I captured this video last night from my little dock on the Bay.
Enjoy one minute of this dramatic sunset.
Sunset On The Bay
A masterpiece is being painted today Down by the seashore, down by the bay. The colors are radiant, as I watch Standing where The Master is painting The sunset out there.
The sky, once so blue, Is aglow in my sight. His painting is crimson, with gold tinted light. The sea caught the reflection And doubled the shine. How I wish I could make This painting all mine.
The colors are perfect As they blend one by one, His waters ... the paints, His paintbrush ... the sun. And my thoughts are prayerful As homeward I plod. The canvas ... the sky, And the Artist ... is God.
Last evening Roland and I set sail about 3:30 for an evening sail out to one of the Keys (Park Key), it was a great sail out with a steady breeze from the West, about 6-8Kts. As we arrived at our destination the sun was just setting and it would not be until sometime later that we would arrive back at our respective docks. As we came about we could see storm clouds brewing in the North, it was an angry looking affair that was making some fast tracks in our direction. We could see lightning in the distance and hear thunder following the strikes. There was not much we could do at this point except make the best of our little Catboat rigs to speed us home in time , before wind, rain and lightning closed in on us. As we approached our harbor the wind, as so often happens before the arrival of a squall, died leaving us just a little apprehensive. "Hey Roland, time for the iron wind". As quickly as I got those words out of my mouth, our little 2.3 HP Honda's were purring and propelling us to our home bases.
Update, the storm, no small affair, passed us to the East and missed us entirely. Would we have missed this sail and the opportunity to enjoy the Florida Bay in the evening, no chance. Keep a weather eye and you will almost always be safe in this region.
Here are a few pictures of our evening sail.
Meeting up with Roland aboard IBIS for an evening sail.
PUFFIN, heading out to Park Key, in the Florida Everglades.
Park Key in the distance.
Clouds gathering in the North
PUFFIN under a shroud of clouds.
Heading back, following Ibis and her stern light.
This beautiful backdrop turns very angry in just a few minutes.
GMZ031-140930-
FLORIDA BAY INCLUDING BARNES SOUND, BLACKWATER SOUND, AND
BUTTONWOOD SOUND-
846 PM EST WED NOV 13 2013
...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT...
.OVERNIGHT...NORTHEAST WINDS AROUND 30 KNOTS WITH FREQUENT GUSTS OF
35 TO 40 KNOTS. BAY WATERS EXTREMELY ROUGH. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.THURSDAY...NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS 25 TO 30 KNOTS AND GUSTY...
DECREASING TO NEAR 25 KNOTS AND GUSTY IN THE AFTERNOON. BAY WATERS
EXTREMELY ROUGH. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS AND GUSTY.
BAY WATERS VERY ROUGH. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.FRIDAY...EAST WINDS NEAR 20 KNOTS. BAY WATERS ROUGH. SCATTERED
SHOWERS.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...EAST WINDS NEAR 20 KNOTS...BECOMING EAST TO
SOUTHEAST AND DECREASING TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.SATURDAY...EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. BAY WATERS
CHOPPY. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...EAST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS.
BAY WATERS CHOPPY. ISOLATED SHOWERS.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS NEAR 15 KNOTS.
BAY WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. ISOLATED SHOWERS.
The Upper Keys Sailing Club will be hosting the Moth Class Winter Series this year.
Here are the weekends that we are hosting the regattas:
Jan 3 - 5 (Moth Winter Series #1, expecting 18 boats, probably 25-30 people
)
Jan 30 - Feb 2 (Moth Winter Series #2, expecting 20 boats, 30
people)
March 21 - 23 (Moth Winter Series #4, expecting 26 boats, 30-50 people)
This is the same club that hosts the "Southern Most" Catboat Regatta annually, in February. Looking forward to watching these High Tech, little craft skip along the water.
About three times a winter a group of Go Fast boat owners head from Miami to the Keys.
