Leg 3 - Key West to Miami, Florida
After getting to bed at 0300 the morning of our arrival, we awoke bright and early around noon, and after taking showers called the US Customs department for clearing-in instructions. They asked us to bring in our hot dogs, sausage, and bananas that we had received in Columbia and Mexico, and to come to their offices with our passports and boat documentation. We gathered up our laundry, and launched the dinghy. We walked about 7 blocks to the laundromat, one where you could actually do your own laundry instead of having to pay someone else, and dumped our clothes in. Without getting into details, our advice for using pay washing machines is to read the instructions first. We then went to the Federal Building, and after leaving our camera, walkie-talkies and MP3 player at the security desk, went to Immigration. After filling out a form and having our passports stamped, the lady said "Welcome Home", which for some reason added a punctuation to the fact that we were now safe from the vagaries of foreign procedures, machismo and corruption. Down the hall was Customs, where we filled out another form ordering a Customs Decal for $25, good for the year 2004, gave our food to them, and left hoping never to have to clear-in to another port for a good, long time.
Wabi Sabi at anchor at Key West
We returned to the laundromat to put our clothes in the dryer, and went to a waterfront restaurant and had fish & chips. We collected our laundry, and after a feeble attempt at folding them, just shoved them into our backpack and bag, where Steve carried them to the boat while Nick explored the area and got ice cream. We went to a nearby West Marine store, and bought a new stereo for the boat that was on clearance (our old one had taken to skipping all the time while playing CD's, and the volume control required the patience of Job to get to work). We bought other essential items, like solder to fix the autopilot, and returned to the boat, as almost everything except the restaurants in the area where closing. Steve showed Nick how to make the electrical connections for the stereo, and Nick completed the job without incident, and soon we were back in musical business. It was a real treat for Nick to finally be able to hear the latest, coolest music, as he is concerned about being out-of-touch when he returns home with his friends. Steve took a little nap, and at around 2000, they returned to shore to eat dinner at what appeared to be the happening spot on the waterfront. It was big and noisy and packed - we had to wait 15 minutes to be seated - but the food was good and so was the service. Would you believe that the menu was in English and the waiter spoke it as well? And the food was exactly what you would expect it to be, no surprises. We're back in Kansas now, Toto.
June 29th began with Steve updating the webpage for a few hours while Nick slept until noon. Steve washed the dishes and continued his repairs to the autopilot while Nick played Nintendo and listened to music. The autopilot worked, sort of, but Steve is concerned that We went ashore about 1600 and went to a local sailmaker's shop to see about having our sails patched back together, but although the store hours were until 1730, no one was there. We walked a mile into the main tourist district, and man, it was a happenin' place! Even on a Tuesday afternoon, the main street was full of hundreds of off-season tourists eating ice cream and buying tee-shirts in the hundred or so shops that ranged from exclusive to peasant tastes. We found an internet cafe, and uploaded our web files and checked our email - for $.25 per minute! In Central America, it ran for about $1.50 per hour, but I must admit, it was nice having a high-speed connection. Nick bought a tee-shirt and had a ice-mocha-latte-supreme with double froth and extra whipped cream from Starbucks ($6), and Steve had a Frosty from Wendy's ($2). We found a little movie theater, and watched "Super Size Me", a documentary-type movie about a guy who ate nothing but McDonald's food for a month. He gained 22 pounds, and almost destroyed his liver - his staff of dieticians and doctors telling him to stop each week he went in for blood tests. It was really a pretty good movie, full of scientific studies and statistics that left us thinking more about what we eat - well, at least it made Steve think a little bit. Nick still loves their double cheeseburgers. We returned to the boat at 2100, just in time for thunderstorm to hit the anchorage. They are a lot easier to ride out when you are at anchor, and it was nice having all the salt washed off the boat automatically.
