Minggu, 31 Januari 2016

My Boat Has Been Built Well kind of

Jeff Spira posted a pic on his facebook page of a 27 foot Sitka.Its almost exactly what I had in mind for my build.I am wanting a slightly forward raked windshield and I will build mine to 30 feet with the Vee entry bow.I plan to stay out without needing a trip to shore for at least one full week.I also plan to do the Great Loop with the boat.

Here I am going to quote Jeff Spiras post on his Facebook page.


A 27 Sitka Pacific Power Dory was recently completed in Minnesota by Raymond Pollock.

According to Ray, it was started in January 2012 and was in the water in the end of October, working mostly alone and taking 6 weeks off in the middle. It features V-Berths, 30 gallons of fresh water, a water heater for the shower, 28 gallon septic tank and 55 gallons for fuel. It also has a full galley and cabin heater.


With the ETEC 115 horse engine, the top speed is 34 mph (according to the GPS) and will cruise over 30, but runs all day and very economically at 22. It maneuvers and handles very well, and doesnt pound when crossing even large boat wakes. It only draws 7-1/2 inches of water with full fuel tanks, two people and a 2 large dogs. For a 27 footer, it tows very easily also.



I do have a message for Mr.Pollock.

 Way to go.Your version of Sitka is top notch.I am jealous.I hope my boat turns out have as good.Looks real professionally done.Youre my hero.

 Here is Mr.Pollocks boat.Sweet ride,eh?Click pics for larger view.






Even Mr.Pollocks lovely mother took a turn at the helm.Way to go,I say.

Read More..

Wind and Oar Boat School


The Wind and Oar Boat School in Portland, Oregon is building their second St Ayles Skiff.





Peter Crim, school founder, sent me an update on the activities at the newest, non-profit boat building school in the Pacific Northwest. Hes pretty excited to be building the second St Ayles Skiff on the west coast of the US and also the second for the Wind and Oar Boat School.




The first boat for the school was a St Ayles, built by a team of women and named Rosie. Now Rosie will have some competition. Friendly community competition is what the St Ayles Skiff is all about!







Weve been following the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project for about two years now. Quite frankly, Ive lost track of how many of these fine rowing boats from the board of Iain Oughtred have been built. The fever (yes, I believe we could call more than forty boats in two years, a fever...) has spread around the world. You may remember that I had the pleasure of crewing on one and it was apparent right away why the boat is so popular.


Laying in the shear plank.........





...Toasting the whiskey plank.........



 WoodenBoat has come out in support with their Boatbuilding and Rowing Challenge. There will be a North American Championship June 28-30, 2013 at the WoodenBoat Show, in Mystic, Connecticut.




...Laying up the keel..........


The  Scottish Coastal Rowing and World Skiff Championships on Loch Broom, Scotland will be held July 8th-14th, 2013 this summer.











Dont you think its time for your community to join the races? All good fun.










Peter Crim will be teaching a new class of boatbuilders this spring, on yet another St Ayles! If you want to get in on the action, please contact him at the Wind and Oar Boat School.









Rosies sister-ship. Isnt she beautiful?












For an excellent account of the St Ayles Skiff in open waters, we have a story of crossing the Firth of Forth, from Elsie Johnston.
Read More..

Teak Lady Che Hon splash




The beautiful little yacht that is Che Hon has hit the water this summer with a complete work-over. Its been two years since we had this fine diminutive vessel in the water and back then, she still had no rigging. She had been out of the water for twenty years and it was a milestone just to have her take-up and float.






At that time, her decks were in pretty poor condition - no rot, but they leaked so much we were concerned lest she sink over the winter. Well, now her decks are in much better condition, her broken mast has been repaired and she has been refinished from stem to stern.






Che Hon was donated to the Port of Toledo (Oregon) by Bob and Claire MacDonald of Spokane, Washington. Until recently, it has not been clear what a jewel she is. She has brand-new sails and all the standing rigging necessary, plus a lot of gear required for extensive use. (Thank you, Claire and Bob!)







