Raw (T)ide! - Big Pine Key Style

The boys trip was off to a good start. We all were a little fuzzy this morning from our night on Duval Street. Fat Tuesdays had been a lot of fun, but left a mark. We decided to sail North today to Big Pine key. For cryin' out loud, we rented a sailboat so we better get it out of the harbor! The day started a little late, but we were not in a big hurry. The sail up the chain was relaxing, and we were all lazing about listening to the stereo and having a few cocktails. There was a lot of activity overhead as the fighter jets were preparing for the Gulf. It was cool watching them blaze back and forth. A little strange - we were basking in the ultimate expression of freedom sailing in the keys on a lazy vacation - while they were preparing for war... Glad to be on the boat for more reasons than one.

As usual, the sun was setting as we were pulling in to Big Pine Key. The entrance to the anchorage is very narrow and shallow. We worked our way back very slowly listening to the depth alarm go off constantly. We finally found a great anchorage between Ramrod Key and Little Torch Key. There were a couple other boats in the anchorage, but it was basically empty. We snapped a quick picture of the sunset with the boat next to us drifting at anchor.

At this time the Captain and his mate had decided that they had had enough excitement the first couple nights in Key West. They were going to hang out on the boat and relax. The "boys" decided that we were going to find the night life in this stretch of the keys. We did not have Lisa and her travel book along, so we were going to have to wing it! We quickly showered and jumped into the inflatable dinghy for our trip to shore. The closest island was Ramrod Key. There were a lot of lights over there so we headed in that direction. We found out that the area we were in was extremely shallow. We had the motor tilted up and were using the oars as sounding rods. It took a while (30 minutes) to get close, but we realized that this was all residential lots with no place to tie up. We decided to head East toward Big Pine Key. Again, we ran into trouble with depth. We were putting along constantly sounding with the oars to insure that we did not run aground. It took about an hour to finally find civilization on Big Pine Key.

Now keep in mind that we had taken a 12 pack of beer along, and there was none left at this point. We were all holding the last can as we poured out of the dinghy. The building where we landed looked like a small resort. We were thinking "Where's the bar?" As we looked closer, we discovered that the majority of the people present were kids. An adult noticed us and quickly walked outside. Before we could even ask she blurted out "You can't be here!" We begin to ask where the night life is, but she keeps pushing us toward the dinghy. Craig finally stops and and says "We're leaving but were is the closest bar?" The lady points up the channel. We pile into the dinghy and head up the channel.

As we cross underneath the bridge, we notice a long dock with a bar. We found "The Sand Bar"(Now called Parrotdise Bar). We head in and belly up to the bar. There are not a whole lot of people present, but it is a bar, and they serve cold cocktails. We start talking to the owner. He is a really nice guy and likes our story on how we got here. An old sailor walks in and sits down next to us. He asks the owner if he can tie up to the dock for the night, and all is well. He explained that he sailed down from Key Largo today, and as the night sets in the wind died. He had no outboard on his little sailboat, so he tied a line to the bow and walked the boat the last few miles to The Sand Bar.

About an 1-1/2 hours after arriving the bar empties out and we are the last patrons left. The owner decided to close. We ask where the best night life in the area is? He explains that this would be "Montego Bay" on Big Pine Key. (The Sand Bar is located on Little Torch Key) We ask if we can call a taxi, but the owner offers to drive us instead. BONUS! The old sailor decides to tag along. As we walk out, he explains that he needs to go back to his boat to get his teeth... A few minutes later we pile into the owners car and head to Montego Bay.

Now, little did we know, Montego Bay is a Packers Bar. The wings are fantastic, and the bar is active. We hang out while harassing our waitress (a fiery little cuban who graduated from Key West High School). We also run into a group of young girls and discover that they work at Sea Camp. We proceed to give them a hard time about their hospitality. They all laugh and tell us that we should not have been there (Sea Camp) either.... Several hours later the bar closed down and we catch a taxi back to the Sand Bar. We are all VERY over served at this time and not as concerned about the shallow bay. The dinghy is cracked wide open and we begin singing the theme song to "Raw Hide" as directed by Mark. I swear we were doing great, but I am sure it was well out of key and had many ad lib lyrics.

