If you’ve never been to Key West, Florida, it’s well worth the effort to get there, especially if you’re tired of snow, cold winds or just need a break from everyday life. You can fly into Miami and drive south on US Highway 1 crossing bridge after bridge, island after island (called keys) for about 130 miles until you reach historic Key West.
Clouds were getting heavy and dark and the winds were picking up as we readied the boat to sail from Dry Tortugas to Key West. Our son, Mat, and several of his friends had joined us for some diving and fishing in the area. We had a great time, but as the sky began to look more ominous, Mat’s three buddies came on deck looking suspiciously sheepish.
“We think we’re going to take the fast ferry boat to Key West and meet you guys there. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine in Key West until you get there in a couple of days,” they said. Not one of them could actually look us in the eye, but you could tell they were quite unsure whether we or Wild Goose could make the passage in one piece. I looked over at Mat. He shook his head slowly.
“Not me, guys. I’m going with my mom and dad. It might get pretty rough and I think they could use the help,” he said. My eyes teared up a bit. Though he never showed it, I knew that Mat always worried about us on the boat. He’s an excellent sailor and knew the boat almost as well as we did, but he also knew it’s a big ocean out there that can swallow a small sailboat.
We put the guys on the ferry with a few teasing words like “wimp, but don’t worry about it” and maybe a “chicken-shit” or two, but I knew it was the best choice. Rough seas are challenging enough without having three seasick and puking guys aboard.
We eased out of Dry Tortugas and set a reefed main and half-furled jib. It’s easy to reef your sails in moderate seas, but if you wait until the wind is intense and the boat is pitching back and forth, a trip forward on the deck becomes a risky venture. Experienced sailors will tell you the old adage ‘a reef in time’ means the time to reef is when you first think about it. We had a few hours of good sailing before the seas began to kick up. I went below and secured the last few objects that could become flying projectiles in a storm and cooked an early dinner.
Slowly, the waves began to increase in size and the wind began whipping the crest of each wave into a watery nebula spewing a salty cloud of mist across the deck and dodger. The waves had a short period meaning there wasn’t much distance between each wave. Steep, quick waves occur when the wind is against a current. We had an easterly wind blowing against the Gulf Stream headed in a westerly direction. Instead of rising on the front face, easing over the crest and riding down the back side to the trough, Wild Goose rose up on the wave, crested and hit the face of the next wave. Bam! The bow struck the water like a belly-flop and the boat shook throughout her hull. It sounded like a gunshot traveling through the cabin. She seemed to stop for a few seconds as the noise and trembling dissipated through the water, and then took her place to travel up the next wave and start the process all over again.
At one point, Mat looked up at us and said, “Do you think we’ll make it?” Until that point (and even afterwards), I had not given the possibility that she might break apart a second thought. I trusted Wild Goose. That was good enough for me.
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| Dominique, The Cat Man |
As the sun dipped beyond the horizon, a spectacular glow of bright orange and pink loomed across the sky. A man whipped by the crowd on a motor scooter wearing nothing at all but a pair of tennis shoes. The crowd whooped and hollered and loved every minute of it.
That’s Key West for you!
