Two weeks cruise

[Ixneigh]

Im putting the boat up for most of the summer in a few days. Odd how some peoples sailing season is my off season. In the past two weeks I have been cruising the upper keys area and Elliott's key. I sailed about half the time, and used 12 gallons of gas. I used the motor primarily for making distance in calm winds, or for control while exploring super shallow areas. It's too difficult to control the boat under sail then. I never exceeded five knots under power, and averaged four. Best speed under sail was five point four knots, averaged about three point five. I was in no rush, and wanted to see stuff. I explored both sides of Elliott's key and found a nice sand flat on the ocean side that would be nice in mild weather in the winter. Also swam at some of the patch reefs offshore. I Anchored several times right inside Cesar's creek. I did not spend much time at the popular bayside beaches. They were loaded with trash when I was there. I did visit boca Chita, walked around the island and talked to the rangers. I went to the top of the lighthouse there so I could see my boat anchored out. I did not use the dock. I never met a dock I didn't hit, and anchorings just easier.
Next I swam in the cut between Chita and sands key. That was very cool. The tide was fast, but there were lots of fish. Best to wait till slack. Definitely worth while. Have a dinghy and a flag, as this channel is used by boats.
I then stopped at the ranger dock at Elliott's, but it was after hours. They have bathrooms, showers, and yucky tasting tap water, but ok for bathing. I question how long these facilities will be offered. The water must be from either RO, or rain water. When I was there some dolt had left the water in the sink in the men's room on! Also byop!! The bugs were uber bad, however the though occurred to me that off-road bikes might be fun on the trails there. Not sure what the rangers would say. I might be tempted to try it though. Camping is allowed.
From there, it was lunch at Alabama jacks. As you close the card sound bridge, there is a flat with a cut through it. Since I had been coasting south right under the lee of the island chain, past pumpkin key and all, I didn't want to sail all the way over to the cut, so I first attempted to thread through a tiny mangrove cut as seen on the chart, but that did not actually go all the way through. So I exited with some difficulty, and found out that that shoal isn't as shallow as it looks on the chart. I went right over it, slowly, under power. I came to where the last sailing roundup in this area anchored, on the northeast end of the bridge. There were numerous no trespassing signs on the gravel parking area there, it had been blocked off from the road, and the trash cans were gone. This spot was popular with the fishermen.
At Alabama jacks, I tied the boat to the mangroves and took the kayak over to the dock. My dogs would have disturbed the diners otherwise, plus mangroves are soft and docks are hard. It was a slow day there. The food was ok to good. Service likewise. It's kind of a must do thing anyway. I left through a shallow cut right infront of the restaurant, that opens to the likewise shallow sound area. Here, I explored as far north, into the shallows, as my boat would permit. There were a series of silty, shallow bays surrounded by mangroves. I did ground once in mud, and had to hoist the main and use the engine to get off. Bad fox! No harm done though. Then it was over to what we locals call dog run beach. The first one had a boat there, but the second, smaller one, was all mine. I picked up three bags of trash the next day here, and enjoyed the beach for most of the morning. I then drove the boat around to the back of these keys and over to the channel for county line marina. I had never been here before, so I landed briefly on the high rubble piles near the entrance to walk my dogs, then cruised in and back out the long canal. The offshoot near where the marina is could offer protection from bad weather. Looks like you could tie up right to the edge.
After that, I took a brief look at the manatee bay inhabited area before heading for jewfish creek bridge. I stopped just on the south side to have lunch at whatever that bar is called. This is where I saw that Mac 26 classic anchored. When I left there, I motored slowly north, again going as far back into the bay as I could. There are some ruins listed on the chart, and I have seen them in the past, but the mangroves have grown a lot since then. The only thing I saw were several pilings. I traveled still farther north. The deer flies were pretty bad. The chart had no soundings in this area. I looked about for swaying palm trees, wahines and white sand beaches. I saw some more horseflies and said, ok I been there. Now let's gtfo. At dusk, I dropped anchor at the area behind the government center. I dropped off the bags of trash I had collected at dog run beach. Filled up a few water jugs, and visited some other boaters i knew here. After a couple days at anchor I departed south under sail to the lignum vitea key district. I anchored that afternoon near the Lorelei restaurant and had supper. The winds continued to drop off, so the next morning I motored slowly through the series of mudflats behind shell key, discovering one that was not shown on the chart. This area is however, well marked otherwise. On arriving at the rangers dock at lignum vitea key I discovered that the island is accessible via guided tour only. you are not allowed to walk the trails by yourself. (You can walk around the dock area, see the canons, and use the bathrooms, but it still costs 2.00) the first tour was at 10 am and I was the only person there. The fee for the tour is an additional 2.00 per person, so I placed a 20 into the parks payment kiosk and spent the next two hours learning about the islands plants and animals. The bugs were swarming. I had a whole can of repellent and the ranger had a head net.
After leaving the island I anchored and swam a short distance away to cool off. There was a baby remora on the bottom of the boat! I anchored for the night by shell key, and even though I was some distance off, the sand flies were still bad, so I slept poorly. That morning, the winds were light, but I put the sail up anyway, hoping it would pick up as the day progressed. There were two big endeavor ketches going south with the same idea. I headed north slowly, wondering if the remora was still stuck on my boat. While passing the Lorelei, the wind did freshen. Soon I was doing five or so knots, and I took a reef which only lost me half a knot. Wouldn't you know it, five minutes later the wind slacks. I shake the reef out, and it just keeps fading, till it's nearly calm. I motor sail north, and finally cover the sails when I pull into buttonwood bay. I anchor the boat just off Snooks restaurant. I tie my kayak up to the dock, and order food. It's a postcard picture with my boat in the foreground, with lots of other boats, kayakers, and pwc in the background.
The wind is still light when I return to the anchorage at the government center. Tomarrow, I have to start un rigging the boat for trailering to my house, only about a mile away. Tomarrow was terribly hot and muggy though, and I put off the rig till late in the day. I did do some small project that just suddenly popped up, like they do sometimes. In this case it turned something useless into something usable. I like projects like that. It was during this time that a gentleman from another boat comes over to inform me that he saw me anchor, and my anchor seemed a bit small. He mentioned the holding ground and possible storms. It was a lot of sailor speak, code talk and such. Here's an English translation: "I don't know where the fck your from, but the bottom here is lousy. That anchors way too small and on top of that, anchoring with only one anchor is ludicrous! The wind will switch around and that anchor will unset, and the next thing you know, you'll be crashing into someone else. We've had lots of bozos like you come in here and anchor and get all surprised when their piece of junk boat blows away because their crappy little anchor wasn't up to the task!" Or words to that effect. He didn't see the extra anchor I keep in the cockpit, so I put that out to placate the residents. I throw it off the boat hoping it's splash will be impressive enough, and arrange things so if the wind does switch, I will be sitting on that anchor. In truth, two anchors is a good idea in a group of boats. As the evening cools, I remove the sails and boom and stow them below. My cruise is over. I have work to do on the boat over the summer.
Ix

[seahouse]

My mother is fluent in 7 languages, so I've heard them a lot; but I have never heard a translation as entertaining as yours, Ix!

Hope you have a good öff season".

-B.

[NavySailor]

jealous

[fishstalker7]

Sounds like a great adventure...I'm looking forward to re-reading with my charts in front of me and planning a family adventure for us! Thank you for the details and a great trip report!!

Fair winds,

David