Keyb West - Our guests arrive

Boats at anchor across the channel

Everybody finally arrive around 11:30 pm last night (Tuesday). I think bedtime was commenced in the vicinity of 1:00 am so today wasn’t too active at first. Provisioning was in order as soon as all were functional in the morning and that just about exhausted the adults – the kids were fine and ready to do more!

In the afternoon we walked to the end of a nearby pier and could see the boats anchored out in the bay. There’s not much protection but the price is right even though they have to pay the $80/month dinghy fee if they want access to water, provisions and laundry.

"Flats" boats

In the harbor, there are two types of boats that go out with passengers: catamarans and windjammers. The catamarans provide a stable platform and are fast and so are used for trips to the reefs, to the Tortugas and for sunset and party cruises. The windjammers are used for people who like the historic lines of the ship, mainly for two hour cruises in the bay, especially for sunset cruises. I should also add that there are fishing boats too, both the deep sea type but also the type that do shallow fishing on what they call “The Flats” where the captain stands on a platform over the outboard motor on a 20 to 25 ft boat and poles the boat forward (because it’s so shallow) while the customers fish. Both types are popular but the flats fishing is peculiar to the Keys.

It’s due to warm up further on Thursday so it’s a beach day!