Wednesday June 30th we went ashore early to rent an electric car (Nick calls it an 'egg') to explore the island. It was a nice drive around the island, until it started raining like crazy and there was no place to hide from the onslaught of water. We finally came upon a "Waffle House" and pulled in to have breakfast and wait out the storm. After a half hour, the skies cleared, and we were off again. We found ourselves on the main street which was the only one we were told not to go on. But it wasn't anything we couldn't handle, so on we went. We found a Sears shopping center, a Super K-Mart, and other important stores along the way. We went to a real grocery store, and stocked up on sodas and other essentials. After about 2 hours, we found ourselves back at the waterfront, and Nick took the groceries back to the boat while Steve got some diesel in their jugs. When Nick returned, he found that he had forgotten his backpack and phone on the boat, and went back for it. Steve went over to a local marine store to ask them about availability of a new drive unit for our autopilot. After contacting the manufacturer, we were told it would be over $800! So we went over to West Marine and after some time, were able to get most of the parts for a whole new unit for under $600 - much more than we were hoping to spend, but when you have to have it, all you can do is mitigate the costs. We ordered it, but were told that even with overnight shipping, it may not arrive until next Tuesday!
The approaching storm One of our neighbors - it really is a sailboat
While resuming our island discovery via 'egg', Nick discovered that he had lost his cell phone, probably in the water from the dinghy after falling out of his pocket. We found another movie theater, and decided we would see "Spiderman 2" when we had some extra time. We bought a couple of movies at a pawn shop, and stopped by the Yamaha motorcycle dealership to admire their bikes. The 'egg' started squeaking at us, and we saw that our power was down to 9% - not enough to make it back. We pulled into the Sears Auto Center, but they said we couldn't plug into their outlet - store policy and all. So, we limped back utilizing energy conservation techniques, stopping only at a bank to cash the last of our traveler's checks. After returning the egg, we began evaluating our options to restore Nick's 'happiness'; his phone. We called T-Mobile several times, and spent $11 of internet time exploring our options. We even looked into taking a bus to Miami - the closest store - but this cost $70 for one round-trip ticket, and took 5 hours each way. So Nick decided that tomorrow he would take his own computer into the internet store and pay $7 for the whole day of internet usage, and find himself a phone on E-Bay or someplace like that. We went back to the boat and cooked Ravioli's for Nick, and chili bean burritos for Steve. After doing an hour of boat repairs, including finding that the port navigational light that had died on our last passage was also beyond repair, we watched a movie on the VCR and then turned in.
On July 1, 2004, Steve spent the morning and afternoon updating the website, changing the engine oil, working on the broken hatch at the bow of the boat, and various other odds and ends. Nick took the laptop into the internet cafe and communicated with Leslie back in Fresno reviewing options for a new phone, and they finally decided that Leslie would buy one and overnight it to us in Key West. Nick got back to the boat at 1800, and Steve took the laptop back to the internet cafe to check his email, and check on some marinas in Miami. He called the hatch manufacturer to get new hinges, and they weren't able to get confirmation about the serial number Steve gave them, so he will have to call back tomorrow to see if they can be replaced. He went to West Marine to buy a new port navigation light, engine oil, and screws to repair their salon table, and then returned to the boat. Nick decided he wanted to go to the movies and see Spiderman 2 rather than go out to dinner, so we went ashore and walked about 2 miles before finally finding a taxi. The movie was pretty good, but we had to walk about another mile from the movie theater before we could find another taxi to take us back to the boat. We finally arrived back at 2245, and stayed up talking in the cockpit until midnight.
Nick returning to the boat Duval Street in Key West
The 2nd found Nick staying on-board all day playing Nintendo, and Steve going into town to run various errands. He packed up two large garbage bags full of items that were on the boat, but were not needed, and found boxes at the grocery store to pack them in. He then took the boxes to the Post Office, and mailed them to Leslie in Fresno. He stopped by the internet cafe to update the webpage and respond to emails. He called the hatch company several times about getting new hinges for the bow deck hatch, and finally got them to take his order, only to find that they didn't have any in stock, and it would take over 2 weeks for them to manufacture any. So, Steve will call back in 2 weeks to check their progress, and tell them a place to ship the hinges to. Then Steve called Leslie to wish her a good time as she prepares to take Katie and her friends to a week of YMCA family camp, something the family has gone to each of the past 10 years. Leslie has been working hard at her job, home, and taking care of Katie in Steve's absence, and is really looking forward to a week's vacation.
