Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The Florida Keys
Red “22”, ICW Mile 1089 – The End
We’ve come a long way to here, some seven months and 3,276 nautical miles from the beginning of our trip in Chicago to the official end of the Intercoastal Waterway at Government Cut and “Red 22” in Miami. This simple navigational marker represents the end for some, a cross roads for many. From here, you either turn left and head to the Bahamas for the winter, or you continue south to the Florida Keys. While we are not really here to “winter,” our plans don’t allow us the luxury of going over to the highly desirable Bahamas – not this trip, anyway. So, we are heading down through the Florida Keys and around to what we hope will become “home.”
Biscayne Bay Welcoming Us
Finally, we have made it. When you dream of making such a voyage, you dream of ideal things: perfect water, fair winds, warm weather, and sunshine – lots of sunshine. All our hard work, determination, and perseverance has paid off. In one excellent day of perfect sailing in perfect winds across the perfect waters of Biscayne Bay, we arrived in Key Largo and officially became “Conch Republicans” on Monday (12/20). Our grand entry into the Florida Keys couldn’t have been better if we planned it. We had perfect sailing the whole way. The weather was “just right.” Being chased by a huge pod of dolphins added to the excitement. Oh, and did I mention the sailing was fantastic?
The Perfect Sunset to Complete a Perfect Day of Sailing in the Florida Keys
In Angelfish Creek, one of the very few places where you can cross over from one side of the island chain to the other, we dropped the anchor for the night. To finish off our perfect day, the sun set majestically into the mangroves on the horizon. This day, beyond question, is the ideal. This is the one day we have dreamed about for such a long time. This day is our pay-off. Our Goal is achieved. We have arrived.
And it is a good thing, because the next couple of days would take all of our skills and knowledge to continue on and make our destination in Marathon, FL. The route to Marathon, for a deep-drafted and tall-masted boat – namely ours – is down the Hawk Channel, as opposed to the more protected and shallow Florida Bay on the north side of the keys. We set out down the Hawk Channel, between the keys and the outer barrier reef.
It got rough. The winds built out of the southeast and whipped the channel up with a pronounced chop on top of the building ocean swell. It was manageable, but slightly uncomfortable Poor little Binga became sea-sick. We contemplated turning back as she brought forth her offerings of the mighty Neptune, but being the resilient little cruiser she has become, she quickly recovered and spent the rest of the day on deck, playing and “helping” pull lines of our running rigging. She is such a great little cruising kid.
Squals Marching Across the Florida Straits
The squalls continued into the night. We turned up Channel Five, another cross-over point, and anchored in the lee of little Craig Key and hunkered down for a long night of strong winds. I awoke at 01:00 to some rigging noises and climbed up on deck to make some adjustments. While the winds remained strong, they had steadied. What struck me was the clear sky and brilliant moon illuminating the scenery before me. I sat on deck for two hours in awe at my surroundings. Magnificent. Alone on deck, I cracked a celebratory, ice-cold cheapie and contemplated, for the first time, the enormous accomplishment we have achieved over the past seven months. While not really new, or novel, or different, this trip is something we set out to accomplish. It certainly wasn’t easy, but most definitely well worth the effort.
The pay-off wouldn’t end there. Today, after another rough day of left-over ocean chop we sailed into Boot Key Harbor on dying winds. In the middle of the incorporated town of Marathon, we found Boot Key Harbor, a completely protected anchorage, already filled with around 200 anchored cruising boats from all over the world. WOW! We have made it! Helping reinforce the reality of our personal accomplishment, we have met lots of other cruisers who have come here the same as us. Most are seasoned with years of experience, but quite a few who are actually just starting out on adventures of their own. The funny thing is, they all ask us questions as if we know something. They ask about the places we’ve visited, how we’ve handled situations, how far we’ve come. Even funnier, we have answers for them. With our experience backing us up, it is in this harbor we graduate from rookie cruisers to experienced voyagers. It sure feels good.
So here we sit in the harbor with our peers, fully enjoying, for the first time, the success of our adventure. It is nice. We plan to stay here through Christmas, attending all the little cruiser functions which take place around the harbor. One thing is for sure, this is going to be a Christmas like none any of us has ever had. It will certainly be one to remember for the rest of our lives.
Scuba Bing ready for the Reef
– Steve