You know when they are heading South because the roar that emanates from these boats can be heard for miles away. It is not unusual for as many as 40 to 70 of the speed boats to blow by on the ICW, in flights of ten to twenty at a time. Thankfully, these craft are pretty much limited to the narrow path of the ICW and that they go so fast they are gone in a flash. Truthfully, it is an amazing sight to behold, what with the roar of the high powered engines, the long rooster tails spraying out in their wakes and the utter immensity of some of these very expensive water borne rockets.
My Marshall Sanderling PUFFIN was launched last Thursday and has already logged some miles on the Florida Bay. This week, however, the wind has arrived full force and has caused all nautical activities to cease.
A case in point.
Down here in the Keys, unless you are in a rather large marina, they launch most boats with a huge Fork Lift. In the case of our little Marshalls, they employ a set of sling straps to lift the boats off their trailers. This system is very effective and takes no time to get the boats overboard and the mast raised; it isn't like you have one device to launch then another device to lift the mast, the Fork Lift does it all and in a minimum of time.
PUFFIN all set to be launched
The Fork lift moves into position to lift the boat off the trailer.
In the background you can see the racks where boats are dry stored, the Fork Lift is used mainly to access those craft, at the owners request.
Straps are in place
Carefully, the boat is lifted off the trailer and moved to the pit for launching. They use the same lift to install the mast.
Although the wind has been blowing out of the North at about 25-30 Kts for the last few days, the temperatures are still in the mid eighties, making for some very pleasant conditions to work on the boats, bringing them up to snuff as it were. On the Marshall, a new 2.3 Honda was installed and the interior was detailed to get rid of dirt and dust that accumulated over the summer while in storage. The Flats Boat needed a new bilge pump and some wiring upgrades, in addition a new stern light was installed to replace the defective old one.
New Honda 2.3 four stroke for the Marshall
PUFFIN at her dock, a well protected canal safe from all directions of wind.
New Mark Beaton sail has been bent on and she just awaits her skipper for a sail.
Here in the Keys where boats are used many more months out of the year, compared to up North, gear has to be change out more frequently. In this case it was the bilge pump that just wore out, it was in the boat since 2002.
The same can be said for the stern light, things just wear out over time.
The end of October usually signals some type of weather change, going from the high eighties to the mid seventies. Thia weather pattern is usually a welcome change for the Keys Natives who look forward to a break from the hot summer weather. Mid seventies is fine by me, great fishing and sailing weather.
GMZ031-241445-
FLORIDA BAY INCLUDING BARNES SOUND, BLACKWATER SOUND, AND
BUTTONWOOD SOUND-
437 AM EDT THU OCT 24 2013
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR INCREASING WINDS...
.TODAY...NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS NEAR 15 KNOTS EARLY...INCREASING TO
NEAR 20 KNOTS. BAY WATERS A MODERATE CHOP...BECOMING ROUGH. SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.
.TONIGHT...NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS. BAY WATERS VERY ROUGH.
SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.FRIDAY...NORTHEAST WINDS NEAR 20 KNOTS...INCREASING TO 20 TO 25
KNOTS LATE. BAY WATERS VERY ROUGH. SCATTERED SHOWERS.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS AND GUSTY. BAY WATERS
VERY ROUGH. ISOLATED SHOWERS.
.SATURDAY...NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS...DECREASING TO 15 TO 20
KNOTS IN THE AFTERNOON. BAY WATERS VERY ROUGH...BECOMING CHOPPY.
ISOLATED SHOWERS.
.SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 20
KNOTS. BAY WATERS CHOPPY. ISOLATED SHOWERS.
I arrived back in the Keys last Wednesday and started preparing for the long winter stay. First on the list was to move in and get everything put in it's place, next go food shopping , then sit back and relax. The second day I went to my friend Roland's house to move my to boats to prepare them for launching. Roland is kind enough to allow me to store my boats on his property, he also provides me with a room for all the items I don't take back to NJ each year.
