Rough seas and safe harbors

The wind has been relentless over the past few days, about 20 knots on average. It has made for some really choppy seas, about four-foot waves, and tiresome traveling on the ocean. After experiencing the last two days on the open sea, not going to the Bahamas makes more sense. The waves going out there would have been at least five feet, and they'd be clashing with the Gulf Stream. Not to mention, they're calling for isolated thunderstorms for the next week. And on top of that, there's a chance we'd get stuck in the Bahamas waiting for fair weather to return.

On our way from Key Largo to Marathon today, everything from the chairs to the entertainment system were tossed around the boat. If we weren’t struggling to steer the boat with the waves, we were busy strapping things down better. Naturally, I once again got seasick. It was only a four or five hour trip from Key Largo to Marathon, but it was probably the toughest day of travel yet. We decided we’ll be taking the inside route on the way back.

Right now we’re tied to a mooring in Boot Key Harbor. A few courteous boaters on a dinghy back to their boat helped us pick up the mooring by taking the first line and tying it on for us.  Once we were settled in we took a long nap since we hadn’t gotten much sleep the past three nights due to the excessive wind in Dinner Key mooring field and our Key Largo anchorage.

So as enjoyable as the voyage is, it still comes with its challenges. Another challenge is keeping in mind all the new terminology that comes with living on a boat. Here’s a list of nautical terms I had to learn while at sea.

Left – Portside
Right – Starboard
Front of boat – Bow
Back of boat – Stern
Side of boat - Beam
Steering wheel – Helm
Map – Chart
Rope – Line
Shallow water – Skinny water
Island – Key or cay
Sinking – Taking on water
Filling up water tanks – Taking on water
Overturned - Capsized
Yacht – Pleasure vessel
MPH – Knots (or close to it)
Miles – Statute miles
Miles as measured on the sea – Nautical miles ( about 1.2 miles)
Kitchen – Galley
Oven/stove – Range
Window – Hatch
Bedroom – Cabin
Anchor – Windlass
Toilet – Head
Groceries – Provisions

The plan is to stay in Boot Harbor for a few days. It will be a much-needed rest considering the past few days. 

Plan B

There’s a book on the Bahamas from the early 1990’s sitting on the boat. Nautical charts showing the way to little secluded islands, or cays, have teased me for months; they seemed so close yet so far away. Now, as we deal with a “sour season” for crossing over to the Bahamas, the islands seem to be drifting farther and farther. The 10-foot waves reported on the ocean have subsided to two to four feet, occasionally five to eight feet, but there’s still an east-northeast wind clashing with the south-flowing Gulf Stream, which makes for some really treacherous waters. It’s pretty common knowledge to most boaters to never set out to the Bahamas whenever there’s any kind of wind from the north.

I can’t get around the feeling of slight disappointment, should we not get the chance to go to the Bahamas. Over the past few days I’ve been looking for ways to stay positive, despite these eminent change of plans. So here's what I've gathered so far. The Florida Keys have some nice isolated isles of their own, and some really good spots for diving and snorkeling. The keys could offer everything I hoped to experience in the Bahamas. And, the keys are easier as well as cheaper to get to, considering the $300 customs fee boaters have to pay to get access to the islands of the Bahamas. 

For all practical reasons, the Florida Keys are the best place for us to go right now. They’re saying it’s not a good idea to cross the Gulf Stream for at least another week.  Part of me does still want to abandon all reason though, take the risk and dare the unforgiving sea. Captain Ken discourages that foolhardy notion.  We could wait for a week or even more to see if the north wind changes direction, but why do that when we could be enjoying ourselves in the keys instead?

A picture over the sink in the galley has a quote on it reading, “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up space." In one of my first blog posts of this voyage I played with a similar adventurous spirit quoting Spanish poet and religious sister Juana Ines de la Cruz, who said "If men weighed the hazards of the sea, none would embark.’ These proverbial sayings now sound more like wishful thoughts than practical words of wisdom. In a more luck-driven world, everything would go as planned. But as things are in real life, it’s not good to keep high expectations when you’re dependent on Mother Nature and Father Time.


We've spent the past couple days in the Dinner Key mooring field just off of Coconut Grove, and a few miles southwest of our last anchorage off Virginia Key. This is the first time we've  picked up a mooring ball on this voyage, and it proved to be a challenge. After circling around it about five times trying to pick it up, and struggling to keep it from under the boat, we managed to tie the mooring to the stern. But, it has to be at the bow, so we took the dinghy out to untie and retie lines until we gradually got the mooring to the front of the boat.

