We anchored off Rodriquez Key, adjacent to Key Largo, in our usual militarily efficient fashion at 1620 hours and settled in for dinner and a movie. (Just like Bogey and Bacall?) The night was uneventful and the next morning's sunrise exquisite. Captain Bill had a laundry list of chores and he was anxious to get the outdoor ones accomplished before the promised storms arrived.
He snuggled into the new camo wetsuit, donned flippers, mask, hookah and cleaning tools and jumped into the 73 degree water. Yikes! He quickly scrubbed the few encrusted barnacles from the hull and climbed back aboard.
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and began tracking the approaching storms on our iPhones. Only two sailboats shared our large anchorage and we watched them begin to bob jerkily as the winds picked up. Rain is now falling in a light but steady fashion. Soon the anemometer spiked to 35 knots and Let's Dance strained a little as the wind pushed increasingly larger and larger waves towards us and the shore. About now a third sailboat enters the area as the winds swirl. We watch the drenched sailor as he lowers his anchor into the froth. Naturally we feel quite confident in our own abilities and are only concerned that his anchor is securely set. He is about 250 yards in front of us and both winds and waves would surely push him into our bow if he broke loose. Vigilant always, Captain Bill measures the distance from us to the new arrival and to the closest of the other sailboats. 250 and 280 yards respectively, as measured by the golf range finder we keep on board.
The "Drag Queen" too is set to sound the alarm should we move more than 180 feet from where we laid our anchor the day before. We stay in the pilothouse monitoring the scene as the waves continue to grow and the winds increase. We now measure gusts of almost 50 knots and this is about as dramatic a wind event as we have ever encountered. Both hurricanes that we experienced in Maine boasted winds of just under 50 knots. So, now it gets interesting!
Luckily for us, it is still daylight, and we can keep both neighboring sailboats in view to make certain they stay securely anchored and cause no harm to themselves or us. The waves are now about three feet high and only a few seconds apart so there is some serious rocking and rolling going on, even by Let's Dance's standards. Eyes still on the wind gauge, we are amazed to see it jump to 55 and then 60 knots. Wow! The storm wasn't advertised to be like this! We continue to be buffeted by the waves, and the winds are running a steady 50 to 55 knots when we get a sudden leap to 60 and then to 65 knots. This feels more like a tropical storm than a rain storm and we are happy to have been prepared and tucked in early.
Then, as the wind speeds begin to drop slowly, the rain fades to a light drizzle and the wave spray diminishes, Bill suddenly says to me, "Didn't we used to be a lot closer to that sailboat with the blue hull?" We look, we frown, we measure. We measure the distance to the other sailboat again, too. Something is amiss. The worrisome sailboats now register 450 and 480 yards in front of us. Oops!
So intent were we on making sure that a hastily anchored sailboat didn't break loose
and crash into us that we failed to notice that our own anchor had begun to drag as the impressive winds and waves shoved us backwards. Where was the "Drag Queen" when we needed her? Perhaps already in Key West? Obviously we need to work with her some more. The Captain hastily put on rain jacket and hat and, with our two-way radios in place, we easily re-anchored Let's Dance in a new position slightly closer to shore and slightly further away from the sailors.
We have learned, over the past 20 months of trawler travel, that the lessons and the challenges never end. We were very, very lucky that no boats were directly behind us and that there was never any danger to us, Let's Dance or to any other mariners in our vicinity. That being said, hear what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the day after our unfortunate anchoring malfunction:
"A rare weather phenomenon known as a wake low pressure system created strong
winds throughout the Florida Keys during the late afternoon and evening hours. The
strongest winds along the island chain were reported in the upper keys, near Rodriquez Key."
And so it goes.....the remainder of the route to Key West was clear and calm with light winds and sunny skies. We arrived in Key West the day before cousins Jim and Sandra and readied Let's Dance for company. With four aboard there will surely be some partying going on in the southern latitudes.
Let's Dance.......Carol and Bill
