Key West Meet-Up

February 2022 

15 times—hoist and lower the anchor! YIKES!

After hanging out in Big Pine again to weather another 40 knot blow, we made our way back to Key West as multiple sets of friends were descending on the island, and we wanted to get a good anchorage and set, before we left our boat to go into town. If you have already read the blog, Key West Logistics then you know that anchoring in Key West can be problematic at best with the shifting winds and opposing currents. They don’t call it the “bowling alley” for nothing!

We arrived early afternoon so that we would have plenty of time to find a good spot to anchor as we would be in Key West for more than a week. We preferred to anchor at the south end of Fleming Key because it was a closer to the Key West Bight dinghy dock. Some people we met in Kemah, TX were already anchored close to the channel. So we initially tried to anchor next to them in about 16 feet of water. However, with the current rushing through the bridge and down the channel, we could not get set. We tried three times and finally gave up.

We moved a few feet over but still close to the southern end of Fleming Key. It was deeper in this area requiring more chain and swing room. We found a spot in the middle of several boats that seemed like a good place. We let out 100 feet of chain and if everyone around us would swing similarly, then all would be good. However, we had a couple of boats on “homemade” mooring balls who we knew would swing differently. Therefore, we had to keep an eye on them. Basically, at Key West it is important to watch the anchorage for an entire cycle of tide and current changes, because at times, all boats can be facing different directions.

That afternoon, our friends from Kemah, Steve and Belinda stopped by for a visit. They had left Kemah and made their way around the coast to Key West. It was great to see them and hear about their journey. They were the third set of folks that we had met in Key West so far. The first two sets of friends we saw were included in the blog post Key West: We Made It!

After our friends left, we cooked dinner, and everything looked good until about 1700 when we noticed we were getting a little closer to one boat than we would like. We weren’t too worried though because it looked like we would swing in front of the mooring ball. By 2100, when it was dark, the boat’s stern and ours now were extremely close. We decided it would be prudent to move to another location. So, we hoisted the anchor once again, and moved outside of all the boats. It was deeper there, so it took a couple of tries for us to get the anchor set, but it finally grabbed. Again, this looked to be a good spot with plenty of swing room.

About 12:30, I got up and looked around. We were nearing another boat that was swinging differently than us, but we still had plenty of room. At 01:30, Ben viewed outside and again all seemed well. However, at 03:00, Ben heard someone yelling and shining a spotlight on us. So we got up to see what was wrong. The guy said, “Hey, you are going to hit me!” and sure enough we were super close to him. He was pointing a totally different direction than we were.

Thus, once again, in the middle of the night, we raised anchor and moved. We tried several different sites hoisting and lowering the anchor, and either the anchor didn’t grab or once we let out enough scope, we didn’t like where we ended up. I figured by now we were waking up the whole neighborhood as the chain made quite a racket when you raised and lowered it. I was sure people were loving us about now! We finally anchored in almost the same location we had left at 2100, but this time we didn’t put out as much scope. We were tired and frustrated, and we just needed to stay put until the sun rose.

In the morning, we were again close to a boat, but this guy didn’t seem bothered at all. He said it was the Key West way and it was not problem. We didn’t like it though, so we hoisted the anchor again and left. We motored all through the anchorages around Fleming Key, but we couldn’t find a place where we would have enough swing room because of the depth.

We finally anchored north of Wisteria Island in 11 feet of water. This was a long dinghy ride to town but our sanity of worth it! We dropped several times here before we ultimately got a good set.  However, as the tide went out a crab ball appeared right beside our boat. We shortened our scope so that we would swing in front of it.

We went to bed feeling pretty good about our location, but in the morning, wouldn’t you know it, we had dragged about 100 feet and were right in front of another boat. Dang! This was the first time our anchor had let us down. We think it was because our scope was too short, and it took a while for the anchor to reset when the current changed.

So once again we raised anchor, found another location, and this time the anchor grabbed hard!!! Finally, we were set and felt good about leaving the boat!

Taking Care of Business as we waited for our friends to arrive

Over the next few days, we made the long, sometimes wet dingy ride into town to reprovision and pick up a package that Deb had mailed us from Texas. She had accumulated boat parts and medication that we had sent to her when we didn’t have anywhere to receive mail. In Key West there was a mail center that would accept packages for a $15 fee. We didn’t want multiple packages to arrive there as that would get expensive. Thus, our super great friend put everything in one box and mailed it to the Pak Mail center.

