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Friday, April 1, 2011

Wee little sailboat in a big slip




Those who know the Florida Keys may recognize the old Bahia Honda bridge in the background. The very tiny sailboat in the big slip is mine. We were the only live aboards in the marina. There was a fair amount of day use, but the big boat on the right never moved the whole time we were there. All in all, it was a very quiet marina.

Which is odd, considering how hard it is to get a campsite in the park. They sell out 11 months in advance. Since our boat is short, only 19 feet, it only cost $2/day more for a marina slip than a tent site. There was no problem extending our stay at the last minute. Try and do that with a tent site in a busy state park.

Sailing conditions were not as good as we'd like, but we went sailing anyway. It gave us a chance to push ourselves a bit more. The little old boat is surprisingly good in the rolly polly seas. Of course, since my previous sea experiences were in canoes, a sailboat is a big step up in safety.

Bahia Honda has a great beach. It would have been criminal not to do some beach time. Even did a little snorkeling. I convinced my lovely wife I needed snorkel gear in case the boat needed underwater work. Of course, it works just fine for chasing fish around the bay too.

We'd seriously thought about spending a few days anchoring out. Weather conditions would have made it a lot less fun than originally planned. Flexibility has kept us out of trouble. Plenty of sailing days ahead of us yet.

-Sixbears

3 comments:

  1. You two are living a vacation dream come true. Enjoy yourselves and make a lot of memories that you can remember back on in your old age.

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  2. If ya anchor out, beware that marhl, it's not secure holding fer ur anchor. Just make sure to dive the anchor and place it in a hole or something. Then put down a second hook ! Nothing worse than dragging in the middle of the night...

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  3. Dizzy, this trip has done our mental state a lot of good.

    Spud, I've seen the results of a late night drag and it ain't pretty.

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