Sat, Feb 13, 2010 - Key West, FL

It was not a very restful night. As forecasted, the wind switched out of the north around midnight and blew around 20-25 knots with big waves. It was a rocky night but we held fast as did all the other boats on the mooring balls near us. The temperature had dropped to 60°F and it was not expected to get much higher during the day. A boat from TowBoat US came by us in the early morning and we saw him assist the motor yacht that had been in trouble as the storm blew in last night. It appeared that he may have entangled his stern line in a mooring and could not free himself. He didn’t have a dinghy or any other way to get at the problem. It wasn’t long before he was free and motored away from the area.

About 10 am, Gale and Brad lowered the dinghy and went to shore to stop at West Marine and the grocery store. Maureen and Alicia were very happy to stay aboard Blue Heron and wait for them to come home. At 2 pm, the guys had finished their errands and loaded the dinghy with a 35-pound anchor, 100 feet of chain weighing about 100 pounds, two 5-gallon jugs of water and some groceries. The trip back was against the wind and heavy waves and by the time they arrived at Blue Heron, the dinghy was full of water, the grocery bags included sea water, any cardboard packaging was mush and the men were soaked. The only items lost in transit were the celery and a tomato.


While Maureen put groceries away, Gale and Brad worked on rigging up the new anchor, chain and rode. Brad tossed in a couple of fishing lines but didn’t have any luck. A dinner of beef stroganoff over noodles was enjoyed by all and we were in bed shortly after 9 pm. The waves were still rocking the boat, but it wasn’t as rough as the previous night.