One afternoon as we were wandering around, we decided to visit Nancy’s Forrester’s Secret Garden. She was a woman in her 80’s that rescued macaws and parrots. As we entered her backyard jungle, we saw cages of macaws that were green, yellow and red as well as parrots. We watched a training session with a parrot where she was teaching the bird to identify pictures in books and recognize colors. It was very interesting watching her work and learning about the birds. This was definitely a hidden gem in Key West.

On Thursday, Ben dinghied in to pick up some folks who we had contacted about recovering the canvas on our helms stations that were rotting from the sun. Their schedule was extremely busy, but they thought since it was a small job, they could help us. However, much to my chagrin, it did not work out.

While we were discussing the best way to cover the cushions, Ben got a call from our realtor who said that our buyers for Ben’s mom’s house wanted to close the next day. Wow!!! That was a shock, as we were supposed to close in December, but the buyers had been patiently waiting while we haggled for over 6 weeks with the insurance company regarding the roof. However, their loan was going to run out, so they wanted to close despite the roof issues. Thus, Friday we dinghied to shore and met a notary at the coffee shop and Ben signed papers to close on the house! Finally done! What a relief! We had not been able to make plans to go to the Bahamas until this was done as Ben had to be in the USA to sign the papers.

Friends, Friends and More Friends, what fun!

We had three sets of friends coming in this weekend and while we knew our boat was anchored in a good stable location, the weather forecast was changing. It was now predicting that it would blow up to 30 knots for several days. This would make for an extremely wet dinghy ride to and from town, and on some days, we might not be able to get into town at all depending on the current and sea state.

So at the last minute, we decided to see if we could find a marina to dock the boat. Being at a marina would alleviate the long dinghy rides to meet up with friends as well as make it easier for our guests who planned to stay on the boat. We found a spot at Perry Hotel and Marina on Stock Island. This was the same place we stayed last April. It was very nice with two pools, laundry, several outside eateries and a restaurant. As we were checking in on Saturday, we noticed that they had a Valentines dinner special. So we signed up for it along with Bill and Irene who would arrive on Sunday. After, we determined that Steve and Belinda (whose boat also was docked at the marina) would be back from Texas for Valentines, we added them to the reservations.

We noticed as we secured the boat to the dock that they had put us in an upscale neighborhood! We found ourselves surrounded by luxury yachts ranging from 120-200 feet. One cost over 75 million dollars!

We spent the day using the laundry facilities and getting the boat ready for our guests. I was so excited to see our friends!

Jana and Matt were to arrive on Sunday to celebrate their honeymoon. So, we arranged to meet up with them on Monday. Irene and Bill also would arrive on Sunday and were staying on the boat with us. Then another set of friends, Michelle and her husband, Eric were coming to Key West on vacation. We arranged to meet them on Tuesday. This was going to be a fabulous week!

Irene and Bill finally arrived at the boat Sunday evening after multiple delays. Luckily, I had bought fried chicken at the store. So we had a simple dinner as we caught up with each other’s lives.

The next morning, we ubered into town and met Jana and Matt for lunch at The Waterfront Brewery. It was so good to see the newlyweds as it had been almost a year since we had gotten together.

We walked about town exploring Mallory Square and Sunset Pier.  Then Jana and Matt headed off to see some sights we had already seen. Bill, Irene and Ben and I wandered around Duval Street which was much like Bourbon Street in New Orleans with souvenir shops, bars and restaurants. We had a free impromptu tour of an historic house across the street from The Oldest House Museum.

We stopped at Fausto’s Food Palace for ingredients to make key lime pie and continued to walk around looking at the cool Key West houses. We ubered back to the marina in time to take a nap because our dinner reservations were late at 2115.

We got dolled up and met Steve and Belinda at Matt’s Stock Island Kitchen and Bar. The food was delightful as some of us chose Beef Wellington and others had lobster tail. We ended up closing the restaurant down telling stories and laughing. This was a wonderful Valentines with friends!

The day after Valentines, we met up with Michelle and Eric at the Mel Fisher Museum which was across from the Custom’s House. Fisher was a treasure hunter that found the Atocha, a sunken Spanish Galleon, whose treasures were worth over 400 million dollars.

We ate lunch in the garden restaurant, call First Flight Restaurant and Brewery.

