041: Calm and Rocky Nights, State Parks and a Rescue

As noted in the last post, we arrived off Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park too late to tour it.  That night we had perfectly calm seas while tied up to the mooring ball.  A fog rolled in thick enough to coat the windows to an extent that I thought it was raining.   

The next morning, January 28^th, we got in our dinghy and swung by Katmat to pick up Kathy and Matt in time to make the 10:00 am tour of the Park.  We highly recommend a visit here.  The first part of the tour was given by a State Park Ranger who was half of a couple who live on the Key full time.  He is a retired University of Illinois agronomy professor, so we instantly bonded over that.  They came down to Florida in their RV in the Keys and, long story short, saw a want ad for a park ranger to live on the Key and they “bit.”   He led us on a tour of the house, which was built for the caretaker of the island, the island being owned by a wealthy chemical engineer who never actually lived on the island but parked his large yacht off it for winter visits.

The island was later bought by a group for development.  They hired a caretaker who was an amateur biologist who fell in love with the place and didn’t want to see it developed.  He led a covert campaign with the local population to “save the island” and eventually it was sold to Florida as a state park.

The actual tour of the island was given by park ranger who was one of the most enthusiastic, genuine, and affable people we have ever met.   He is an accountant by training (another bonding moment) and was tired of being an auditor (I hated auditing) and while down in the Keys likewise saw a want ad for a park ranger, he applied and got the job (he lives off-island).

He gave us a very comprehensive tour if the island's history, flora and fauna, and he even learned a few things about birds from Nancy.   One interesting thing about the island is a stone wall that was built, but nobody knows who or why it was built.  

The dock with our dinghy:

The house with one of the six lawn ornament cannons from a Spanish ship, wrecked in the 1700's.

The "mystery wall:"

An old Caterpillar tractor:

A cool spider web:

Our favorite park ranger:

 

A look at the weather forecast showed that the wind was going to switch from a gentle Southeast wind to strong Northwest wind which meant our “bayside” mooring ball location would be very exposed.  The first park ranger suggested we move over to the mooring balls off Indian Key, another state park, which is on the south side of the larger landmass.   We motored over and tied up to a mooring ball and Nancy, Kathy and I took the dingy ashore to Indian Key.  

Indian Key was once home to a good-sized settlement of people who earned a living salvaging wrecks that crashed onto the reefs.   One night in the mid-1800’s a war party of Seminole Indians attacked the settlement and burned it to the ground, only a few people survived.   All that remains now is building foundations, but it has a nice walking trail.  

Signs that mark the old streets of the settlement:

 Historical marker on Indian Key:

Not one to read each and every historical marker, I walked on ahead of Nancy and Kathy and was sitting on our dingy when a couple came up with a larger dinghy, with a 25 h/p outboard (to scale it, ours is 2.5 h/p), and five large portable fuel containers in it.  The male half of the couple told the woman to “take a picture of the dinghy.”   She asked why and he said, “I’ve had too many gas cans gone missing,” as he looked at me.  I thought that was a bit odd, but “whatever” as the kids say.

We dropped Kathy off at Katmat and headed back to Hygge.  A bit later we all decided to head ashore to a restaurant, each in our separate dinghy’s.  Long story short, the wind and waves had really whipped up against our path of travel, and there was a no-engine-allowed sea grass area between us and the restaurant.   Nancy and I decided to bail on the “go ashore” plan, while Kathy and Matt looked for a way around the sea grass. 

