It’s been almost two weeks since we left Fort Lauderdale. I can say we’re back in the swing of things. Back into cruising mode. A mode that can be tedious but one that also has many rewards. I often quickly forget how this vessel is a floating city; There’s water systems to attend to. The electrical grid needs constant monitoring. Sails. Engines. And yeah, sewage. All are a constant juggle. The reward? Finding picturesque anchorages while stern tied to mangroves. Paddle boarding. Adventure. A floating home and office that we move daily to find new sunsets, new places and adventure.
We haven’t had the best of weather these last weeks. Lots of clouds. Lots of rain. Squalls. We’re constantly tuned into the weather. Constantly hunting for the next protected anchorage. Waiting for the next front to roll over us. One recent night we were expecting 20-30 knots. That quickly turned into 40 knots at first light when a massive squall line rolled over us. For the first time ever, our anchor dragged. We faired fine in the end. Ashley and I took to our battle stations and fought. But hey, this ain’t some disney cruise. We sleep with one ear open at all times.
We’re now bobbing on a mooring ball in Key West. We have the Special Forces training base directly behind us. Yesterday they jumped out of airplanes. We have Duvall St and all of it’s bars. We have beautiful Key West streets to explore on our folding bikes. We’ll be here for several more days before we point our bow back north to Fort Liqourdale bound.
Day sails typically consist of Ashley cleaning and tending to her nails. I typically work.
We sailed into Key West completely oblivious to the fact it was “Key West Race Week”. Don’t get me wrong, the Admiral (Ashley) is always racing. Trimming the sails. Demanding sail changes of the crew. But this time, we could easily have been mistaken for a race boat with our Parasailor up and charging downwind doing a respectable 8 knots under sail.
