I'm on a boat---

Not my boat, but a DAMN COOL boat.

I've been bugging my spouse to go out on a sunset sail on the new America 2.0.  She's modeled after the original America.  (oh-kay kiddies--why the America...I'll pause for 5 seconds while you Wikipedia it)

Okay, your 5 seconds are up.

So, she's pretty. VERY PRETTY. And new eco-friendly design. (however, whatever you read about electric propulsion motors on her--ain't happened yet, they are working diesel until the next yard haul)

All that doesn't matter. She's fast, and she's smooth. For a sea sick girl as I, I was enthralled.  In love.

And the poor gal next to me was hurling over the rail.  I felt so bad for her.  Neither she or her boyfriend had ever been on a sailboat before.  So let's try a replica of the original America's Cup boat to try our sea legs out on.  Poor thing, I really felt for her.

At one point we were flying along at 10-12 knots, did I say how smooth she was?  She was smoooooooth.

Soon she'll be heading up to NYC for her summer season, if you get a chance, give her a go.

Pretty even in port

Loved the crew, reefing's for weenies.

Have no idea what the spouse was doing to distract the captain
Probably don't want to know

Ft. Lauderdale to Key West by car

Having the boat in Key West is a lot of fun, however, the cost of airfare isn't.

Many times we'll fly into Ft. Lauderdale and drive down. It takes about 4 hours if you just plow on through, however, we decided to take advantage of a 4pm arrival, daylight savings time and.... well, the Keys.

We first decided to stop off at Lorelei's for sunset celebration (MM 82), it was a bit crowded and for some reason the menu wasn't grabbing us for this particular moment.

However, the entire area around Lorelei's is fun.

However, MOVING ON, so, next place we have wanted to try is the original Lazy Days on ocean side, about 5 more miles down.  I've mentioned Lazy Days South in a blog about the great winter sailing trip earlier.

Fab-u-lous.  Food is very, very good.  It also was busy, so we snagged to seats at the bar.  Besides the great wine, fabulous food, complimentary banana bread (OMG-it's worth the trip in itself). My favorite quote of the evening came from a flustered mother of two early teen girls---"I don't CARE! We are sitting at the bar and eating. Find something you want, I'm having a mojito."  And I saw what my life would have been like if I had children.

And then, I saw this:

This would be the Florida version of the Jack-a-lope my friends.

So, forwards and onwards  About 20 miles from our destination, we decided to make ONE LAST STOP. Strictly for research, ya know?  And we stopped at Boondocks in Ramrod Key. We didn't try the food but had a drink and realized we were enjoying our favorite live child exploitation band (as opposed to dead child?  can't figure out the syntax on this), The Doerfels.  Okay, I joke on the child bit, I think at least 4 of them are old enough to vote and pay taxes. However, they have a crapload of talent and are fun to watch, so maybe I'm just jealous.

FYI--I broke my old boat camera, so I got a new one.  Completely awesome camera, except, it's WAY smarter than me, so half my pictures wound up stupid. So I won't be posting those.

Back on the boat again!

So, back in Kansas, we've always had this St. Patrick's day boating ritual. (Okay, it's only 5 years running, but what the hell)

So, hey, we've got a break in work travel and stuff, let's head down to HemiD.  Absolute weird quirk in the weather--it was the same temp in Kansas as it was in Key West.  However....the scenery is a bit better down there.

However, on the flight to Ft. Laud, we start realizing.....Key West, weekend, St. Patrick's Day, Spring Break, March Madness.

Oh........crap.

It really wasn't that bad, St. Pat's was only one day and it was complete amateur drink-a-thon day and quite amusing.  Luckily, we had....a) the boat to hide on  and b) a bar to hide in later.  Spring break was one week truly off for us, so we just had a few people to be frightened of there.  March Madness was there, but since I live in Jayhawk country it seemed very....mellow.  However, we did find a good sports bar (read: decent wine) and had fun.

All it all it was pretty okay.

We are about ready to be voted off the island...

I mean quite literally.  I think Key West has had it with us.  Since we started sailing around down there they've been hitting some new records as far as the weather department goes.

Last year it was record cold.

This year, the new record was amount of rainfall in a single day in the month of February.  The record was 4.5" of rain.  If you are wondering if that's a lot.   It is.  At one point driving around the island we realized we'd have more luck with the dinghy (some places the sailboat) than a car.  Luckily, we were given a small SUV crossover as a car or we probably would have flooded the car.

THEN, to top it off, I go to my trusty weather sites and see there was Invest90.  Yep, this lovely little disturbance was starting to show some serious organization and possible tropical depression/storm development.

But, wait, you say.  You can't have a tropical storm/hurricane this time of year.

Yes.

Yes, you can.

The most famous one of note was the Groundhog Day Storm of 1952.

So, the citizens of Key West have kinda been shuffling up to us and saying, "Look you know, you've been great, we've enjoyed your company and support of our restaurants and bars.  But really, you have to go now, we really want to go back to our mild winters and stuff. Nothing personal, it's just that...well you are bad for business you know?"


In the meantime, Kansas had been enjoying 60+ degree weather, something is amiss.

Quick fixes that the OEM doesn't want you to see

The pin that props up the shaft on the Torqeedo is bent so it doesn't do its job, we really needed it for our cruising shallow waters.

However, it's amazing what will do in a pinch.

Blue can to the rescue!

Daydreaming-IMAX style

So, over lunch today, I get this e-mail from a co-worker showing the videos of cargo ships at sea and the containers falling/getting swept off the ship.

Because that's the type of crap you want to send somebody who sails on the ocean.

Anyhow--as I was backing down my driveway, I was pondering what it would be like to be cracking along at 7kts at night and hit something like a container...or a whale...or any other large detritus that could be floating around.

Then WHAM!  I back into something, and I had a simultaneous heart attack/wet my pants.

Stupid freaking trash men had come by over lunch and moved our trash can from its location in the grass to pretty much the middle of my driveway and while in la la land thinking about boats crashing into stuff, I hit it.

Needless to say, it did not help my already overactive imagination.

Do. Not. Want.

pre New Years anchoring out--night time

In the end, it wound up being a good thing that we weren't anchored close to anybody else.  Because the deck of HemiD rapidly turned into disco inferno.

So, we started off with Sundowners, courtesy of our lovely icemaker.  And mother nature blessed us with her usual beauty.

Then bring on the dancing girls and boys. Holy cow.  It's amazing how spreader lights and a flashlight strobe will bring out the inner stripper in anybody.  ... oh, and alcohol...that too.

But--there's a background story to this.  Our slip neighbors a few boats down had installed a stripper pole on the back of their powerboat cruiser.  Yes.  A. Stripper. Pole.  Lighting in fact.  And they got a 'career' gal from downtown to test said stripper pole.

Luckily, we sailors come equipped with stripper poles already, the above deck on is about 55 feet high, and down below our compression pole does quite well in a pinch.

And...who knew that Toby Keith's Red Solo Cup would launch said dance-a-thon.

So, yes, luckily we were out aways from everybody, because we were definitely the problem boat on the anchorage.  However, I think we out-partied the stripper pole boat that also had gone out to Boca Grande for the night.

However, we did not quite make New Year's officially the next day.  I think we were all zonked by 10pm.