Out For A Sail (Posted 11/4/2010)

Well, we finally went out sailing! Once we get into the harbor routine, it is all to easy to become "harbor rats" and never leave the mooring. Even though retired, I still find it difficult to ignore the old "work ethic" and I still feel antsy and guilty if I am not DOING something! The same holds true for not going sailing. I feel "guilty" that we are not taking Enchantress out for a sail as she was intended to do. She is chomping at the bit, tugging at her mooring lines, wanting to get out there and sail!

Sooo....the other day, we finally overcame inertia and took Enchantress out for a short daysail. We stowed everything (anything not stowed will end up on the floor!), hoisted the mainsail, untied the mooring lines and motorsailed out of the harbor. When we got out of the harbor, I was thinking that I might be complaining that there would not be enough wind. Sailors always complain that there is too much or not enough wind! Well.....it turned out that as soon as we were out there, there was PLENTY of wind!!! We shut off the motor, unfurled the genoa and Enchantress took off like a shot, heeled (tilted) way over, and she was one happy boat! It is always a magical moment when you shut off the motor, no more noise, just the wind to power the boat, total bliss!!! I should have reefed (reduced the area of) the sails as there was too much wind (see, there is the sailor complaining about too much wind!) but I didn't and we had a rollicking sail! We didn't stay out long, just sailed out towards the reef and the lighthouse offshore and back again.

We motorsailed back into the harbor, through the opening of the old drawbridge that is in the process of being removed. As you can see in the photo below, the lifting span of the bridge has already been removed so the opening will always be open from now on. Kind of sad as we all were quite fond of the old bridge and the bridge tenders. No more "Welcome to Boot Key Harbor" from the bridge tender on the VHF radio as you enter the harbor. Or as one of the bridge tenders said to us a couple of years ago as we left for our summer of cruising, "Well, I never would have opened it for you if I knew you were leaving for the season!"


So we had a great sail. Made a resolution to do it more often. Hope that resolution is adhered to better than our resolution to walk more! Once we get back to the Keys and our car we always intend to keep walking to get our excercise instead of driving the car, but it almost never happens, of course.

Below are a few photos of the Keys taken when we took a drive down to Big Pine Key the other day. You can see the beautiful colors of the water and maybe why we love living in the Keys!

A photo of a typical channel between two small keys (islands):


In the photo below the different colors of water are caused by different depths of the water. The small "bushes" growing in the sand are baby mangrove trees. Mangroves are the only trees that can grow in saltwater. The pods root in the sand, a mangrove grows and puts out lots of roots that trap sand and the island grows out of the sea. The mangrove roots provide protection and a "nursery" for baby fish and other sea life. Because of their importance to the sea life mangroves are protected and it is illegal to cut them down even on your own waterfront property!


A photo of a palm tree blowing in the wind and the water of the Atlantic Ocean sparkling in the background:


This is a photo of a section of the old Flagler bridge or Overseas Highway bridge. The old bridge has been replaced by a newer one and these old sections remain. Henry Flagler built his railroad from Miami to Key West in 1908 to 1912 connecting all the islands with bridges which was quite an engineering and construction feat back then. The longest bridge was the 7 Mile Bridge that is right here in Marathon.