KEY WEST 5

Christmas Eve, 2022

Elliott, the winter storm that is ravaging the mainland, is pounding Key West.  The wind is 0 degrees true – right out of the north, and it’s bearing down on the Key West anchorage at 25+ knots.  That’s almost 29 mph.  Not exactly a gale, but strong enough to cause problems.  The harbor is very choppy – white “horses” (the breaking caps of waves) are racing across the harbor, and waves are breaking against the jetty, throwing spray into the air.

It’s been blowing like this for about twelve hours, and boats are starting to break loose and drift down on other boats.

One is beached on Wisteria Island – just across the harbor.  Another dragged all through the anchorage, hitting several other vessels and almost hitting the Coast Guard jetty before the Coast Guard took him in tow. We are listening to the radio and hearing distress calls and watching the tow boats heading out for rescues.

Our stern faces due north, so we have a direct view on the chaos.  We are protected from the waves by the stone jetty, but we can feel the strength of the wind and see the white caps.  Spray hits our rear-facing Strataglass curtains.

We saw the same thing happen when we were here two years ago, when a strong northerly came through.  This is Paradise, until it isn’t.

Conditions are expected to abate by this evening, but I don’t think they will truly return to normal for several days.

I want to stress that WE are safe – tied securely in our slip and protected by the breakwater (jetty).  But it’s a sobering scene.

And it bears upon the next phase of our trip – the Bahamas.  We’ve met a number of cruising couples on our travels, and almost all of them are on sailboats, and planning to anchor out.  It’s much more economical than staying in a marina as we do, but it also adds a bit of complexity and risk.  As I understand it, the wind cycles constantly in the Bahamas, and it clocks to the north about once a week.  As a consequence, you must change your anchorage to seek protection from the Norther, then move back after it passes.  I can live without that anxiety and nuisance.  We’ll be safe in a marina every night!