Before starting to sail Integrity home to RI, I wanted to take advantage of the location and make the effort to go all the way to the Dry Tortugas. It’s one of those sailing destinations that many sailors want to visit, but it’s really out of the way, so many don’t make the commitment to see it. There are other ways to get there, of course, but none seem as exciting to me as sailing your own boat over open ocean to a remote fort on a very tiny island. My friend Joe, with whom I have sailed a bunch now, had an opportunity to join me on the adventure to see the old fort. He and I had a great time sailing the boat, motoring quite a bit as the wind was fickle, and getting a chance to walk around in a spooky old brick building and see some cool things. We did it all under our own power and the wind.

During our sailing adventure, we were thrilled by numerous dolphin sightings, which were as amazing as ever. Although the dolphins were generally shy, one group lingered with us long enough for us to capture some photos and videos. Additionally, we encountered an astonishing number of turtles. I was truly surprised by their abundance, as I had never seen a single one in all my previous sailing experiences. On this trip, however, we were spotting multiple turtles each day.

Joe stayed with me back to Key West and we got him to the airport in time for some events at home. I stayed one night more in Key West to get some things from the store and to start my escape plan back to home.

I set sail from Key West, navigating along the outside and selecting a few charming anchorages along the journey. I bypassed Marathon and spent the night in Duck Key once more. The next morning, I headed over to refuel for the long day of motoring ahead. I must say, my docking and boat handling that morning were quite impressive, and I felt truly graceful. However, I soon found myself stuck on an unmarked shallow sandbar right next to the fuel dock. With my ego bruised, I had to ask for assistance from a passerby. They easily pushed me out with their dinghy, and I was on my way again!

The next leg of the trip took my past some amazingly clear waters in the Keys. You could see right to the bottom in 20 feet of water.

That evening I was pushing it to get to my destination and I wanted to make it to Boca Chita before dark. However the day was slipping past and the wind was nowhere to help. It started to get dark and suddenly the sky to my port side was looking ominous. There were dark clouds and I could see rain. Then the wind came. It was not bad at first, but then it started filling in more forcefully with each minute. I was scrambling to get sails rolled up. Fortunately on my boat thats a quick operation usually. However, this time of course it wasn’t. The wind had picked up and I was playing with the Genoa. It’s not a high wind sail so it was getting whipped around pretty good. It suddenly came free from the top of the mast and started to slide down the furling and into the water! I had to scramble up on deck and catch it and heave it onto the deck. Not really sure what happened, I quickly brought the sail into the boat to look over later. The wind was still building and I was trying to keep ahead of it. I saw some winds on my gauges that showed 25 knots sustained and gusts of 29. That was a lot and the most I’ve seen on this boat and by myself. I was glad the sails were all down except the small jib on the front. That kept the boat powered up and move in through the increasing chop.

Fortunately the storm blew itself out. It was a quick one and didnt dump rain on me. The winds were gone in less than 90 minutes. Now it was just dark and the sea was choppy and I was still a good hour or more from my destination.

I did finally make it to Boca Chita and was able to tie up to the wall there once more. It was a fun spot to visit and Im glad I got to go there a second time. The morning came and I was able to inspect the sail laid out on the grass next to me on the island. The top of the sail where it connects to the halyard had simply ripped. Looks like it was UV damage and just was bound to go at some point.

So now I had a mission… get the sail fixed before I keep going too far on the trip. The next day had me making it Loggerhead Park Marina in Hollywood Florida again. This is a great spot if you are looking for a cool place to stay for low cost and easy access to everything. It’s new and clean and easy to book.

I spend a few days here getting regrouped and doing some other maintenance items like oil changes, and getting some more supplies. The folks at Mack Sails actually fixed my sail for free and they even made sure that the Jib was also in good shape as well. Im so grateful for them for taking the time to help me out so quickly and leet me get back on my way quickly.

SO that’s where Im at now. Tomorrow is the next move and it looks like it should be West Palm.