Naples to Key West

We have made the run from the West coast mainland of Florida to the Keys and back again numerous times. No matter how much planning goes in to making it a pleasant trip, the weather will almost always throw you a little "surprise" along the way. This time was no different.

The winds have been unusually brisk for this time of year and have varied significantly from day to day. None the less, the "forecast" from the National Weather Service along with the projected sea and wind conditions provided by NOAA suggested that today would be a good time to make the 110 mile crossing. Well they were right -- for some of the trip!

As we left Gordon Pass in our wake and turned to a straight-line 180 degree setting for Key West, the wind was moderate, the seas were a light chop and under clear sunny skies looked to be a good start. The further we got from shore, the more exposed we were to the open sea and wind fetching up the waves. Light chop became 1 foot, that become 2 feet, now coming at us from the port beam, soon was 3 feet and even 4 feet with a period of 4 seconds. What all that adds up to is a sloppy, wet and unpleasant ride the last 60 miles.

But this is a Sabre Yacht built in Maine and is very "at home" in those types of conditions. The boat handled it well (actually, really well) and the crew, well, let's just say we've had better! None the less, 5 hours later we turned into the Northwest Channel approach to Key West then back out the Atlantic side as we arrived at the beautiful (and peaceful) Stock Island Marina.

We will be here most of the week before continuing our journey to Key Largo.