A Trip to Bahia Honda!

We've been plotting, planning, supplying, and waiting (and waiting and waiting) for our trip to the Bahamas.  A favorable wind was nowhere in sight.

Our friends Kristopher and Lita from Wee Happy (another tiny boat in the harbor, a 27-foot Albin Vega) came over for some drinks last Friday night.  They talked about how they were heading toward the Dry Tortugas, stopping first at Bahia Honda, which is only 10 miles west of here.  It's free to anchor, the beach is lovely, and they have ice cream there!  Without too much arm twisting, they convinced us to go with them.  A change of scenery was just what we needed.  Why wait in Boot Key Harbor when you can wait at Bahia Honda!?

So Sunday morning-ish (maybe closer to noon), we set out.  There were 4 little sailboats going down there, all 27 feet. Besides Wee Happy, there was Wave Dancer and Gemini Dreams.  We had our big rainbow genoa up, and Wee Happy had their colorful spinnaker flying.  Over the radio, they called us the 27-Foot Groove Armada.

Gemini Dreams, Wave Dancer, and Wee Happy with the 7-Mile Bridge behind

Wee Happy sailing wing-and-wing

We left a little earlier than the rest of them, so we made it into the anchorage in time to take pictures of the rest coming in.

Capt Wes, single-handing Gemini Dreams like a pro

Wee Happy, cruising into the anchorage

Wave Dancer, anchoring (with their super fluffy dog ready to jump)

 Once we were all settled in, we hung out in Wee Happy's cockpit for some cocktails.  There was a bit of unsuccessful fishing (I caught one fish, but you can't feed 7 people with one fish).  Then we had an awesome potluck on our boat.  Yep, we can actually fit 7 people on our boat for dinner.  Who knew?  We even managed to play cards until we were all ready to drop.  11:30 is way past my bedtime.  It was a fantastic night, full of friends and fun.

The next morning, Trevor and I went to shore for breakfast.  It was a nice treat to not make coffee or clean up dishes.  At least, I assume it was (right, Trevor?).  And the day just got better from there.  We walked on the beach.  We took the dinghy out to a little island and hung out.  By this time, Curt and Christina from Drifter had come out to join us. 

Drifter going past the island

Drifter coming through the bridge into the anchorage

The island is pretty nifty.  It's a lot of eroded coral, with some tidal pools that I couldn't help but check out.  They mostly contained thousands of hermit crabs (itty bitty ones), but a couple had some fish, and even some live coral. 

The eroded coral almost looked like volcanic rock

Waves splashing on the island.

Coral living in the tidal pool.

Trevor, Christina, and Lita on the island.

After the island, we hung out on the beach for a little while.  Then we got some ice cream and had showers.  Then it was time for dinner again!  Wes brought some shrimp for us to cook.  We had grilled shrimp kabobs with some corn, green beans, and creamy pasta.  Delicious!  Eventually, a park ranger informed us the park closed at sunset, so we had to leave.  It was a fantastic day! 

Sunset at Bahia Honda

More sunset (it was a really good one)

Last sunset picture for this blog (too many pictures to choose from)

Yesterday the plan was to head out to Looe Key for some snorkeling, and then to Newfound Harbor for the evening before heading back to Boot Key this morning.  But you know how plans go sometimes.  Almost as soon as we were out of the anchorage, the water was choppy.  We thought we'd raise a sail once we got out there, but it was too rough for Trevor to attempt.  Looe Key was out of the question, so we thought we'd just head back to Boot Key.  That was the idea, anyway.  The water got rougher, the seas choppy and confused.  We'd rock one way, then another.  And then the engine started acting funny, spitting out black crud with the exhaust.  We had this problem a while back, but thought it was taken care of.  We decided to head back to Bahia Honda. 

Meanwhile, Wee Happy and Gemini Dreams were headed toward Key West.  With the rough seas bouncing them around so much, a shackle on Wee Happy's sail let go and nearly dumped the whole thing in the water.  Luckily, they were able to recover it before it was a major disaster.  They decided to head back to Bahia Honda, too.  Wes was traveling with them, so he headed back, too.  On the way, his jib was torn.  Three wee boats set out, and three wee boats limped back in. 

Our toilet was getting pretty full.  The park has pumpout, but the channel getting in is only 3 1/2 feet deep.  That's what we draw.  So we had to wait until high tide and hope for the best.  We made it in without a problem, and so did Wee Happy.  Yay for empty toilets!  We left the dinghy attached to the anchor, so we didn't have to reset once we got out there.  It was a good plan, and we just picked up the line and tied back on.

And with us all together again, we had dinner together again!  Delicious lobster alfredo pasta with veggies in it.  So good!  Another excellent meal with good friends (the location wasn't bad, either). 

This morning, we headed out at the reasonable hour of 10:00.  The water was much calmer today!  We had 2-3 foot seas, but they were rolling, instead of choppy.  So it was a pretty good, if slow, trip in.  We couldn't run the motor above about 60% because it would start spitting out the black crud.  But we made it back onto the mooring ball with no excitement.  Then we shared our adventures with Mom and Dad (they were happy to see us).

Now we'll have to see what's going on with the motor.  Trevor emailed the mechanic we've been using.  Hopefully, it won't be a major problem.  It looks like another week before a weather window opens up, so I think we'll have time to get repairs done. 

One of these days, we'll get over to the Bahamas!  But it was nice to get out of the harbor for a little while.

Earendil at anchor