Category: Great Loop 19/20

March 22 – April 5, 2020 – Having arrived at our new Pandemic Home, we have been spending time in similar fashion to many other millions of land-bound people across the country. Generally keeping to ourselves, we have been able to walk or bike-ride for exercise. In this drone video, my neighbor Peter and I are having a discussion while maintaining distance between our two boats.

As we were walking past a boat the other day, a lady apologized profusely for not being more sociable to us, and told us that normally there’d be bigger gatherings, pot-lucks and such, and she felt bad that we might have gotten an unwelcome feeling.

Actually, we have still been gathering up most afternoons with other boat neighbors, trying to keep in groups less than 10 people, and maintaining our distance. We have joined the ‘Zoom’ bandwagon, too, though, and have had some great ‘virtual happy hours’ with some of our friends. A couple sessions actually had someone currently in the Bahamas linked up with us.

All the restaurants and bars that we enjoyed a few months ago are now closed, along with anything that might be of ‘tourist’ interest, so there isn’t much to do. Many places are doing takeout or delivery, but we are pretty content to eat off our Bahamas provisions. We noticed that the boat had developed a slight ‘list’ to starboard; we scurried to the bilge, and pulled up a few hatches to make sure that we weren’t taking on any unusual water. We eventually figured out that it was probably due to our multi-hundred pound beer and mixer stash that occupies the master stateroom shower!

Apparently hair salons are not in the essential services category, so the Captain had to pull duty on the foredeck to keep the Admiral looking good!

We have taken a couple dinghy excursions to a tiny coral island a few miles from here on the Atlantic side. There are some little sandy patches nearby that make nice swimming holes, and some shallow reefs where there are fish, coral, and sea urchins.

It was reputed to be a good place to go lobstering, so on the last day of the season Ben was hopeful to go out and nab a few for dinner. Didn’t see a single one! But did find a nice little conch (which he threw back).

On the way back from one of these outings, we saw a pod of dolphins surfacing in the middle area of Boot Key Harbor. As we got closer, one dolphin kept surfacing and making a big splash. Finally, we could see that he was throwing a fish into the air, like a plaything! Over and over again, for more than ten minutes. We actually stopped the dinghy, along with another boat, to just watch the show.

When we were at Sombrero Marina in January and February, the seagulls ruled the roost, and sat atop the pilings between all the boats. We saw lots of pelicans, but mostly flying to and fro. Down at Skipjack, though, it seems to be pelican territory. Crips and Bloods…?

One morning, my neighbor Peter knocked on the boat – “Do you want to see this iguana before I chase him away?” “Sure…” Yikes! He had swum over from the mangroves, and climbed up onto the piling. I wonder if he could crawl along the lines to board the boat?!?

On Friday, while a diver was cleaning our neighbor’s boat bottom next door, a manatee swam along the dock, just along or under the boats docked along the bulkhead. We were all speculating whether he would perturb the diver, but they each kept to their business, and it didn’t seem that either one was bothered by the presence of the other.

Sunday morning, I noticed a commotion out on the dock, and quite a few people were out checking on a group of seven manatees, some old and some young, coming along in a group. It’s sad to see the prop scars on some of these gentle giants, and easy to understand why many of the waterways are marked as slow speed Manatee Zones.

All in all, we think that being in the Keys is a pretty good place to be stuck, given the overall state of affairs. The actions by Monroe County, even before the Governor acted to put in place the stay-at-home order, probably did limit the introduction of coronavirus from the many seasonal travelers who come to the Keys from all over the country (and the world).

So, we will sit tight for a few more weeks, keeping in contact with family and friends, and tracking the situation as it impacts our continued travels.

And taking part in a recently popular handicraft activity.

22 March 2020 – Circumstances at the marina aboard NAS-Key West had begun to get tenuous, as the military, understandably, began to prioritize mission-related functions. While the marina was not closed outright (yet…), there were some policies being enacted that convinced us that we’d best find an alternate situation if we wanted to ‘stay put’, as opposed to simply pressing on North as part of a vast maritime refugee flotilla.

We were fortunate to act quickly (ahead of a very stringent Monroe County edict that effectively shut down the Keys to visitors and tourists), and secured a month lease at Skipjack Marina back in Marathon. We elected to make the move on Sunday, rather than wait until Tuesday, when wind and sea conditions would have been better.

We pulled out at sunrise, and headed out the channel for the 45 mile ride back up to Marathon.

Might not have been to perfect day to cruise, based on sea-state, but it was an undeniably beautiful day, mostly sunny with 10-15 knot winds.

We crossed water of a range of hues, along with many other north-bound boats (well, east-bound actually, here at the very end of the Keys).

The crab-fishing industry hasn’t abated much – just as many crab-trap floats to dodge, as on the way down, and watermen in their boats out collecting from those traps.

We stopped for fuel on the way into Boot Key Harbor, to make sure that our tanks were topped off for whenever we pushed onward from here. As we pulled through the mooring field, it was not quite as imposing a sight as the first time – it kind of felt like coming home, in a way, even though we were headed past our Sombrero Marina slip to a different marina this time.

Friends on a number of boats waved and called out hello as we idled past, and we were quickly welcomed in by our new neighbors at Skipjack Marina, a few of which (San Souci, Short Vacation) we already knew from meeting previously on the Loop.

Now to settle into a new routine for the next month.

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

The Clash, 1982

Well, with it’s advisory of March 19, the State Department squelched our plan to conduct our social distancing amongst the remote cays of the Bahamas.

We’d been provisioning for several weeks in Key West to sustain a 6-week trip to the beautiful and remote chain of islands.

