Dry Tortugas Trip Day 4 (Crossing)

We woke up to a beautiful sky, again with some storms in the background but none that seemed to be threatening to our trip. I fired up the stove, ground the coffee, mixed in a little cinnamon and set the percolator on the burner.  A good friend of ours Steve Hall got us hooked on the cinnamon in coffee thing, it's a night and day difference and not to mention cinnamon has some pretty good health benefits. Today we were making the crossing to Dry Tortugas! We had fair winds and following seas, which should make for an easy downwind sail. Leaving Marquesas wasn't easy though and we knew it would be a stop on the way back home. We pulled the anchor around 7am. When I say pulled the anchor I don't mean that figuratively I mean we pulled the all chain rode and 55lb anchor by hand since I still haven't gotten the manual windlass to function. It's on extra manual mode (Colby & I)  

The first few hours of the trip ticked by quickly with all land fading out of sight. This was Jess and the kids first "crossing" and first time sailing other than coastal. The Dry Tortugas is in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but blue water in between. There comes a time when you first make a passage when you have almost a panicked feeling and the realization that you are in it for the duration, there is no getting off the ride until it comes to a complete stop. About 5 hours into the trip barely halfway there that realization hit Jess. The winds picked up, clocked directly behind us and where shifty. Jibing was almost a certainty and we went with jib and engine alone. The engine helped keep the boat straight as she surfed down the front side of the waves. 

When I say there is nothing in between Marquesas and Dry Tortugas I mean there is nothing good. There is however a place called Rebecca shoal and a place referred to as "The Quicksands" The Quicksands are home to several shipwrecks and it's in this area that famous treasure hunter Mel Fisher finally found the wrecks of the Spanish Galleons the "Atocha" & the "Margarita". It was also in this area that the seas began to take on a different shape. They were more confused, current made the boat slip instead of tracking straight, and best of all the seas increased substantially. This is when Jess had her "Theres no way off this ride" feeling. I can compare the feeling to getting on that roller coaster your friend talked you into and then the feeling as it first pulls away from the platform. There is NO getting off until it's done. I did my best to help her calm down and to be honest she did a great job and it was by far just a fleeting moment. 

I had a difficult time keeping the boat pointed the direction I wanted and I found each wave that lifted the rear of the boat up would have me struggling to get back to center. The waves at this point increased to huge following seas that you could hear breaking behind you before lifting you up and then sliding off the bow. Each time you would swear it was going to break over your head, but it always just sent us on a wild ride down as it slipped harmlessly underneath. Many times we would encounter a rouge wave that came from the side, in a different direction than all the others, sometimes sending the boat pitching and rolling 40 degrees. These shoals had almost a washing machine effect on the seas with one wave striking us broadside and impacting the solar panel located on the top rail. 

Keep in mind the entire time all this is going on we are dodging lobster traps. 

The seas required enough concentration from us all to either pilot the boat or to not fall out of it that we have not a single photo of this crossing. The auto pilot which normally gives us a break was pretty much worthless and couldn't keep course with the breaking seas that chased us bearing their teeth. It wasn't the smoothest passage but it wasn't "bad" either. The sight of land was a very welcome sight by us all though, this came around 3pm. We made it to the anchorage at around 4:30, dropped the anchor and I felt it hit the bottom and then dig for a second, only to feel it then skip a little. I paid out more chain, careful not to dump it on top of the anchor. I ended up letting out 150ft of chain and getting to the 5/8 rode at the end. I let about 20 ft of that out and we backed down on the rig hard feeling the bow dip, a telltale sign the hook was set. It was then time to launch the dinghy which was stored on the deck and pickup the cabin that looked like it was ransacked by someone looking for something important. 

We got things settled and then heard Tom on the radio calling the Fort to request entry. Tom had said he was staying in Marquesas for a few more days and might be headed out after that, however I guess he had a change of heart and decided to head out after we left. He took the north route, we took the south and lets just say we picked the wrong one that day lol. We got in the dink and headed to shore to check things out before dinner, we were anchored out in front of this massive fortress in crystal clear water. Within seconds it was obviously worth the uncomfortable trip. 

Tom sailing in from the north

Tom @ the dinghy beach

It was getting late in the afternoon but we couldn't resist the temptation to take a mini tour of the fort before dark. We peaked inside, across the moat (Yes an actual moat) and it drew us in. As you walk across that bridge you can't help but see the massive garrisons on either side where gunners would be watching your every move. 

Inside the Ft is another world. 

Kainoa anchored outside the fort. 

After our little mini tour we were outside of the fort when we noticed hundreds, if not thousands of hermit crabs crawling everywhere. They seemed to be congregated around this one treee we later found out was a fig or date palm that drops figs. Within seconds of a ripe fig falling out of the tree they swarm and devour it.

We hopped in the dinghy and headed back to the boat, excited about what tomorrow would bring. We planned on doing a little snorkeling but mostly exploring the fort. Dinner was pot roast with potatoes, onions and corn bread, while watching the sun set with Loggerhead Key lighthouse as the backdrop. The one thing I made sure of when planning for this trip was that we would eat good and every meal was something different.  

Our first night, even though exhausted wasn't exactly a sound sleep. My first night at anchor I am up with every bump, tug and motion the boat makes. I question my splicing, anchoring and just about everything as I drift off to sleep, only to be woken again by an unfamiliar creak or roll. I'm sure one day this will go away, but I'm not exactly the most sound sleeper in general so who knows. The anchorage was quite rolly and at times during the trip it would require a handhold while moving about the cabin, however we spent very little time on the boat.