Latitudes With Attitude, Chapter 3
Monday, June 19 Anchored in New Found Harbor
Quite an eventful day we’ve had. As I write this, I’m sitting in the main salon listening to “Jammin’ ” from the Bob Marley Legends album. Kathie’s cousin Scott Hatch would be proud!
We’ve just anchored for the night in New Found Harbor, just west of Big Pine Key and south of the Torch Keys. It’s one of the harbors in which we anchored three years ago, a nice quiet place safe from foul weather. As we came into the harbor, we passed a resort reminding me of Polynesia, with tiki huts jutting out into the ocean.
Matt and Spaz followed the anchor chain immediately after setting the anchor and found a lobster trap at the end. They pulled the trap up to the surface and checked out several spiny lobsters. Not only were the lobsters on the small side, they are out of season, so no lobster tails for dinner tonight!
As we left Boot Key this morning and headed out to Sombrero Key for some snorkeling, a pair of dolphins swam alongside us for several minutes. Mike and some of the other guys said it was good fortune to see them on the first day.
Diving at Sombrero Key was excellent. The visibility was awesome, with clear bottom views at depths of 20-30 feet. We saw several small species of tropical fish, as well as blue tang, yellow snapper and what I think were several large grouper in the deeper water.
The surface had quite a chop and the current was strong, which made the snorkeling a challenge for all of us. We anchored about a quarter mile from the tower at Sombrero Key and swam most of the way there, until the water dropped to a depth of 2-3 feet.
Wanting to be careful not to damage the coral, we didn’t venture too far into the shallows (nor did we want to be damaged by the coral, as some of it can be razor sharp). At one point, a marine patrol boat came up to us and warned the boys not to stand on the coral.
Most of the reef was reduced to coral rubble, inevitably the victim of a hurricane, too many pollutants, global warming or perhaps too many divers. We did see dozens of conches, more than Capt. Charlie said he had seen in any one grouping. He explained they are endangered, so it’s quite unusual to see so many at one time.
When we returned to the boat, most of the crew experienced the downside of Day One. The combination of the moderate chop, the rocking of the moored boat, the proximity to breakfast time (too little time for digestion) and having topped off breakfast with generous gulps of seawater all conspired against our hapless crew. Todd hurled first, followed by Greg (four times!) and Faith. Luckily, Brian, Matt, Spaz and I were fine. Mike had a bit of nausea for a while, but it passed. Nearly everyone, though, was exhausted from fighting the current, so once we set the sails and were underway, nearly all of us napped.
We need to spend some time working on snorkeling technique. Lots of equipment malfunctioned today, but most of it was due to user inexperience.
Quite an eventful day we’ve had. As I write this, I’m sitting in the main salon listening to “Jammin’ ” from the Bob Marley Legends album. Kathie’s cousin Scott Hatch would be proud!
We’ve just anchored for the night in New Found Harbor, just west of Big Pine Key and south of the Torch Keys. It’s one of the harbors in which we anchored three years ago, a nice quiet place safe from foul weather. As we came into the harbor, we passed a resort reminding me of Polynesia, with tiki huts jutting out into the ocean.
Matt and Spaz followed the anchor chain immediately after setting the anchor and found a lobster trap at the end. They pulled the trap up to the surface and checked out several spiny lobsters. Not only were the lobsters on the small side, they are out of season, so no lobster tails for dinner tonight!
As we left Boot Key this morning and headed out to Sombrero Key for some snorkeling, a pair of dolphins swam alongside us for several minutes. Mike and some of the other guys said it was good fortune to see them on the first day.
Diving at Sombrero Key was excellent. The visibility was awesome, with clear bottom views at depths of 20-30 feet. We saw several small species of tropical fish, as well as blue tang, yellow snapper and what I think were several large grouper in the deeper water.
The surface had quite a chop and the current was strong, which made the snorkeling a challenge for all of us. We anchored about a quarter mile from the tower at Sombrero Key and swam most of the way there, until the water dropped to a depth of 2-3 feet.
Wanting to be careful not to damage the coral, we didn’t venture too far into the shallows (nor did we want to be damaged by the coral, as some of it can be razor sharp). At one point, a marine patrol boat came up to us and warned the boys not to stand on the coral.
Most of the reef was reduced to coral rubble, inevitably the victim of a hurricane, too many pollutants, global warming or perhaps too many divers. We did see dozens of conches, more than Capt. Charlie said he had seen in any one grouping. He explained they are endangered, so it’s quite unusual to see so many at one time.
When we returned to the boat, most of the crew experienced the downside of Day One. The combination of the moderate chop, the rocking of the moored boat, the proximity to breakfast time (too little time for digestion) and having topped off breakfast with generous gulps of seawater all conspired against our hapless crew. Todd hurled first, followed by Greg (four times!) and Faith. Luckily, Brian, Matt, Spaz and I were fine. Mike had a bit of nausea for a while, but it passed. Nearly everyone, though, was exhausted from fighting the current, so once we set the sails and were underway, nearly all of us napped.
We need to spend some time working on snorkeling technique. Lots of equipment malfunctioned today, but most of it was due to user inexperience.
posted by Joe Wollet at 8:35 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home