Vol. 33, No. 3 -- Fall - Traditional Small Craft Association

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Key West to theDry TortugasBy Mike WickLast summer, Kevin MacDonald andI were sailing together in the SouthernChesapeake, mostly side by side, in theboats that we’d built. In my melonseed inthe Chesapeake afternoon chop, I oftenenvied the comparative luxury of Kevin’sMarsh Cat, LITTLE T, with its greaterfreeboard and luxury accommodations.We had a favorite cruising ground, basedaround Crisfield, Maryland. There aremany nearby destinations—Winona,Deal Island, Smith Island, Tangier,Manokin River, Fishing Bay. We rackedup many miles, pausing at Janes Islandcampground for an occasional showerand some well-cooked seafood inCrisfield between trips. Our outingssometimes swelled to flotilla size andthen shrank back to just two boats asfriends with other boats came and wentaccording to work and family schedules.This winter, Kevin had some vacationtime that had to be used in February,and he proposed a trip. I leapt at thechance to go south in his boat, waysouth. I thought of the Dry Tortugas,located seventy miles west of Key Westwith a welcoming National Park—home of Fort Jefferson, best known asthe Civil War era prison of the doctorSamuel Mudd. One major attraction ofthat particular destination for me wasthat a third of the way out lay an atolllikegroup of islands—the MarquesasKeys—that would provide a perfect pitstop. The name itself was enough. In myimagination, I was halfway to Tahiti. Wecould split the passage into four legs, outand back with a rest stop in between.Open water with a moderate degree ofchallenge—Marsh Cats were designedby Joel White for just that.I could go on for hours about thewholesome behavior of LITTLE T inall conditions. Kevin had built strengthin every rib and plank. She rode a littlelow with crew, supplies, and water,but she had generous freeboard decks,washboards, and coamings to turn awaymost of the spray and water. We hadtwo muck buckets for emergency dewatering(they are faster than pumps),and dry bags for gear and electronicscould double as buoyancy bags whensecurely fastened to the ribs. We hadredundancy in GPS and VHF, flares,and the SPOT transmitter. We hadpracticed capsize drills in smaller boats,we felt that capsizing a catboat wasunlikely, and we felt that we should beable to survive every emergency thatmight come. No small boat voyage iscompletely without danger, but we feltthat by waiting for our weather window,we would get out of it all right.Kevin drives hard; we made a quicktrailer leg and launched in haste to grabthe fair weather while it lasted. We saidour cell phone “goodbyes” and activatedthe SPOT.Day 1, February 20—Leg 1We had floor loaded Kevin’s truck, so itwas a small task to prepare and provisionLITTLE T while she was on the trailer.Oceanside Marina, on the South Sideof Stock Island, FL, was happy to storetrailer and truck while we were gone. Wewere in a hurry because the weather wasright and our game plan was to makemaximum use of any weather windowfor the passage toward the Marquesas(25 miles) and Fort Jefferson (45 milesfurther). We had lots of stuff becausethere was no provisioning anywhereOn the hook at the Dry Tortugaswest of Key West, and we had no ideahow long we might have to wait at anyparticular leg of the journey. Ten gallonsof plastic bottles stored easily in thebilge and lasted the whole vacation.A quick try at the Lakes Passage, ashallow passage that went inside, in shoalwater, as far as Boca Grande, convincedus that we would be better going thelong way—south along Kingfish Shoal,in Hawk Channel. We turned around atMule Key, surprised that the water wasso shallow nearly everywhere.1030 Departure from Key West.Passed Man, Ballast, and Woman Key.1330 Boca Grande abeam.1530 Anchored in Mooney Harbor,Marquesas.1730 Moved to a passage anchorageto the west of Marquesas for earlydeparture. 30 miles.Moonie Harbor, center of theMarquesas atoll, is a beautiful,protected all-weather harbor that isentered from the southwest. Fish andbirdlife are plentiful, and the harbormade a welcome change after crossingthe sometimes boisterous Boca GrandeChannel. The channel can pick up achop in wind against tide situations.We had just about settled in for thenight when we realized that it wouldbe difficult to exit before dawn, so wemoved outside of the harbor to a passagestop just west of the group. A larger boatwas anchored nearby, probably for thesame reason.The Ash Breeze, Fall 2012 12
Day 2, February 21—Leg 20445 We are awake and underway in a light to moderateeasterly, steering by the stars. The Jetboil stove is great forquick coffee before an early departure. Boil time is so quickthat you just hold on to the stove for a couple of minutes. Noneed for gimbals.0515 Nasty surprise. Passed five large unlit buoys closeaboard and another unlit target tower from the bombingand strafing area immediately west of the Marquesas. Theysuddenly loomed up in the dark. I guess we were getting into areally remote area if they didn’t bother to light large buoys. It’scalled the Quicksands, so I guess they figure there isn’t muchtraffic, but still… We were now eager for sunrise, and it camequite soon. We took turns at the helm in quite a pleasantmorning. We had tied in a reef before starting but quicklyshook it out, in a mild wind, perfect for a quick passage.0830 Passed flasher at western tip of New Ground Shoal,north of the Quicksands. Weather report was fair, so wedecided we were safe to continue toward Dry Tortugas.Moderate chop as we got into the deeper water of RebeccaChannel.1315 Land! First the lighthouse at Loggerhead Key, thenFort Jefferson in sight. East Key’s white sand was very visiblein the bright sunlight.1525 Anchored, Garden Key, 48 miles from Marquesas.The rangers decide that, since we were small, we could pullLITTLE T up on the dinghy beach instead of anchoring off inthe Garden Key anchorage.Day 3, February 22We spent the day wandering around the fort and enjoyingthe shady spots. Having the boat anchored at the dinghybeach was very convenient. When the passenger ferry YankeeFreedom II was at the pier, we were welcome to buy a thoroughlunch for $5 apiece. Cold sodas, money well spent.1400 Up-anchored for a quick visit to Loggerhead Key. Weanchored on the west side for a walk and a swim, but I soonturned around, anxious about the possibility of the anchordragging and leaving us stranded. The water was perfect forswimming. We returned to the Garden Key anchorage at1720. One of the rules was that all boats must be there forcontinued on page 16GACO oarlock snaps onto the oarfor semi-permanent capture. Madefrom hardened 316 stainless and UVproof polypropylene. Kind to oars, itscarefully angled shape cuts out frictionand wear. Cost: $35 for two oarlocks,two sockets and sleeves from JamestownDistributors.13The Ash Breeze, Fall 2012
Page 3: At the WoodenBoat ShowBy Andy Wolfe
Page 9 and 10: Stitching the bowA few quick coats
Page 11: 11The Ash Breeze, Fall 2012
Page 15 and 16: Deltaville Maritime Museum Devastat
Page 17 and 18: continued from previous pagehomeste
Page 19 and 20: Chuck Sutherland & Marilyn Vogel221
Page 21 and 22: Thad Danielson BoatsThad Danielson,
Page 23 and 24: TSCA MEMBERSHIP FORMNew Membership

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