by Terri Robbins
I was totally amazed at the vast number of boats in Boot Key Harbor!
It was difficult to find an anchoring spot! Whenever a "new"
vessel came into the Harbor people began "posturing".
Funny to watch this. "Posturing" is the term used
for boaters who scramble on the bow of their boat, watching new
boats entering an anchorage seeking a place to set their "hooks",,,
eyeballing the "newcomer" and, with unmistakable
body language, saying, "I was here first! I'm watching you!
Don't even THINK about anchoring too close to me!". I've
seen many a dispute over this! I've mentioned before, there is
a very strict anchoring rule…. The one who sets his hooks
first has the domain! In a crowded anchorage, however, tempers
flare, and diplomacy is a real asset! Fortunately "Patience"
has yet to have an unpleasant encounter with any other vessel,
but,,, (yes, I'm BAD here),,, have derived much entertainment
from watching OTHERS!!! Even our first night in Marsh Harbour,
during that bad blow when we came down on poor ole' Bill from
"Sarawak", Bill was very understanding,,, knew the situation
was not in our control,,, and even helped us untangle and reset
our hooks, and afterwards even dinghied over and gave us the low-down
on the harbor. So, see what I mean about diplomacy? It takes
so little to be nice, but, believe me, there are some real hard-noses
out there (I had a more descriptive word, but won't use it in
this context!!!) that think nothing of ruining your day! We learned
a lot from that experience.
Boot Key Harbor was bustling with vessels waiting to do the exact
journey we were planning. We ended up befriending many, many
boats in that anchorage,,, and are still friends with most today
(and probably will remain friends for life!)! With our new dinghy
and motor I was MOBILE! Loved the freedom this afforded me! Daily
I would hop in the dinghy, start the motor, and cruise around the
big harbor. I was proud I knew all the low-tide shallow spots
and would have to negotiate the time-of-day as to where I would
venture next,,, stopping from time-to-time to visit with neighboring
vessels, or drop off goodies from my galley in their cockpit if
they were not home (and, it wasn't unusual for me to come home
to "Patience" and find a hot loaf of fresh-baked bread,,,
or home-made soup,,, or (my favorite) a bottle of beer awaiting
me in my cockpit as well!).
There were lots of "pot-lucks" at the local marinas.
"Pat and Kelly's" marina had a large warehouse-type
area with couches, TV, stereo, VCR, and dining tables (not to
mention several friendly "dock dogs", lazy cats, two
large Macaws, a totally tame raccoon, and large caged Python (or
some sort of large reptile!). Nice "home away from home"
hangout (although, I could do without the reptile!). I'd go there
to do my laundry, and that was always an experience! Such a seemingly
mundane task on land becomes an exciting adventure when you're
on a boat! EVERYONE has to eventually end up at the laundry mat,
and the cast of characters is amazing!
On Saturday afternoons "Pat and Kelly's" usually had
some reason for a get-together (not hard to do if you use your
imagination) and everyone would gather for a pot-luck. Another
establishment, "DockSide" had bands play several nights
a week, and both establishments had showers, so, always something
to do or someplace to go. We spent six seemingly short weeks
in this harbor without even realizing it! I did, however, begin
to feel "stuck", as I did in Marsh Harbour. It was
easy to lose focus of the purpose of this journey!
There was a "church boat" in the harbor named "Angel".
This ship had to be seen to be believed! She was a 110 foot
brigantine (double-masted with one square rig) ship, built in late 1800s. Her hull
was made of solid, thick wood which came
from trees GROWN over a 20-year span specifically for the sole purpose
of building her, and were bent in the growing process!
If you went to Sunday Service, afterwards, during the
pot-luck always laid out in her galley, they would give you a tour of the ship.
Absolutely fascinating! "Patience" was anchored nearby,
and we were able to hear and observe most services. We even watched
one wedding, and several Baptisms! The Baptisms were carried
out by, pretty much, making the receiver "walk the plank".
Nice in theory,,, but there's NO WAY you'd get me to jump in
the crowded harbor's drink! I won't "elaborate" here,
but I think if you use your imagination you'll get the picture!
One beautiful day Cap'n Dave and I climbed into the dinghy and
decided to head to "town". This is another harbor which
offered all the amenities a sailor could ask for! K-Mart was the
favorite "hang-out" and re-provisioning spot, "Stuffed
Pig" was the local's restaurant (offering a $1.99 breakfast
that couldn't be beat), supermarkets, banking, restaurants, pool
hall, post office, hardware and marine supplies, bookstore, barber
shop, hospital, pet store (for Bart's food!). You name it, it's there!
Anyway, just as we were pulling away from "Patience"
we saw this tanned, long-haired blonde guy rowing up to us. We waved
and said "hello", and he responded with, "Wait!
