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This is our first
trip in “Salty Old Dog”, the bigger, better version of “Salty”
the Sea Ray. For those of you who haven’t yet followed our
adventures to the Keys-Okeechobee or The Bahamas in 2003, we
ventured out on a smaller boat – not that a 37’ Sea Ray is
small, but compared to this 47’ Carver Yacht, anything seems
small to us. You can read about “Salty Old Dog” the new boat on
the main homepage to get a better idea of the hardship (NOT) we
endured on this awesome trip to Key West and the Dry Tortugas.
The Captain has been
talking about going to the Dry Tortugas for years and now that
we have the kind of boat that will have the range, the right
fuel and all the creature comforts, it was time! We were
mentally ready for the big trip, but Mother Nature wasn’t
cooperating as well as she could have and the winds & seas in
and around the Dry Tortugas kicked up and stayed that way for a
couple of weeks. Friends of ours, Mike and Carey Cummins
ventured out on their 47’ custom built sail boat weeks prior to
eventually end up in the Dry Tortugas and ended up having to
dock on the East Coast to wait until the winds died down. With
that information, we also decided to wait it out. Finally, Mike
called to give the “go ahead” and we (the Captain) worked for
days and days getting everything ready – having all systems,
engines, hoses and basically anything that was a moving, living,
breathing part on Salty Old Dog checked, replaced or fixed
before heading out – always a good idea! It took about two days
to pack everything up and finally we were ready to head out on
Sunday morning, May 22nd.
DAY
1 - 4
Cruise Day 1,
Sunday May 22nd
We left our dock at
9:30 am with all systems go and all the excitement and optimism
we could manage. Salty, the dog, was just as excited now that
he had the wind in his beard and his own seat on the bridge of
the boat, what more could a boy ask for? After checking that
all movable items were safely stowed below, the cabin hatch was
closed for the duration of the trip – nothing worse that diesel
fumes inside the boat. Provisions were made for lunch “before”
leaving the dock, as there is no point testing my ability to get
sea sick on our first leg even though a popped a (non-drowsy) Bonine before we left. The first stop will be Key West and the
Captain set course to head straight out from Fort Myers Beach to
the Key West way point. All was calm in the River, as well as,
the Gulf of Mexico which was a welcome site. For the most part,
the seas were a pleasant 1-2’ or 2-3’ chop. The Captain put the
boat on “Nav” or “Auto” and was able to relax a bit or analyze
the instruments and chart plotter, while Salty and I sat in the
bridge wrap-around seating all snuggled in with me listening to
my audio book and him snoozing – cruising and snoozing, more of
Salty’s favorite things. It took approximately 10 hours to
cruise to Key West but time went by fairly quickly and there
were no mechanical problems and that was a good thing. However
(there is always a however) especially when we go on adventures,
about an hour out of Key West, the far port side of the Bimini
top decided to start flapping in the wind. The Captain tried to
snap it back, but nothing is ever that easy. With each flap,
another snap would let loose and then the rubber holding bar
couldn’t hold the base – meaning it started to tear away and
flap up into the radar apparatus. Great. We didn’t want to
slow down as it was approaching 6:00 and we needed to get docked
at The Galleon before the dock master left for the day and it
started to get dark. We traded off – the Captain holding the
flapping Bimini down while the boat was on auto pilot until he
had to actually steer and then I would take over until my arms
couldn’t hold it any longer. Finally making it in with slightly
longer arms, there was The Galleon – yay, we made it and what a
welcome and familiar site good ole Key West was! Salty Old Dog
to The Galleon – come in Galleon – which slip are we assigned?
