Log 94; Day 254; Jan. 30, 2009; Key West

This is Susand and Andy...from the Nordhaven 55 (Maggie May) that we have met a couple of times

HQ at her slip in A&B Marina

Deb and I took a dinghy ride to the city marina...this is a little mangrove water way just off the main channel

These fish are tarpon and these shots taken from the bow of our boat

This gives you an idea of the size of the tarpon compared to the pelican

Log 94
Day 254
Friday, January 30, 2009

7:30 AM EST
Location: A&B Marina, Key West, FL
Weather: 71 with calm winds...a cold front is coming through this afternoon

The dew each morning has been so heavy, you wonder if it rained overnight. The humidity at 7 am was 94%, so we are running the a/c to make it more bearable. This is not a complaint...just a fact. All of this will change this afternoon as a cold front will pass through...and another one forecasted for sometime Sunday. The high temperatures will only get to the upper 60’s or lower 70’s...about 10* cooler than the last 3 days.

Yesterday...at about 7, I was sitting on the back deck working on the computer, I looked up to see the local fishing guide (John) wave at me. When I walked out he said “hey Bob...are you going fishing today...it’s going to be great out there...you need to go today”. That’s all I needed to hear. He also had me bring my charts out and showed me exactly where to go, and said to come over to his boat and he would show me exactly what to fish with. I walked over to his boat and he showed me a good sized white jig with a clear looking tail on it, and said “take this...this will do the trick”. He also said I could find more of these at the bait shop (the one with the beer on draft) so off I go. Between getting supplies; a pump out; and a couple of phone calls, it was almost 10 by the time I took off in the boat. It was almost 13 miles to Jewfish Key, where he told me to go, and most of it in waters less than 4 foot deep. I was skimming across the water at about 18 mph, and just knew at any time I was going to hit something and run aground (but John said it was safe, so I kept going). At some places you would go between 2 sticks stuck in the middle of no where (put there by the locals to guide you) and it would be dry land on each side of the sticks. Keep in mind I was 3 miles from shore. Somewhere along the way I forgot all the “turn left at this stick” and “turn right at this stick” because instead of turning right (which I later figured out I was supposed to do) I went straight. Bad deal. The water went from 3 feet, to 2 feet, to nothing but sand and weeds. At this point the boat started to slow down because the prop was getting full of weeds, and there was no water coming out of the engine discharge, meaning that sand had filled up the impellor and the motor would shut down because it would be too hot. All I could do was stop the boat and try to get out of there. The water was only about 1 foot deep, so I got out of the boat to try and drag the boat back to deeper water, which was when I sunk into the sand and weeds over my knees. At that point I said, out loud, “this is not good...not good at all”. I was in the middle of no where, with no help, and no way to paddle or push the boat. Well it took about 30 minutes to get the boat back to water deep enough to use the engine again. What I would do was put all my weight on the dinghy (so I would not sink in the sand) and then use my feet to inch the boat along. It was hard to do, and very tiring...but it worked. When I found deeper water, I realized what I had done wrong, so after cleaning the sand out of the engine water discharge, I was able to slowly work my way into deeper water (2 to 3 feet) and able to get the boat back up on plane again.

Jewfish Key is a cool spot. In the middle of nowhere, there are about 10 islands with some deep spots between them, where the bigger fish hang out, looking for the bait fish that are in the very shallow water. I ended up catching about 6 or 7 fish...ranging in size between 6 and 18 inches. It was a great time, and the way back was not near as scary. It still seemed like I would hit ground at any time, but I knew that there was enough water, in the spots I was going, to make it back without a problem.

Today...no plans yet. The calm winds and hot and humid temperatures are supposed to change about 1 pm today, so I don’t think there will be any fishing today. But is past time to make a dock walk and see what all the other boats are up to...so that is the first thing on the agenda. From there...we’ll see.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 93; Day 252; Jan. 28, 2009; Key West

We walked a couple of blocks from out boat to see the first sunset we have seen since we got to Key West...a perfect one

Yesterday we had 2 cruise ships and 2 Navy vessels in the harbor

Here is another shot of Reel Wheels...the 80 foot yacht owned by Rick Hendrick

This is a Manatee just off our swim platform

Deb not only took a picture of all the fish these guys caught...she hung around long enough for them to give her a bunch...which we had for dinner last night. Our boat is just off to the left in this picture

While Deb is on these walks she finds someone to take her picture. Here she is in the southern most beach in the US.

Local street vendors selling their paintings

Log 93
Day 252
Wednesday, January 28, 2009

6:00 AM EST
Location: A&B Marina, Key West, FL
Weather: 71 with calm winds...forecasted to get to 80 today

It’s warm and muggy this morning...humidity of 90%. The wind switched to the south yesterday, and will continue for a couple more days. They forecast lows in the 70’s and highs near 80 the next 3 days. I’m up early (for a change) and watching the weather channel as I write this log, and the rest of the country is a mess with snow, sleet, and lots of ice causing problems across the Midwest. We certainly picked a great winter to make this trip...our weather has been great.

Deb has been taking so many cool pictures for the log, it’s hard to decide which ones to include. Her daily walks continue to improve her knowledge of Key West and her picture log. She also continues to get a real understanding of the Island and all it has to offer. For some reason I don’t get too far from the docks and the water. They seem to have everything I need.

One of yesterdays highlights was a manatee who visited our dock...and came up right behind Headquarters. Many on the dock were gathered to watch, and he stayed in the area for over 30 minutes. They come to the docks looking for fresh water...if you were to put a hose in the water...they would stay all day. Bad idea...Manatee’s and boat props don’t mix well.