Next morning, Spanky and Doctor tell us that they could hear the singing from about a mile away ;)

Captain Overboard!

Captain Don loves to fish on our bareboat cruises. His favorite is towing a line behind the boat when we are on our long sails. He has been known to take crew members to South Beach while on layover at Miami Airport just so he can pick up fishing gear from his favorite tackle shop. He has done this more than once! He even rented a car once because it was cheaper than taking a taxi.

We were on a trip from St. Lucia to the Tobago Cays. The second day in to the cruise we were headed South from St. Lucia toward Bequia. Lisa wanted Lobster Pizza from Mac's so our goal was Admiralty Bay by sunset. My guess is that we were roughly 5 hours into the sail when we hooked a nice sized King Fish. Everyone jumped up and we dragged the fish on board. It was kicking and flopping around at first, and as usual we were a little taken off guard. Captain Don knocked the fish out, and asked me to go down below into the galley to get a pail to rinse to cockpit out. The fish was somewhat messy, as Captain Don was beginning to filet the fish.

I was not even to the galley when I heard a shriek up above. Sister Lisa was screaming. When I got back up top, I found out why. Captain Don was about 100 feet behind the boat. Lucky for him he was wearing a red Tee shirt. Lots of things were running through my mind. First - we were under full sail and the boat was on autopilot. I grabbed the wheel and pulled the autopilot release arm. As I spun back around I noticed that Dad was disappearing with each wave. He would only be visible on the crests. He was already about 100 yards back. I asked Troy and Sara to point their finger at him so that I would know where to go. Always point your finger and don't drop your arm (provides a reference when he disappears).

It was about this time that Captain Don realized that he was in the open ocean with a knife in one hand, and a bleeding King fish in the other. He let go of both and watched the mast as it moved away.

Back on the boat Lisa is screaming to drop the sails. I consider this for a fraction of a second and decide that would take WAY to long, we would lose him. Option 2 - come about and head down wind of him. We were on a Southern tack with the wind off the port bow. I came about and headed back North, but ran down wind to the North West (Wind was out of the ESE that day). I kept watching Sara and Troy's arms to know if I was making headway toward the target. My plan was to get directly down wind of him and run straight up wind toward him with the aux engine on. This took about 4 -5 minutes. It seemed like an eternity... Once directly down wind I fired up the diesel and headed up toward him. It was about this time that I realized that this was going to be a little harder than I anticipated.

We were in 6 -8 foot waves and Dad was still disappearing in the troughs of the waves. The wind was moderate, and was creating a lot of luffing of the sails (noise and potential to catch the wind and draw the boat in one direction or another with a wind change). The motor was running, and the bow was diving into the waves. I realized that if I headed directly to him I could either drop on top of him or catch him with the prop. I decided the safest thing was to head slightly downwind in case the wind caught the sails and took me North. As we got closer, Dad was passing to our South, along the Starboard side of the boat.

It was about the time he was perpendicular to us that I realized that I was too far away. He was swimming toward us, but the wind was taking the boat away too quickly, and the waves were pushing him toward the stern. I was thinking I would have to take another pass, or maybe take the sails down so that they could not interfere with the rescue, when Steve grabbed the genoa line and threw it to Dad. It was the perfect throw, and the right length. He grabbed the line and was dragged behind the boat. Sara and Troy were on the step transom. The pulled Captain Don in and little Sara (130 lbs) pulled Dad straight up out of the sea - one arm and single handed.

Now you would think that the story was over.... Wrong! MaryAnn had thrown a seat cushion toward Don when we were floating by him. This was about 20 seconds before Steve brilliantly threw the line. The cushion was blown away faster than Don could swim for it. Now, it was down wind and moving fast. Don decides that the $100 dollar cushion is not worth losing, so he drops the dinghy in and chases it down in the open ocean.... Getting the dinghy back on board proved to be more of a challenge in 6-8 foot seas than we bargained for. Hind sight 20/20 we should have left the cushion go. Oh well, life is an adventure!

