As we leave Islamorada we look forward to our
upcoming adventures. Fresh from the
harness of no plan, we now had one, a plan that is. The last few days we have been scouring over
our multiple sources of travel information. Where to go? Marina or anchor out? How long to stay? How long will it take? Etc. We
had made reservations at the Pilot House Marina back in early January when we
were home for Christmas. Upon our
arrival back in Florida we flirted with the idea of trying to change our
arrival date at Pilot House a little bit, but decided not to. I did call to confirm the reservations two
days before our arrival and all was ready for us I was told. You all know about that little voice in your
head, well my little voice’s alarm bells were clanging nonstop. I did have reservations and they were confirmed
and reconfirmed, don’t worry! We had to
do a little more planning with the tides on this journey, as we had two shallow
spots on this trip where we had to plan to be there at or near high tide. This is not a big deal and is a calculation
that is done daily by navigators all over the world. The only thing about this trip for us was that
once we left the marina we were committed.
Our slip would be immediately reoccupied and we would not be able to
return. Also, since we were trying to
arrive at the new Marina near high tide, again we would be committed once we
passed the shallow entrance to the canal where the Marina was situated. Soon after our passing the shallow spot, the
tide would start ebbing and we would be trapped in the canal by the shoaling
until the next high tide. Again this is
no problem but you must plan for it. Remember our vessel will draw 4’-6” and the
MLW (Mean Low Water) depth at the marina entrance was suppose to be 5’-0”. (Yes
you are correct that is 6” of clearance), so with a 1 to 2 foot tide we should
be riding high.
As it turned out the trip was wonderful and
just a short 2 1/2 hours. 20 minutes
from our destination my little voice urged me to call the marina. My little voice was correct. It was the managers’ day off and the boat in
our designated dock was still there. What can I do the voice on the phone said? Let me call you back. I agreed. Well he did call me back and said they found a
slip but it is not a floating dock and has a very short finger pier. This means we would have to dock stern too
(backwards). This is not hard to do
really but our boat has the dinghy mounted on the swim platform and it is hard
to properly moor the boat without properly placed cleats and the really short
pier made boarding the boat tricky. This
is why we call ahead and pay extra for floating docks! Trying not to be negative, we accept the
situation and promise never to return. Enough
said.
After a day or so at this marina it became
clear that there would be no floating docks available any time soon. Terri and I decide we have to move. This is just too dangerous and uncomfortable. It was my second choice of Marinas initially,
as my first choice for marinas was full up for our size boat until April. I decided to give Marina Del Mar a phone call
to see if there were any cancellations. Candi, the Dock Master, informed me that
another boat had just left for the Bahamas that morning. She promised to call back in a few hours just
to make sure that the Bahamas bound boat didn’t turn around. Great! True to her word Candi did call back a few
hours later and we were in!
Cheers Mark
 |
| Key Largo Fisheries, Pilot House Marina |
 |
| Entrance to Pilot House Marina |
 |
| Pelicans resting on Grumpy |
 |
| Lighthouse @ Entrance of Pilot House Marina Channel |
No comments:
Post a Comment