I just rowed all the way across this harbor to see you! You
may not remember me, but,,,", and, it was at that moment
I knew EXACTLY who he was! Recognized his voice before anything
else! He was our old friend and sailing buddy Rick, from "High
Cotton", who was a member of our "fleet" in the
Abacos on our previous trip! He had just sailed in from Ft. Myers,
Florida, and, believe it or not, had run into our old buddies
"Kim and Kay" from "Blue Whale" by accident
the week before, and he had told them his plans to head for the
Exumas. Well, Kim and Kay, in turn, told him they'd just left
us in Beaufort, NC, and that he should keep an eye out for us
on the way! Small, small world (and it keeps gettin' smaller
every day!). So, apparently with this in mind, he scoured the
harbor with his binos and noticed "Patience's" bimini.
She has a rather unusual bimini, and he, after all these years,
remembered it, and convinced himself that it was, indeed, "Patience"!
Needless to say, Rick (on his "new" 32' Pearson sloop,
lovingly named "Maggie") became our steadfast friend
and sailing companion throughout this incredible, unpredictable,
and most exciting journey of our lives! Why, oh why, is life
so GOOD on a boat! (and,, people so amazing!)
We were so excited to see Rick that we tied our two dinghies together and simply floated all the way across the harbor, talking and reminiscing. He was a single-handed sailor, and his first boat he took to the Bahamas, "High Cotton" was a tiny 21' Ericson, which, if I'm not mistaken, he'd sailed all the way from the Chesapeke Bay area. He had since captained a boat down in South America, and saved enough money in the process to purchase "Maggie", his obvious love! He was proud of her, and invited us on-board for a "warm beer" (not exactly my favorite refreshment, but it tasted good simply being with the good company!) and proudly showed us around her. I have since seen him in his dinghy going around her teak trim with oil, and would always say he was giving the old gal a "drink".
Rick made friends with another couple, "Chris and Lizzie"
from a 1928 Alden Yawl named "WaveDancer". Very classic boat! The following day
Cap'n Dave and I dinghied over to "Pat and Kelly's"
marina, and met Rick, Chris and Lizzie at the dinghy dock. Chris
was a young buck, ready to slay many dragons. He was brought
up around sailboats, and helped his father circumnavigate on at
least one occasion (but if I'm not mistaken, more than once!).
Lizzie was his beautiful, petite, German girlfriend and first
mate. She was shy and nervous about her English, and apparently
didn't make friends quickly due to this. Well, Lizzie and I soon
became steadfast friends, and she and I would bond throughout this
whole delightful journey. She is one woman I will never, for
the rest of my life, forget. I love her! Our journey is about
to begin!
Well, all the boats in Boot Key Harbor were getting anxious to GO SOMEWHERE! Each morning you'd hear dinghies buzzing around, their pilots usually donning the day's weather map from the newspaper, going from boat to boat to discuss the weather situation. We became very proficient at "reading" weather "highs" and "lows". Realized that "high pressure" usually meant "good weather", hence a "good weather window" to jump across the Gulf Stream to PARADISE! We had initially arrived in Boot Key Harbor December 15, and weren't able to leave for our crossing until January 30. A long stay, granted, but we made so very many wonderful friends during this part of our adventure it was well worth the wait!
We ended up leaving with about twelve other sailboats. It was a FANTASTIC sail! Not a heck of a lot of wind, but the "stream" was calm. Nice long, slowly, rolling swells. Weather was absolutely perfect! It was kinda neat, too, because, the general consensus of the harbor was to leave for Sombrero Reef (a reef off of Vaca Key (Marathon - Boot Key) at noon to await all the crossing vessels to get into "position". We wanted to leave by 1400 because it is about a 110 mile journey to "South Riding Rocks", which on a sailboat traveling on average 5-8 knots, is about a 19 +/- hour trip. In other words,,, an "all nighter", but putting you at "South Riding Rocks" AFTER daybreak. If we'd left any sooner it would put us "on the rocks" (probably) in the dark! (BAD!). It didn't take too many hours before all twelve of us pretty much lost sight of one another, which is good. I'd rather be far away from ANY obstacle, especially during night sailing, than have to worry about running into them (or visa-versa!). As long as we could see the running lights of our companion vessels, we were content. We all, of course, checked in with one another from time-to-time, by VHF just to "keep an eye on the flock", so to speak. We did this more frequently as the wee hours approached, simply to have "companionship". It gets lonely out there with nothing but the stars for company. And, talk about STARS! The sky was so milky with them you couldn't distinguish constellations! Too spiritual for words!
As I said before, this was an absolutely gorgeous sail. The wind wasn't strong. Had to do a lot of tacking, which was fun, because we could, on this clear night, distinguish what tack our companion vessels were on simply by the color of their running lights.
"Patience" reached "South Riding Rocks" about
0930. Our companions had not yet arrived, so we went in the lee
of the rocks and "dropped the hooks" to await them.
This gave us an opportunity to fix some nourishment and gather
our wits (you don't get a heck of a lot of sleep on an all-nighter,,,
I don't care what ANYBODY says!).
To Be Continued.......