Carolyn & Maurie at the beach

Our friend Maurie from Syracuse came to visit and inexplicably, she seemed to bring warm weather with her.  For her visit, Key West offered its signature sun, gentle breezes AND warmth! Unfortunately, all weather predictions indicated it would not remain beautiful for very long nor once gone, would good cruising weather return anytime soon.  Our month’s space in the marina would end the day Maurie was scheduled to leave, and our spot was already taken by a sailboat coming for the impending Key West Sailing Regatta. Thus, we had to think seriously about leaving early… while Maurie was still with us.  For a non-boater, Maurie had the chance for her very first cruise… But that meant being on the boat (and not on land)…. all day… for two days….  After some consideration, she decided she’d rather travel on Sojourner than follow along on US 1, either in the Keys shuttle or driving our car.  The predicted weather window for the two-day trip back to Key Largo was glorious, and we just knew her very first cruise would be one to remember! We-l-l… It was, but not exactly for the reasons we assumed!!

On the first day out, we knew almost immediately the weather would not live up to the predictions: a thick cloud cover hung stubbornly in the sky, while the swells were larger (significantly), the wind was stronger (by alot), and the temperature, much lower than expected-  It got better as we traveled, but being on the water just wasn’t at all comfortable for most of the day-  Often, we ask guest cruisers to assume responsibility for the “Comment” section of the daily log, and that day’s entry read in part:

“Somehow- I have no clue how- we entered into waters near Antarctica.  Climate change is a reality; we saw ice caps… Lost two toes to frost bite, but they were ones I wanted to  get rid of anyway…!”

The weather had moderated some by the time we began our “moat approach” to the Hawks Cay resort, and an uneventful night there brought an end to a difficult day. Luckily, the second day of the trip more than made up for the discomfiture of the first. In fact, it was our best cruising day EVER!  The seas were glassy, the wind, but a gentle breeze, and the sun, soft and warm-  We were tempted to stop the boat and jump off for a swim-  seriously!!   And Maurie decided she just might try cruising with us again sometime!

Because her adventuresome spirit overcame what turned out to be well-founded trepidation, Maurie got to see not only Key West but Duck Key and Key Largo as well.  A delicious stone crab claw dinner and a glass bottom boat trip to the reefs just beyond Key Largo finished off her visit in fine, if unexpected, fashion!

Hopefully this slideshow will provide some sense of the two-day trip:

Everyone seems to have an opinion about the southernmost point of the continental U.S.  From “absolute paradise” to “too strange for words”, Key West engenders strong feelings and reactions in all who visit the little tropical island only 90 miles from Cuba. What do we think after spending a month right downtown in the center of the historic seaport??  It is certainly a place like no other!  Downtown struck Susan as more touristy, crowded and noisy than she expected with Duval Street being New Orleans’ Bourbon Street adorned with palm trees and flip flops. Carolyn, on the other hand, enjoyed the hustle, bustle and extreme variety in everything (boats, dress, language, music, food and drink options, etc.). We agree that the less touristy/commercial and more residential areas of Key West are absolutely charming with their narrow streets and brightly colored, small, open-air businesses and quaint cottages… the ubiquitous motor scooters and free ranging chickens also very much in evidence, not so much!

Sojourner's Key West crew

For the first couple weeks, we were on our own to explore Key West  by car and by dinghy. Then, on New Year’s Day, “Waltons” at Key West began when son Doug, his wife Sarah and grandsons Isaac (9) and Owen (4) joined us. While the parents luxuriated in the quiet of a small, quintessential Key West inn, Sojourner was treated to a week with two energetic additional crew.  Each morning the new “swabbies” were awakened by the nearby Coast Guard station’s rather loud and slightly off key rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and the bull elephant-sounding horn blast as the Yankee Freedom II ferry announced its daily departure for the Dry Tortugas. A surprisingly fierce wind (25+ knots) rocked the boat unmercifully during the kids’ second night aboard, and we grandmas briefly contemplated moving our young crew ashore. The next morning Owen inquired:  “Who won?? The boat or the storm?”  The many fish cavorting constantly around the boat fascinated the boys, and spotting the resident 4 ft. tarpon snuggling up to Sojourner sparked an unsuccessful effort to feed the local wildlife from the bow. Doug, Sarah and Isaac braved the unusually chilly water for a snorkeling trip while Owen accompanied us to the Butterfly Conservatory. Then, as the family departed for cold and snowy Chicago, our friend Maurie from Syracuse arrived. Maurie’s visit had an unexpected conclusion when a rare, seemingly wind-free weather window encouraged us to leave Key West several days early, and this courageous non-boater joined us for  the two-day cruise back to Key Largo (more on that adventure later!).

