Key West Wreckers Race and More!

 

February 26th - well over a week in Key West and making many more memories -  so hard to leave this place!!  On Saturday, 2/22, we had the opportunity to once again meet Captain Len who married us 10 years ago on the original Schooner America, (the America 2 now resides in Key West and is skippered by Captain Andrew).  It  was through Len that we learned about the Key West Wreckers Race scheduled for 2/23,- a 7 mile offshore race to the reef at Sand Key.  Len was racing his C&C 39 Black Ice, which like us, he is very proud of his boat.  Fred and I started thinking...... it would be fun to do this race! We attended the skippers meeting that night and had the opportunity to meet and mingle with the local sailors and schooner captains at the famed Schooners Wharf.  Great party with great people and a continued flow of rum punch and appetizers! We were delighted to meet and chat with Terry Briggs  (whose brother is captain of New Jersey's schooner AJ Meerwald, father Lane who started the famous Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, and sister-in-law Megan Wren, local Delaware Bayshore activist).  Terri is a tug boat captain in Port Everglades and a wealth of local knowledge.  Also met Evelina (who races her J 24 and is owner of the Schooner Wharf and previous owner of the original Schooner America replica which we were married on) and Captain Andrew of the America 2 who invited us out for a sail on the America (which of course we  took him up on!).  We left that night feeling honored to be part of this community.  Sunday we entered the race for a 1:05 start after anchoring and cleaning the bottom.  There were 3 starts and 5 divisions.   At our gun we crossed the start line first only to see 2 40+ boats charging us with their engines on.  Race rules allow engines right up to the start line - these guys definitely crossed under power!!  It was a beautiful day with southeast winds under 10 knots as we sailed a course to the reef.   Over 40 boats were out there and it felt great to have Cats Paws as one of them and in the lead - which you know makes Fred very happy!  We continued to sail the current and wind and cross the line first in our class - woohoo!! This made Cats Paws the talk of the Wharf and gave us fame in Key West!!  That evening we celebrated at the awards BBQ,  Key West Style - more time to share sailing stories and meet some really cool people.  Yes we accepted our First Place trophy, t-shirt, hat, bottle of rum and a rum mug on stage at the Schooner Wharf!!  First in our class and third place overall!  Not bad for cruisers carrying a boat load of stuff.

                            

                                        

                                 

 Once again we thanked our power boat friends on the dock for their fanfare and support (as they were kind enough to help us out of the slip and guard our generator, fuel jugs, and dinghy!)  This was truly the highlight of our Key West visit!  The Galleon Marina spoiled us with all its amenities, beautiful harbor view and convenient location to all the fabulous Key West shops and restaurants (B.O.'s - best conch fritters and cracked conch with Kaliks; Alonzo's - half price drinks and appetizers every night; El Siboney - best Cuban food ever; and of course Pepe's for breakfast).    Also while here we were able to make appointments to register with Customs and Border Patrol for our Local Boater Option and to file a float plan for our trip to the Bahamas.  We were fortunate our interview and fingerprinting went well and the federal building was just around the corner from our marina.

Days are flying by and each one has brought a beauty of its own!  Boats, Beaches, Bars, & Ballads -  Jimmy Buffet definitely had it right!!  

We stayed in Key West through the weekend and departed on March 2nd with 17 knots of East-Northeast winds - perfect sailing from Key West Northwest Channel to the Ten Thousand Islands.  Marco Island being the northern most island of the Ten Thousand Islands.  Here we plan to spend some time anchoring in the Everglades National Park and then onto Marco Island to stay with our wonderful friends Rocky and MaryLee.  Here we will provision and prepare our two boats for our dream sail to the  Bahamas.   Looking forward to seeing them and the beautiful beaches of Marco!!

                                          

                                     

           At the helm of America 2