Here is our new economy flag pole and flag.
The pole is schedule 40 PVC with an end cap on it. I filed one end down so that it would fit in the holder, and used acetone to get rid of the writing on the pipe. The flag is attached to the pole with wire ties. We used wire ties on our other rig as well because they are much quieter than the metal connectors. This setup replaces our 2 foot by 3 foot flag on a nicely varnished 4 foot teak flag pole. The new rig doesn't look as good, but it is more practical since we have davits and solar panels. You don't want to shade the solar panels, and they have sharp corners that cut flapping fabric. And the davits take away the normal mounting spot on the stern.
Our Brother-in-law Larry relaxing in his Marathon emergency duds.
Our Brother-in-law Larry relaxing in his Marathon emergency duds.
Larry was nice enough to drive down and visit for a couple of days. He let us tag along to Key West and a tour of Pine Island. It was a fun two days and it was great to see him again.
With the autopilot reinstalled, it was time to move on. On the eve of our departure, I scraped as many barnacles off the bottom of the boat that I could reach with a pole from the dinghy, we did our last Publix run, and finished laundry at 1:30 am.
We were off the mooring at daylight the following day and had a very slow sail to Little Shark River. The wind was light off the stern, but we could tell the boat was a bit sluggish. There were obviously way too many barnacles left. My next chance to dive on the boat would be at Egmont Key. After a day of dodging lobster/crab pots we finally arrived at Little Shark River not long before sunset. As we wound our way up the river, we got bombarded by noseeums. With the anchor set, we dove into the cabin and slammed the companion way doors shut. We have mosquito screens on all opening ports and hatches, but mosquitoes are much larger than noseeums. It was our first night that we had noseeums invade the inside of our boat. Now I know what Lisa looked like when she had the measles.
At 4 am we had a major thunderstorm blow through with very strong winds. We had the motor running just in case, but were back in bed within an hour.
The shrimp were so loud it sounded like it was raining hard all night long.
Our next leg was to be an overnight trip to Egmont Key which is right next to the Tampa Bay Inlet. Our course was to be northwest, so the forecast south winds would work out great. Only problem was they were actually from the west, so we were very closed hauled and the winds were picking up into the low 20s. We decided to hang a right towards Indian Key, anchor in Russell Pass and wait for the wind to blow from the proper direction. We had been having problems with our pactor modem (which enables us to get weather, grib files etc. when we don't have internet access), so we were relying on NOAA weather from the VHF. Why we listen to that I don't know. They are never right on the gulf coast. But it's the due diligence thing. (Since then we troubleshot the pactor modem and it is working hunky dory now.)
The anchorage at Russell Pass was way cool. Tons of dolphin, some rays, a lot of wildlife, and quite beautiful. It's fairly remote, so there wasn't much boat traffic there. Not too far up the river, is the town of Everglades City. A smuggling hub in days past.
While still relying on the NOAA VHF reports, we waited 3 nights until the forecast called for southeast winds. When we made our way north, we got beat up pretty good again, because the wind was from the west again--not the southeast. Good thing we waited 3 days for the wind to clock--but we are glad we got to see Russell Pass.
If you are boating from Marathon and up the west coast of Florida you should not be required to carry life jackets. If you fall overboard all you have to do is grab about 10 crab pot floats which will be within arms reach and you should be good for the night.
Our progress was very slow due to a combination of a foul current and barnacles staying cozy with the boat. At 12:30 pm the following day, we finally dropped anchor at Egmont Key. I promptly went overboard to start scraping the barnacles off. The water was not nearly as clear as I had hoped, but it worked.
A good portion of Egmont Key is off limits to humans. Birds only. And let me tell you, that island is full of birds. They are extremely noisy for about 19 hours a day. The pelicans don't make a sound, but the sea gulls make up for it in spades. Apparently, their daddies never told them "keep that up and I'll give you something to cry about". They cry because they can. With all the birds on this key, I estimate the island will gain 3 inches in altitude per year.
This picture does not even come close to portraying the number of birds here.
If the girl at the store says they fit size 12 to 13 don't believe her. She's on commission, and they are the biggest ones she's got.
