Long Key To The Marquesas

My base of operations in the Keys has been Sea Bird Marina on Long Key (mile marker 69.5 Bay Side). This is next to the Channel 5 bridge and just off the intercoastal waterway so sailors have their choice of cruising either on the Florida Bay side via the ICW or out to the Atlantic side towards Hawk Channel and the reef.

My desire this trip was for a nice long sail down the outside stopping where ever the mood struck. I wanted to get to the Dry Tortugas but only if the winds were favorable - I had no intention of motoring there just to say I did it. I had estimated up to 3 weeks for the trip and stocked up accordingly. In case of trouble, left a float plan with Sue at Sea Bird with a description of the boat and when I wanted her to report me overdue to the Coast Guard. This may be overkill, but singlehanding by an over 50 type fool does warrant some precautions.

My fresh water supply is a 20 gallon tank and I included 6 one gallon jugs of reserve water in case of need. I planned on both Boot Key and Key West as resupply points if needed. Fresh water was only required for drinking, cooking, and rinsing since a salt water supply was plumbed to the galley sink for general washing purposes. I also carried a 2 gallon sun shower and a 6 gallon tank to refill the sun shower.

While waiting for some storms to clear, I took the time to walk down the old Channel 5 bridge (now a fishing pier) and check out the channel entrance first hand. This was a good lesson in Keys tidal currents with an inbound flow of at least 2 knots on the rising tide. I resolved to transit this channel at slack tide only. Sue tells me that even at slack tide there are significant currents running just under the surface.

Sea Bird marina has two slip basins - one has a 3.5 foot draft limit and the other area's slips have about 7 feet to the bottom. Since I was in the shoal basin, I waited for high tide to exit and make my way towards Channel 5 at slack tide. This transit requires a wide turn around some charted but unmarked shoals so a detour of several miles is in order to avoid an unexpected grounding. Once clear of the bridge, the well marked shoals, and firmly into Hawk Channel, I raised sails and settled in for a long trip under sail power.

The first night found me about 7 miles southwest of Channel 5 so I anchored out using my Fortress anchor (the Fortress is an aluminum version of the Danforth fluke anchor design) about one mile off Duck Key in 15 feet of water. The bottom here is sandy and weedy but nowhere near as grassy as the Bay side. I had no trouble with the anchor setting. Sunset was amazing with deep red and gold colors.

The next day, I rigged my Sheet To Tiller self steering system using the mainsheet tackle as the controlling force. This was an experiment to see if this could actually work as well as many have described. I'm happy to report that with a few simple adjustments, I did not need to touch the tiler for the next 6 hours. Solar Wind kept her course during the entire day as I sailed past Marathon and the Seven Mile Bridge. In fact, this steered significantly better than I could since I have a tendency to over correct and apply too much helm force so my course wanders somewhat. Towards late afternoon, the winds died down below 5 knots and became more variable so I motored the remaining 3 miles into the shelter of Bahia Honda state park's anchorage.

I had my doubts about using a Fortress anchor here since I would be exposed to 180 degree tidal shifts in this anchorage. However, I had sufficient time and planned to check the anchor during the first shift at about midnight. Bahia Honda is a great anchorage and I shared it with 4 other cruisers that night. The Fortress held thru the shifts and I slept well.

The following day, I departed on a falling tide and was helped on my way out with a 2 knot plus current. I raised sail as soon as I was clear of the pass in the old railroad bridge and sailed southwest. The winds got progressively lighter so time to check out my new 150% drifter made from a Sailrite kit during the winter. It worked as advertised and I even rigged the self steering system to the jib sheet and left the helm to the forces of nature on what amounted to a down wind run. Here, the course held to a plus/minus of about 5 to 7 degrees. The winds were around 5 knots and the course held better during some stronger wind periods. I was in no hurry so I just let the helm take care of itself while I took it easy.

One thing was obvious - if I fell overboard with the helm attended by my self steering system, I could wave goodbye to the boat. So I did not set self steering up without using a sailing harness to tie myself firmly to the boat in case of accident. The winds were light all day and finally dissapeared completely in the late afternoon so I anchored off the Saddlebunch Keys for the evening.

Key West was my next stop and I had to use a combination of sailing and motor sailing to make that anchorage before nightfall. I anchored behind Wisteria Island along with a number of cruisers in about 12 feet of water and a sandy holding ground. Things were somewhat crowded and I needed to restrict the scope to five to one in order to leave swinging room. This anchorage is protected but subject to north to south tidal flows and east to southeast winds. The combination does introduce some interesting effects.

I used the Key West stop to make a visit to Sloppy Joe's on Duval Street and enjoy a frozen adult beverage. The trip to shore was via "Magic Penny" water taxi service (hail the taxi on channel 16) at $5 per trip. While preparing for the next leg of the trip, I did descover that the transmit on my fixed mount VHF was dead. Attempts to check the obvious things did not help so another trip in to West Marine was required to purchase a replacement unit off their clearance rack.

I installed the new radio, tested it, and left the following morning on the 20 mile sail to the Marquesas Keys. The early morning winds were again favorable and self steering took over the tiller tasks till well after noon when motor sailing became a necessity as the winds fell below 5 knots and became variable. I arrived south of the Marquesas Keys in a dead calm. The sea was smooth like glass and at anchor here, I saw several turtles surface for a quick breath.

The forecast was for winds of 5 knots the next three days so this looked to be as far west as I would go this time. During the night, a squall did hit with 25 knot winds shifting from all around the compass but the Fortress on a ten to one scope held and the Flicka did not bounce significantly in the winds. The morning brought very light winds again from the east so this time I motored back to Key West.

