5.12.10
It has been too long since the last post! We have had two computers meltdown, our internet go out and lost a cell phone and camera to Davy Jones' locker - basically, if you were a piece of technology on our boat this month, you were doomed. But now we are back in business!
We have been in Key West since 4.9. We have successfully survived being on the mooring field the entire time, but it took some major adjusting. We invested in a generator and bought a 6gallon water tank, which we fill every time we go into the dinghy dock - it's the only way to get water out to the boat. We also bought bikes from KMart with the hope of selling them when before we leave. The trek to the grocery store is an everyday occurrence, we cannot keep food cold enough to stock for more than one day. It has been an interesting time, but I think we have adjusted very well.
The hardest part of the mooring field has been the dinghy dock - our nemesis. When we first got to the field, we hooked up to a mooring ball on the far end of the field, away from most boats and thus - far enough away that if we botched tying the lines and our boat floated free, we wouldn't run into anyone else. Well, the outskirts of the field, with a 5hp dinghy motor and 450lbs of weight, are a good 20-30minute ride into the dock. When the wind is blowing anything above 5knots - you are in for a very wet ride. We started out in regular clothes and quickly realized our mistake - we were at the dock, ready to start the day in very wet clothes. Next, we tried rain jackets - although there was an improvement, we were still soggy by the time we reached the dock. Finally, we resorted to dry sacks with our clothes for land in them and just wearing nothing but bathing suits on the ride in. There has to be a more efficient way because we are the only ones who come in in bathing suits every time - but damn if we can figure it out!
We finally moved to a closer ball, so now our travel time is only 15-20 minutes - but bathing suits and dry sacks are still a necessity.
Since we have been here so long, we have done just about every touristy thing down here - Hemingway House, Shipwreck museum, Butterfly House, Southernmost Point, parasailing, fishing, Conch Tour train, just to name a few. We have also experienced and embraced the true nature of this island - bar hopping. There are over 50bars here on Key West -and it's only 2miles wide!! In the short amount of time that we have been here, we have become locals - we are friends with any number of bartenders and servers, have met all the sailors on the mooring field, know the West Marine employees by name and frequent all the local food joints. It is easy to see how one can be sucked in down here!
Recently we have been busy - our friend Hoop came down for a crazy 3day drinkfest in the middle of Conch Days. Then up to Jacksonville for Carter and Annie's beautiful wedding!(where we tried to coerce the Brittons into adopting the life of a sailor - we still strongly encourage it!) Then we brought my friend Chelsea back down with us for a week of fishing, drinking, and tourist activities. We snorkeled around the boat and checked out the 250lb tarpon that we have hanging out under our boat. We also ran into 2 barracuda that have suddenly showed up and decided to stick around. Luckily we were on the boat when they showed up! A rousing night of card games on our boat with some of the younger guys on the field until the wee hours of the morning was a sure way to annoy the neighboring sailboat owners. We fished out in the flats and caught 12 fish, which we grilled and fried for dinner - delicious!
We had an awesome time with everyone and love having visitors! But it is nice to be back to the boring pace of life that Brad and I have adopted on the boat.
Our next big plan is to head 60miles west out to the Dry Tortugas. No water, no inhabitants; just excellent fishing and snorkeling. We are stocking up on supplies for the week long trip and as soon as the winds are favorable, will be hoisting our sails! Stay tuned for that blog as I'm sure it will be interesting....!!