As Nany and I made our way back to Hygge, we spotted the couple from earlier in the day frantically waiving for help.   Seems their engine died, and they were trying to row against the wind and waves back to their sailboat.  (They didn’t have enough sense to raise their outboard motor to remove the drag of the non-turning propeller.)  It was clear that they were not making any progress toward their boat, in fact they were going in the opposite direction, and their next stop was Cuba some ninety miles away.  I dropped Nancy off at Hygge and headed out to rescue them.  When I got to them the first thing I said was, “raise your outboard,” and then, “throw me a line.”   It took a bit of time, but my little 2.5 h/p engine was the “engine that could” and I was able to tow them back to their sailboat.  (It is a good thing that I replaced that electric engine with the more powerful gas engine as the electric one would not have been strong enough for the task).   They were very thankful and repeatedly offered to pay me, which I refused, telling them, “No, it is the law of the sea that you help people out.”  I did have a momentary thought to say, “No money, but I’ll take one of those gas cans you were so worried that I was going to steal!*"

The sailboat with the rescued couple:

That night the wind whipped up to a steady twenty MPH with gust of twenty-five and the waves were at least two to three feet.   Needless to say we had a very rocky night.  I put out a safety line to the mooring ball, and set an anchor alarm so I wasn’t worried about our safety, but it was noisy and very uncomfortable.  None of us, Katmat included, had a restful night’s sleep.  At least we had a decent sunset:

The next morning I looked at the weather and it was going to be at least five more days of the same conditions so I called Sol Maria and asked them how they were handling the strong northerly conditions.   They informed us that they had a very peaceful night anchored just offshore on the south side of Key Largo and were staying there for a few nights to ride out the strong northerlies.   That sounded like a good plan to us, so we headed north to Key Largo to join them. 

We spotted them at approx 1:00 pm and dropped anchor in eight feet of nice calm water.  It pays to know experienced world travelers!   I then went over for a visit:

Dave

Odometer: 2,101

*Actually my second sea rescue (not counting the bass boat I towed to shore with my Hobie 14):  I was coming down the Chicago Lake Front in my Venture 24 sailboat (see below) with a nice westwind and about dusk I was about four miles off Evanston's beach when I heard this faint, "Help, Help."  I spotted a guy laying on a windsurfer who couldn't get back to the beach with the westerly wind.   I dropped my jib sail and fired up the engine, threw him a line and towed him back just off the beach where he paddled in. 

040: Marathon Part 4: Maintenance, Manatees, Mermaids, Mustangs and Moving On

For the last few days in Marathon, Nancy and her sister Patty drove up to visit their sister Susan in Ocala, Fl.   Their visit included a trip to see something they have “wanted to see since 1965,”, the Mermaids of Weeki Wachee State Park.   The show started in 1947, and apparently was a “must see” stop on trips to Florida back in the day.   Still going all these years later.   Nancy’s video:

 

More info:

https://weekiwachee.com/2014/10/25/mermaids-at-weeki-wachee-springs/

While Nancy was “up north,” I busied myself with fixing a burned-out cockpit light and doing two days’ worth of boat cleaning which included a rejuvenation of the hull’s ceramic coating.   In anticipation of the boat traveling through the harsher southern sun, two years ago I had the hull ceramic coated for better UV protection.   The coating needs a refresh coat periodically which involves washing the hull, then wiping it down with an isopropyl alcohol/water mixture, then applying the coating and finally a light hand buff.    A bigger job working from the dinghy as opposed to when the boat is “on the hard” on land.   Looking all shiny:

Nancy got back on Wednesday, the January 24^th and spent the morning of the 25^th provisioning for the next stage of our trip.  Nancy offered to buy me some more cigars, but I demurred because, “they are too good.”  You see, I had gone through ten cigars from La Fe Cigars in about as many days which is about 5x my normal rate of consumption.   I’m not a huge cigar guy, but one of my favorite ways to spend an hour on a winter’s evening when we had our house was to sit in the outside hot tub and smoke a cigar while listening to some music.  Twice a week from October through April was a manageable vice, daily is not.    Hopefully if we get to the Bahamas, I can enjoy a couple of Cuban cigars to scratch that itch.  