Afterwards, we said goodbye to Michelle and Eric and strolled by the beautiful houses with impeccable lawns of the Truman Annex which used to be a part of the Naval Base. One of the houses was knowns as The Truman Little White House where numerous presidents spent time.

We saw several buildings that had been used by the government such as this old weather station.

We found ourselves at the Zachary Taylor Fort which was a fun place to explore and learn about the maritime history of this southernmost island.

The next day, we got the scooters out and Irene and I took off for the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Gardens. The gardens were lush with tropical vegetation and trees. They provided an audio tour through a website on your cell phone which made the hike even more interesting.

They also had a Cuban Chug exhibit of boats used by unauthorized Cubans who traveled to American. Several of the boats were found in the Marquesas Keys. We saw some Cubans land a similar boat outside Marathon. For more information on that chase, see blog, Onward to Key West, Stalled in Marathon.

When we returned to the marina, Irene and I had Key Lime Colados while the guys took the scooters to run some errands.

Thursday, we ubered back into town to explore the Southernmost part of the island. We took pictures of the Key West Lighthouse and then walked to get a snapshot at the Southernmost Point which was closest to Cuba, only 90 miles away.

All the walking worked up a powerful thirst, so we decided that our next stop would be the Southernmost Point Bar, where we all had some delicious refreshments!

Then it was off to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.

I happen to think that everyone who goes to Key West should make time to visit this place. It is difficult to describe the enchanting exhibit. Even the guys, who were skeptical about going to see butterflies, enjoyed it. The enclosed garden was beautiful with tropical flowers, greenery, and birds, yet there were so many butterflies flying around that, at times, you forgot to take in the foliage and other wildlife.

Our next stop was the Southernmost Beach. Irene and I finally got to put our feet in the sand!

On our way back to the boat, we took an uber to the grocery store so that we could stock up on paper goods for the Bahamas. We were told that paper towels were $30 for 4 rolls. So, while we were at the marina, we wanted to purchase these items as they were hard to carry to the boat in a dinghy.

Then we relaxed until it was time to fix dinner. We grilled steaks, cooked baked potatoes, and mushrooms and homemade bread in my new bread machine! For dessert we had Key Lime Pie. It was a feast!

We all went to bed early so that we could get up early in the morning and take Bill and Irene out on the water before their plane left tomorrow evening. They had seen Key West from land, and it was now time to give them a tour from the water.

We had hoped to sail around Key West, but the wind was light. So, we motored through the turquoise waters where we saw porpoises and turtles, and of course seagulls and pelicans. It was a perfect ending to our time with them. It was extremely sad to see them go, but I felt fortunate that we had been able to spend as much time together as we did.

However, the friends meet-up was not over….we got a text from Carrie and Jeff that they were popping into town just to get away from the rat race back home. So after Bill and Irene left, Carrie and Jeff met us at the boat and took us to dinner at the popular Hogfish Bar and Grill on Stock Island where we had some amazing fish tacos!

We had planned to leave Key West on Saturday and begin our trek back to Miami, but we were waiting on a package with a toilet pump which had not arrived yet. So, we decided to stay at the marina until Tuesday.

Since we were going to stay longer the marina moved us to another location which was nice because we finally had water and electricity. Thus, Daggers Down got a much-needed bath.

Since we were still in town, Carrie and Jeff came by and brought us vendor tacos for lunch. It was fun to get to spend more time with them. Their visit was a very nice surprise!

All in all during our two stays in Key West we saw 14 people! So Key West was definitely the Meet-UP place!

Now it is time to begin making our way back to Miami where we will finish prepping to go to the Bahamas, and who knows, maybe on to the Caribbean! Fingers Crossed!!

(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you use my links and make a purchase on Amazon, I will make a small commission, without any extra cost to you. I try to share purchases that we find helpful to our cruising life and hope will be helpful to you.)

For those of you who might be looking for a bread maker that does not use much wattage, SV Change Up recommended this Cuisinart bread machine and it works beautifully. It is compact and uses very little electricity. With fast rising yeast you can make 1.5 lb loaf of bread in two hours. We ordered the machine from Amazon since we could get packages at the marina.

https://amzn.to/3HenqKz

The same friends recommended these shorty wetsuits for the Bahamas. So we order them as well because the price was more than reasonable.

https://amzn.to/3sbXzP8

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