2-18-16 We knew we had to leave Dinner Key mooring field today because neither Karen or I wanted to spend another day unable to leave Mango due to high seas and high winds. I think I stated earlier that the mooring field is very open and any constant wind will create quite a rough condition. We spoke with people from the mooring field that had waves coming over their bows during the conditions last Monday. We never had the waves breaking over the bow but the action in Mango’s front bed was definitely exciting, unfortunately not in a fun way.
We left today because the winds are forecasted to be out of the ENE for the next two days at 18 to 23 knots. We initially decided to sail 5 miles South to “No Name Harbor” but once on our way we changed coarse for “Boca Chita Harbor” which is a Florida State Park. The decision was a great one for a couple of reasons. 1) We were able to fly the spinnaker and move along at up to 7.2 knots, passing a catamaran. 2) Boca Chita is very protected and we can tie off to a seawall and move on and off Mango without the need for the dinghy. As I said we moved South quickly in sunny skies that shined in the water making the sea floor visible adding to our enjoyment. We doused the spinnaker just in time as the wind started building. With the autopilot working flawlessly Karen was able to assist me up on deck to drop the sail. It was excellent. We turned into our cut and pulled out the jib to make it the mile or so to the entrance channel markers, we once again were up over 6 knots jib alone. We then motored into the basin with crew of Soul Serenade and other cruisers there to catch our lines. My first take on this Key with its waving Palm trees was pure paradise. I hope the pictures can shed a fraction of how nice it is here. This key was once owned by the Honeywell’s and was developed around 1935. Only a few buildings still remain, basically all the buildings that were made of coral and concrete remain. Honeywell decided for some reason to build the house out of wood and it was destroyed by fire, probably not union fireman.
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| Another great day under spinnaker. |
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| Go Fast boats zipping by all day long. The sound is incredible. |
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| Karen made sure we ate well. |
The sun was getting low in the sky and the harbor hosts arrived and opened to old lighthouse for us to climb and view the sunset. We know the hosts from our travels last year, they are Roe and Gus on Summerland. During our lighthouse tour I met Alex and some of his Yacht Club friends who invited us to a cookout across the basin on Saturday, looking forward to it. Alex wants to introduce to some other boaters and have us tell our story of how we came to just sell everything and take off, should be cool. As the evening wore on the winds continued to build and they were almost always over 20 knots, glad not to be in Dinner Key.
2-19-16 I had a difficult time sleeping last night for some reason, Karen was out for the count. She did not even hear me get off Mango to look at the moon and stars. The nights surroundings had a grey hue due to the brightness of the moon. Shadows of the palms were streaking across the key and the wind whistled through rigging of the nearby sailboats.
Morning came with a start as Karen woke me up saying she was worried about how close a boat was getting to Mango as it tried to dock in between us and another sailboat. It was close but the young guys had a remote control for his boat and could move the bow and stern as needed while being out on his deck. It was very cool and he needed it badly because he was solo on the boat and the wind was still blowing 20 to 25. There was no going back to sleep afterwards and shortly thereafter I ate breakfast and tried my luck at fishing. No luck but did lose a setup due to snags. I will hopefully be fishing more tomorrow. Meanwhile the anchorage is filling up with boats and yachts. Our once quiet peaceful piece of paradise is turning into the aquatic version of American Graffiti. So far they are all nice people but I wondering if there’s an occupancy limit to the little island.
I made Turkish Lentil soup for lunch and it turned out great, Karen concurred. We made a comment that our most used pan/pot was the pressure cooker Steve and Sharon Lind gave us before we left Kenosha. I’ll soon be the “King” of the pressure cooker chef’s with a cartful of recipes in my bag. Not to be outdone Karen made her famous pizza tonight as we watched the sun go down and the basin continue to fill in. I’ll take pictures in the morning for the before and after.
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| Sunset over Mango's dodger. |
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| Truly seemed like paradise. |
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| View from the top of the lighthouse. |
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| View of the basin before the weekend rush. |
2-20-16 We woke to the sounds of palm fronds rustling and an occasional voice from fellow boaters and the Cubans from Miami that had come for the weekend. The little island is still beautiful but it continued to fill up with more and more boats throughout the day. During the afternoon the federal DNR came to our little piece of paradise and cracked down on some of the illegal activities such as; boats being rafted 4 deep (2 is the max allowed), dogs on the island (no dogs allowed). Everyone knows the rules but try to get away with what they can. The feds were also there to collect the money from the boaters and campers. The visitors to our island all seemed nice but it doesn’t seem that anyone can camp or boat without a little Honda 2000 generator, thank god they are quiet generators.
Evening came and we loaded aboard Soul Serenade for snacks and drinks with several other boaters. We discussed where we’re all heading and shared ideas on where we’ve been. It was a grand night but I ran out of Fireball. I’ll need to purchase another handle when we arrive in Marathon. The moon was almost full so after all the partying had settled down and the lights were off the place was awash in gray shadows of palms trees swaying the in the breeze. I woke up at 4 in the morning to what seemed a blinding light. I sat and looked out the port to see the moon directly over the lighthouse. It would have made a great picture had I had the energy to try and capture it.
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| Viewing the startup of the weekend. |
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| Passing a Cat, they must not of had any good downwind sails. |
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| Another view from the top of the lighthouse. |
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| Beautiful Sunset |
2-21-16 This morning we left the basin bound for Tarpin Basin in Key Largo. We’re taking an inside route down the ICW due to more anchorages to spend the night in East winds. Karen and I talked about it and wanted to take our time rather than hop outside on the Atlantic and sail an overnighter. So far it seems like a good idea. Some of the water has been a bit skinny but we’ve always had at least 1 foot under our keel. We sailed much of the way and what
we didn’t sail we motor sailed.
During our trip today we were treated to what I described as a “Go Fast” boat race. Race boat after boat flew passed us all day heading north as we’re heading south. Some of these boats came so close to Mango in the narrow channels we actually got sprayed by their rooster tails. I have to admit it I think it would be kinda cool to take a ride in one someday. I’ve aways wondered if they’re as loud onboard as they are from where I’m sitting. Karen says that’ll be her next boat. HA!
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Park hosts were unsure how long these have been sitting here.
They stated it had been quite some time. |
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Left over rafts from Cubans landing on the island. Shows the level of
desperation wanting to get to the good old USA. |
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