That afternoon, the crew of the Sol Maria came by for a visit and we spent the afternoon relaxing at the pool.  Nancy made frozen Pina Colada’s with a dark rum topper, and it is a good thing I only had one since they were strong.   A second one would had me launching into my rant about the stupidest number one hit song of all time: “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).”   Feel free to skip the next section if you are not fond of a good rant:

 Setting: 1979.  You have the release of Neil Young’s “Rust Never Sleeps” and Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.”  Two of the greatest albums ever.  So what song is the final Number One song of the 1970’s?    A song with this plot:  A married guy responds to a personal add from “a woman who likes pina colada’s and making love at midnight in the dunes.”   He responds to the ad by placing one of his own and they agree to meet.  And low and behold it is his wife and they reconnect and all ends happily.   Giggles all around.    Now gentle reader, my over/under on this strongly favors divorce court vs. happily ever!   (Marriage counselor question, "In x years of your relationship you NEVER discussed making love at midnight in the dunes as a desire?!?!?).

Anyhow we had a fun time but unfortunately it had to be cut short as I had my Finance class to teach that night via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. (another reason I went light on the P/C’s.)

The next morning, Nancy and I went back to the Stuffed Pig for breakfast and then I returned the rental car (Kia) and rode my folding bike back to the marina.   I got this picture of a late model Ford Mustang in the Budget lot. 

  

Why?  Well it is interesting (at least for me) to note that practically every 5^th car down here in the Keys is a late model Mustang.  The first weekend here I thought that perhaps there was a Mustang car show in town.  After counting over fourteen on a short ride up and back to Islamorada it then dawned on me that every Baby Boomer must rent a Mustang in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale for their trip down to the Keys.   You younger readers can’t imagine the impact that the Ford Mustang had in the 1960’s.   Let me give you an idea:  Taylor Swift today, had nothing on the Mustang back then.  I still remember my first ride in one circa 1968 when I my buddy Willam Ross’s sister took us to Virgina Beach for the day in her 1965 Mustang with “flower power” stickers on it.  My h/s girlfriend had one as well.    I confirmed my suspicions on the Baby Boomer Mustang rental theory with the Budget guy who said, “Oh yes, we rent a ton of Mustangs to the older crowd.”

I got so nostalgic that I chewed up way too many hours on YouTube watching old Mustang restoration and “barn find” videos.   If anyone is inclined to get me a birthday present this March, a nice 1965 Mustang Fastback K code (enhanced engine) would serve quite nicely.  I had a "Hot Wheels" white Mustang fastback, so this one would work:

 

Later that afternoon Nancy and I took a dingy ride through some of the "back water" areas around Boot Key Harbor.  This channel is thru a trailer/RV part which was eclectic, cool and funky:

The morning of Saturday the 27^th, we had to be off the dock by 11:00 a.m.   We did some last-minute laundry and showering and then took a walk over to say goodbye to a nice couple we had met (Aubrey and Terri) also doing the Loop.   Our timing was perfect as they had a Manatee behind their boat looking for a freshwater handout.   Manatees like to drink fresh water, and many boaters oblige them, but it is illegal.  It acclimates them to boaters and marinas and marina’s are not safe places for Manatees as a rule.  They are smart enough to hangout out near upturned outboard engines as it is quite common to flush your outboard with fresh water after using it in the salt water.   We didn’t want to get a 10k fine, so we followed the rules, but we did catch some nice pics and video:

 

At 10:59 a.m. KatMat and us left the dock at Marathon after a six-week stay and headed to Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park.   We had a nice slow (7 knots) twenty-eight-mile trip and we each got a mooring ball to tie up to, but arrived too late to tour the park.  That visit will have to wait for the next post.

Dave

 

Odometer: 2,078

039: Marathon Part 3: Broken things, more sites, and zero fish

The biggest news: the weather has been crap as far as going over to the Bahamas, so we extended our stay in Marathon by eight days.   We now leave on the 27^th to head north up the Keys.   Not sure when/if the weather will cooperate for a trip to the Bahamas, but at least the inertia will be broken.