The perfect afternoon

The morning had been spent snorkeling out at sand island, and we decided that we were going to go to the BBQ and jump up at Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke. We were close so we thought that we would head in early. As we were sailing up, we noticed a small beach bar in a remote beach West of Foxy's. Everyone voted to stop in and have "one". The boat was anchored, and we all dove in and swam to shore.

As we waded in from the sea, we noticed that the bar was named the "Soggy Dollar". How appropriate. The bar was know for their "Painkillers" so the group ordered a round. The first one tasted so good, we sent several back to the boat to get more Soggy dollars. Another painkiller turned into a few more. As the afternoon wore on, more and more crews began to arrive. A group of six college students arrived in a sport fisherman boat. They found a game in the bar, called the ring game. We ended up playing that game for hours. Check it out! http://www.soggydollar.com/ringgame/

The bar was built on the beach, and the view was fantastic. We continually waded into and out of the water. Sat on loungers. And enjoyed almost 5 hours at the bar killing pain...

Finally, we had to go. Foxy's jump up was calling, and we needed to have a painkiller there to check out which bar served the best one on Jost Van Dyke. Man that was rough duty.... Sign me up to live that day over and over again!

Dinner and a Donkey...

Captain Don decided that this trip to the British Virgin Islands should be different from the last. He wanted to go to Anegada. As we had not gone to Anegada before, the charter company required that we take a captain along for the ride. We picked him up at the North end of Virgin Gorda and headed toward Anegada. The day was very calm, so the sailing was slow. The mood on the boat was strange, because captain Don did not want another captain on the boat and we had done enough bare boat charters that we really didn't need a captain along. This was our seventh bareboat trip as a group. Oh well, more beer!

The hired Captain directed us to the very West end of the Island, then we proceeded East inside the reefs to a secluded beach. We were the only boat anchored in the bay. Lisa - true to form - was reading in the travel guide. She found a restaurant in the bay and discovered that you needed to radio in before 4 PM to let them know if you were going to have dinner. Seemed odd, but we followed directions. Later that night we figured out why. We were the only patrons at the restaurant that night....

About 6 pm we rolled off the boat into the dinghy and headed in to the restaurant. It was a very cool little building. It was open through the middle (basically just a roof over the top, and the kitchen was on the West end of the building. A small bar was built into the East side of the building wall. We ordered dinner, and then settled into cocktails. Our crew drifted in and out of the bar as the sun set. It was a hot evening, with a very warm breeze. Some sat inside with easy access to the bar, others in beach chairs out by the beach. This restaurant was literally ON the beach, which was very cool. It was also about the only building in the bay at all. We are talking about hundreds of yards of pristine beach with maybe one other building along it. A very....very....very relaxed and remote setting.

Dinner arrived and we had all sat down to eat. everyone was having a great time. The sun had set, and it was early dusk. The only light in the area was coming from inside the restaurant where we were eating. Remember - open in the middle on both sides (North - South). This was providing a great breeze. It must have smelled great outside the restaurant as we were eating. Everyone was laughing and carrying on. All of a sudden we realized that there were 9 of us (instead of the eight that came to shore). It wasn't staff at the restaurant either... A Donkey had walked in to the restaurant from the North (inland side) and was slowly meandering through the building. Absolute silence. I swear everyone was thinking at the same time "am I halucinating?" Out the Donkey walked on to the beach... Everyone breaks into laughter. First time I ever ate dinner with a Donkey.

We finished up dinner and headed in to "The Settlement" looking for night life. Not a lot was found, but we already had our story for the evening!

Calling you guys out!

Ok,

I need some help here.

I need someone (Dave, Craigr, Troy, or Vinkman) to tell the "O'Malley" the Irish Taxi driver story

I need someone (Candy, Craigr, Troy) to tell the "Rawhide" - Sea Camp Story, or the 6 intelligent men story

Any other stories would be appreciated Greatly!

