Latitudes With Attitude, Chapter 8
Thursday, June 22 Underway toward Key West
The day went quickly today—and it’s already Thursday. The week is more than half over.
We motor sailed out to Sand Key after leaving Key West this morning. There we snorkeled in water 4-15 feet deep. Its ecosystem was different again from the other reefs we’ve visited. Like Sombrero Key, there was a lot of rubble in large areas, but there were also spots with intricately interlaced green and yellow coral. It didn’t look like brain coral per se, but was similar nonetheless.
Mike saw two sharks, while Faith and I saw a school of 5-6 large, rainbow-hued fish swimming with 15-20 similar fish that were bright blue. The variety of fish in these tropical waters amazes me.
Spaz is cooking shrimp and rice stir-fry tonight. He’s got an enormous pot of rice going and initially rebuffed the captain’s suggestion to remove some of the rice and add water. Charlie is such a patient, easy-going guy, while Spaz is such a know-it-all. Eventually, though, Spaz sees the wisdom in the captain’s recommendations, as he has spooned out several big spoonfuls of rice into the trash.
Matt has been instrumental in handling the sails. He’s observant of the sails and the wind changes and will move quickly to tighten up a line, adjust the jib or otherwise trim the sails. Whenever I joke with him about how jealous his dad Ken must be, Matt breaks into a characteristic broad smile and agrees.
Mike also seems to enjoy the sailing, especially piloting the boat. He is good with the captain’s directions at the helm, such as when approaching a mooring ball or navigating the boat to hoist anchor.
Todd makes a great deckhand. He often follows Matt’s lead and sometimes initiates suggestions. He remains quiet most of the time but seems to be enjoying himself.
Greg never says much, whether it’s about the dives or any of our other activities. He and Brian have spent a lot of time below deck, either reading or just chilling. I think Greg is now getting used to the dives and is more confident in his swimming abilities.
Brian is so funny, but without intending to be so. He swims fast and furious toward a shark or barracuda, but still gets freaked out by a school of tiny fish swimming around him.
Three of the guys got henna tattoos in Key West yesterday. Spaz has the name Laura on his back, just below his neck. He said Laura and he both have a bit of a swearing problem, so they made a bet to see who could refrain from swearing the longest. Spaz lost the bet, so he had to get her name tattooed on his back.
The technology never stops! Brian took a photo of Spaz’s tattoo with his cell phone and promptly emailed it to Laura, who dubiously suspected it had been done with a Sharpie marker. The guys all vouched for Spaz that the tattoo was real, but probably didn’t tell Laura it was inked in henna.
Greg had the initials GTR tattooed on his leg, an abbreviation for his band, Gnarly Tree Roots. Good thing we told the parents in advance about henna tattoos, as Greg’s mom Nancy would not approve of a permanent tattoo!
Matt is the third member of the crew to get a tattoo, a sensible marlin or sailfish on his arm.
While I’ve been writing, Spaz finished dinner and we’ve arrived in Key West harbor, but I need to relay one more story before closing.
The highlight of the day came after our dive at Sand Key. We went northwest to a key called Boca Grande, which is uninhabited and under the protection of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We had a couple of hours on our own desert isle, complete with our own band of Gilligan’s Island castaways. Mike said we would have needed the captain’s wife Phyllis along so they could have been Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III. Faith would be Ginger and I would be the professor. Brian would be the Skipper and Mike would be Gilligan. Last but not least, Greg, Todd and Matt would be island natives, leaving Spaz to be Mary Ann.
Our island was pretty cool, hot as it was. The captain ferried us over to it on the Wyvern’s dinghy, as the current in the channel appeared to be too strong to swim easily.
Moving to the east around the southern shore, we came across remnants of previous visitors. I was not at all surprised to find beverage cans and bottles, boat lines and various types of floats that must have broken away from boats.
I was surprised to find what looked like a campsite with 3-4 one-gallon water jugs, a bag with two rotting oranges and orange peels, plus a can of opened—but largely uneaten—baked beans. One roll of toilet paper, rough and pink, plus a bottle saying fish oil capsules—very incongruous in such a setting.
Charlie said the site was probably used by Cubans. He said it was not uncommon for one boat to drop off a load of Cubans, then have another boat come later to retrieve the refugees and smuggle them into the U.S.
Farther down the beach we encountered something resembling a raft, cobbled together from 4 x 4s and some steel rods bolted in place. I found several packets of rehydration salts with Spanish labels, a U.S.-made PFD and some abandoned clothing.
After reaching signs saying further travel east was not possible to protect wildlife, we reversed course and headed to the northwest coast of the island. There Faith and Charlie found hermit crabs, which mesmerized them. I found a couple of coconuts, which Brian was able to break open to drink the juice, which he then shared with other crew members. One of the coconuts also had sweet, meaty flesh, which most of us sampled. Mike said the objective of his trip was complete with the finding of coconuts. For Greg, it was lounging under a palm tree on the island.
Now that we’re at anchor back in Key West, I should be able to get reception on my phone, so I think I’ll call Kathie. She left me a voicemail earlier today saying we had violent storms at home last night that may have temporarily knocked out our DSL line. Perhaps I’ll also give Don Y. a call before he heads out on The Maine Event, the troop’s other high adventure trip for the summer.