Here we see her sitting proudly beside her sister ship, Ma Zu. (Che Hon has her mast painted light tan.) As you can see, the differences between the two are slight. The Teak Lady is a racing class, so all the boats are very similar. As a boatbuilder, I can see the boats are not identical - a slightly different stem shape, more camber in one deck over the other, so they are not twins, but you might need to either know them well, or see them side by side to tell the difference.









In a couple weeks, we will see them both under sail at the Toledo Wooden Boat Show. Then their characteristics will shine. Che Hon has a set of white sails and Ma Zu is rigged in tanbark. Having had a hand in the restoration of these wonderful little yachts, Im very excited to see them with their wings spread.













Kudos to the volunteers of the local Teak Lady Society for their commitment to bringing these two boats back to life and insuring they live for many more years! Thanks a lot, fellas, its been a pleasure working with all of you.













A local painting class uses Che Hon as a subject as she hangs in the sling, getting her sea-legs.












Nice likeness.









Doryman in his element, making beautiful boats even more lovely.







The last four photos courtesy of Curt Warner (volunteer extraordinaire). Thanks Curt!
Read More..

WANTED

You know how many marinas there are in the Sacramento Delta?  A lot, let me tell you.  And Ive called nearly every one in search of our elusive, inexpensive junked, but still floating, 20 foot-or-so pontoon boat.  A few leads which Im following up on.

Kai and I also hung a flier up in a few delta towns when we were up there. 

Surprisingly, we got a response within a few days from a guy named Chris in Walnut Grove.  "I live on a little harbor.  The woman who owns it is like 90 something and shes going crazy.  The marinas falling apart.  There a boat in the harbor, just sitting there for years, sounds like what you are looking for."  It took me a bit to understand Chris.  He seemed like a nice guy, a lot like the other folks we met in the area, lonely, talkative, staggeringly inarticulate.

"I dont know if its a pontoon boat, but its sinking on one side.  So its probably a pontoon boat, right?"  I had to think through this logic a little bit.  One of the reasons we are interested in a pontoon boat is that it is less likely to sink. 

"This boats got stuff in it.  A fridge, held up with a rope.  It got coats in there, like nice ones.  And other stuff."  I wondered that the locals had not already stripped this abandoned boat full of nice coats.

I asked Chris if he could send me a picture of this boat.  "You know, Im technology illiterate.  My phones got a camera, but I dont know know how to use the goddamned thing.  Technology, man, I just dont know it."

Chris went on, "To tell the truth, you dont want this boat.  Its sinking on one side.  But its just sitting here.  And frees a good price, right?  Am I right?  You know, who knows?  You could haul this thing out and do us a favor before it sinks."

As dubious as it sounds, well probably take a look at it next time we go up there.  If it hasnt already settled to the bottom of the Sacramento River.  As Chris says, who knows?
Read More..

Sail and Oar

First up is Myles Quicks Swampscott dory in Auckland New Zealand.
Miles has buildt a Swampscott dory, based on a design by Pete Culler, to enjoy the excellent sailing conditions in Auckland, which lies across a volcanic isthmus separating two harbours. Waitemata Harbour to the east opens on the Hauraki Gulf and the Pacific Ocean. Westward, Manukau Harbour opens to the Tasman Sea.
Miles recently launched his yet unnamed dory, in Waitemata Harbor, for a test sail.


From Miles:
 "Hi Michael,
"I have had a wonderful weekend of sailing, but still no pictures. The truth is that I don’t know how to take photographs when I am sailing alone - I am too busy trying to handle the ropes and tiller."

"The main thing is she sails very sweetly. I have only my current boat for comparison, and that is a Welsford Rogue but how different this boat is! She wallows not at all. I have become accustomed to sailing a snake-like path, with each gust of wind bringing the boat into wind, and me correcting with a great heave on the tiller. That doesn’t happen at all. She is incredibly good-natured and peaceful and just goes where she is pointed. You don’t even notice waves. The sea picked up a little bit on Sunday, but that just made it more enjoyable."