Vinnie

Vinkman Down

We had just finished snorkeling and the sun was setting off of Salt Island. Captain Don decided that he wanted more night life. He thought that Salt Island would be boring for the group so with almost no sun left in the day we decided to head to Norman Island. The "Caves" were there for adventure tomorrow, and maybe there would be some night life

As we got closer, night was falling. We pulled in just in time to find a mooring and discover the "Willie T". After grilling out and enjoying dinner, the group decided to clean up and head over to the Willie T for entertainment. The "Willie T" is a boat anchored in the harbor that operates as a pub and grub. When we first got there the night life was a little slow. We thought that we were in for a sleeper. However as the night wore on, more of the crew members from the fleet in the bay began to arrive. Next thing we know, the music is cranking and the back deck becomes a dance floor.

Now imagine this. The deck is not flat, as it is toward the back of the ship and angles up at about 15 degrees. It is the ship's "Poop" deck - for lack of a better description. By this time, the group has been steadily drinking for hours. Vinkman is "rockin'" he is jumping up and down in our little "mosh" pit. Next think we know, DOWN goes Vink. He slipped on the angled deck, probably due to all the spilled drinks that were running toward the bar. No worse for wear.

Next morning we all admired his "deck rash".

If you ever get to Norman Island, don't skip a trip to the "Willie T" Lots of good memories!

CAN DO attitude taken to the EXTREME!

It was to be our first trip to the Bahama's. We had chartered a Hunter passage from Florida Yacht Charters. The charter company told us the night before (when we arrived) that the weather was looking rough for our first day, and they would not allow us to cross if the winds were over 20 knots. We got up in the morning, went through the dreaded "Check out" on the boat, and checked the weather. The wind was 19 knots. Captain Don was very specific when he talked to the charter company "it is 19 knot winds, that is less than 20." They relented, but not until after they informed us about a German gentleman that was driven by his schedule. He sailed regardless of the weather, anchored out one night in the Bahama's and was washed up onto the reef. Lost the whole boat. Specifically because he HAD to make his destinations according to schedule. (there was a moral in this story, but it was conveniently ignored by Captain Don - another man of German decent ;)

We headed out of Miami East toward Bimini. As we started, the sun was out, and the entire crew was basking in the sun. The waves were about 10 -12 footers. The boat was riding rather nicely in the seas. As the day wore on, the weather blew in. As the front rolled past, the clouds came in. It grew very dark grey. The wind picked up - averaging about 25 knots actual (a little over 30 kts apparent). We reefed the main sail, and rolled in the Genoa to roughly a king size blanket. Slowly but surly the crew disappeared below to hide. The seas grew to about 20 - 25 footers. You would lose sight of the horizon as you dropped into the troughs. Just walls of waves on either quarter. To add to the fun, the seas were confused due to the change in wind direction from the front that rolled in. This would provide rogue waves every so often as the two waves combined and multiplied their height.

I was in full weather gear. Actually having a really good time. I felt like Luitentant Dan in "Forest Gump". I was hootin' and hollerin'. I felt very secure as the boat was handling the seas fantastically. Just enough sail to have strong control of the helm, but not too much so as to create weather helm. It was a solid boat, and felt very secure. Winged keels really help stabilize a boat in serious weather.

My sister and her friend Laurie came out to join me in full weather gear. They were getting sick below and wanted to see the horizon. When the made it out into the cockpit, they both stood in front of me facing back toward the stern. They held tight to the helm. Me spinning the wheel, and they watched and looked shocked. About 15 minutes after they came up, we hit a rogue wave. They were watching me, I was looking forward. It appeared on the port quarter, and they saw my eyes go WIDE. They braced for the impact. It slapped hard against the hull and sent a sheet of water half way between the first and second spreaders on the mast. (About 25 feet above the cockpit) the wall of water collapsed into the cockpit. Filled it with about 2 feet of water, pushing the girls against the helm. That was enough for them, back into the cabin. I had a good chuckle. After about 3 hours of this rough passage, we entered into the shelter of Bimini Islands. The seas calmed down dramatically as the wind was out of the NE and you enter the harbor through the reef to the West of the Islands. This entrance is interesting. You pass through a reef, and then run between the reef and the beach (100 yards only between the two) until you pass between the islands and into the harbor. I was glad the wind and waves were from the right direction for that entrance. If the weather was from another direction we would have never been able to make it into that harbor. Especially the first time into the harbor.

Beer tasted really good that night at "The End of the World Bar". I will never forget that sail. Never.

Another top 5 sail.