We had great fun with many Key West tourist “must do/see” activities:  sunning and people-watching on the beach; partying on Duval Street New Year’s Eve; cruising on a two-masted schooner; visiting various museums, famous people’s homes, the “southernmost point,” the Botanical Gardens (with its unusual collection of Cuban “Chugs”, the boats used by Cubans to flee their homeland), and a wonderfully decorated art deco movie theater with a life-size statue of Marilyn Monroe out front (a fitting place to see the movie “My Week with Marilyn” which we did with Maurie); as well as enjoying many (many) sunsets at Mallory Square. We also saw a great live, locally cast musical (“Forbidden Broadway”) and peeked into several private Key West residences during a two-evening, fund-raising home tour conducted by the local historic home restoration group. Good restaurants line both the historic seaport and Duval Street, and we tried as many of them as we could! We also ventured deep into the residential district for delightful and delicious experiences at a variety small and less touristy establishments. All-in-all, we enjoyed Key West, all the sights, the spirit, the ambiance … and tremendous seafood, delicious Cuban coffee, and panini and pastry to die for as well!

I want a roof like that!

BIGHT (bite) n. A body of water almost completely surrounded by land [according to a B-S Dictionary paraphrase]

As one might imagine, the Florida Keys chain has several “bights”. Our marina shares the biggest one on Key West with the historic seaport and several other marinas as well as the docks for various cruise ship lines and snorkeling, diving and fishing fleets. Not surprisingly, it is called “Key West Bight.” Not too far away is Garrison Bight, a smaller, but also rather interesting body of water: it is the “harbor” for Key West’s world famous charter fishing fleet, a couple small marinas and the Key West Yacht Club as well as the home for a uniquely Key West form of residence.

Traveling by car, the Key West and Garrison Bights are mere blocks from one another. But traveling by dinghy, Garrison Bight and its houseboat community are at least a 45-minute cruise from Sojourner, depending on wind and current, of course. We made the trip between the two bights via the Fleming Key cut which took us through a couple rather open bodies of water and two large mooring fields. We had great fun almost running aground in suddenly less than a foot of water while at least 200 yards away from shore in any direction!! We now have a strong, experiential understanding of the old sailor’s warning: “If the water looks brown, go around or run aground”! At the last second, Carolyn managed to steer us out of harm’s way, and we had a delightful self tour of the houseboat community adjacent to US highway 1 in the newer, more commercial section of Key West.

Here’s a slideshow of some of our favorite houseboats in the Garrison Bight community-  favorites for looking at anyway-  We prefer Sojourner as a residence!!

Click to view slideshow.

Pre wash

Bet you never did your laundry in this type of establishment.  The front is a Cuban restaurant, and the back is an open-air laundromat.  We sat in wicker chairs watching the world go by, eating an incredibly delicious pork panini, reading the NY Times, and shooing away the chickens as the washing machines did their job.

Panini

Really, there were chickens and roosters wandering about, too!  So, we now know the TRUE answer to that old canard, why did the chicken cross the street?  To do her laundry, of course.  Next week we plan to try the Margaret Truman Launderette!

Poultry...

Real chickens!!!!

Quintessential South Beach

We remained in Key Largo only about 24 hours after our initial arrival before engaging a one-way rental car  to Orlando so we could retrieve our own that had been waiting patiently since a couple of days before our departure from St. Augustine.  Having a vehicle makes cruising so much easier: no worries about provisioning, expanded opportunities to sightsee beyond the distance limits of the dinghy, and the means to take side trips along the way.

We did the last almost immediately as our good friends Shirley and Wayne invited us to “stop by” South Beach on our way back to Key Largo in the car.  They were there for a book fair and had the use of their daughter’s time share apartment, right on Ocean Boulevard!!  We accepted without hesitation as South Beach is one of those intriguing places we would not likely venture into on our own!  And what a fun time it was!!

The ocean from Ocean Blvd.

After some delay due to missed turns in the crowded, narrow streets at the beach, we arrived just in time for  wine,  cheese, gentle conversation and arial sightseeing on the rooftop deck (hot tub included) of the condo.  Thus fortified, our South Beach adventure began in earnest when the four of us ventured out just as the sun was setting.  Everything we’ve ever heard about South Beach presented itself  as Wayne and Shirley guided us down Ocean Blvd. and  around to the various famous, infamous, and reputedly “hot spots” of the neighborhood.  All kinds of people in all kinds of outfits, doing all kinds of things, in all kind of languages!!  Our guides had taken an Art Deco street tour the day before, and we reaped the benefits of everything they had learned!  In addition to all the “see and be seen” wildness that is South Beach, the area is also a virtual treasure trove of Art Deco architecture,  neon and vintage cars-  everywhere one looked!  It was fantastic!!

By necessity, the visit came to an end the next morning and we headed back to the calm of Key Largo, but we took with us fun memories of our South Beach adventure and many pictures as well.  We hope you enjoy them too!

Moonset at Stuart

What a joyous occasion to re-board Sojourner and head out on new adventures!!  It had been longer than we had planned, and the excitement  –and, quite candidly, the trepidation–   were all the greater for that reality!  Beginning in familiar territory, we decided to start the journey southward slowly and easily:  limit ourselves to short days on the water and revisit known marinas, at least until our sea legs returned.  Wel-l-l… that plan lasted less than a day, and the reality of the first day became the pattern for the entire trip to the Keys.

