Key West Sailing Adventure - Day 7

On Sunday we were visited by Craig and Day Olney. They stopped by to show Ken and Lynn how to operate their single sideband radio. Craig was confused why none of the frequencies matched his and the time on the clock was off. Ken mentioned that Bistari had spent the previous 10 years in the Mediterranean. The SSB was set up for European frequencies. They pushed buttons and made a lot of noise. Now Ken knows how to turn it on. The SSB will be complimented with an Iridium satellite phone that will work everywhere on earth.

Class is in session. Craig and Day explain the basics of Single Sideband radio operation. Please note the proximity of the laundry building to our slip.

The only minor drama I have experienced in Key West was receiving a request for random drug test screening to maintain my USCG captains license. I belong a consortium that randomly selects victims to pee in a cup. You would think that a place like Key West would have a drug testing facility on every corner. Not so! I tried diligently to find a clinic that would accept my work order. I even had Craig and Day drive me to the Advance Urgent Care clinic on N Roosevelt Ave. That clinic does not answer the phone but the recorded message said they were open on Sundays. I walked in and they advised they do not do that work but their sister location that is closed on Sunday could do it. I called the other location on Monday and they advised I would need all of the chain of custody documents. The bar code on the work order was not enough. I contacted the APCA consortium and they agreed Key West was in the Stone Age. They suggested I just advise them when I return to Stuart, Fl and they will reissue the request. Duh! The trip was not wasted. Craig and Day stopped at the Winn Dixie supermarket and I stocked up on few items.

This is supposed be random selection but I seem to be randomly selected quite often.

We are watching the weather and all is well until next Saturday when the winds are forecast to shift NE and blow hard for at least three days. That would make for a very lumpy ride back to Ft Lauderdale. We have several days to figure it out.

As you can see the winds from the ENE have been gusting to 30 mph. It is good to be in a marina.

Craig came back and picked up Priscilla and I to go over to the his marina at the Boca Chica Naval Station. We had cocktails and dinner at the harbor restaurant. It was happy hour and cocktails were $3.75. The only other thing that is a better value is the cost of a boat slip. The price is $10.50 per foot per month. If that was the price per week that would still be a good value in south Florida. That is the price per month. Yes you can keep your 38’ boat at the Boca Chica marina for $399 per month. A transient slip daily rate is $1.50 per foot per day. That would be $57 per day. By contrast the cost of the Perry Hotel and Marina slip is $5.00 per foot …………….. per day. That is $270 per day. A hotel room in the Perry is $500 per night. Many hotel rooms in Key West are selling for $1,000 or more per night. We need to use a lot of amenities.

Fly Away Cafe seems like an appropriate name for a restaurant at a naval airbase.