaching. It took both of us to pull two lines forward, one foot at a time.

Launched the bot after the storm passed no headed for the marina office. Two miles later we were still searching for the office. We got there just after the office closed so now, we have no access to showers or dinghy privileges until tomorrow. So much for dinner ashore. We were afraid the outboard would run out of gas before we made it back to the boat. We are now trying to find a marina. This is not the Key West we remember. So far, I have not recognized any landmarks 😞