"My list of things I was testing:

1. Centreboard position and size (given that I moved both rear mast and centreboard back and changed the shape and size) seems perfect to me. There is never helm of any kind, and no leeway that I could notice.

2. Tippiness (sorry to use that word again) – none! This is a very stable and forgiving boat – perfect for what I want.

3. Size of rig – perfect for the conditions I experienced (10 knots)

4. Speed – nothing too exceptional, but very pleasing – similar to my current boat, but I think with room for improvement once I get the hang of things.

5. Windward ability – a bit disappointing – perhaps not as good as my current balanced lug. I think I am doing something wrong, because from what I have heard the sprit sail should be quite good. Maybe I am not flattening the sail enough (those ropes are quite heavy on the arm and hands!)

6. Going about – it takes a while, but seems pretty dependable.

7. Jibing – not a problem with the sprit sails, except getting caught up in ropes.

8. Raising and striking the rig at sea – no problem – I had to do this a couple of times because I went through a squally patch. Standing upright and walking about in a bit of sea was no problem at all. I just plucked the masts out, furled the sails and rowed 500m to shore. I am not sure a motor is necessary, because rowing is so easy, but I am sure I will be grateful for the motor-well some time or other.

9. Home-designed tip-up rudder (I copied Pete’s lines though) – this worked fine – after launching I tie a few knots to fix it in the down position. When I retrieve it I tie a knot to fix it in the up position - nothing fancy or complicated at all. The rudder can dismantle, but I leave it on the boat on the trailer.

10. Trailering – the completely flat bottom (with no fixed keel) works exceptionally well for retrieving from a rough sea. You just hitch and crank, and the boat very quickly gets centred by the bow guides (see picture below). There is no way for the paintwork/plywood to get damaged by a wave lifting and dropping the boat."

"All in all Pete Culler was spot on. This is a beautiful little beach-boat and quite different from the wonderful boats by Oughtred and Welsford, which tend to be wider and heavier with much more sail, but she does the job beautifully. For someone (like me) who wants the simplest, lightest, most canoe-like of rough-water boats I just can’t fault her."

"For the remainder of this beautiful New Zealand summer I will be trying to improve my skills, and also tweaking what I can to improve performance. At some stage I am sure I will figure out a way to get some pictures as well, and I will send them on with an update."






Thats Miles first mate, Izzy, getting in the way, as usual.















The winning combination of sails.
















The test run.



Great job, Miles! And they say dories dont sail well.......




As a bonus we have progress reports on two Ken Basset Firefly designs nearing completion. Our second feature is Bayard Storys double Firefly under construction in California. His boat is identical to my Finesse, so weve had an extended conversation on the quality of these boats for some time.







Im pleased to see Bayard making good progress. Keep up the good work, my friend!

More photos of the build can be found here.










Weve recently heard from Lorenz Rutz and it seems he is just a few coats of varnish and paint from launching his single rowing station Firefly in Connecticut. This boat is built in the tape and glue method, as light as is practical. Lorenz has done a very commendable job and a few readers have requested his advise on building the Firefly without traditional framing.










Nice job, Lorenz.
I expect well see these boats on the water soon.
Read More..

Kiwi Raid and Regatta 2016


Robbie Wightman sent us a "heads-up" about the upcoming Kiwi Raid in New Zealand.
The Raid starts January 29th 2016 at Sandspit and finishes fifteen days later in Auckland. Planned events are scheduled along the way, for sailors and rowers alike. There will be a two day St Ayles skiff regatta at Whangaparoa in the middle. Everyone is invited to join in.
This event is fully catered, so entrants get three meals a day. Accommodation is mostly camping, with good facilities.