I spent the next several days at anchor in Key West enjoying the sunsets and doing some day sailing off the anchor. At first, I anchored behind Wisteria Island again, but the tidal shifts and cross wind created an uncomfortable situation. One afternoon, the conditions even caused the anchor rode to wrap around the keel and drag the anchor. Fortunately, I was on deck, saw what was happening, and could start the engine to power out of the way of a down current cruising boat.

At this point, I moved to a new anchorage near channel marker "Flashing Red 2" at the top of the harbor area. This was much closer to the lee of Flemming Key and not as subject to strong tidal flow. Never the less, I did set the Claw anchor (the Claw is a copy of the Bruce anchor at a much lower cost) rather than the Fortress. In order to avoid the problem in the future, I'll add 75 feet of 5/16 inch galvanized chain to the 10 feet of chain already there. The extra weight will keep the chain below my keel in the future. Also, the chain will reduce my need for scope in crowded anchorages.

I day sailed off these anchorages for a few days just to get more experience. Even with the light winds, I could still sail around the Key West area and then anchor again before the forecast evening squalls. During the time I was there, the squalls stayed south in the Florida Straits off Cuba and did not make it to Key West. However, some squalls did make it to the Dry Tortugas with reports of 35 knot winds. I also heard that the regulations for visits to the Dry Tortugas were due to change effective in August.

Forecasts for winds continued to be light and from the southeast and becomming more southerly so I turned for the trip back towards Long Key. A south wind would permit a nice sail back on a reasonable course without too much tacking. Unfortunately, the shift never took place so I motored the first day back to Bahia Honda where I was the first cruiser in the anchorage. By later in the day, 4 other boats showed up to take their place at anchor. After dark, I saw another sailboat on the way in thru the cut in the bridge. I stayed on deck to watch as this brave (or foolhardy) cruiser maneuvered his way in the dark and proceeded to set his anchor so that his stern was 20 feet off my bow. Since this put his prop directly over my anchor rode, I really was wishing for that 75 feet of chain on my hook. Fortunately, he decided to move again and proceeded to set and reset his anchor in two more spots untill he was satisfied of his own position.

Since I did not have a set schedule, I used the next day to sail around in the light (to non-existant) winds and made my way slowly the 9 miles to Boot Key Harbor. I really did not need shelter or supplies - I just wantred to see what this harbor was like from the water and at anchor. I negoatiated the channel and bridge passage with no difficulties. My hand held ICOM VHF was perfect for the contact with the bridge tender (Florida uses channel 9 for all bridge communications). I did notice that the water heading towards the well marked channel became extremely cloudy. By the time I was actually in the harbor, the water was a green mess and the smell told of many years of dumping. I did not venture far into the harbor - just enough to see what the inlets looked like. I set an anchor just off the channel about a quarter mile from the bridge and spent the night. If I were to really need a sheltered anchorage, I'd do it again. But unless all @#$$ was forecast, I'd stay outside the anchorage in the lee of Vaca Key and wait out any storm. That anchorage really needs to be cleaned up.

The last day was a motor only trip with zero winds back to Long Key and thru Channel 5 at a slack low tide. I then anchored off Sea Bird MArina to await the following day's high tide for my return to a slip. On my return to a slip in the shoal basin, I steered too far to the east and found myself aground - fortunately, Joe and Sue are accustomed to sailors making this mistake and heeled the boat for me using the halyards while I motored off the outcrop and got to my slip.

What Worked and What Did Not:

1) Self Steering worked like a champ - don't leave home without it! One snatch block, 4 feet of rubber tubing, three small swivel single bullet blocks, a few bronze snap shackles, and some miscellaneous parts (along with 30 feet of 1/4 inch dacron double braid) and you're in business. I did notice some significant deterioration of the rubber tubing in the Florida sunshine. I'll make a cover for the tubing from Sunbrella but also carry a few spares.

2) My 20 gallons of fresh water lasted exactly two weeks in the Florida summer heat - water is available at Key West and Boot Key to refill the tank if needed.

3) The Icom M3A Hand Held VHF worked well. I used it all day and every day. It requires 6 rechargeable batteries and I kept a set of NiMH batteries ready to pop in every evening. I then recharged the used set with the one hour Radio Shack charger that operates directly off 12 volts.

4) I'll switch to 75 feet of hot dip galvanized 5/16 inch chain as the anchor rode. This will be attached to 300 feet of 1/2 inch three strand nylon for those times when I need serious scope. A 75 foot bucket of chain this size is a standard supply item at Home Depot.

5) The Fortress anchor worked well even with only 10 feet of chain. With the 75 feet of chain I expect few problems. However, I'll use the Claw anchor whenever there is the slightest doubt.

6) The 150% drifter was a real asset in the light summer winds.

7) The Water Taxi in Key West seems like a great choice - better than a dinghy if you'll only be there a day or two. The dinghy dock is crowded, costs $5 a day, and I've heard all sorts of stories of things going missing from the dinghy. Add to that, the local marine patrol with their fat book of tickets just waiting for a dinghy without proper registration and required equipment - or worse yet an owner returning from too much time on the Duval Street crawl.

8) Bahia Honda is a great anchorage and not crowded at all - however, the Marine Patrol seems to keep a boat there and I saw a returning patrol stop at each cruiser that was not showing an anchor light with a gentle reminder (waving a ticket book does wonders for memory). I was not visited since I always show an anchor light.

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