Days 108 and 109 - Head Honcho — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 0, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $133, daily high temperature 79*f low temperature 73*f.

We had some maintenance done on the boat this week. Only one more week until CL makes a move to the Dry Tortugas. We have been in salt water for six weeks and our shaft zincs needed replacing. Same thing with the engine zincs. Key West is a good place to get parts and labor. We hired an ex-Marine diver to install our zincs and clean the boat bottom. We said our Pettit bottom paint is holding up well. However, he did spend and hour cleaning our running gear – shafts, propellors and trim tabs. The diver John came to Key West by sailboat 20 years ago after retiring from the Armed Forces. He was in a slip at the Boca Chica Navy Base when a friend asked him to dive on his boat and clean the bottom. He did it and then five more people asked him to clean their boat bottoms. Now he has two employees and cleans 40 boat bottoms a weeks. He uses the SNUBA air system (small air compressor with a long air hose) not dive tanks. John said anyone can have a successful business in Key West if they just show up on time and are sober and not high on drugs. He said it is not uncommon for job applicants to walk the docks at 8:00 am with a rum and coke in hand or late afternoon smoking a joint looking for work.

SNUBA dive system.

We hired the “Head Honcho” to fix a air leak in our vacuflush (toilet) system. Get it- head is the the word used for toilet on a boat. Perry the owner, calls it marine sanitation solutions. His story is his father owned the marine sanitation repair business and passed away. He came down to sell the business and settle his fathers estate. One of his father’s best customers called when he arrived and needed work done. That was fifteen years ago and he is still running the business.

We also had the oil changed in the starboard transmission, the one we replaced, to keep it in warranty. Matt the mechanic did a fine job.

I have been to Key West more than 20 times but I had never visited the tourists site Fort Zachary Taylor. We visited it on this trip. Construction on the fort started in 1845 and took 21 years to complete because it was difficult to get building materials delivered to the remote Key West location.

The Civil War fort is a beautiful relic, with brick archways built by Irish and British craftsmen who learned the castle and fort building trade from generations of artisans many of whom had worked for Napoleon.

Photo by Andy

Photo by Priscilla

The fort has the largest collection of Civil War armaments in the United States. The majority of the decommissioned civil war cannons were used to reinforce new concrete construction as the fort was expanded. It was cheaper than shipping the cannons back to the mainland to be melted down in foundrys.

Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th President of the United States serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. Before his presidency, Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general. His success in the Second Seminole War attracted national attention and earned him the nickname “Old Rough and Ready”.Taylor died suddenly of a stomach-related illness in July 1850.

Bonus photo – pelican feeding frenzy with our catch

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day

“I’m thankful for the sea breeze that feels so good right now, and the scent of jasmine when the sun starts going down.” – Johnny Cash

Johnny “J.R.” Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor and, author who was widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although primarily remembered as a country music icon, his genre-spanning songs and sound embraced rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of multiple inductions in the Country Music, Rock and Roll and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.