As we swing around the long rock breakwater that protects The
Galleon Marina, the dock master is motioning us to dock “in
between” the rocks and the rickety old dock at the farthest end
of the Marina and closest to open boat traffic. Of course (and
there is always an of course), the wind decided to pick up just
at that time. This being one of the first times the Captain is
going to dock this monster boat, somehow the combination of
“wind, rocks and rickety old dock” just wasn’t sitting right
with him. He asked if there was a better slip and of course,
the dock master says “no, we’re all filled up, but you can dock
over at The Conch Harbor Marina’s gas dock for now and they’ll
probably have a slip for you in the morning”. Well, that wasn’t
too bad and with the alternative, it looked pretty good at the
time. We made it in there no problem at 6:45 pm, docked, hooked
up to shore power, washed the boat down as best we could and
connected with the dock master who did say there would be a slip
for us in the morning “but you have to get off the gas pump dock
by 6:00 am”! By the time we settled in it was time to wander
down the Harbor Walk to find a place to have something to eat
before the restaurants shut down. But this is Key West and
everything is open until very late! We finally decided upon the
Conch Republic Seafood restaurant which is open-air and we ate
fresh grouper while watching the never ending flow of people
enjoying the night and strolling along the Harbor Walk.
Marina Day 2,
Monday May 23rd
We woke up to the
hustle and bustle of Marina life at Conch Harbor gas dock at
6:00 a.m. It worked out fine that we were right at the gas
pumps and we filled up before we went off to our assigned slip
and got settled in for the next couple of days. This place has
changed a lot since we were here last – brand new pool,
shower/laundry facilities, large Tiki hut bar and new restaurant
right at the end of the dock. It was very easy to get on and
off the boat, even though they didn’t have floating docks.
Salty had a little girl friend visit on the first day – Cloe,
the dock master’s dog….a three year old beagle who owned the
docks and loved to visit every one. Of course we had to wander
around over to West Marine for some “stuff” and then dink around
on the boat to get organized and sift through the two suitcases
full of manuals. The Captain managed to fix the flapping bimini
top by drilling more screws into the holding strip so that
shouldn’t be a problem anymore. After a few more fix-it items
(and there’s always a lot of those on a boat), I noticed a
really funny looking boat pull up across on the other pier – no
windows, low slung and painted in dark matte camouflage. Four
Navy Seal sleuth boats pulled up and docked over there, either
out on maneuvers or on furlough for a couple of days in Key
West. They were indeed quite invisible – I didn’t even get a
picture! We did manage to go to the Tiki Hut for a snack and a
couple of cocktails, just to get the feel of the place, you know
and that night we went to our favorite Thai food restaurant
“Thai Cuisine” that was absolutely great, as per usual.
Marina Day 3,
Tuesday May 24th
It’s great here – we
even like it better than The Galleon! It’s in a perfect
location, the facilities are great and there’s lots of grass at
the front entrance for Salty – bonus! Strange to see the
roosters and hens running around here and they seem to live in
the bushes right at the front entrance to the Conch Harbor
complex. Every morning at 8:30, the Catamaran would leave for
the Dry Tortugas with a fresh load of tourists and a loud
sounding of the horn. This horn (and any horn) drives Salty
crazy and he would charge up the side of the boat to the bow to
bark and protect us from that horrible sound. That drove me
crazy! It was morning and there was dew on the bow – I was sure
he would just slip off and plunge 15’ into the water…he never
did, but it scared me just the same. We were just lazy today;
watched the Fishing Charter boats come and go with eager
fishermen and watched the “workies” cleaning sailboats for the
next group of Charter sailors. We just hung out at the Marina
and of course the Tiki hut, but this time we brought Salty with
us much to his pleasure. We had lunch (awesome) and Salty
ordered grilled grouper…the bar tender said “hey, that dog eats
better than I do”! The only downside for Salty was he had to be
on leash and could not go in the pool – bummer! We like it here
so much, we have decided to stay another day (or so) and why
not, it’s research right? We had another great dinner on the
famous Harbor Walk at Turtle Kraals, went back and crashed…this
I could get used to!
Marina Day 4,
Wednesday May 25th
Another day in
Paradise and just couldn’t bring ourselves to head out just yet
and decided to stay another day, talk about lazy. We did the
“Key West” thing today and walked up to Duval Street to check
out the local bars and crazy people. Key West if full of
interesting places to go, fun things to do and great restaurants
and bars to visit. Again, we had a great dinner at The Half
Shell and there is always good stuff left over for Salty in the
morning.
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