Day 78 Since Leaving Chicago: Key West In Our Wake

It’s amazing how easy it is to stay and how hard it is to leave after two weeks on the hook in one place. You get into a routine, and it’s hard to convince yourself to move on. I was in a funk all day yesterday because I knew I needed to leave Key West but I could come up with a dozen reasons to stay. I finally convinced myself to pickup the two anchors this am, however. There are high winds forecasted for later this week and Key West anchorage is no place to be for that. The playpen in Chicago has more protection…

It took me almost 2 hours to get the boat ready to sail. Clean up the inside and put everything in a secure location, transfer some fuel, pull the dinghy motor without dropping it or myself in the harbor, and finally hoist the dinghy on deck. It’s a process, and doing it alone just adds to the amount of time and effort it all takes.

I had the sails up and was headed out of the harbor by 10a, not bad. was a beautiful day, winds 10-14, and NNE so a nice close reach all the way to the marathon. The Autopilot died again after 2 hours of light duty. Which means it’s time to bite the bullet and buy a new one. Luckily along with being a well-protected harbor, Marathon also sports a well-stocked West Marine. I see a few thousand dollars in spending happening in the next few days.. Time to burn all that money I have saved by not staying in marinas! (Fun Fact: Since leaving mobile I’ve only spent $120 on marinas. That’s over a month and a half of free living on the hook!)

We had a lovely sail despite the death of our crew mate Otto VonHelm. I look forward to meeting his younger and more intelligent nephew when it arrives.

Stopped at a restaurant with a dock for dinner, and to walk the dogs since the dinghy is on deck and I don’t have the energy to lower it at the moment.

Hoping we can end up on a mooring ball here in Marathon, but don’t know if one is available. Will find out in the AM.

Hope everyone has fun at the boat show back in Chicago this weekend! I’ll be sending you warm and sunny vibes :)