Wow; What a Trip!

Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, FL
N 24 42.391 W 081 05.683

What a fast ride. Without any help from the Gulf Stream or other currents, we did 156 miles in 28 hours. That's flying for a 32 foot sailboat.

We left Lake Worth yesterday at 0800, and within 30 minutes of leaving the inlet a cold front passed. Besides getting cooler, the wind came from the north at 15-20 knots, very steady. That was ideal. We put out only the fore sail, and bam we were making 6.5 to 7.5 knots. There was no need for any other sails. The only trouble was that with the wind right behind us, Tarwathie was hard to steer. Neither the Monitor, nor the electronic autopilot could keep her on course. We steered by hand until
we passed Key Biscayne, and our course began to turn toward the west.

Last night,the sky was clear and it was cool (very cool). Actually the temperature must have been about 60, but the wind chill temperature out on the water was only 30-35. I put on long johns, a wool shirt, a jacket, and I wore socks on my hands for gloves. With all that stuff on, I was perfectly comfortable.

For once, we didn't have to take any evasive maneuvers to avoid ships. As a matter of fact, three big cruise ships departing Fort Lauderdale and Miami diverted their courses to avoid us. How nice.

This morning, as I slept, Libby encountered a problem. Our speed abruptly dropped from 7 knots to 3 knots, even though the wind stayed steady. We had hooked a lobster trap on a catch at the bottom of our rudder. It was dragging behind us. Libby kindly decided to let me sleep and sailed on at three knots for three hours. When I did get up, I spotted the line dragging behind us. I dropped the sails and we drifted free. The trap did not come unstuck. Hesitantly, I tried using the motor to
back us up. That was a risky procedure because the line could wrap around the propeller. Still I tried.

I backed up a while, then I put it in forward. The engine made a strange sound, so I immediately put it in neutral. I looked over the side. Darn; I did foul the line with the propeller after all. I could see the end of a cut line sticking out. Oh well, at least the trap was gone. We sailed on to Marathon, but we could not enter the harbor until the propeller was cleared. We sailed up to a lee shore in 10 feet of water and dropped the hook. I put on my wet suit, mask and snorkel, gripped
a knife in my teeth and jumped in. Surprise! There was no trace of the lobster trap or the line. It had not fouled the propeller after all.

By 1230, we were inside Book Key Harbor, and tied up to a mooring. The sun shone brightly, and the temperature was about 75 degrees. Life is good. Libby calculated our 156 mile progress in 28 hours. That was impressive. We could have done it in 26 hours if it hadn't been for that lobster trap. Normally, a boat this size can't do more than 100 miles per day.