Weather and Water Influence our Travel

Wednesday, May 21st

The clouds in the Keys are always interesting,
and the mooring field shows signs of becoming less crowded.

We've done it –left Marathon, that is. We had planned to leave on Monday of this week, but the wind was still blowing with small craft advisories. By today, Wednesday, the winds had settled a bit so we ventured forth. Our plans were to travel on the Florida Bay side of the Keys for a day or so, perhaps traveling to Islamorada before crossing over to Hawk Channel on the ocean side for the rest of the trip north. Then again, we may slip into Biscayne Bay for a day. We aren't sticking to any specific plans, but rather taking each day as it comes. Tonight we'll stay at Cocoanut Key, an anchorage we've been to several times this season. Then tomorrow we'll travel toward Islamorada on the Bay side. Where we end up tomorrow will depend on how much the wind dies and how shallow the channel turns out to be. We draw 5.5 feet and must be careful in the Bay where what's considered deep water is only about 8 feet.

The delay of a couple of days was difficult. It seems that once we set a time in our minds for leaving, we have a hard time moving away from that date. We've learned over time, however, that it doesn't pay to ignore the weather. A standard rule for cruisers is that one should make plans with lots of wiggle room. The weather can prevent travel for several days in some cases. Ignoring the weather can put a boater in an unpleasant or even dangerous position from which it is difficult or impossible to correct once committed.

Saturday, May 24^{th AM}

As I sit here enjoying my first cup of coffee, I can look out on Key Largo and Rodriguez Key. The last two days have gone pretty well even if the results weren't quite what we'd planned initially. We left Cocoanut Key and traveled up Florida Bay past Marathon toward Islamorada as we'd planned. The travel went smoothly with no area that was too shallow for us until we got to Bowlegs Cut. To get to our planned anchorage, we had to pass through this cut and Steamboat Channel. Both of these were shallow. Although we'd made it through in the past,we weren't as confident this time, since the wind had been blowing for days. We've been told that NE winds can blow the water out of the Bay. So I called Towboat US for a little local knowledge and was encouraged not to attempt it. We changed plans and moved over to a nearby anchorage we'd used before and spent the night there.

The wind continued to die down as predicted (what a surprise!), so our travel yesterday was quite pleasant.

Fish at the reef are curious.

The water along the upper Keys is really quite clear in Hawk Channel this time of year. We could easily watch the bottom go by in 18-20 feet of water. Given the light wind and clear water, we opted for a quick stop at Hen and Chickens, a snorkeling spot with mooring balls available. We didn't stay too long, but while we were there, we saw lots of fish and a variety of coral. In fact, as we were about to get in the water, we noticed two good sized barracuda lurking, so Sandra was a bit hesitant, since she had also seen three others by the mooring ball as we approached. But as soon as I got in, they left. The water was as clear and aqua colored as we'd ever seen it at Sombrero Reef. The fish were plentiful as the photo suggests and the coral was varied and also interesting.  The purple sea fans were especially pretty here. This just gets me thinking about the even clearer waters of the Bahamas we'll be heading into in less than a month.

Enjoying clear water at Rodreguiz Key

Because we never got quite as far as originally planned on the Bay side, we're a little ahead of schedule now. We wish to avoid the greater Miami area during Memorial Day Weekend, so we'll cool our jets here for a day before moving on. Then we'll either head up to Key Biscayne via Angelfish Creek or up to Key Biscayne and No Name Harbor. We've been through Angelfish Creek before. (This takes us from Hawk Channel – the ocean side – to Card Sound which then leads into Biscayne Bay.) It too is a bit shallow. We've got to make the transit near high tide, and we're not sure about the impact of the recent wind. I'll probably call Towboat US again for a little reassurance. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the sunny weather with 83 degrees and great swimming and relaxing here near Key Largo. It's a tough life...and all that sort of stuff.

Carpe Diem

Captain Bob