Steve then went to West Marine to see if the replacement drive unit for the autopilot had arrived, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it had! So, after getting fuel for the dingy and filling up the water jugs, Steve went back to the boat and spent the next few hours installing the new drive unit. Although it was supposed to be a upgraded replacement, the completely new design had Steve cutting new holes in the bridge bulkhead to accommodate the new equipment. Later, Steve will have to fabricate some kind of beauty cover for the old drive unit holes that have been replaced. So, at 1830, Nick indicated he was sick of being on the boat all day, so we went ashore and walked the mile or so to a restaurant named Margaritaville, owned by Jimmy Buffet. We had dinner there, and bought a t-shirt and CD for Leslie, who really likes Jimmy Buffet. We then walked through the tourist district to Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, and spend an hour or so looking at really strange stuff. They have a movie of a guy who drives a really big nail into nose - gross! We walked back to the waterfront and had ice cream before going back to the boat and talking about stuff.
Margaritaville, with Nick & Steve having dinner
On the 3rd, Steve spent the morning working on the boat, and when Nick awoke around noon to play Nintendo, Steve went into town to do laundry and catch a bus to Payless Shoe Store for new tennis shoes. For some reason, the busses are free this weekend - I didn't complain. The shoe selection included lame or lamer, and Steve chose the lame one. He took a bus to the Post Office where he picked-up the replacement cell phone that Leslie had sent, and went back to the waterfront and West Marine to buy more supplies. After getting more water in the jugs, Steve headed back to the boat. Halfway there, the outboard engine started running really fast, but the dinghy was going really slow. Unfortunately, Steve had experiences with a blown propeller years ago with his Grandfather's boat, and new the symptoms. So, after limping back to Wabi Sabi, we hauled the engine and confirmed the malfunctioning propeller. While the engine was off, Steve took the opportunity to hoist the back of the dinghy onto the boat, and remove the hardware that held the beach wheels on, as we weren't going to need these in the US. He epoxied up the holes, dropped the dinghy, reinstalled the engine, and the men dinghied very slowly to town. They had chili-cheese fries at Margaritaville that they missed out on the night before, and caught a bus to K-Mart and bought Eric Clapton and Beastie Boys CDs. Buying Clapton requires no explanation, but Nick bought his because the Beastie Boys are having a new tour, and he wanted to see if they had any good new songs. We went to Radio Shack where Nick bought a cover for his new phone so it wouldn't fall into the ocean again, and Steve bought some Diet Pepsi at Walgreen's. They waited an hour for the next bus, and got back to the waterfront around 2300, where they went, very slowly, back to Wabi Sabi and prepared for an early morning departure.
On the 4th of July, we weighed anchor and headed out at 0700, plotting a course between the land and the reefs in 25' deep water, and motorsailed into the wind to the Northwest. The wind was actually good enough to just sail, but we needed badly to charge our batteries, so what the heck. Some dolphins joined our boat for a while, and we were amazed by the number of boats around us as we traveled. Seeing 100 boats in one day is staggering for we who have had several passages without seeing any boats, and most where we see only one or two. Some powerboats come up real close to ours, like they have never seen a sailboat before, and just want to follow us for a while. We slowed down for the first one, thinking they wanted something, but they then sped off like a frightened child. We only went 45 miles before arriving at our destination of Boot Key and the town of Marathon at 1530. The water in this harbor is only 7' deep, so not all boats can enter - but we can! As we continued through the mouth of the bay, our way was blocked by a bridge with a clearance of only 26', and our mast is 45' high. But there were other bigger boats on the other side of the bridge, so after surveying the surroundings, Steve finally read a sign on the bridge that indicates that if he calls on Channel 9, the bride will open. It's a drawbridge - cool! Steve was somewhat apologetic as he asked via VHF for the bride to be raised, but within a minute it was up, and we motored through. The harbor is pretty big, and we didn't know the best place to anchor for shore access, but decided to explore by dinghy, not catamaran, and dropped the hook. Nick played Nintendo and cleaned the floors, and Steve updated the webpage.