The day went quickly today—and it’s already Thursday. The week is more than half over.
We motor sailed out to Sand Key after leaving Key West this morning. There we snorkeled in water 4-15 feet deep. Its ecosystem was different again from the other reefs we’ve visited. Like Sombrero Key, there was a lot of rubble in large areas, but there were also spots with intricately interlaced green and yellow coral. It didn’t look like brain coral per se, but was similar nonetheless.
Mike saw two sharks, while Faith and I saw a school of 5-6 large, rainbow-hued fish swimming with 15-20 similar fish that were bright blue. The variety of fish in these tropical waters amazes me.
Spaz is cooking shrimp and rice stir-fry tonight. He’s got an enormous pot of rice going and initially rebuffed the captain’s suggestion to remove some of the rice and add water. Charlie is such a patient, easy-going guy, while Spaz is such a know-it-all. Eventually, though, Spaz sees the wisdom in the captain’s recommendations, as he has spooned out several big spoonfuls of rice into the trash.
Matt has been instrumental in handling the sails. He’s observant of the sails and the wind changes and will move quickly to tighten up a line, adjust the jib or otherwise trim the sails. Whenever I joke with him about how jealous his dad Ken must be, Matt breaks into a characteristic broad smile and agrees.
Mike also seems to enjoy the sailing, especially piloting the boat. He is good with the captain’s directions at the helm, such as when approaching a mooring ball or navigating the boat to hoist anchor.
Todd makes a great deckhand. He often follows Matt’s lead and sometimes initiates suggestions. He remains quiet most of the time but seems to be enjoying himself.
Greg never says much, whether it’s about the dives or any of our other activities. He and Brian have spent a lot of time below deck, either reading or just chilling. I think Greg is now getting used to the dives and is more confident in his swimming abilities.
Brian is so funny, but without intending to be so. He swims fast and furious toward a shark or barracuda, but still gets freaked out by a school of tiny fish swimming around him.
Three of the guys got henna tattoos in Key West yesterday. Spaz has the name Laura on his back, just below his neck. He said Laura and he both have a bit of a swearing problem, so they made a bet to see who could refrain from swearing the longest. Spaz lost the bet, so he had to get her name tattooed on his back.
The technology never stops! Brian took a photo of Spaz’s tattoo with his cell phone and promptly emailed it to Laura, who dubiously suspected it had been done with a Sharpie marker. The guys all vouched for Spaz that the tattoo was real, but probably didn’t tell Laura it was inked in henna.
Greg had the initials GTR tattooed on his leg, an abbreviation for his band, Gnarly Tree Roots. Good thing we told the parents in advance about henna tattoos, as Greg’s mom Nancy would not approve of a permanent tattoo!
Matt is the third member of the crew to get a tattoo, a sensible marlin or sailfish on his arm.
While I’ve been writing, Spaz finished dinner and we’ve arrived in Key West harbor, but I need to relay one more story before closing.
The highlight of the day came after our dive at Sand Key. We went northwest to a key called Boca Grande, which is uninhabited and under the protection of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We had a couple of hours on our own desert isle, complete with our own band of Gilligan’s Island castaways. Mike said we would have needed the captain’s wife Phyllis along so they could have been Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III. Faith would be Ginger and I would be the professor. Brian would be the Skipper and Mike would be Gilligan. Last but not least, Greg, Todd and Matt would be island natives, leaving Spaz to be Mary Ann.
Our island was pretty cool, hot as it was. The captain ferried us over to it on the Wyvern’s dinghy, as the current in the channel appeared to be too strong to swim easily.
Moving to the east around the southern shore, we came across remnants of previous visitors. I was not at all surprised to find beverage cans and bottles, boat lines and various types of floats that must have broken away from boats.
I was surprised to find what looked like a campsite with 3-4 one-gallon water jugs, a bag with two rotting oranges and orange peels, plus a can of opened—but largely uneaten—baked beans. One roll of toilet paper, rough and pink, plus a bottle saying fish oil capsules—very incongruous in such a setting.
Charlie said the site was probably used by Cubans. He said it was not uncommon for one boat to drop off a load of Cubans, then have another boat come later to retrieve the refugees and smuggle them into the U.S.
Farther down the beach we encountered something resembling a raft, cobbled together from 4 x 4s and some steel rods bolted in place. I found several packets of rehydration salts with Spanish labels, a U.S.-made PFD and some abandoned clothing.
After reaching signs saying further travel east was not possible to protect wildlife, we reversed course and headed to the northwest coast of the island. There Faith and Charlie found hermit crabs, which mesmerized them. I found a couple of coconuts, which Brian was able to break open to drink the juice, which he then shared with other crew members. One of the coconuts also had sweet, meaty flesh, which most of us sampled. Mike said the objective of his trip was complete with the finding of coconuts. For Greg, it was lounging under a palm tree on the island.
Now that we’re at anchor back in Key West, I should be able to get reception on my phone, so I think I’ll call Kathie. She left me a voicemail earlier today saying we had violent storms at home last night that may have temporarily knocked out our DSL line. Perhaps I’ll also give Don Y. a call before he heads out on The Maine Event, the troop’s other high adventure trip for the summer.
posted by Joe Wollet at 8:47 AM
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