Made it to Key West

Made it to Key West!

Kellen arrived after nearly a 24 hr delay due to the storm. Christmas Eve we took off from Sarasota and made it to Englewood, FL. It was COLD! High of 39 that day! I felt so bad Kellen flew down here to enjoy some warm sailing and we spent it wearing parkas… Spent the evening in Englewood and woke up Christmas morning to find we were stuck on the bottom of the harbor at low tide… Oops.

We made a nice breakfast of bacon and french toast then watched a movie while we waited for the tide to rise. By noon we were able to get moving and made a short 2 hour hop to Boca Grande. We found a restaurant open on the island and did Christmas dinner off the boat. The cold had kept us cooped up inside all day so we needed to get out for a bit.

The next morning we were off to Key West 140nm away. Got out of the harbor, put the sails up, and the first problem presented itself. The starboard jib sheet winch failed and spun both ways. I’m assuming a pawl inside snapped. Of course, with the wind direction, we would spend the entire passage on a port tack and would need that winch…

Then about 2 hours in the autopilot made an unusual groan and then ceased working. Wonderful. 2 hours into a 23 hour passage. Handsteering was the only option as the waves were coming at about 140 degrees and threw us around quite a bit. It was far from a comfortable passage. The wind was 15-25 behind us, and the waves were 3-5ft with the occasional 6ft roller. The last time I made a similar passage here (Key West to Marco Island) the autopilot failed on that boat as well. Apparently, this is the Bermuda triangle of autopilots.

Around 6am we made it to Key West. The marinas are all full (and very expensive) so anchoring it is. The anchorage here is crowded, not the best holding ground, and the farthest from a dinghy dock I’ve ever seen. It is almost a 10 min dinghy ride in some fairly choppy waters. Plus, there is no good spot to land a dinghy beside the marina which charges $8/day… Makes me miss Sarasota and Longboat Key…

Key West is a fun spot to visit on land, but it is very touristy and the bad anchorage puts it pretty low on my list of places to cruise to.

After some much-needed sleep, we finally got up around noon, and hit the town to find some hot food. We were not disappointed. Took the dogs for a long walk then headed back to the boat to relax a bit before meeting up with some friends at a bar. Ran into some friends of friends, it’s a small world down here..

Kellen left today for New York, the dogs and I caught up on some sleep and some work for most of the day, and our next guest Rob is coming tomorrow. I’m looking forward to NYE here, but can’t wait to move on from this anchorage on Monday.

Hope everyone has a great New Years! Cheers