Our first drawbridge at Boot Key
We went ashore and walked about a mile to a shopping center, and rented a movie and a video game. We then went and had dinner at McDonald's, checked-out the Super K-Mart, and walked back to the dinghy, and then to the boat. We watched the movie, and had some pretty good seats for the fireworks show that took place. Nick launched 4 old distress flares, and Steve set off an old hand-held flare - except it turned out to be a smoke signal. So we then let off a real flare, and it burned for over 2 minutes and very brightly illuminated us and our boat for miles. The next day, Nick heard a talk show on the radio where they mentioned a boat in the harbor setting off flares, and they thought it was pretty cool.
Fireworks viewed from our boat
On July 5th, Steve took the dinghy to West Marine, Boater's World, and a couple of other places looking for a new propeller for the dinghy, but no one had one. All the good places are closed until tomorrow. This town is pretty good for exploring on a dinghy, because it is pretty long and narrow, and you can dinghy to within a mile of just about anyplace. The problem is that all the docks and waterfronts are posted for no dinghies, (these people aren't too friendly), so there is no place to land unless you are sneaky scofflaws like us. So, Steve went back to the boat and began working on the port aft doorframe that had been damaged last year. He removed the aluminum frame, and Nick removed the caulk that was still attached. Steve began extensive epoxy work on the framing, which took the next two days to complete, partly because he only has one C-clamp to bind the plywood back together with. He used a penetrating epoxy and syringe, which worked pretty well except the stuff takes 5 hours to set up.
We decided the refrigerator was too great a drain on our batteries, and we were tired of having to run the engine for 2 hours a day just to keep up, so we got some block ice to put in the refrigerator, and turned it off. Everything got wet for the next few hours as the freezer defrosted. Nick cleaned off the rust stains from the sides of the boat, and even cleaned some of the rust from the stanchions. We played the rented video game on and off until it stopped working correctly (we think the Game Cube may be suffering from the early stages of marine expose failure), and finally barbequed and ate the fish we caught 2 weeks ago near Isla Providencia. Nick said it tasted like fish jerky because it was cooked too long on one side, but it was pretty good and we ate it all. We still don't know what kind of fish it was. To cap off the night, we watched the movie Phone Booth, which was okay, and then went to bed.
On July 6th, Steve went exploring for a new dinghy propeller, and finally found one by phone at The Boat House, 9 miles away by dinghy, and on the ocean side of the island. So, off he went at slow speed (the prop is messed up) for about an hour and a half, asking directions as he went, finally arriving within a half mile of the Boat House, and tied up to some tree roots by a house that looked like it was being renovated and no one was home to chase him away. The propeller was an exact replacement, and after installing it, Steve set off for home at high speed, except the waves had been building and were too much for the dinghy while on a plane. So, for much of the ride back it was slow speed again, going only as fast as Steve could tolerate the pounding and getting soaked by the waves. After 45 minutes he arrived back at Wabi Sabi, and we began the new project of repairs to the masthead wind vane and light. Nick went aloft, but had a little problem with the directions Steve was giving, so Steve went aloft to retrieve the broken parts. A little epoxy work later, and the wind vane was ready to go back into service. Nick went exploring of some of the mangrove waterways in the area while Steve worked on the door framing. While the epoxy was setting, we went ashore for some dinner and to return the rented videos.