With the autopilot reinstalled, it was time to move on. On the eve of our departure, I scraped as many barnacles off the bottom of the boat that I could reach with a pole from the dinghy, we did our last Publix run, and finished laundry at 1:30 am.
We were off the mooring at daylight the following day and had a very slow sail to Little Shark River. The wind was light off the stern, but we could tell the boat was a bit sluggish. There were obviously way too many barnacles left. My next chance to dive on the boat would be at Egmont Key. After a day of dodging lobster/crab pots we finally arrived at Little Shark River not long before sunset. As we wound our way up the river, we got bombarded by noseeums. With the anchor set, we dove into the cabin and slammed the companion way doors shut. We have mosquito screens on all opening ports and hatches, but mosquitoes are much larger than noseeums. It was our first night that we had noseeums invade the inside of our boat. Now I know what Lisa looked like when she had the measles.
At 4 am we had a major thunderstorm blow through with very strong winds. We had the motor running just in case, but were back in bed within an hour.
The shrimp were so loud it sounded like it was raining hard all night long.
Our next leg was to be an overnight trip to Egmont Key which is right next to the Tampa Bay Inlet. Our course was to be northwest, so the forecast south winds would work out great. Only problem was they were actually from the west, so we were very closed hauled and the winds were picking up into the low 20s. We decided to hang a right towards Indian Key, anchor in Russell Pass and wait for the wind to blow from the proper direction. We had been having problems with our pactor modem (which enables us to get weather, grib files etc. when we don't have internet access), so we were relying on NOAA weather from the VHF. Why we listen to that I don't know. They are never right on the gulf coast. But it's the due diligence thing. (Since then we troubleshot the pactor modem and it is working hunky dory now.)
The anchorage at Russell Pass was way cool. Tons of dolphin, some rays, a lot of wildlife, and quite beautiful. It's fairly remote, so there wasn't much boat traffic there. Not too far up the river, is the town of Everglades City. A smuggling hub in days past.
While still relying on the NOAA VHF reports, we waited 3 nights until the forecast called for southeast winds. When we made our way north, we got beat up pretty good again, because the wind was from the west again--not the southeast. Good thing we waited 3 days for the wind to clock--but we are glad we got to see Russell Pass.
If you are boating from Marathon and up the west coast of Florida you should not be required to carry life jackets. If you fall overboard all you have to do is grab about 10 crab pot floats which will be within arms reach and you should be good for the night.
Our progress was very slow due to a combination of a foul current and barnacles staying cozy with the boat. At 12:30 pm the following day, we finally dropped anchor at Egmont Key. I promptly went overboard to start scraping the barnacles off. The water was not nearly as clear as I had hoped, but it worked.
A good portion of Egmont Key is off limits to humans. Birds only. And let me tell you, that island is full of birds. They are extremely noisy for about 19 hours a day. The pelicans don't make a sound, but the sea gulls make up for it in spades. Apparently, their daddies never told them "keep that up and I'll give you something to cry about". They cry because they can. With all the birds on this key, I estimate the island will gain 3 inches in altitude per year.
This picture does not even come close to portraying the number of birds here.
If the girl at the store says they fit size 12 to 13 don't believe her. She's on commission, and they are the biggest ones she's got.
My good fins have a few breaks in them, so I pulled out the emergency ones. After a couple hours of pain, I went back to the broken ones.
I don't have a dive tank or a compressor, so I have to make many dives to clean the bottom. We have a fairly long keel and a skeg rudder. I wasn't making fast enough progress with my 2 inch wide scraper, so Lisa donated the top to a brownie pan. Mucho faster.
Armed and dangerous.
I don't have a dive tank or a compressor, so I have to make many dives to clean the bottom. We have a fairly long keel and a skeg rudder. I wasn't making fast enough progress with my 2 inch wide scraper, so Lisa donated the top to a brownie pan. Mucho faster.
Armed and dangerous.
I can't believe how many barnacles Nicki May accumulated in 4 weeks at Marathon. This process got me thinking. Since a man's gut tends to get larger with age, why don't his lungs get bigger too, so that he can hold his breath longer? Just asking. And remember, there are no stupid questions.
Brownies anyone?
