Long Key Bight to Lignumvitae Key

Day 35: Sunday, March 27, 2016

The wind blew probably 10 to 15 knots all night causing the boat to dance around a bit, but we are used to the movement and slept well.  The most important thing that allowed for the good rest was that the anchors held.  We had cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast,

We were in no hurry to get underway this morning since our destination was not

Sailing with main and jib heading for Bowlegys Cut

that far away.  I raised the sails at around 9:00 and we sailed away from the anchor.  With both the main and jib flying we were making about 6 knots on a beat.  My goal was to sail over to and through the Channel 5 Channel bridge opening.  The wind was strong and our side drift was such that I couldn’t quite sail up to the opening, so we started the motor and pinched upwind to a point where we could fall off and make the pass.  All went well as we were screaming into the opening when a puff hit us and the boat skewed hard to wind.  I was pulling hard on the tiller trying to overcome the lift as we headed for the wooden bunkers that line the passage.  I yelled to Janine to let the main go which she did with haste.  The boat settled back down and we rode gently through the passage.

On the Florida Bay side of the bridge, away from the waves on the Atlantic side, we

Cormorants on sticks just outside of Bowlegys Cut

had a thrilling 3 to 4 mile ride, making about 5 to 6 knots the whole way.  Our course took us through a narrow 100 yard wide passage known as Bowlegys Cut that was through a field of 1 foot waters.  There was some boat traffic in the area which were all heading for that passage so we dropped our sails and motored through. 

From that cut, we swung south heading for the primitive island called Lignumvitae.   We dropped anchor on the north side in the beautiful blue waters.  

I finally ran out of my special soft taco mix that I have been enjoying for this trip so I had to break out my hidden stash of SPAM so that I can nourish my body comfortably for the remainder of the trip.  Since I ran out of the other food, I am only in a little bit of trouble having snuck it aboard.

 

 After lunch, I went swimming and realized that the

Calm anchorage on the north side of Lignumvitae Key

water was actually not very clear and I could only see about 3 feet in front of me.  This is quite different from all of the other places in which I have been swimming.  I assumed that it must be an interesting place to skin dive because, while we were there, we saw no less than 4 dive boats pull in and send forth their swimmers.  We talked to the leader of a group of Boy Scouts from Nevada and ask what they were seeing and he said that saw a crab and some sponges.  Really, this area was more devoid of life than the other anchorages.

Our reason for coming to Lignumvitae is to visit the state’s botanical park.  This uninhabited island has been kept pristine and the state has set up a visitors

A lonesome Second Wind anchored at Lignumvitae Key

center where they conduct programs explain the history and development of the key as an example of what it was like before man’s invasion.  We will travel to the center dock by Dink tomorrow.

We got some more reading time in before dinner of fettuccini with chicken in cheese sauce and peas (and unlike my childhood, I did eat all of my peas).

After dinner, we took the Dink for a cruise along the shore of the island looking for a place to get off and walk but the shoreline was very course coral and quite impassable.  Later, I got out my sextant and tried to take some star sightings, but the sky was covered with a

Sunset looking west from Lignumvitae Key

thin veil of clouds and the water was hazy. By the time I could finally find the stars, I could not see the horizon.  I tried to take some shots, but when I did the calculations, I found that I was hopelessly lost.  Thank you GPS!

We finished out the day engrossed in a couple of good books.