We walked about 3 miles in the 90 degree, 85% humidity weather looking for an air conditioned non-fish restaurant to eat at, and finally had to settle on Wendy's. The heat here isn't too bad as long as you are in the shade and not doing anything, but once you start working and get into the direct sun, it is terrible. The heat and sweat drain your will to live - a major advantage the US has over Mexico and Central America is that there are enough stores here that have air conditioning that you can walk in and look around while you rejuvenate. After eating, we went back to the dock, and started off in the dinghy to get more ice. A sheriff boat pulled us over because we were speeding at about 8 mph in a 'minimum wake zone', which we were told means something slower. We also did not have a whistle on the dinghy, nor was the dinghy registered in Florida. When asked if dinghies have to be registered in California, Steve obtusely responded "Gee officer, I don't think so - nobody does." After giving us a moderate lecture about the various sins and penalties of unsafe boating, he let us of with a written warning, indicating that he was going easy on us because Nick was driving and he is only 14. He didn't explain exactly difference that made, but we learned something - Nick now drives the vehicles, especially when we are speeding or performing other scofflaw activities. To cap off the night we went to buy ice, but the store closed as 1800, so we went to Home Depot to get more epoxy, but it closed at 2000, so we went back to the boat and played Backgammon until we went to bed.
Nick at the top of the mast, and swinging on the spinnaker halyard
July 7th began with Steve updating the webpage, and going ashore to get more ice. He worked on the door for a couple more hours, finally finishing the project which turned out okay. Nick went to the top of the mast again to replace the windvane and to replace the screw that had fallen out of the windvane light. When he got down, he discovered a new game of swinging around the mast in the boson's chair - he hadn't had this much fun in weeks. We needed some screw, epoxy and a cockpit light, so we took the dinghy to West Marine and enjoyed a half-hour of air conditioning. Steve rigged the new light, and after cleaning up the boat a bit, we went ashore to have an early dinner at a nearby restaurant overlooking the bay - except it was more of a sandwich place, and the food was a bit disappointing. So, off we went in search of an ice cream place somewhere in the mangroves and man-made canals that Nick had earlier explored briefly. After giving up on the ice cream, as the area was entirely residential, we found a channel that opened up into the ocean side where Steve had been yesterday. Tired of driving at a 'minimum wake' speed, Steve suggested taking the ocean way back to the boat. Nick was dubious of the depth of water in this area, but Steve said "Don't worry, I went through this area twice yesterday without a problem." 15 seconds later, we ran aground at about 25 miles per hour, the engine flying up into the back of the dinghy as the propeller hit hard. We ground to a halt, Nick saying "No problem, huh?". Like the trooper he is though, he got out and towed the dinghy to deeper water, and we found that the motor was miraculously undamaged, so we started it up and headed back to Wabi Sabi for more Backgammon under our new cockpit light. We hoisted the dinghy and outboard, readied the boat for our early departure in the morning, played some Nintendo, and hit the sack.
At 0715 on the 8th, Steve brought up the anchor, and motored out of the bay in light winds and small waves, plotting a safe course through the reefs and shallow water through a passage called "Hawk's Channel", The 45 mile upwind passage was fairly uneventful, and we never stopped motoring. There were dozens of sail and powerboats around us the entire way, the sun was out in full force, and besides checking our position and the water depth constantly, there wasn't much to do. At 1500, we arrived near the home of Nancy and David Cohn, cousins of Leslie's, and were able to identify their house by the pier and mounds of dirt in their backyard (they are building a swimming pool). We called them by cell phone, but no one answered, so we tied up to their pier. Within 15 minutes, David came out to welcome us, and advised that the water at the end of their pier gets to 3' at low tide, so we untied and anchored out where the water will be at least 5' deep.
Arriving at Islamorada, on the Florida Keys
We took showers and went ashore, where we also were welcomed by Nancy, and after a tour of their wonderful home, they took us to dinner at a great seafood all-you-can-eat place. We then went to another home that they bought and are renovating, with the idea of selling their current home and moving into the new one. They own an art gallery too, although they explained that it loses so much money it is like giving to charity. We returned to the house around 2100, and Steve and Nick went to the end of the pier to dinghy back to Wabi Sabi, turn on the anchor light, and get some clothes and such to spend the night on shore. Unfortunately, the dinghy wasn't at the end of the pier where we left it, so either someone stole it, or Steve's knot failed and it floated away. After getting flashlights, we found it at the next-door neighbors home high and dry on the coral. Since it was Steve's knot that failed, he had to carry the dinghy back to deep water over the coral, making sure not to drag and puncture. The neighbor said she called the Coast Guard to report an abandoned boat without an anchor light, and a washed ashore dinghy, owners probably dead or something. So, Steve called the Coast Guard and told them all was well, and after getting our dirty clothes, headed back to shore. Nick watched some TV while Steve worked on the webpage, and they retired to their bedrooms for their first night ashore in 6 weeks.
