Tortuga Tour Day 29: End of Leg 2 and start of Leg 3; and new crew
Destination today is Stock Island and the Stock Island Yacht Club Marina for three nights. Stock Island is next to Key West and closer to the Key West Airport.
We rose before dawn to get ahead of the worst of the wind and waves (see above picture). We didn’t have too far to go, and it would all be in Hawk Channel and not in the Gulf.
We made the right decision. The wind actually helped us, and even though the waves were probably two to three feet, they did not hit us in a direction that could cause us to rock side to side which is less comfortable. We arrived in the marina ahead of schedule and were directed to a slip that has proved to be very comfortable. Once we were secured and hooked up to power we checked in at the office and learned what was available. The woman in the office gave us two passes which would allow us into the club house with a fitness room, showers, a pool, private beach and free laundry (very rare). We walked around and checked everything out. The laundry was a walk but probably quicker than using our small machine on board. We had accumulated enough laundry for at least three loads.
After lunch the Captain’s job was to wash the boat. The Admiral’s job was to wash sheets, towels, and the most needed clothing. I loaded up a cart with dirty laundry, detergent, water to drink, and a good book to read. The walk was probably ½ mile or more. I needed to walk after five days of not being on land, but I wasn’t up for multiple trips back and forth. I put the first load in and settled at a picnic table to read. By now the wind had really picked up speed and was blowing directly off the water. The book I am reading is holding my attention so strongly, I managed to keep the pages from blowing out of the book or tearing so I could continue reading. The laundry, much to my dismay, took longer than I anticipated. The wind never abated, so reading became more challenging, and Adriane was arriving soon. After about two hours, I gave up. I had washed laundry, but It wasn’t all dry, and I could dry the rest on the boat. Adriane had now arrived. The Captain had washed as much of Betty Lou as possible with the windy conditions, so we declared victory. It was so wonderful to see Adriane and she was so excited to finally be on board – her first real outing in over a year!
The Captain and Admiral still had not taken showers so after a quick tour of the boat and some brief catching up, he and I packed up shower bags. Adriane went with us so she could check out the facilities and amenities.
We visited more during a simple dinner, with wine, and talked briefly about tomorrow’s plans. The Captain then cleaned up the galley. The Admiral put away the clean laundry and made up our bed. Adriane did some calling she needed to do. We ended the evening on the flybridge, relaxed, and turned in – another fine day with safe travel all around!
Captain’s Comments:
I think we set a new Betty Lou record: 5 full days on the boat without setting foot on dry land (we did, however, touch the bottom of the harbor while we were swimming).
This morning before sunrise, I raised our antennae back up, took down our anchor ball, did all the appropriate checks, and started up the engine. The anchor came up with no mud, but some seaweed. Used some of our remaining water to wash it down [we ordered Betty Lou with freshwater washdown instead of the standard seawater anchor wash to avoid some of the anchor locker smell and corrosion; we can always dip seawater with a bucket and rope to rinse the anchor if we’re running low on fresh water].
Going from Newfound Harbor to Stock Island with the wind and waves behind us was a smooth, quick ride. We’re staying at the Stock Island Yacht Club. Despite the fancy name, a nice pool and other amenities, it is showing need for maintenance in a number of areas that should have been fixed long ago, such as broken dock boards, broken piling cleats and cracks in the paving. The dock hands were friendly but didn’t know how (or bother) to tie a cleat hitch and didn’t have/use radios to communicate with incoming vessels. Michelle, the harbor master at our home port, would have been appalled. The Admiral mentioned close to the (Key West) airport, but we are actually in between the Key West airport and the Naval Air Station on Boca Chica Key; so much for peace and quiet. But with the wind, it’s good to be in a well-protected marina basin. The air conditioning and showers with lots of water are nice, too.
Interestingly, the boats on either side of us serve as air B and B accommodations. The boats never leave the dock. Spoke with the man who operates one of them; he has 7 right now—before COVID he had more. Makes enough to live on the Kadey Krogan docked across the fairway from us. Provided some tips on the Dry Tortugas.
Glad to have Adriane safely aboard. Looking forward to our time together.
Today marks the official start of Leg 3 of our Tortugas Chase. As I’ve said before, when boating, flexibility is key, and weather always wins. Over the next couple of days as we wait for the wind to abate, we’ll assess if we still want to head west for the Dry Tortugas—we’ll let you know. In any event, even though the Admiral has labeled this day 20, we are starting our fifth week away from our home port. Now I need to go check out that pool…
Peace fks
