Key West Sailing Adventure - Day 5

The weekly weather forecast was issued by a dog - ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff. We spent a lovely day enjoying Key West on Thursday. We went ashore by dingy and had lunch at BO’s Fish Wagon. BO’s is the type of restaurant you might not go to unless it was highly recommend. We ordered the “square grouper” sandwich. The square grouper is a bale of marijuana that was tossed into the ocean by drug smugglers when they were trying to elude law enforcement. Fisherman would rescue the bales and bring them ashore. At BO’s only the locals know the tradition and are given the side of French fries for free with their grouper sandwich.

The world famous BO’s Fish Wagon

Would you eat here if I did not recommend it to you.

Returning to Bistari after dark is always a thrill. You hope your outboard motor will not fail and you will be swept out to sea with the current. You hope you are run down by a speeding power boat with an over served helmsman and you hope you can find your mothership in the dark anchorage when all you have to go on is a sea of mast head lights that look like the stars in the sky. Having learned this lesson previously and having trouble finding our boat in the dark, I left a trail of breadcrumbs on my cell phone app. I used my Under Armour walking app to plot our journey ashore and followed it back to the boat. Brilliant.

John and Priscilla heading to Key West by dinghy.

This is the trail of breadcrumbs I used to find Bistari in the dark. You can see I started to veer off course near the end but the app got us home.

On Friday we received good news that the Perry Hotel and Marina on Stock Island had a slip available starting today.. Originally they told us we would have to wait until Saturday. The big blow was coming Friday night so we were not looking forward to being on anchor and then moving in heavy seas the 9 miles to the marina and then docking in high winds. We prepared to get underway by taking the outboard motor off the dinghy and hoisting the dinghy onto her cradle on the foredeck. Everything was battened down, hatches and portholes closed and the anchor was hauled. Ken uses a rope snubber on his anchor chain. This snubber attaches to the chain and then to a cleat. This takes the pressure off the windlass (anchor winch). Without the snubber the pressure from strong winds and waves could damage the windlass.

Lynn and Ken are doing all the maneuvers on the boat. Eventually Priscilla and I will depart and they will be operating the boat on their own. This is great practice.

We cruised the 9 miles to the Perry Hotel and Marina. Ken called them on the VHF radio and we were given our slip assignment. Slip D2 was all the way at end of te fairway against the main dock. Not an ideal location due to tight quarters next to the wall. In addition the power boat next to our slip was sticking an extra 6 feet into the fairway making our turn even tighter. Ken docked the boat like a champ and with the help of the dockhand Angel we were all securely tied up and plugged in. Now we just have to get out of this slip in few days. We shall see.

A fishing trawler followed us into the harbor at Stock Island.

There is certainly a lot more privacy on a boat when on anchor. We are tied up with the laundry building on one side an acres of power boat fiberglass the other side. Having said that, we are safe and secure until the high winds abate. The advantage of this marina is we get to enjoy the hotel amenities. They have three restaurants, two swimming pools and a shuttle bus bus that goes to downtown Key West, the beach and Publix supermarket every hour. We will make full use of the facilities.

Bistari is tightly tucked into her slip at the Perry Hotel and Marina on Stock Island.

A view of one of the swimming pools at the Perry Hotel and Marina. This one is the smaller of the two pools.

Two manatees are swimming next to the main pier at the Perry Hotel and Marina.

The highlight of our first night at the Perry Marina was a visit from Craig and Day Olney. They are long time friends and long time cruisers. They inspired us to make our first trip to the north channel of Lake Huron. They provided great insight regarding the trip and then we met them there. We have also visited them at their marina on Boca Chica and cruised with them in the Bahamas. They will be a good resource for Ken and Lynn. Ken has a short wave radio and Day is an expert.

The legends - Craig and Day Olney. We have been honored to know them for twenty years.

We had dinner at Sloppy Joes BBQ which is at the end of our dock. There are many nice things that make life pleasant at a marina.

In a day or two we will be setting sail for the Dry Tortugas.