The increasing concern about Coronavirus began as an annoyance as regular folks started buying up the same sort of food and supplies that we were stocking up.

Empty shelves at the commissary.

Crazy lines at Costco.

Then the governmental actions.

For a while, it seemed like heading out to the islands seemed like the prudent kind of ‘social distancing’ that could be undertaken with a touch of legitimacy.

That was then.

March 2020 – We settle in at Boca Chica Marina, and find great commonality with the community here, all of whom share a common professional bond as current and former military members. Surprisingly, a lot are Army veterans.

Naval Air Station Key West’s national security mission supports operational and readiness requirements for Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, National Guard units, federal agencies, and allied forces.

NAS Key West has perfect flying weather year round and unparalleled aerial ranges that offer aircrew training within minutes after takeoff.

The station is equipped with a sophisticated Tactical Combat Training System (TCTS), similar to the one depicted in the popular movie “Top Gun,” which tracks and records aerial maneuvers. In addition, NAS Key West is the host facility for numerous tenant activities, including Joint Interagency Task Force South, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Special Forces Underwater Training School to name a few.

https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrse/installations/nas_key_west.html

The marina is at the western remote end of Boca Chica Key, and to get there by car or bike, you have to cross under the flight path to one of the runways.

Our first few days were pretty quiet. Morning and evening bugle calls, a few helicopters and transport planes.

But then came the weekend. The fighters started to spool up just after sunrise, and the roar of the F/A 18 hornets taking off, doing high-speed passes, and circling the pattern for touch and go landings made us really feel like we were at a Naval Air Station.

And it didn’t stop at sunset. To the contrary, it picked up speed, and for a while, there were at least a half dozen fighters in the air, probably not over 500 feet altitude, turning tight circles around the runway, at about 30 seconds separation. Around and around and around.

We stopped over at the Navigator bar, to listen to the band Ukeleles in Paradise, that we had heard up in Marathon the month before. The jet noise was so loud that half the time we couldn’t hear the music. At one point the musician’s were conferring, and one said ‘Let’s just call it the key of F/A-18.”

The weekend must have started a training rotation for one of the tenant units, and the fighter action was often intense (and loud!) One car alarm in the parking lot kept getting set off by the thundering vibrations of engine tests and takeoffs. ‘Come on, dude! Who’s going to steal your car here??’

One of the interesting tenant commands here is VFC-11 1, Sun Downers, a US Navy Reserve adversary squadron. Currently, it operates 18 Northrop F-5N/F Tiger-IIs, of which 17 are single-seater F-5Ns and the remainder being a twin-seater F-5F, which was dubbed “FrankenTiger” and is one of only three in service with the Navy, being a product of grafting the older front half fuselage of the F-5Fs into the back half fuselage of the newer low-hours F-5Es acquired from the Swiss Air Force.

The Sun Downers operate as part of the U.S. Navy Reserve’s fleet adversary program, providing dissimilar air combat training to fleet strike fighter and Marine fighter attack squadrons, as well as U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard fighter squadrons.

Their sound is totally unlike that of the F-35s or F/A 18s, and when we hear them interspersed overhead, we know that there must be some serious head-to-head games going on.

We have enjoyed a lot of pretty sunsets here, with a good view to the west.

Sounding a conch shell horn at sunset is a long standing tradition in the Keys and the surrounding Caribbean islands. Here in the marina, at sunset, we’d always hear several, sometimes as soon as the sun just touches the horizon, and other times it is a bit later when the last portion of the sun descends out of sight. We look forward to getting our own conch horn, and joining the chorus.

1 March 2020 – As our two-month reservation at Sombrero Marina came to a close at the end of February, we took on some fuel arranged by one of our dockmates, finished a few last projects and pulled out of Boot Key Harbor and headed down the Keys to the Navy marina at Boca Chica Key, home of Naval Air Station Key West.

February 2020 – After a short break from Ben’s family, we hosted our final visitors, friends Ric and Marie, for a long weekend. It was very windy, and not quite as warm as the previous week, but still nice weather for a couple of excursions.

Marie is an avid photographer, so she and Ben headed off to Sombrero Beach each morning to get some sunrise pictures. We also made day trips down to the ‘dirt mall’ (Big Pine Key Flea Market), No Name Key, Bahia Honda State Park, and the Crane Point Nature preserve.

We went out to a couple of our favorite spots, as well as finally made it to Burdine’s, and Ric and Marie even took over the galley one evening to prep a fantastic dinner. A great way to wrap up our 2020 visitor season!

February 2020 – Later in February, Ben’s brother Dave and his family were able to put together a trip during the kid’s winter break, and they came down when the weather was “77 degrees warmer than at home.”

At Ease was a ‘base of operations’ for these guests, and they took off on some excursions to the Crane Point Museum & Nature Center, Bahia Honda State Park, the National Key Deer Refuge, No Name Key, and even Key West.

While in Marathon, they made several trips to the beach, in addition to taking the dinghy to a small island off Sombrero beach, for some snorkeling.

Jan/Feb 2020 – We were able to have several sets of visitors join us in Marathon, and share some bits of Keys life.

First up, Ben’s cousin Alec and fiancee Lena (who had joined us on the Tennesssee River for our Chattanooga side trip). The ladies spent some time at the beach, Alec and I took a dinghy expedition into the mangroves with friend Joe, to see a ‘Cuban drug sub’ (maybe), and we all dinghied across Boot Key Harbor for a great happy hour and dinner. And that was before we drove down to Key West to see some of the sights (Hemingway Rum Distillery, Mel Fisher Museum, Mile Zero, sunset at Mallory Square, Duval Street, Sloppy Joe’s) before returning to our Navy base accommodations in a torrential downpour.