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| The harbor is protected by a breakwater - during hurricanes the water level is above the breakwater! |
With all the good weather, the gang decided to spend a day at the beach,
Bahia Honda to be exact. It cost $10 for a family of four for the day. The inside beach was good sand but the ocean side was rough with lots of jellyfish. Ann and I opted to stay home on the boat while they were away. Meanwhile, excitement continues at the marina. It seems that some of the boats are hotels for people working on land. The 30 ft boat next door has four adults and one kid. Even at $44/ft per month, it's economical if split four ways, especially compared to rental prices on land. There appears to be three such boats on our dock along side 100 ft megayachts and 40 to 45 ft visiting boats like us.
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| Every town with cruise ships has these same carts - souvenirs for the tourists |
The kids are supposed to wear lifejackets when walking to and from the boat while on the dock. So we had suitable jackets but instead of having an adult walk the jackets back to the boat, we just tied them on the railing at the end of the dock. It turns out that's a universal sign of unneeded equipment and any boat nearby may pick them up, thinking they would be discarded otherwise. So when we hung the jackets on the railing and went off walking we found them missing upon our return. Eventually we found them on a tour boat right by the railing, no harm done. You just can't leave something tied to a railing and expect it to be there upon your return. Sounds like another cruising tip.
Carrie and Mike are off for a night on the town, one of the very few they get with two boys in the house but one you can take advantage of when grandparents are around. That's part of the attraction of taking a vacation in Key West with grandparents. We were treated to fish sandwiches from BO's Fishwagon as a thankyou for babysitting the boys. Their famous fish sandwiches are as good as ever.
The winds continue to be very strong so we're carefully looking at the weather for a good sailing day.
3 comments:
Very much enjoy reading about your travels although we feel a bit voyeurish. One of these days you might think about visiting the southwest coast of Florida. You might find it a good alternative to hiking the boat all the way back to New York! Take care.
/s/ Scott & Kitt
s/v HyLyte
Scott & Kit,
The problem is that we have five grandkids that want a summer sail in Long Island Sound, oh the responsibilities of grandparents! We had a wild time last night, gusts to 35 kts in the marina, one sailboat drug anchor into the jetty and sank - as they say, details at 8:00, blog time.
Live aboards are quite common in the Keys...its either find a boat, a camper or a good tent in a campground or take the bus to Miami every night for the waiters, cooks, and kitchen help in all the bars and eateries.. its just too expensive to live in Key West. Some rent houseboats in Marathon or Islamorada.. but that can mean a long commute.
I agee with Scotts posting above... Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers and even Naples are much more family friendly if you have a troup of youngsters. As you know, Key West is known as the drinking town with a fishing problem.
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