Preparing the Flats Boat is fairly easy, since there is no need to winterize the engine, it is simple enough to treat the gas so it does not go bad, disconnect the batteries, fog the engine and finally put on the summer cover. This year, I took the added precaution of staking the boats and trailers to the ground in case of high winds or a Hurricane.
Flats Boat in it's "winter position"
Trivia question, where have you see "winter position" before?
Counting on you Baydog!
PUFFIN, my Marshall Sanderling takes a little more effort to get ready for launching and sailing. Not only does the hull get washed and waxed, the bottom painted and washed inside and out. Painting the bottom involves sanding, washing then painting all while the boat is on the trailer. Quite the job in cramped quarters as you will see from the photos but worth it in the end.
Preparing the mast, new halyards and a good wash
Puffin, all washed and waxed, waiting for the bottom paint.
Two preparations for the hull, mild compound followed by a Carnuba wax application.
On a final great note, this is how my day ended.
After an exhausting day in the 88 degree heat, a great Sunset always helps to recharge my batteries.
A boat and it's crew enjoying the Sunset on the Bay.
On October 15, I will begin my trek back to the Florida Keys, Tavernier, to be exact. Tavernier is located between Key largo and Islamorada, mile marker 93.5 on the Overseas Highway. I look forward to getting my Marshall Sanderling, PUFFIN, ready to sail the Florida Bay once again; next to get wet will be the Flats boat that takes me out into the shallow waters of the Everglades National Park for some fine fishing.
See you then, hopefully with some good fishing and sailing pictures along with some interesting stories and facts about my time in the Florida Keys. Until then, fair winds and smooth sailing.
I have mentioned these two subjects, separately, in previous Posts, however, this Post will combine the two in an attempt to recapture a great place and moments from the past.
In an earlier Post I provided pictures of my favorite sailboat that I had the pleasure of owning and sailing for twelve years. I purchased Sandscraper from Fred Weideke, an avid sailor and owner of the Stump Creek Slipways, on the Toms River. Fred had raced her for many years, doing very well on the local circuit, eventually he sold her and the new owner allowed her to slip into the state of disrepair. While looking for a sailboat to purchase, I happened onto Fred one day and we became fast friends. I was immediately drawn to a double ended sloop resting on a mooring in Fred's little cove, that was the first time that I knew Sandscraper, as she was called, was for me. Fred was quick to take me out in a dingy for the introduction to his "baby". Fred was quite annoyed with the present owner, who was not showing any intention of repairing Sandscraper much less ever sailing her.
It was not long after that initial meeting that Fred called the owner and threatened to throw him off the property unless he agreed to sell me Sandscraper, one week later, after a quick in the water survey, I owned her and was ready to tackle the arduous job of restoring her to her original condition. Fred was overjoyed as was I when, after a winter of countless hours of sanding, painting and replacing decayed wood returned Sandscraper to her once beautiful condition.
Sandscraper fully restored and sitting at anchor at Tices Shoal
A view from Sandscraper's cockpit looking across the main hatch. Sandscraper was a center cockpit, double ended sloop, built in 1947.
These pictures were taken at Tices Shosl,located just off Island Beach State Park, a quiet little anchorage to spend time reading, relaxing and crabbing. The fact that you could wade ashore and enjoy the beach was an added bonus. During this time there were not any barges that hosted concerts that drew thousands of boats from every corner of Barnegat Bay, only to provide a chaotic grand party that, in my humble opinion, has ruined this otherwise serene anchorage.
I will always cherish my time at The Shoal,anchored with a few good friends,rafted up for a nice social hour only to head back to our own space for a quiet evening enjoying the night sky and peaceful sleep.
Alas, this is what Tices offers today, I guess that I am in the minority about feeling for it's demise.
Luckily, I have found a new Haven to visit, the Florida Keys and The Everglades National Park.
