Escape from Key West

Notwithstanding my claim in my last post that a small window had opened for crossing to the Bahamas on Sunday, we nevertheless remained in Key West until this morning. What looked like an acceptable, though narrow, window Saturday evening had narrowed unacceptably by Sunday morning, with significant risk we'd be arriving in Bimini in six-foot seas.

That would mean, among other things, running around to the back side of the island to anchor, and then having to wait it out to even be able to tender ashore to check in. Not really worth the risk, especially since we still had three nights left for which we'd already paid. By noon Sunday we made the decision to wave off, and remain in Key West until a better window arrived.


Coming up on the Bahia Honda channel and its famous bridge.

At the same time that forecast was deteriorating, the forecast for this weekend was improving, and we reckoned we would not have to wait long. Reinforcing that we had, in fact, made the right choice, an enormous storm system moved in on Monday, pinning us to the dock and wreaking havoc in the anchorage. Monday evening was the first time since arrival that we did not hear Southern Cross, as virtually none of the sunset tours left the dock. Only the fully-enclosed Party Cat went out, and the skipper announced he was "reluctantly" outbound on his Sécurité call.

The extension allowed me to get one more Amazon package, a replacement for my failing dive computer, and get a few more errands and projects done. Importantly, it let me download a few more GB of charts and charting software while we still have free bandwidth available. Louise also finished a quilt to get it in the mail; it had a chicken theme and we found some of Key West's unending parade of chickens over by the post office when she sent it off.


Just some of the chickens hanging out at the post office.

Our two-week stay ended yesterday and our crossing window arrives tomorrow. We extended one additional day at the marina on a daily rate, and this morning we circled around to a different dock to deck the scooters. We also topped up the water tank for the last time and got all the recycling off the boat.

This evening we'll be anchored off Boot Key in Marathon, where we can get ashore for a final state-side meal if we wish. Tomorrow still looks good for a crossing. It's an overnight trip from here, some 18 hours or so, and we'll depart in the afternoon for a mid-day arrival in Bimini on Saturday. Customs and Immigration there are supposedly "on call" on the weekend, so with luck we can clear in, go ashore, and get a Bahamian SIM for the phone.

I might not get a chance to post again before we leave coverage. Our sat phone is back online, and I will post updates on our progress on Vector's twitter feed, here.