David & Nancy Cohn's house, and Steve's view from his bedroom with Wabi Sabi at anchor
On Friday the 9th, we did laundry, and Nick went with David to his new house and mowed the lawn and other maintenance tasks. They then went to get his boat from the shop it was being repaired at. Only a 20-minute drive by car, it took over an hour to come back by boat, plus another hour of sightseeing along the way. Steve just sat around the house updating the webpage and watching movies on the TV.
On the 10th, Nick, Steve and David went to get his truck that he left at the boat shop, but halfway there David remembered that he didn't bring his truck keys. So, instead David took us on a tour of a friends house which is even larger than the Cohn's. It is a 3-story house, and has a spiral staircase that leads all the way to the roof, from which you can see forever. David says the highest natural elevation in the Florida Keys is only 15' above sea level, which makes it easy to see a long ways when you are 40 feet in the air. Then we went over to David's rental house where we met one of his tenants Rebekah Mills, the Editor of a local newspaper. She was very nice, and said she would put a picture of our boat in the next week's edition. Even this house is on the waterfront, and has a pool to boot.
We took David, Nancy and Rebekah to dinner at an Italian restaurant and ate too much, and afterwards they took us to the movie "The Anchorman", which is a ridiculous but funny movie about a 70s era local anchorman threatened by a woman joining the team.
On the 11th, the men went off to get David's truck from the boatyard, this time with the truck key. We went nearby to their new house, and worked on assembling the frame for a new porch swing David bought. Steve and Nick went to Key Largo to check out the town - other than having a K-Mart, it is just another small town on the Keys. We went back home, and watched some TV and used the internet. Nancy and David treated us to barbequed ribs, and we watched the Florida Marlins play baseball on TV.
On the 12th, Steve worked on the boat most of the day fabricating a beauty ring around the new autopilot drive unit, cleaning rust stains on the hull from the stanchion bases, washing the dishes that they abandoned on the 8th, and adjusting the hatches. Nancy and Nick went into town to run various errands, and stopped by their art store to check on the staff and do various things. David and Nick played some pool in the afternoon, each of them winning a game.
For dinner, we took David and Nancy to dinner at a Chinese restaurant where everyone ate too much. Afterwards, the Cohn's treated us to the movie "Two Brothers", which is about two tiger cubs that are separated from their mother and each other, only to be reunited a year later. It was a lot like watching "Born Free" except with tigers instead of lions. Steve and Nick watched TV movies until bed time.
On the 13th, Steve took over the seat and canopy portions of the patio swing David is building at their new house, and put them on the frame thereby completing the assembly. Steve and Nick went out to Wabi Sabi and took off the sails, and Steve took them to a local sailmaker to have them repaired. We played some pool, Nancy made great tacos for dinner, and afterwards we watched the baseball all-star game. Steve did a load of laundry, and we took turns on the internet, Nick communicating with friends, and Steve researching for a generator for the boat. Emails from Leslie indicate she is a bit stressed over having to get the house ready for a month's absence, but she usually gets bit anxious whenever we go on vacation, even though she is the best in the world at vacation preparations. Maybe it is the anxiety that makes her so meticulous in her packing and making arrangements for the house. Nick stayed up late as usual (midnight to 0100) talking to his friends via internet and his cell phone.