From St. Augustine, we made good time and arrived very early afternoon at our targeted destination, Palm Coast, of “40 Days and 40 Nights” fame (see blog entry 5/2009).  Though the day was gorgeous with its warm sun, white fluffy clouds, and calm waters, the weather forecasts suggested changes on the way, so we altered the plan first day out: let’s travel the entire day and stay at a new marina!!  Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona Beach was a delightful new stop, but after some consideration, we left the next day thinking we’d rather be down for a couple of days at New Smyrna Beach, one of our favorites, if the weather forecasts came true-  And they did!!

Winds from the north, often very strong, dominate the winter weather pattern in Florida, and as far as the winds are concerned, winter arrived our second day out.  That change ensured we would travel slowly.  After two days down in New Smyrna, we rode 15-20 mph winds to Cocoa Village, Sojourner’s 2009-10 winter  home, and stayed there two days.  From there, we traveled first  to Vero Beach and then on to Stuart for short visit with Cousin Evie before blowing into North Palm Beach and another two-day wind break. Wind gusts at 13 mph made departing Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart somewhat dicey, but the steady 21 mph winds made docking at Old Port Cove in NPB simply terrifying, and we were glad to sit for a while!

Water color transformation @ Ft. Pierce

Three glorious cruising days took us to Delray Beach and Ft. Lauderdale before traversing the Port of the Everglades, passing by the Port of Miami, and cruising right through the heart of Miami to Coconut Grove where we again spent a couple of days waiting out the wind.

South Florida living spaces

 This trip through both familiar territory and new places offered a Florida version of all the different cruising we have done.  The first few days carried us on essentially brown, mostly wide (if narrowly channeled) Intercoastal waters through primarily natural landscapes punctuated only periodically with significant evidence of human activity.  At Ft. Pierce just north of Stuart, a transformation occurred, and we knew we had entered the Florida of winter fantasies!  The water color changed dramatically, the waterway began to narrow, and the undisturbed landscapes became a rare exception to the increasingly dense conglomeration of  human construction.   Heading into the Ft. Lauderdale -Miami corridor, we traveled some 56 miles under an unending series of “slow speed; no wake” restrictions because of “congestion in the area” and “manatee zones”!!  Much of our cruise through the famed south Florida cities of Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Boyton Beach and Miami itself was like driving slowly through neighborhoods on a city street!  A multitude of bridges cross the waterway to connect those neighborhoods, and our decision to take this first cruise “slow and easy” helped us accept the inevitable delays as even the “short” Sojourner often had to wait for a scheduled opening.  We’re not certain we would be so copacetic if we had to make the trip multiple times, but this time, we thoroughly enjoyed the slow pace and the time to truly take in all the sights that it provided!

Sojourner's friends

Stilt house in Biscayne Bay

The last leg of the journey would take us from Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove across Biscayne Bay, through Stilt House City to Hawk Channel and a day’s run in the Atlantic Ocean to Key Largo so we paid particular attention to both the wind and wave heights!  The last day was well worth waiting for and one of our best cruising days ever!! The water was an indescribably beautiful blue-green in color, the swells were less than a foot and the wind, nothing but a gentle breeze. Bottle-nosed porpoises played with Sojourner and we had a grand time!

And now we are in Key Largo!  Sojourner’s berth is on coconut palm-lined Port Largo Canal, and she shares the narrow waterway with several other cruising vessels, a half dozen dive and snorkeling boats, AND the illustrious, if somewhat dilapidated, African Queen of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall fame.  We were joined by our training captains/now friends Capts. Patti and Carol from St. Petersburg for the Thanksgiving holiday, and we were all treated to the visit of a very special guest on Turkey Day!

Sojourner basking under coconut palms in Key Largo

    

Another resident of the Port Largo Canal

A special Turkey Day visitor

We took many pictures during the southern half of this cruise, several of which may be viewed in the St. Augustine to the Keys Flickr set, including video of the porpoises!!

Sojourner celebrates the season!

We started our southward meanderings from Camachee Island in St. Augustine, FL with our ultimate destination for the season being the Keys!!  We’ve reservations for a month on Key Largo, and then we’ll move on to Key West where we’ll be at the downtown city marina right in  the middle of historic seaport!  ”Wintering in the Keys” has been a longtime fantasy , and it looks as if it might just get realized this year!!

Sunrise @ Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor

For now, we are simply enjoying being back on Sojourner, cruising down the Atlantic Inter-coastal Waterway.  We are certainly rusty after so many months on land, but Sojourner is doing just fine and seems quite tolerant of our occasional forgetfulnesses, missteps and miscalculations.  We’ll keep you posted!

Sunset on the Camachee Island marsh

We hope this finds you and yours well and enjoying the very best of this most special season!  As suggested above, ours includes snow this year as we returned to Lexington Kentucky just before Thanksgiving to begin the adventure of re-establishing a land base.  Sojourner didn’t make the trip… she’s  in St. Augustine, preparing to resume our trip southward early in the new year.

We wish you a very Merry Holiday and exciting adventures in 2011!!