This raid begins on the  Matakana River at Sandspit, NZ.
The Mahurangi River opens into Kawau Bay at Mahurangi with access to the destinations of Kawau Island and the Hauraki Gulf in the most popular cruising destination in New Zealand.
The raid ends in the busy Waitamata Harbor, Auckland, NZ

Raid New Zealand was formed to promote, support and facilitate small boat adventuring and raiding in New Zealand. This will be their first organized raid. There are six St Ayles skiffs entered, including two with sail rigs (please see previous post about outfitting a St Ayles Skiff with sail power.).




Thank you, Robbie for the update - Wishing you fair winds and fine weather for the first Kiwi Raid and Regatta!
Read More..

Sabtu, 30 Januari 2016

Installing the aft deck

I put the aft deck on. Thought you should know.


There were some awkward places in the aft section of the boat where the stringers didnt quite line up. One stringer dipped lower than the rest. So I had to add on little thin wedges of wood to the tops of the members. I am a madman with a circ saw and often do ridiculously fine cuts with this not-so-precise tool. Cut, epoxy, attack with the belt sander.


Voila! Youd never even know. Definitely not once the deck is on.


Putting the actual deck on was a breeze. You only get photos of the finished results, because what used to worry the hell out of me, mixing up epoxy, brushing both sides, mixing up a thicker batch, applying that to the structural members, and then applying stainless steel screws every six inches to the plywood is really no big deal these days.  I did it alone and it was done before I even had a chance to take any photos.


Notice the brilliant bow in the center of the deck? Thats part of the Glen-L design to allow water to run off.

I know I still have to get under there to bolt in the motor well (and the stern tie-downs), but my excitement got the better of me.


It totally paid off: Hazel and I have already sat on the back deck enjoying lunch and a well-deserved beer in the shade of the willows.



Things organized neatly.

Read More..

Angus Cruising Rowboat

Sailing to Desolation Sound is a great experience. The trip we took involved a full range of conditions and challenges. But the area has its limitations for a keel boat. We saw many kayaks, often lurking in the lee, watching for a weather opening.

Some coves and inlets were very deep - too deep for safe anchorage. Signs were evident that previous visitors had stern-tied to a rock or tree, since the cove might not have enough room to swing on the scope necessary for a single anchor.

Being avid rowers, we often discussed the possibility (probability?) of making a similar voyage in a rowboat designed for use at sea.


Back in Port Townsend, with Belle Starr at anchor (she makes a wonderful condo), I had the opportunity to assist (compulsive boatbuilder) Marty Loken, in the construction of the new Angus Cruising Rowboat, from Julie and Colin Angus. Plans for this boat were completed at the end of last year. A prototype was built for a client, who took off for places unknown and hasnt been heard from since...




So, Martys RowCruiser is the first boat of this design, made from a kit. He is working under a schedule, with the intention of having the boat ready to display at the upcoming Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, the first weekend in September.



Those who know me will not be surprised to learn that I have never built a boat from a kit. This was my first go. A neighbor of Martys had been by the day before to help stitch the planks and bulkheads together. Our task on the second day was to true-up the hull shape, taking out any twist or lack of symmetry. It was a pleasure to see how well the planks fit and how simple it was to see a truly beautiful design emerge. The boat is essentially a
canoe, with an efficient double-ended waterline.



For a burdensome 18.5 foot boat, this is going to be a fast, quick, rowing machine. The Angus Cruising Rowboat is designed for an owner-built sliding seat, though it would be easy and effective to simply use a fixed seat.

Marty has initiated a website for this design, which will feature his own experience building the Cruiser. There will be a workshop in February of 2015, for those interested in building this boat, with coaching from the Angus team. You can visit his new site at RowCruiser!




While working, Marty and I daydreamed about the potential of gunkholing with a flotilla of RowCruisers next summer. And there is a good chance for a Desolation Sound rowing voyage. The British Columbia Kayak Parks found on the Sunshine Coast are wonderful, but imagine being able to anchor in a remote cove, with not another soul and sleep comfortably aboard your own rowboat.



Angus RowCruiser:

Length:  18-8.5" (570 cm)
Beam:    46"        (117cm)
Waterline: 17-9" (541 cm)
WL Beam: 33.4" (85 cm)
Draft:         3.6"   (9.1 cm)
Weight:  148#      (67 kg)
Volume:147.6 cu ft (4.2 cu m.)


Read More..

Jumat, 29 Januari 2016

land locked

I have found the time to start posting on my blog. I will be writing about my boat designs, both power and sail, with all the background on each of them hopfully giving insight to the
process.My daughter lillian will be helping me with the photos as I dont have a clue yet as how its done.Right now ,Rachel my wife, lillian and I are living in St.Augustine fla. renting a small house on Salt Run here with the Hogfish Maximus tied out front on a friends dock.Lillian has two more yeras of High school to go so we are trying to give her a somewhat normal life to get her started into the machine of North American life.She is in the AICE program here doing a fine job but would rather be sailing in the West Indies instead,But she has to begin being part of the system so she can figure it out on her own terms.I feel excited for her and also sad as its a big complicated machine to find your way through and I am so glad that I have been fortunate enough to have made a life of being inside and out of the mainstream.It is always a shocker to come back to America with its stores full of 20 types of the same thing,having to buy a car first thing so as to be able to just get around,first , last , rent, rules, signs ,real crime,the media everywhere,oh to be back on the sea with only the anchorage to think of ,where the next job will take us and who will we meet today.Sorry Lilly,but you will have to figure out your own escape plan. As I have to help feed the machine that is called day to day life here in the real world with all its benefits ,rent, car insurance, gas,shop insurance,liability insurance for the shop rental owner,food costs more here because there is so much more to have , plus we have a huge fridge that seams to eat food , PHONES for each of us because we have to cordinate our busy lives now.we just cant say will meet you at the dihgny dock.And also we now each have our own computers because we each now have our own separate lives and time is such that we cant share.So I have taken on a boatbuilding job for a South African friend to finish building an Ian Farrier 32ax sailing trimaran in foam epoxy constuction.The boat was started by a gentelman by the name of Charley Brown in Washington state. He got as far as the bare hulls then had a heart attack and died.I am finishing the boat from there.Its a year long project and will be sailing this summer.We all all doing fine now and i will be trying to write something here as much as possible before I make my escape back to my real world.
Read More..

Design 1701 C1 Weekender


We have previously posted an article about the Rainbow Class, design #1701.  Here we have a modified version, called the Weekender and also classified as a MORC racer.  Heres the brochure.


Aside from the addition of the fairly rudimentary "cruising" interior, the modification was fairly simple and included a blister on the coach roof as can be seen in the excerpt from the construction plan, and a heavier keel.


The boats were produced by Tidewater Boats of Annapolis, Maryland.  We can see that the base price of a Rainbow in 64 was $2,695 and the Weekender model was $3,395, a $700 option.

 Principal Dimensions
LOA 24-2"
LWL 17-3"
Beam 6-3"
Draft 3-6"
Displacement 2,060 lbs
Ballast 1,120 lbs
Sail Area 218 sq ft
Read More..

Key West to the Dry Tortugas in a Marsh Cat

Two of Dorymans friends from Maryland completed a trip from Key West to the Dry Tortugas at the end of 2012. This is the second time Mike Wick and Kevin MacDonald have made this voyage, so theyre seasoned. The impressive thing is how they did it in a fifteen foot Marshcat catboat! The Dry Tortugas are seventy miles West of Key West, Florida.

Mike Wick tells the story of himself and Kevin in Little T :

Second trip to the Tortugas with a stop at Fort Jefferson
By Mike Wick

I drove to Kevin’s house on Friday night so we could make an early start the next morning. We left Frederick, Md., at 5:00 am Saturday December 8, to beat the traffic around Washington D.C. We drove south 1,240 miles pretty much non-stop and arrived at Oceangate Marina at 2:00 am Saturday and grabbed some sleep in the boat. After waking we settled with the marina and had a quick breakfast. The television told us that the weather window was good for another go, so, before 9:00 am Sunday, we launched and were off. The harbormaster was a little skeptical about the passage but when we told him about the February trip, he just shrugged and said "Timing is everything". He’s right. We were under pressure of time this vacation and had planned for a figure-eight loop around the lower keys, but, really, both of us were primed to go do the Dry Tortugas passage again. As long as we had the weather we really wanted to repeat our February passage.

In a light breeze from the northeast, we rounded Key West and were swept down on Kingfish Shoal by a strong south going current. We just barely missed the shoals around Cut "A" range markers. By reading the water we worked north enough to fetch the gate south of Mule Key that begins the Lakes Passage. There’s a lot of shallow water on Lakes Passage. It is fairly uniform in depth except for Gates off Mule Key, Archer Key, and Boca Grande. The channels are well marked and easy to see. There was quite a crowd at the protected beach on the northwest corner of Boca Grande Key. Most were high speed flats fishing boats nosed up on the beach.
We entered Boca Grande Channel in a light easterly with deceptive visibility. We approached Gull Rocks and were within a mile and a quarter of the Marquesas without seeing any sign of them although they are quite large and high. Then the fog lifted and there was land everywhere to the north of us. There are random brain coral bricks about a half-mile off the Marquesas, so it is good to keep a sharp lookout and maintain some offing. There is a grand archipelago of mangrove islands surrounding a large well protected Mooney Harbor. We were warned about mosquitoes but there is no fresh water, so no bugs. In fact, in two trips we’ve found no bugs anywhere.
It is tempting to anchor inside Mooney Harbor but we were anxious about the second leg, so we anchored outside just to the west. This provided good protection from the usual easterly winds. Key West is far enough south so the tradewinds are well established. The winds vary from northeast to southeast most of the time. We ate quickly and turned in. Kevin said "Whoever wakes first wakes the other. "

It was a beautiful night with great stars. Monday morning I woke first at 2:30 am and then woke Kevin. We had anchored a little too close to land and at low tide had some trouble with grounding on our way out. A nine mile flasher on Cosgrove Shoal guided us to the deeper water and we were on our way in a light easterly. I was steering by Orion to keep us south of the Quicksand but a strong set to the north brought us back on the shallow bank. At one point, I heard the tide rushing over a shoal spot but our catboat had plenty of water everywhere on that bank.

The problem was that the Quicksand is a bombing and strafing range for the Navy boys at Pensacola. There are unlit, rusty targets at random places throughout. In February, we had found some in the dark and again, just at dawn, I saw unlit and twisted pilings close onboard to starboard. Sunrise is always is a comfort, after an early start.

It was a beautiful day for the big push. Wind was from the southeast and mild. Rebecca Shoal was abeam at 9:30 am. We were more than halfway to our destination. At 11 am we sighted Yankee Freedom III, the daily ferry from Key West, passing to the north of us.

We had both my Garmin 76 Cx and Kevin’s more basic GPS. Either set had plenty of information for this kind of trip. We just kept adjusting for tide and observed the set on passing crab pots and the plot on the little screen. By 12:30 pm we had made landfall on Fort Jefferson, the lighthouse on Loggerhead Key, then east and Hospital Keys. By 1:30 pm we anchored off the dinghy beach in the Garden Key anchorage.

Being a bit tired of our own cooking we rushed for our wallets and waded ashore to buy our lunch from the ferry. We had experienced a fifty mile passage at 4.8 knots. We were glad to have left early and were halfway on our journey.

In the afternoon, we wandered around in the cool shade of the fort, talking to tourists, the rangers, and stretching our legs. One ranger remembered us from our February visit and was interested in general about small boat passages. We then waded back aboard and anchored for a night of wonderful star gazing at the anchorage. Jupiter was close to the Pleiades.

On these trips we always seem to be able to sleep from dusk to dawn, even if it is more than twelve hours. We woke in the morning to find a lovely reaching wind. Feeling the pressure of time we turned to each other and said, "YEP". By 8:00 am we were on our way again. When you are on top of the mountain you shouldn’t turn down a gift from the gods.
It turned out not to be quite the gift we hoped for though. A beautiful broad reach near hull speed brought us most of the way to Rebecca Shoal. The breeze fizzled and leaving us becalmed near Halfmoon Shoal in the late afternoon. We tried our best but knew we had to use the outboard and adjust course north in order to come in on the Marquesas from the north.


That was the best nighttime approach and we aimed to snug in for the night on the northwest corner of the Islands. It was well after dark when we sighted the one second flasher on the tower between New Ground and the flasher on Ellis Rock. We would use this as a turning mark for our approach. We were anxious to anchor for the night with lightning all around us but we had to make a careful approach to avoid various obstructions that were on the chart, such as submerged platform ruins and a mile wide circle of pilings. We got closer to the flasher on Ellis Rock but it wouldn’t appear.

We were within a quarter mile of our waypoint and still couldn’t see the light, so we decided that it was time to believe either that the buoy had been struck or the light had failed. I couldn’t see to steer, (I am scheduled for cataract surgery in a month), and so I held the flashlight and had Kevin steer first east along a latitude line then south along a longitude line to clear all the charted obstructions. Even with this precaution, I still sighted two large rusty pylons close to port, though Kevin couldn’t find them with his light. Still, I knew they were there and they made me anxious. I got my training as navigator of a deep draft navy freighter and this one foot draft catboat was a different kind of piloting altogether.

We were at anchor and in our sleeping bags well into the night, when I asked Kevin what the time was. His reply was" nine thirty." It didn’t seem like nine thirty. Next morning, Wednesday, I woke with the calm of dawn and after looking around called Kevin. No pylons, no pilings, no flasher but a beautiful double rainbow to the west. No rain but high humidity. My obstructions had disappeared with the night but Kevin forgave my anxiety. The strenuous part of our trip was over.

We caught a whisper of a southeasterly breeze through an intricate channel into Mooney Harbor. We sailed as far as we could around the harbor, a chance to breathe now that we are down off the mountain. Once we had found all the parts of that sector that we could float in, we went outside and found a nice beach to swim and explore off the boat for a bit. In the interim, the wind had picked up rapidly and we used the chance to tuck in a single reef on the beach. A fast crab across Boca Grande Channel brought us in a little north of Boca Grande.

We found the lakes passage a little too shallow for upwind work with any centerboard, so we ran off to the north and searched for an anchorage. First we tried Cottrell Key, off the Northwest Channel leading into Key West, but there were dive boats and mooring balls. So we figured they didn’t want any catboats interfering with their diving. We crossed the middle ground and found a nice little anchorage just off Fleming Key.

We had company but nowhere as much company as you would find there in February when the snowbirds had had more time to really flock south. The insurance companies insist they have to stay north of Norfolk until the first of November to keep them away from hurricanes. After Sandy it seems as if that wasn’t the right plan this year. There is something to be said for having boats that can easily be trailered instead.

Thursday brought a calm morning for inspecting the fleet in Frankfort Bight, and a run to the truck for some changes of food and clothing. Then we took advantage of the brisk norther to run east along the weather shore of Stock Island, Boca Chica, Geiger Key and into Saddlebunch Harbor. The wind was quite stiff and Saddlebunch offered little protection from a north wind but we finally found a good lee up next to the Route 1 Bridge tucked under Snake Key. There was traffic noise but no waves. We slept fine.

Friday was overcast and windy; a typical norther, so we made a fast passage back to Oceangate Marina and headed for home. 210 miles in six days.

Photos courtesy of Mike and Kevin. Thanks, fellas!
Read More..