Tortugas Tour Day 23: New friends
We took our time getting up this morning. The plan is to stay two nights in Key West. This would allow us a day to scope out places to visit when Adriane joins us on May 18 and make necessary preparations for the trip to the Dry Tortugas. Betty Lou was encrusted once again with sea salt and needed a complete wash this time. We also needed to fill our water tank and six, 7-gallon water cans in preparation for anchoring several days in the Dry Tortugas. Pump out would be tomorrow just before leaving.
We made arrangements last night with the folks in the Camano “No Reel Hurry”, to come over today and see Betty Lou. Captain Fred agreed to clean outside, and the Admiral would spruce up inside. By the time all of this was accomplished we were ready for a shower! We do have a nice shower on board, but most marinas who can accommodate transients (boaters who are traveling), also have showers. This meant we didn’t have to use the limited water on the boat. When we were traveling on our much smaller Betty Lou, we always rated a marina by the showers. We have experienced 0 (rather take a cockpit shower) to 10 (luxury). The showers in this marina were newer and probably an 8+. We packed shower bags and enjoyed the spaciousness and privacy of the marina facility.
On our walk back to Betty Lou we met the two women from the Camano, Mary, and Tia. We had spoken with them and Drew (Tia’s husband) last night for about 45 minutes. Our first Betty Lou was a Camano, so we had much to share. Mary and Tia were now headed up to take showers. They invited us to join them for dinner at one of the many restaurants right by the water. Since we had already planned to eat out, we accepted.
In our years of boating and staying in marinas, we have discovered that most boaters love to get together and share boating adventures. We look forward to these encounters either when we arrive in a new marina, or others come into our homeport. You may never again share time with these same folks, but for this moment in time, you become fast friends and feel a connection. We usually exchange boat cards (contact information with the boat’s name and often a picture of your boat). Getting to know the permanent folks in your homeport is a different experience. We become a community or neighborhood, and often there is one night a week or month when everyone gets together either for cocktails, dinner, or both (potluck). In Safe Harbor Port Royal, our homeport, the evening is called “Thirsty Thursdays”.
Betty Lou showered, boaters showered, preparations complete, it was time for the grand tour. Generally, with these tours, the captains (more men than women) want to see the engine space, the navigation system and all the connected machinery. The first mates (admirals) want to see the galley, storage space, décor, how everything is arranged and is there a washer/dryer. They were all properly impressed.
The captains would have continued for much longer, but as it got later and later, some of us were getting hungry. The restaurant we had all chosen was packed with a long wait time. It was almost 8:00pm, so we moved on – no shortage of choices. We found one with inside open-air seating and several empty tables. We all know that the crowded restaurants generally have the best food. However, we were hungry, and this admiral was happy with no crowd. The menu offered a menu with entrees that matched everyone’s tastes. We were not disappointed.
We followed dinner with a walk, and of course the Captain had his sights set on ice cream. When you are taking a voyage with Captain Fred, it’s important when you arrive at a marina to first make sure your lines and fenders are secure based on conditions. Hook up the electricity, check out the showers, get the Wi-Fi passcode, and learn where the best place to get ice cream is!
There are several in Key West and we settled on Haagen Das – yum! After walking some more, Fred and I were ready to get back to Betty Lou. Our new friends continued to an Irish Pub. It had been a marvelous evening! We expressed our appreciation before parting.
Throughout the day, Captain Fred was checking the weather forecast. We checked one more time and made the decision to postpone our voyage to the Dry Tortugas. There is always disappointment in such a decision, but boaters are aware of how critical a forecast is in planning. The forecast for tomorrow was perfect for getting to the Dry Tortugas but returning would be most unpleasant and risky. Forecast for the return date was 20 knot winds and seas 4 to 8 feet with occasional even higher. We knew ahead of time that this might happen so the Captain purposely built-in options. The new plan is to anchor in a protected area and do some exploring with the dinghy.
Captain’s Comments:
We didn’t take on fuel in Key West—it’s not as expensive as you might think, but much worse than when we last purchased fuel. We’ve used about ¼ of our fuel since we filled up on the east coast on the St. Lucie River (day 9). We’ll buy fuel—at most—one more time on this trip. Betty Lou trims slightly to starboard with all tanks filled, so I use the starboard tank first, then alternate as needed to maintain trim. Adding 42 supplemental gallons of water in portable containers in the lazarette, mostly on the starboard side, also made a noticeable difference which we’ll adjust for as well.