So, what have we been up to?

Well, we finally captured a dolphin ‘on film.”  This one was feeding around our boat.   I only got one quick video, but at least we can prove that Flipper is alive and well in the Keys!

 

There is a saying, “Everything on your boat is broken, you just don’t know it yet.”     As evidence that this is true:

 -We had to fill the water tank about every three days vs. once per week this summer (while docked).  I chased down a leak to where the water line meets the water tank.   My fix isn’t fancy, I drained the tank and, in layman’s terms, “gooped the shit out of the connection joint with silicone sealant.”   So far, so good.

-Our refrigerator seemed to be “on the fritz” as sometimes it was cold, sometimes not.   I went on the manufacturer’s website and looked at the troubleshooting section.   Based on that I pulled out the refrigerator and checked for a bad thermostat which was the most likely cause, but that checked out.   While messing about, I noticed how hot it was in the area the refrigerator fits into.  Then I noticed that the inside of the hull was really warm.  “Then it hit me like a vision burnt across the sky*,” with the boat tied up to the wall the way it is, not in a slip, the full port-side of the boat facing south, the sun was heating up the hull to an extent that the refrigerator coils weren’t able to offload the heat and cool down the inside of the unit.   With the help of Matt from Katmat, I wired up a small computer fan to the refrigerator’s compressor motor to vent away the hot air from the back of the unit.   Problem solved.

Boat with southern exposure on port side where the refrigerator is located:

 

Installed fan:

 

 -Awhile ago I posted how the outboard electric motor wasn’t working.   They shipped a replacement battery cable to the wrong address, it got lost, and I got fed up with the company’s amateur-hour approach to customer service.   I shipped the engine back at no-insignificant cost, for a refund which they promised to honor.   Still waiting for the refund check three weeks later.   (sigh).    I then bought a good old-fashioned gasoline-powered outboard at half the price with twice the power.  Should have done that to begin with, but you live and you learn.

 -I picked up an anchor bridle, but you’ll have to wait to see that in action the next time we anchor out.

 -The bilge pump was cycling on more than normal, and I traced that down to a leaking gasket on the stern thruster.   A common issue with Ranger Tugs apparently.   I can’t replace the gasket without pulling the boat out of the water, but I did tighten up the bolts which was a solid one-hour job.  Seemed to slow, but not eliminate the leak. 

-Our boat is weighed down with gear for this trip.  As a consequence of how heavy we are, our engine was not able to pull the spec number of RPMs at full throttle.  Rated at 3500 RPM, but we are only able to do 3400 RPM.  This means that the engine is working harder throughout all speeds.   Since I had to replace the spare prop was put on the boat (remember “my bumpy”) I decided order/install a shallower pitched prop.   The prop came in and I hired a diver to swap out the props.   The next posting will let you know how we did.  I’m hoping for 3600 RPM’s (better to be over than short) but will be happy with 3500.

Between trouble shooting systems, we have done some more sightseeing.  Went up to Islamorada to visit a few places:

 -The History of Diving Museum.   Pretty cool, worth the $13 price of entry.   Recognized some of the old gear from my first set of circa 1980.

 https://divingmuseum.org/

 -Hurricane Memorial:

-Bass Pro Shops - World Wide Sportsman.  Why?  To see the sister ship of Hemmingway’s famous Pilar boat.    Hemmingway’s is in Cuba, but apparently he was on this one and it inspired him to order his boat.

 

-Of course, we had to walk down the old “smugglers trail” where the rum runners during prohibition unloaded their contraband.

 

Matt, his friend John, and I went on the worst fishing charter ever.   Way too many people on the boat.  The captain left the engines on while we were anchored, which belched diesel fumes so badly that it made it hard to fish from the stern.   And we were anchored over sand, which means no structure for the fish, which means no fish.   We did move to another place:  bottom line I did not catch any fish and there were few “keepers” caught, period.   