We had a small issue with the dinghy. I went to get fuel a couple of days ago, and when I left the fuel dock the motor quit. This motor has run perfectly for 5 years so I could not figure what happened. After checking out the things I could, and calling around for someone to repair the boat, I called Boat US and had them tow the dinghy to a place called Fish and Race, a local Mercury engine repair facility. The tow was free to me, (because of insurance) but the guy who towed me charged Boat US $308 for a quick 30 minute tow. I rode back to the marina with him, figuring I would take a taxi back there the next day. As it turned out it was a very quick fix...a fuel line had somehow come loose (but was not visible to me) and was not getting fuel to the engine. $68 later...we’re back on the water.

Yesterday Deb and I also did some deeper cleaning of the boat. I took off the back isinglass and cleaned and waxed it. Deb used the same cleaner on the showers. For lunch we walked over to Schooners...the first time we had eaten there. It was very good food. Speaking of first time...we saw our first sunset since we arrived in Key West a little over 2 weeks ago. As it turned out it was a perfect sunset (as you can see by the picture) with no clouds. Deb took 63 pictures (yes...63) to get one she really liked. She deleted a bunch...but I’ll bet she still saved 10.

Today...I’m sure Deb will get another walk in. I want to finish the isinglass, and get prepared for fishing the next couple of days. Light winds on Thursday and Friday should be great for me going off shore to find some fish. We also have plans to have dinner with Andy and Susan from Maggie May. They are the couple who were on that great Nordhaven we met a week or so ago. They went up to Naples, and are back (but in another Marina) and they stopped by the boat yesterday and asked us to join them for dinner...so we will.

Well it is just starting to get a little light out, so I think I’ll take a dock walk to see if anyone is up. While I have been writing this log, along with watching the weather channel, I have been monitoring the VHF radio (which I do most of the day) for all boat traffic in the area. This morning the harbor pilot has been talking to an incoming cruise ship. He just told them he would come out a few miles to meet them. What happens is that a local pilot (boat captain) goes out a few miles and climbs a ladder to the cruise ship and then drives the ship to the dock. When the boat leaves later today, the procedure is reversed. The pilot boat is just down a few slips from us on the dock and I have talked to him several times. I am so intrigued by how things on the water happen.

Oh...I also saw Rick Hendrick (the NASCAR owner) walking our dock yesterday...which confirms to me we are in the right place. I love Key West.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 92; Day 249; Jan. 25, 2009; Key West

Deb found this cool looking mosiac house on one of her walks around town

One of the sail boat races they had this week

That's me in the black shirt walking the docks...something I do on a regular basis

That's me talking to Jack...on his 65 foot fishing boat. I think this is where he asked me if I wanted to go fishing?

This boat is owned by Rick Hendrick...the famous NASCAR owner

Log 92
Day 249
Sunday, January 25, 2009

7:00 AM EST
Location: A&B Marina, Key West, FL
Weather: 63 with light winds

We are back to normal weather here now...highs in the mid 70’s and lows in the mid 60’s. It only got down to 63 overnight, and it is a beautiful morning. Our docks are still somewhat quite, but just across the harbor the charter boats are leaving their slips. The sun is not up yet, but it’s light enough to see out in the gulf, and the water looks very nice and calm. It should be a great day in Key West.

We continue to really enjoy our time here. Deb walks almost every day now and reaches her 10,000 steps most of the time. She is keeping track of the different places she visits, and has listed them on the map so we can go back when we want. She also found a craft fair on Saturday...but, as far as I know, she did not bring anything back to the boat. I have been trying to fish the last 3 days (since the wind died down) and don’t have much to show for it (I’ve caught about 6 fish), but I have really enjoyed exploring, and trying different things. When I talked to John (a fishing guide who has a slip near us) he told me to head out to Bay Key, but to be very careful because it is very shallow in most of the area around the 3 islands. It took me 3 tries, on three different days...but I finally found a channel that was deep enough at low tide to get me there. I marked it on my GPS, so I can get back without a problem. Now all I have to do is figure out where the fish are.

The marina has been very active lately...with lots of folks coming and going. I’ve met several of the new comers...and as usual every boat (owner) has a story. A 65 foot Ocean Yacht just arrived from Baltimore Maryland. Jack is the owner, and a big time fisherman. The last 5 years he has spend 4 months in the Bahamas fishing, and this year decided to come to Key West and try his luck. He asked if I was interested in going out fishing...I let about 1 second go by before answering...sure. The coolest new boat to dock here is a boat called Reel Wheels (the picture does not do it justice)...an 80 foot Hatteras. It’s owner is Rick Hendrick...no doubt the best, and most famous, NASCAR owner in the business. He has 4 cars driven by Jeff Gordon; Jimmie Johnson; Dale Earnhardt Jr.; and Mark Martin. I talked to his captain, Drew, for a while on yesterday, and we talked about all the people who he takes out and how much fun he has. He’ll be here about 2 weeks, and I’m sure several of the team will be here fishing. Drew also told me he has two 36 foot boats that travel with him to go catch the bait. Oh...and they also have a 124 foot boat, and just took delivery of a 162’ Trinity Yacht. Tough duty. Drew has not asked me to go fishing yet...but we’ll see.

Last night was the first time since we got here (2 weeks ago) that we ate dinner out. Well “dinner” might be stretching a bit (we just had hors d'oeuvres), but we have been told by folks that the restaurant at the end of our dock (about 100 foot from our boat) that we walk by several times a day, has great food, and between 4 and 6:30 all drinks, and 1/2 their menu, is 1/2 price. We tried it and it was great. The beer was cold; the food was excellent; and all for the total sum of $16. Perfect.

Today should be a nice day for a long dingy ride. We plan to take off late morning and head for Hurricane Hole...the cool spot we visited when we first got here. It’s a great outdoor bar that sits right on the water. A very casual place where you tie up your boat, step off, and eat. My kind of place.

It should be a great day.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob