Thursday, January 26, 2017

Key West - At last, our dock for the next two months

Warm!!
It’s Finn. Today we are in Key West. It was a very bumpy ride today. And I got seasick. It was not fun. I almost felt like up chucking. We did take Hoolie on a walk today. And I also helped do the lines. It’s very fun to do the lines. + I helped run the electric lines. I also did a great job the lines over the piling. Tonight we are going to Schooners Wharf. I am having a burger. That’s all we did today BYE!!!                

For the first time in several days we had a quiet night. No worrying about nearby boats or high winds, just a peaceful sleep. The anchorage at Newfound Harbor could handle 100's of boats, plenty of room. However, on the way in I found 6.0 MLW at multiple spots with 7 MLW where we anchored. Since we draw only 4 ft 9 in, we had no problem even at low tide. It's the shallow, surrounding water that keeps the anchorage calm, even in a high wind. We've ridden out 30 kt winds there with no problem. During the day there are often beach parties at Picnic Island and fishermen roaring by producing wakes that will rock the boat. All that calms down at night, the important thing for us. The requirement for Hoolie relief was provided by Picnic Island with a sandy beach. 

The forecast was for 10 kt winds out of the south but we were met with 10 to 15 kts out of the southwest so it was a bumpy ride for our 10 year old guest. He didn't feel so good but he kept his cookies down. We went to Newfound Harbor to not only escape Marathon but to also make the final leg to Key West much shorter. So although the weather wasn't ideal, it was bearable due to the short distance. 


Finn now picks up the responsibility previously held by Matthew and Sarah, namely coiling the lines into a Flemish.
We ate out at Schooner Wharf and Ann spilled the bean on what calamari is, We had just called it calamari and left it at that. Finn's eyes grew big when he heard what it was but it still tasted good. We'll see what he does the next time we order it. 

I think Key West is getting more crowded. More condos are going up but no high rises. The building heights on Key West are limited by the building code. It is so nice to be back to such a relaxed life style, especially with both our kids coming down on separate weeks with their kids (our grandkids) for a weekly visit. Great fun.

2 comments:

Eric H. m/v Mutual Fun said...

I'm a slip owner and keep my boat at Conch Harbor Marina in Key West. Which marina are you calling home while you're here? I've been following your trek south and would love to stop by to say hi!

Bob423 said...

Eric, we're at E14 in the Key West Bight Marina (the city marina). Please stop by any time, we're around most of the day, we would like to meet.