 

On happier notes:

 -I found a cigar store where the guy hand rolls cigars that are dangerously good.   I like a weekly cigar, but if I go back to this place, I’m likely to go to a daily one.   Need to stay away.

 

-We found a great breakfast place:

 

-Had a nice dinner with Sol Maria and a friend of theirs, Pete, whom they met in the South Pacific when both were doing their circumnavigation.  (Not to be confused with Cousin Peter from the journey down the river system).

 

-Took a tour with Kathy from Katmat of some of the derelict boats in the bay.

-Had a nice chat with the crew of this 78' Viking Sports Fisherman.   Big bucks.  They "chase the marlin."    They cruise at 35 knots burning over 250 gallons per hour.    That's seven gallons of fuel to go one mile!  Take that Climate Change!

Finally, met two interesting cats out for a walk.  The one in the foreground is a Bengal.   I looked into getting one once, kittens run $6k to $10k.   We went to the animal shelter for a "domestic short hair" instead.

Hopefully this ends the Marathon, Fl portion of the trip.   We have enjoyed the stay, but it is time to shake out the cobwebs and move on down the way....

Dave

*Arlo Guthrie line that I love to quote whenever I can.

038: Marathon Part 3: Reunions and the Dog Days of Winter, or 100 Things to Do in the Keys

 What does one do in the Keys in January with unseasonable cold and wet weather?  Well, make do as best you can, knowing at least it isn’t really cold and snowing like up north.    The first thing you do is buy this book:

  

This book has been our guide to sites to see and things to do.   I’ll “tell the story” through pictures but first the really important things.   Our friends from The Willie Dawes and Sol Maria joined up with us for a nice reunion.   Willie Dawes came in for a few weeks and we took a nice snorkel trip with them, Sol Maria was only able to come by for one night as their daughter Shay had flown in from New Zealand for a visit, but we made the most of it with a potluck dinner.  

We had a lovely time catching up, hearing of Sol Maria's "experience from hell" with getting their mast put back on the boat, etc. etc.

Had a nice but short visit with April Wheeler who I know from high school years, as she stopped by with friends on their way to Key West:

My favorite new thing is Sunday breakfast at the American Legion Hall, $10 gets you steak and eggs (and all the grits you can eat):

Snorkeling at Sombrero Reef:

A trip to see "Fat Albert" a Department of Homeland Security blimp that is used to spy on the Cubans and look out for drug runners:

Speaking of Cubans, there are run-down boats scattered about that Cuban refugees have used to escape to the U.S.  Imagine crossing ninety miles of open ocean in this:

The Aquarium beat expectations and hopefully this is as close to a shark as we get on this trip:

We headed down to the Key Deer Wild Life Refuge: we were only able to get glimpses of live deer, but we did get this shot in the visitor center of stuffed deer, they are smaller than the White Tail versions of North as evolution did not require them to "build the body mass necessary to survive winter months" of sparse food supply.  They were almost wiped out in by the 1930's but were saved by early conservation efforts and a writing campaign to Presidents Truman and Eisenhower by school aged children in Florida to finally get the Refuge established:

We did spot the laziest alligator in all of Florida.  In fifteen minutes of viewing it, I don't think I saw as much as one blinked eyelid.  Not sure why they don't know that they need to put on a show for us tourists, must not have gotten the memo:

Nancy, Patty and Kathy (from Willie Dawes) "mooched around" and got some saw some "lobster art:"

Lunch at the No Name Pub was tasty:

Patty enjoying the scene at Bahia Honda State park:

A return trip to Crane Point Hammock always offers something new to see:

But I guess our favorite thing is hanging out at the pool and enjoying "Happy Hour" priced drinks to see the local Manatee and her calf, and to watch the sunsets:

Never get tired of the sunsets:

\

This takes us to January 14th.   From this point on we are watching the weather window for our trip to the Bahamas.   Weather is not looking that promising however, so we may extend our stay here for another week or so.

Dave