Key West to Bahamas passage

01/30/10    0400

Position: 24.33.74N

                  81.32.20W

 

Conditions: Clear Skies, Full Moon. Winds SE 10-15, seas 3-5ft.

 

Update: Close reaching up Hawks Channel. A bit of shoal dodging. We left Key West just after 12 midnight. We were waiting for the wind to make a shift to the South East as to not be beating our way up the Keys. It is a lovely morning. Just a few stars and a big, bright, full moon over the shoulder. Now, to get some sleep.

 

 

 

01/30/10    1200

Position: 24.57.17N

                  80.23.58W

 

Conditions: Winds SSE 15kts seas 2-4ft.

Update: Riding the Gulf stream like a champ! We are making 11 kts steady, beam-reaching and just having a fantastic sail. Perfect Schooner conditions. When And If is loving it! Our heading is just North of NE on a course for North Bimini Rocks. We plan to bi-pass Bimini and head straight for New Providence (Nassua) as the winds will be shifting North tomorrow offering us no protection to anchor in Bimini ,and a nice ride down Northeast Providence Channel. And here starts the saga of a boat with 9ft draft tooling around the Bahamas... some of the island most well-known for being shallow, but they sure are beautiful!

 

 

01/31/10    0800

Position: 25.30.23N

                  77.36.93W

Conditions: Winds SW 10kts seas short and steep 2-4 ft. S swell.

Update: Almost there.  Caught a glimpse of Bimini just as the sun was going down. Spent the night time hours sailing around Bimini and the morning hours skirting the Berry Islands chain. We thought about pulling in to Great Harbor Cay, Berry Islands for some rest this morning as the winds had increased to 20 kts and had not veered SW as they were forecast to. (go figure) Instead we decided to put 2 reefs in the main at 3 am and by 5, the wind had died. Of course.  We set the D-sail (engine) and have been motor sailing since.  About 4 hours to go to Nassau. Can’t complain. It has been a fantastic sail. (a very wet, salty, tiring, fantastic sail.)   The sunrise this morning was one of the best yet, mostly due to the fact that the full moon was setting at the same time and the color contrast was intense. 

Bahama Bound...

  The good ship, When And If and her mighty crew of 2 (joined by Lyle Zell for the trip) will be leaving Key West tonight headed for the Bahamas. Not that we haven't had fun, but man o man are we ready to get out of Key West Harbor. 

  The winds look to give us a good two day window through the seemingly endless cold fronts we have been experiencing this winter. We will be crossing the gulf stream early Saturday morning. Should be fun. 3 kts of current used to our advantage. 

  Look for our updated blog in a few days, I will try and keep a running log while we are sailing they seem to be the most fun to read. :) 

   Wish us favorable winds and seas. and we'll see you in the bahamas!!

~Schooner When And If~

Holidays, Honeymoons, and what's next...

Location: Back in Key West, Fl

Weather: Mostly Sunny. 80 degrees. winds SE 15-20kts

Update: Well, sorry for the long absence of blogs entries. You know how things get a little crazy around the holidays. :) 

Extremely belated, but...  

Happy Holidays and Merry New Years from the Schooner When And If!!!

    We spent Christmas with Seychelle's family in Key Largo and then headed to this awesome spot called The Dry Tortugas National Park. Almost 70 miles west of Key West lies a cluster of seven islands, composed of coral reefs and sand. The area is known for its famous bird and marine life, its legends of pirates and sunken gold, and its military past. It was a long, bumpy day sail to get there, but it sure was worth it! We visited the Civil War era Ft. Jefferson and snorkeled around it's moat. Relaxed on the beach and witnessed some spectacular gulf sunsets. 

    Heading back to Key West for some New Years excitement, the Schooner Wharf Bar was the place to be. A crowd of people gathered to see the Schooner Wench dropped at midnight from the mast of the Halie Matthew, a local charter Schooner docked at the Wharf. 

     

More recently: The Crew returned from two weeks Honeymoon in Roatan, Honduras. The ship was left in the caring hands of Lyle Zell, our former third crew member, and Christian Cabral, another friend from the Vineyard. In the Summer they run a small wooden sloop Liberty doing charters out of Vineyard Haven. 

   We recently fabricated and installed ratlins on the Starboard fore shrouds to ease in going aloft. This will come in very handy when we are cruising around the sand bars and coral reefs of the bahamas. The higher an angle you have on the water, the easier it is to tell the depth and see what's ahead. 

  

Ship's News: When And If  will be departing for the Bahamas this weekend!! 

Bye Bye, Key West. This week we will be stocking the boat with spare parts and supplies.

Okay..more to follow soon.

Cheers!

Brand New Sails!!!

