Day 21 – April 20

Well, our departure did not go so smooth this morning.  The freezer ran all night and ran down the batteries.  I fire up the generator and in about 15 minutes, the Honda cranks to life and we are off.  The water is like glass as we cruise out of the harbor, which does not last long.  As soon as we get out in the Hawk Channel, there is a small 1 to 3 foot swell running which is almost on our beam.  This gives us a rolly ride all the way down to Key West.   The winds are not very cooperative for the first couple of way points, but we are finally able to put up the jib and motor sail.  We see some sights that we had only seen previously from land, but they are much more beautiful from the ocean.  Even with the wind it is a warm ride down.  With all of the hatches and ports closed, the salon hits 90 degrees. 

We finally reach KW and the trip through the channel and harbor is crazy, Water World crazy as Beth puts it.  There are boats of all sizes, including a Coast Guard cutter and a pirate ship, and jet skis buzzing around.  The jet skis are the worst, since the riders do not pay attention.  Of course we hit the channel on an outgoing tide, which slows our progress in places to less than 3 knots.  Between the swell, the boat wakes, and the tide, it is amazing that we finally get to the mooring field.  Getting to the mooring field is another adventure as you have to go all the way around the Flemming Key, which took about 45 minutes.   On our way around the key, we pass other boats that are anchored, but we have been told that once the wind switches, they are exposed.  (The mooring field is exposed to the north, but protected on all other sides.)  We finally find a mooring, the dock master told us to take any one, except the ones with an orange tag, which is quite a few.  We secure ourselves and then we both can’t wait to take shower to cool off.  With the heat from today’s travel, we are taking a wait and see attitude as to whether we go to the Marquesas and the Dry Tortugas.  We may have left a little too late this year, as we do not have AC that we can run away from the dock. 

I make a salad and a nice cool rum drink for dinner.  One thing that we note is that the anchorage is very quiet.