Key West

Tuesday, May 3: After a very rough 30 hour passage from Punta Gorda, we arrived at the anchorage in Key West at 7:40 pm Sunday night, twenty minutes before sunset. That was cutting it a little close. Normally the voyage would take 28 hours, but strong headwinds and seas slowed us down. When we set out on Saturday afternoon the winds were ENE at around 15 knots. Roughly 8 hours into the voyage, after passing through a thunder shower, the wind clocked around to the southeast and built to 20-25 knots, with gusts to 28 knots. Seas built to 4-6 feet. These are the conditions we had to live with all night and most of the next day. (Remind me to call the weatherman at NOAA.) But, all good and not so good things come to an end, and though it turned out to be a bit of a struggle, we made it safely to our destination. We spent two nights at anchor, resting up for the most part, and just this morning we moved in to a marina where we plan to stay until Thursday. By then the winds are forecast to die down to a more reasonable 10-15 knots out of the east.

Most everything on the boat has worked properly save for one important item – the fridge. Every time we switched it on it would run for a few minutes and then the breaker would cut off. First thing Monday morning we called the Sea Frost factory and talked to a technician. Cleve diagnosed the problem as a faulty clutch coil in the compressor and arranged to have a new part overnighted to us at Conch Harbor Marina. We notified the marina to expect the package today and made arrangements to get a slip. Meanwhile, we used the internet to locate a mechanic here in Key West who was familiar with Sea Frost refrigeration systems to do the installation. Dwight is working on that as I write this blog. So, as you can see, with the help of the internet, cell phones, Visa, and some very responsive people, things are coming together. Fortunately, we had enough ice in the fridge to keep the food reasonably cool during all this. Later this afternoon we plan to hit the pool here at the marina and then head out to get some dinner along the waterfront. Tomorrow will be a day of “doing Key West.” Then it will be time to head on up the Keys to Miami.

Lest anyone thing that sailing on a small boat is all hard work and trouble, last night at anchor we grilled grouper fillets on the BBQ grill and accompanied them with a nice salad, some warm rosemary/peppercorn bread and a bottle of chardonnay. As we ate we watched the sunset in absolutely the best place in the world to enjoy it. What could be better?

Key West Sunset