Hard Day against the wind!
Hi everyone we are at Key Largo. We left Marathon about 1600 and motored
out past the Lighthouse at Sombrero. The winds were 090 at 25g31 and the waves
were 6-8 feet with an 8 second period and breakers. I think that's officially spicy!
The water was a wonderful deep blue and you could see the light through
the breakers just before the crashed over the bow of the boat. The spray went
from stem to stern and we were all soaked in salt water after just a few minutes.
Grace climbed up each breaker, crashed through and down the other side. She was
glad to be back on the water but we were getting worn out and the poor cat Lilah
was beside herself. She finally did get sea sick and we felt bad for her.
Sam went below to check the bilge because we heard the bilge pumps going off
and he had to do this 2-3 times in the next couple hours. We finally took apart
the floor of the aft storage locker between the beds in the aft cabin to see how
the stuffing box was doing and it was leaking a little bit more than we thought
it should be. It has been sitting for months so I'm not surprised. Sam made
it through that without getting sick. Hannah made chilimac and we ate just before
we got to the lighthouse.
We left on the back side of the storms and every thing was well,
but fighting against the wind heading east along the keys was not practical.
We made about 4 miles before sunset and were worn out.
So we motored back north and headed for the Hawk channel.
After sunset we motor sailed along till Key largo where we ducked in for a break at 0700
this morning. Seas were 2-4 feet with a bit of a tidal current against us. By about midnight
I was able to unfurl the Genoa about 30% in 20g25 knot winds and we made 7-8 knots motor sailing
inside the channel. At about 7am just before sunrise with everyone asleep we approached
Rodriguez key and I woke up Sam and Hannah so we could anchor in the dark. There was a derelict
catamaran in the anchorage with a single light on a pole and no mast. It looked like something
from a post apocalyptic story.
We woke up 2 hours later to a beautiful partly cloudy day and Hannah is making eggs and toast.
The cat has recovered and we are completely soaked in salt water. There are salt crystals
in my beard and hair. The cabin sole of the boat is soaked in salt water and slippery.
but the teak decks are WONDERFUL! They love the salt and last night I could walk barefoot
in the spray without slipping on the decks!
Well, I smell the eggs so We're going to eat and then get back underway.