The Harbor Hillbillies!

Shortly after we left Boot Key Harbor for the dock at Outta the Blue Marina, the Harbor Hillbillies opened up shop. Here's a link to an article about their business.

The Harbor Hillbillies

Tough Going!

Thursday, February 5, 3015     Not Again!

The hook was up at 0700 and M/V Sunshine headed out Sisters Creek. Outside, we found rollers and 12 to 15 knot wind out of the south. Yesterday's whitecaps are gone and it looks pleasant enough. Looks can be deceiving! Among the rollers, we found a stiff chop with three foot waves. Once again, the boat crashed down so hard that the GPS unit shut off. It powered right up again, but it is disconcerting to have that happen. These conditions persisted until we passed East Sister Rock. That took less than ten minutes.

For the rest of the seven mile trip, we just had to deal with the rollers. They weren't too bad. The boat was secured in the slip and plugged into electric by 0830. Now we'll kick back and rest for an hour or so before we go to coloring this side of Marathon.

At 1015, it started to rain. It saved us from washing the boat. When the rain is finished, all the salt should be gone. 

Well, the boat got a good bath. It rained the rest of the day.

Alone Again!

Wednesday, February 4, 2014    And Then There Was One!

Shortly after saying goodbye to Kathy, Bill and Steve, we dropped our lines from Bahia Honda and headed out to the Outta The Blue Marina in Marathon. Even though the wind was blowing at 15 knots, there was only a light chop on the bay. As we rounded Moser Channel into the Atlantic side, the chop became moderate. Our route took us into Boot Key Harbor and back out to the Hawk Channel side by way of Sisters Creek. Once out of the entrance channel, we found three to four foot seas. We tried taking the waves at different angles; we tried varying the speed; we even tried plugging along at 3 mph! All to no avail. The boat was pounding hard into the waves. We crashed down so hard off one particular wave that the GPS turned itself off. I don't know why that happened but it powered back up right away.

We turned around and went back into Sisters Creek, toured the harbor and anchored for a bit. We made two more unsuccessful attempts later in the day. We finally dropped the hook in Sisters Creek and relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening away. Tomorrow we we'll try again.

It appears that the Nomad's limits are 15+ knots of wind on the nose and three to four foot chop.

The Last Day!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 The Last Day!

Nomads Able Explorer and Slo Poke have decided to rent a car so they can drive back to their points of origin to retrieve their cars and trailers. One will return tomorrow and the other on Thursday. We expect to depart tomorrow, weather permitting.

The crew of both vessels expressed appreciation for the experience and challenges of long distance cruising. We are all impressed that the boats did well in some difficult conditions.

We enjoyed a late lunch of burgers and fries at Burdine's after our new friends rented a car for tomorrow's drive.

Bahia Honda!

Monday, February 2, 2015 Flamingo to Bahia Honda!

First light... That is when we all agreed to depart Flamingo. Our destination is the marina at Bahia Honda State Park. Bahia Honda is an immensely popular park. Many visitors refer to it as "paradise." Even though it is remote from shops, stores and typical touristy things, it has a natural beauty that is breathtaking.

Our actual departure occurred before first light. Spotlights and the GPS tracks from our trip into Flamingo, provided our guidance out of the marina and through the flats. After twenty or so minutes, first light appeared. We motored through the flats in calm water as the sun rose behind us.

In just under two hours, we made a southerly turn toward the Keys. The wind built to 10 knots, but the sea remained flat. After three hours, a light chop began. It might have made it to a moderate chop as the wind increased to 15 knots on the nose. Still, it was not uncomfortable and the boat powered through the chop. Our speed decreased by about one mile per hour and added an hour to our ETA.

Commercial crabbers are not permitted to set their "pots" within the Everglades NP. The boundary line is marked on nautical charts and there are pilings set in the water to mark the boundary. The crabbers set hundreds if not thousands of pots just across the boundary. Some push the envelope and set the just inside the line. This plethora of pots seems to be worst within about 500 yards of the boundary unwary after which  the number of pots this out a bit.  

Able Explorer and Slo Poke pass under the Overseas Highway

Stuck in Flamingo

Sunday, February 1, 2015      Stuck in Flamingo!

That's right, the crew of the three Nomads left on this cruise are spending another day in Flamingo as a result of 20 knot wind on Florida Bay. The funny thing is that it was calm in the harbor and the immediate area until after noon. The 20 knot ENE wind in Marathon and Florida Bay kept us in dock.

We enjoyed a 4 1/2 mile walk and chatting with our Nomad comrades, not to mention another Grouper sandwich for lunch!

We also met the Buckley's. The are back country volunteers who live on a houseboat in Tarpon Lake. They are the eyes and ears of the back country and keep tabs on visitors, lending assistance when necessary. They were delightful to talk to and we learned a lot about volunteering in the National Parks.

People continue to stop by to talk about the Nomads.

Slo Poke has a visitor

Flamingo?

Saturday, January 31, 2015 Day 5 - Crossing Florida Bay!

It's first light and the anchors are up. We were the first of over a dozen boats in the anchorage to leave. As we departed, I notice the leaves in the trees were stirring. The sight gave me pause to contemplate the sea conditions.

The forecast suggested 15 to 20 out of the ENE. It appeared that the wind speed was on the lower part of the range. The seas had not yet built to a frothy chop, but that was sure to come.

At East Cape Sable, the point at which we were to make the "go/no go" decision, I was entering the route to Upper Matecumbe Key into the GPS. We decided that destination gave us the best opportunity to reach the Keys in safety and comfort, but when I looked up, the sea was brown and frothy. If we continued on our present course, it would soon get uncomfortable and we had at least four hours to go. We turned toward Flamingo on a course that would put us in the protection of the land. With spray flying, we made it safely to our new destination.

Once tied up, we thought about braving the chop to get to the Keys. Conditions deteriorated throughout the day.  I felt it was a good decision to wait for better conditions.