On the 14th, Steve worked on the boat most of the day replacing caulking, cleaning the bilges, cleaning the stove and oven, fixing the main halyard (it was severely frayed), rearranging the forward hold to accommodate the luggage that Leslie and Katie will be bringing, and removing the window coverings to have them re-sewn. He worked with David on the house's sprinklers for a while, and then he went into Key Largo to drop of the window covers at a canvas repair shop. He also looked at various stores and pawn shops for a generator for the boat, as we decided that we needed to generate more power regularly, and running the engine is noisy and wears it out prematurely. However, it looks like we will have to wait until we get to Miami to find a good generator, as the stores around here have very limited stock. Nick watched his daily MTV, went to a deli with Nancy called Chili Willy's for lunch, and then into Key Largo to a music store where Nick bought a music book for his guitar. Nick took a nap in the afternoon, and Steve watched some TV and updated the webpage. Nancy cooked a stir-fry chicken dinner, and afterwards Nick and David went fishing. They caught some small fish, nothing worth keeping. Afterwards Nick and Steve worked on the internet and updating the webpage.
Nancy relaxing after one of her famous dinners David & Nick return from some night fishing
On the 15th, Steve went into town to get some groceries for the boat - mostly Diet Pepsi. On the way, a large iguana crossed the road, but with little road savvy like the squirrels in California, and just ran directly under the wheels despite Steve's evasive maneuvers. Nick spent another day hanging out at the house, and Steve spent most of his time working on the boat. Nick, Steve and Nancy went to a Mexican restaurant in Key Largo for dinner. After returning home, Steve went to the boat to do some more work. A thunderstorm moved into the area, so he stayed on the boat that night.
On Friday the 16th, Steve awoke on the boat, and continued to perform cleanup, maintenance and repairs. Mid-day, Steve drove into Miami to get a 2000 KW Honda generator, tired of not having enough power on the boat, and not planning to stay connected to shore power that much. Nick watched TV, played on his computer and used the internet pretty much all day, as usual. Steve returned to the boat to hook up the generator and do other work, but returned in time to partake in the barbequed steaks that David & Nancy had prepared for dinner.
On the 17th, Steve woke early and started working on the boat cleaning the floors and cockpit, and putting on the bed linens in the port aft room. After a few hours, he went ashore to buy supplies at the hardware store and West Marine in Key Largo, and to get gas for the generator. Nick discussed fly fishing with David, who called a friend of his to get some lures, and Steve and Nick went over to the friends house to get them. They turned out to be custom hand-tied flies from this award-winning fly-tier, and Nick immediately rigged a rod and reel that Nancy had been given as a gift many years ago, but had never used. Nick set about fishing from the dock, and caught Bone Fish and some other things, but none were keepers. Steve returned to the boat, getting water in the jugs while ashore, and continued performing various tasks to get the boat ready for Leslie's arrival. A thunderstorm arrived at 1800, giving the area their first rain in weeks. When there was a lull in the storm, Steve dinghied back to shore, and they all went to dinner at the Tavernier Hotel. After returning back home and checking to see if Leslie & Katherine's plane was on time for their 2230 arrival, Nancy and Steve drove the 1-1/2 hours to the Miami airport where the girls had actually arrived early and were waiting for their bags. Everyone was happy to see each other, but we agreed that for some reason it just didn't seem like we had been apart for 6 weeks. After loading up the bags, we drove back to the Cohn's house, and went to bed.
Steve, Nick, David and Nancy Leslie & Katie arrive at the Miami airport
Sunday began with everyone going to Snappers Restaurant in Key Largo for brunch, and then returned to the house to begin making a shopping list for re-provisioning the boat. Steve worked on updating the webpage, and Leslie cleaned up the shoreline trash. Nick & Katie drove the golf cart around the area endlessly, played pool, and generally enjoyed each other's company. Steve and Leslie went to the store for groceries, and Steve took them to the boat. The wind had really picked up during the day, and had shifted from the East to the West, dislodging the main anchor and dragging it about 50' towards the only other boat in the area. So, Steve pulled up both anchors, and reset them further to the West and upwind. He brought the batteries up to full charge with the generator, and dinghied back ashore in the strong wind and chop, getting pretty wet in the process. Katie and David were at the end of the dock preparing to do some snorkeling, and found many lobsters within 50' of the end of the dock - too bad it isn't lobster season! David & Nancy had friends Bob & Sue over for dinner, and we watched video pictures of another person's cruise to Alaska, where the four of them are going for vacation in September. Afterwards, we watched movies until bedtime.
