Thursday, March 15, 2012

Lessons Learned - The weather you see is the most accurate.

Always a great sunset in Key West
We left Key West today and this was the worst leg of our trip. We got hammered! The wind and sea predictions were not bad, winds east at 15kts with moderate chop on coastal waters.  The guy who wrote that report should have been shot. At times we were in 4 foot seas and they were close together.  Decision time, do we go back or endure? The first mate wanted me to call the Coast Guard and started to say the Hail Mary. All of my training as a pilot came in handy. I considered my options and their outcomes and as the captain I decided to forge onward and endure the pain. We were too committed to turn around and now deal with following seas. I felt taking it on the nose was a better alternative.  I did however go out of the published channel and took refuge in waters that were shallower. This dissipated some of the wave action and made the journey a bit more tolerable. The first mate darned her life jacket and popped candied ginger to prevent sea sickness. She also wanted to know what I thought we could get for the boat if we decided to sell.
Well we made it to Bahia Honda in one piece, but the jogging of our brains must have done something to our reasoning section. As we approached the railroad bridge I asked the first mate what she thought about going on the outside and making it to Marathon.  We agreed to go. Dah, another 45 minutes of a head jarring tooth chattering ride, but we were much more relaxed because we were pros who graduated from the death waves of Key West.
We are now settled in at the Marathon City Marina and look forward to a boat cooked meal, some wine and a little relaxation.

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