We've been taking a boat shuttle back to land to get our land legs back for a while. Tomorrow we will get our provisions and Saturday we plan to head south for the Florida Keys, ideally John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, off Key Largo.  

Day 2 at Virginia Key

We’ve been listening to the reports on ocean conditions, and they say as of now the waves out there are about 10 feet. That’s not what we were hoping for. After spending the day in an anchorage off Virginia Key, we’re now planning to hop over to Dinner Key and pick up a mooring there, where ideally we’ll wait for the conditions to be right to cross over to the Bahamas. If the ocean doesn’t show us favor any time soon though, we’ll head down to the Florida Keys instead.

In the meantime, here at Virginia Key, the greatest portion of my day today was spent learning how to row Captain Ken’s dinghy to and from the shore a few hundred yards away. It was a windy day, which made it a little more difficult. After hours of struggle, getting pushed back to shore by the waves and having the rows consistently fall out of their slots, Captain Ken came out to help.  a few hours later, I had another go at it and finally managed to get the dinghy going forward. Do I get a sailor’s badge or something? No, just a little more self-assurance. I have a history of learning simple things the hard way.

Even as I was struggling to get off shore with the dinghy though, I could have counted my blessings because not too far from me there was a sailboat that ran aground and was in worse shape than me. It was there when we got here yesterday and stayed aground until this evening when a motor boat helped pull it out. 

So here we are just off the coast of Miami waiting for the hazards of the sea to wane, and the sailboat was a reminder of how unforgiving even the calmest waters can be. 

Every day continues to bring new experiences. Sometimes I think of the life I left behind in New Jersey; I’m starting to miss my friends and family. I had a pretty comfortable, secure lifestyle and steady work before I left. Everything was going smoothly. But that’s exactly what bothered me. I felt like it would all be torn from my grasp against my will, and then I’d have no idea what to do. That’s why the moment I feel too attached to something, whether it be a lifestyle or a TV show, I let it go for a while. When I come back to it, I then see it anew and appreciate it more. Every time we make a decision that could be life changing, there are things that we have to let go of. Sometimes they come back to us, sometimes they’re lost forever. Either way though, we’re a better person for it because we took a chance and expanded our hopes of what our lives could be. 

Wouldn't mind staying, but gotta get going

The Exuma Cays are perhaps the most isolated islands in The Bahamas, and that's our final destination. The water between the islands is only a few fathoms deep at their deepest, and filled with tropical fish. Thinking about the place makes the wait worthwhile. Yes, we're getting anxious to leave already, especially with all the unseasonably cool weather, wind and rain here in SC, but taking a boat down the coast isn't the same as flying or driving down it. It's much more involved.

While living on the boat, every now and then I get a little cabin fever and decide to take a walk. The beach and resorts are starting to fill up with Spring Break vacationers from the Northeast, and many Southerners are taking their weekend trips here. I can tell just by their southern draw that they're from around here. I think I'm starting to acquire bits of the dialect. Lemey tell ya su'en. Muddy river water and sweet sweet tea is all the good living I need. I've always loved country music, and down here it's like I'm right in the middle of that culture. As I was walking past the House of Blues this evening, a cover band singing Carrie Underwood reminded me of that reality. Yeah, I know, she's kind of borderline pop, but still. You know what I mean. So shut yow mouth, y'all. I can get used to this, even though we are leaving the area soon. Be sure of it.  I'd love to stay here, but I also want to boat down the coast to The Bahamas.Oh well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Pardon the cliche.

Boat life

We filled up the four fuel tanks today and then worked on the engine a little. Everything needs to be in tip top condition before leaving. Things have been pushed back a little, but we should still be leaving some time next week.

Staying on a boat doesn't mean vacation. I certainly have had my time to relax, and will have more time to do so once we reach the Bahamas, but this new adventure has come with its share of work. On the other hand, it's different kind of work. It doesn't involve sitting at a computer all day writing mundane local news stories. Working in the engine room, learning how to steer the yacht, fixing things here and there on the boat, making last minute provisions before we leave, these are all a welcomed change in lifestyle.

So it seems like whenever we set a date of departure we just tend to jinx things. From now on we'll just play it by ear. When we do leave though, I'm now hearing that we'll be riding on the ocean for the majority of the route, at least to Jacksonville, if the weather is good enough. I've been studying the ICW routes for weeks now, only to find out that that route is just the backup plan. But then again, considering how the weather has been, rainy and windy, there's at least a 50 percent chance that we'll be taking the waterway most of the way down to Florida. Also note that if we do take the ocean route we'll be cruising through the night since apparently there's no place to anchor in the ocean. Yeah buddy! Gitterdone, skipper!