Location: Key West, Fl 

Weather: Rainy and windy with Tornado warnings to boot.  yuck. 

Update: This week Ben Sperry of Sperry Sails in Marion, Mass came down to install a brand new complete set of sails for When And If.  They are 9oz. cream fabric with maximum UV protection. And they look amazing!!! Please check out our photos from Tuesday's sail. I posted an entire album on Facebook.  Check it out and tell us what you think.

We invited crew from the schooner Adirondak II and Appledore to come help us try them out. It was a fun, successful day, We are VERY psyched about our new sails. Sperry did a great job and the boss is happy. (We're comin' for you, Juno) 

   

Key Wierd...

  Location: Key West, Fl

  Weather: It's been mostly sunny and in the 80's since we arrived. Very nice.

     A few thunderstorms here and there.

  Update: Our first week in Key West has been interesting. Key West is a colorful community. This tropical US oasis is full of vibrance, not to mention thousands of tourists, flamboyant gays, and crazy street vendors. Some would go as far to say "this is where crazies go to go pro." and "The US was stood on it's side and shaken, and all of the loose nuts and bolts fell to Key West."

But, mostly it is a pleasant, accepting community.  There is a large boating community, liveaboards, fishermen, and several Schooners.  There is an entire wharf dedicated to Schooners. Upon arrival, we were greeted on the dock by other schooner bums wanting to lend a hand, locals offering knowledge on anchoring, shopping, and places to eat, and just plain admirers come to look. Over-all, (if you ignore the occasional drunk encounter) Key West is a very friendly, fun place to be. 

   We are currently out on the hook (anchored) in a very pleasant location. There is quite a tidal rip through the harbor, but it seems no matter what the wind/current direction, it stays fairly calm out here, which is great news! 

   We have made a few friends and because we are on a boat, a schooner no less, (which is the cool thing to be around here) we have immediately been accepted as locals.  A  rare feeling for our lifestyle. We have tried to explore some of what being a local Key Weirder means, but mostly we are just sitting out in the anchorage working on When And If.

  This week we have managed to sand and prep almost every bit of above deck varnish. (minus the spars)  We have applied one coat of Epiphanes high gloss so far with hopes of applying a second coat today.  Just a few hatch trims left to prep and maybe next week we can tackle the spars. The boat is looking mighty shiny with her new paint and fresh varnish. "The best looking boat in the harbor" once again. ;)

   Well, speaking of work, it's about that time. 

  Thanks for reading.

  Cheers!

 

The Florida Keys

 Position: 24.33.21N

                  81.36.86W 

Weather: 80 degrees N winds at 10-15kts

                  Seas 1-2 ft  Beautiful Sailing conditions!

Update: When and If is currently sailing at a lovely 7kts, broad-reaching down hawks channel. 

It is a beautiful day for sailing! 

   Our trip through the Keys so far has been a fun time. Our first day out of Ft. Lauderdale we made a good 60 miles and anchored off of Turtle Rocks in North Key Largo. It was a very rolly night as the wind was blowing on-shore and we only had a shallow reef to hide behind. A front passed through and kept us awake all night with lightning and thunder. It was high-time to leave in the morning as we motor-sailed 30 miles down the coast to the southern tip of Key Largo and anchored behind Rodriguez Key, a much nicer spot.  We spent the Thanksgiving holidays with Family and friends. Seychelle is from Key Largo. Her family was very happy to see us. *A huge thank you to Snappers Restaurant for letting us park our dinghy and use their dock.* (mm95 oceanside. great seafood ;) )

   We sailed on Saturday from Rodriguez Key straight down Hawks Channel to Bahia Honda Key. It was another 60 mile, beautiful day. 

   Hawks Channel is this deep water (10-30ft. deep for the keys) channel that runs the entire length of the Florida Keys from about 1 mile offshore to the inner edge of the reefs. The water is calm and the winds is constant. 

   There are only a hand full of places that we can anchor with a 9ft draft and still be moderately protected. Bahia Honda Key has got to my favorite. The entire key is a state park. There is camping, a nice beach, BBQ pits, and deep water.  To get to the anchorage you have to sail through a break in the ruins of Henry Flagler's railroad bridge. It is one of the only remaining segments of what once was a railway from Miami all the way to Key West over 100 years ago. It's a great spot and not well known by any other than locals because the break in the bridge is not shown on the charts. 

   I must go back to sailing now. We should be in Key West in 2 hours. 

   Until next time..

   Cheers!

 

A few photos

   Here's those shots I promised of the hauling and painting. All said and done, two new coats of Brightside on the topsides and a fresh slathering of anti-fouling on the bottom and we are ready to launch in seven days. Key West, here we come.