Leaving Miami, it is a pleasant sail down to the Florida Keys. Unlike our trip north in the fall of 2019, we encountered only the rare crab trap on the trip south. Much better than trying to navigate the mine field!
Freak Storm off Key Largo!
Arriving in Key Largo, we anchored off Rodriquez Key. The anchorage is somewhat protected from the north and south but grants little respite from eastward winds. After a beautiful day of swimming in calm, clear water a freak storm started coming in from the north.
The entire sky turned black and the wind started honking. We rushed through pulling up the dingy and securing the boat. Thank goodness because it became incredibly rough. Boats in the anchorage started dragging and one poor guy who couldn’t get his anchor up alone kept dragging into boats. He bounced off us twice before getting tangled in the anchor of a catamaran behind us. Next thing we knew they were both dragging toward shore. We listened on the VHF to see what was going on. The guy on the catamaran had to dive in the water to untangle the anchors to set them free. Scary stuff!
Exploring Key Largo
A dingy trip up the main canal in Key Largo takes you past gorgeous mansions, multiple marinas and restaurants. At the end of the canal sits the African Queen from the infamous Humphry Bogart movie. You can even go out for a tour on it if you so desire. Built in 1912, it has traveled the globe before arriving here and undergoing a restoration to become a tourist attraction.
Travelling South through the Keys
Leaving Key Largo, we continued south along the keys with sunny skies and fair winds. We spent time in Marathon snorkeling Sombrero Reef. I felt like I was in an aquarium at Sea World with so many brightly colored fish all around me! I could reach out and touch a hundred of them right under the boat. It was an incredible experience not to be missed.
The downside of Marathon is a lack of shore access, unless you are willing to pay an exorbitant amount for the city dingy dock, so we carried on to Key West for provisioning. Winds were perfect and we were able to sail almost to Mallory Square up the channel. Time to stock up on groceries, take on water and pump the heads before heading out again.
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