On the 19th, we did multiple loads of laundry in preparation of our departure, as well as washing the sheets and towels we had used at the Cohn's. After all the washing and packing was completed, we borrowed a car and went to the Everglades National Park. The very first thing you notice is that dozens of mosquitoes attack you as soon as you open the car door. We made a bee-line for the visitor's center and bought some insect repellant, and looked at the exhibits there. We drove around the park for a while and walked on some of the trails, but unless we missed something, it looked like a lot of grassland growing in the water interspersed with some really old coral. After about an hour, we felt like we had seen enough, and headed for the nearby 'Alligator Farm'. There we saw hundreds of alligators in various stages of development from babies all the way up to huge monsters. There was a guy who dragged a 'gator around by the tail, did fearless things around his mouth, and let us hold some baby alligators. Then we went on an airboat ride through the wetlands - man, that was fun. We went really fast, and he spun the boat in a 360 several times getting us all wet. We saw some really weird soft-shell turtles, and lots of wild alligators. We really enjoyed the Alligator Farm.
Airboat ride in the Everglades
Leslie & her new friend Alligator guy
We drove back to Islamorada, getting Burger King on the way (we already had Taco Bell for lunch). Upon returning to the Cohn's, we packed up our stuff on the dinghy, including the sails that David had picked-up for us while we were exploring, and loaded them onto the boat. We then said our fairwells to David and Nancy, the greatest hosts we could have ever had, and got settled in on Wabi Sabi. After putting everything away and preparing for departure, which took some doing, we hit the sack dreaming of adventures to come.
On the 20th, we awoke at 0700, and pulled up the two anchors, and headed Northeast in 7' of water in what is called "Hawk's Channel", which is between the islands and the coral reefs that lie about 4 miles offshore. The water was the clear turquoise blue that we have become accustomed to in the Caribbean, but the constant shallowness takes more time to get used to. Plotting a course around all the obstacles and shallow spots is a full time occupation, and Steve plots his course and position constantly. The ladies lounge around and read, while Nick spends his free time playing Nintendo. The wind was light but favorable for the morning, and we made 6 knots most of the day motorsailing. We arrived at the harbor entrance to Miami at 1500, and dodged the big boats for a few miles while traversing the maze of waterways, ultimately finding a friendly looking place to set the anchor. Steve and Nick went ashore at a nearby yacht club to ask directions to the tourist hangout, and after getting the ladies they headed off for adventure via dinghy. They spotted a waterfront that was bustling with activity, including a "Hard Rock Cafe", and the family decided we needed to eat at one of these at least once in our lives. We tied up to a great dinghy dock that had no other dinghies there, and was greeted by a friendly man who asked for $10 to leave the dinghy for the next 3 hours. Steve blew a gasket, giving the man endless grief and trying the explain the economic reality of "When you charge this much, nobody uses your dock - look around - we're the only idiots here!" Leslie tried to calm him down, but it did little good. After entering the restaurant, his wrath subsided as the food was good and the atmosphere was great, at least if you are between the ages of 40 and 55, which both Steve and Leslie are. Nick and Kate didn't appreciate the history on the walls as much as the adults. After dinner, we walked the nearby shops, and the kids had ice cream. Nick also got a metal thing that looks like the license plate of a BMW - the idea being that it will look like he stole it and put it on his wall, which he explains would be cool. Steve figured this is better than actually stealing one. As the sun set, we dinghied back to our boat and played Scrabble until bedtime. All but Nick went to bed at around 2200, Nick stayed up as usual doing God knows what until 0100.
For the continuing saga of the 2004 Abston Adventure, see Leg 4 for the trip from Miami to Norfolk, Virginia.