It is 100 miles from Miami to Key West, fortunately for sailboats it is normally downwind but still a 24 hour transit. You could safely sail down the Hawk Channel on the oceanside of the Keys through the night but there are plenty of lobster pots on floats that can grab your prop or rudder and cause expensive problems - so better to only transit during the day. There is an "inside" passage along the north side of the island chain with plenty of places to stop for the night, but there are several spots that are only 5ft deep along this path. Since our boat requires 4ft 10inches of water, that is pretty iffy. We did this inside passage before in 2005 but our boat is now a couple inches deeper because of extra gear loaded onboard so I have not attempted it again. So our path is outside and we will plan to anchor off Indian Key, the only spot with at least some protection from the wind/waves, about half way down the chain.
First stop is just a few miles down Biscayne Bay off Elliott Key. As long as we are still in the great Biscayne Bay sailing area, we might as well take advantage of the nice sailing conditions.
Off again and another great day of superb sailing downwind down the island chain. Our next planned stop was Bahia Honda, where there is a good protected anchorage inside the island point that blocks any significant wave action. The wind would still be blowing at 20kt but the greater danger to anchoring is always the wave action, not the wind. We would be safe in Bahia Honda. The only challenge (not that serious) is to get safely into the entrance. The channel is plenty deep enough if you stay in the center, but it bends around very close to a coral island with a ledge on the right side and through the old abandoned bridge to Key West, where a section of the bridge has been cut away to provide sailboat access.
Once inside the bridge there is plenty of space to anchor off the beach. Bahia Honda is a Florida state park and has the best beaches (inside and shoreside) in the Florida Keys. Unfortunately for us, dogs are not allowed on the beaches. Since we have been here before and toured all the areas we did not feel a need to go ashore and sightsee again. We stayed two nights in the protected anchorage waiting for the winds to die down before proceeding on to Key West.
First stop is just a few miles down Biscayne Bay off Elliott Key. As long as we are still in the great Biscayne Bay sailing area, we might as well take advantage of the nice sailing conditions.
There are two ways out of Biscayne Bay to the ocean, one at the northern end near Cape Florida (well behind us now) and the other at the southern end through Angel Fish passage. We are heading through Angel Fish which has a shallow sandbar right at the exit point on the ocean side normally 5ft at low tide, but we have timed our passage to go through nearing high tide. We followed a catamaran through the passage who - too bad for us - probably had a draft shallower than us so we couldn't use him to test the waters.
Exiting the passage on the ocean side the channel gets narrow and shallow. As typical, a large power boat went flying by us just before the narrowest point (where two boats can't safely fit). A guy in a hurry that didn't want to wait for a slow sailboat. Fortunately we had just enough water not to strike the bottom when we rocked up and down in his large wake. Many of these boaters have so little knowledge of what they are doing that they don't realize the danger they create for other boaters.
Sailing downwind in the Hawk Channel, we finally had some of the best sailing conditions of our trip. The clear Gulf waters were the distinctive aqua-blue of the Florida Keys reflecting the blue sky. The temperatures were in the mid-70s and it was finally short sleeve sailing with no enclosure required. Otto the autopilot is doing a great job, even after 15yrs without any hiccups.
We arrived at Indian Key and conditions were not good for anchoring overnight but unfortunately we were committed at this point. It was either anchor or sail on through the night through the numerous lobster pots we had sighted all day long. We decided to anchor. The problem was the wind had picked up during the day and was now blowing a good 15-20kts with higher gusts and shifted so that we had no protection from Indian Key. The waves had built to 2+feet, not dangerous but not comfortable. We let out close to 200ft of anchor chain and set the anchor firmly. I was pretty confident the anchor would hold us fine but we knew it would not be a comfortable night. And it wasn't. Even though you know you are firmly anchored, the wind is loud, the wind generator whines, the wind howls and rattles through the rigging, and the boat rocks up and down sharply. Sue and I slept, fitfully, in the salon ready to jump up if required. Of course, it was not required and by sunrise at 0630 we were quick to pull anchor and get on with the transit. We did have a full moon for the night which let us see the nearby coral islands clearly and confirm our location (and our fears).
Off again and another great day of superb sailing downwind down the island chain. Our next planned stop was Bahia Honda, where there is a good protected anchorage inside the island point that blocks any significant wave action. The wind would still be blowing at 20kt but the greater danger to anchoring is always the wave action, not the wind. We would be safe in Bahia Honda. The only challenge (not that serious) is to get safely into the entrance. The channel is plenty deep enough if you stay in the center, but it bends around very close to a coral island with a ledge on the right side and through the old abandoned bridge to Key West, where a section of the bridge has been cut away to provide sailboat access.
Once inside the bridge there is plenty of space to anchor off the beach. Bahia Honda is a Florida state park and has the best beaches (inside and shoreside) in the Florida Keys. Unfortunately for us, dogs are not allowed on the beaches. Since we have been here before and toured all the areas we did not feel a need to go ashore and sightsee again. We stayed two nights in the protected anchorage waiting for the winds to die down before proceeding on to Key West.
From Bahia Honda it is only a few hour transit down to Key West. We arrived shortly after noon. The sailing conditions were breezy but great for a spirited sail. Several of the Key West charter schooners were departing port for their afternoon cruises.
Only one large cruise ship was in port as we passed by through the Key West entrance channel. The last time we visited Key West we entered in similar gusty wind conditions and did not have the reefed mainsail sufficiently tight to not catch the strong winds. We sailed through the channel and crowds of boats at a 40degree heel angle - quite excessive for Sue and I. I'm sure we looked like sailing pros to the unknowing crowds along Mallory Square waiting for sunset but that's because they didn't know the error we had made in our reefing technique. This time we were better prepared and the winds were a bit more accommodating. We sailed through at a much more appropriate style with reefed main and staysail only.
Since I am retired Navy with access to US military facilities, it is most convenient for us to anchor off the Navy housing area at Sigsbee. We can dinghy into the Navy base area for shopping and laundry. The anchor holding in this area is ok for winds up to 25kts but any stronger than that and you have to move. It also is fully exposed to northwesterly winds. Fortunately, the prevailing trade winds blow from the east so most of the time anchoring is no problem. Its just when the strong cold fronts blow through that you have to figure out a different place to go. We were fortunate during our week there to not have to move our anchorage spot.
Next up - A week in Key West - a great party town!
