February 13 Shell Key

The Florida Keys consist of about 100 Keys or separate islands. Each Key has a unique name. Some small and some are very large but they are all connected by by Highway 1 that eventuually ends up in Key West. We were anxious to leave Duck Key and get back on the water again. The wind died down somewhat and was blowing out of the southwest. We need to travel in the Atlantic about 8 miles to channel 5 where we can cross over to the protected waters of the ICW and the Florida Bay. A call by radio to any boat traveling near Duck key, resulted in a reply from a boat traveling in the same direction we were headed, indicated it was lumpy but not unsafe. Some storms were predicted for later in the day, but I checked the weather radar before we left and none were in sight. So at high tide we headed out the channel past the multi million dollar homes and out to the Atlantic. We were greeted by some pretty unpleasant rollers. We slowly made our way to the Channel 5 crossover. We all stayed down below and I piloted the boat from the lower helm. The closer we got to the crossover, the more pleasant the ride became. A bright sunshiny day it was and the seas calmed to dead flat in the ICW. We were cruising along when we heard thunder and over our shoulder it was beginning to look nasty. Soon the wind picked up and a sailboat called to us and said we had better hunker down as 40-50 mph winds were predicted along with thunderstorms. We were in a large body of 8' water but not protected from the wind. I quickly made the decision to put down the anchor and ride out the storm. Indeed it did rain and blow but thankfully no lightning. 40 mph winds quicklyy developed, along with 3-4' waves. The anchor held as the anchor chain groaned and creaked as we were a bucking bronco riding the waves. We sat tight for a while after the storm to make sure nothing else was developing. It was our intention to travel some sixty miles today, but after our two wild encounters the girls thought they had enough excitement for one day, so we went to nearby Shell Key and picked up a mooring ball and spent the night. No protection from the ensuing winds, so it was a bouncy noisy night. Approximatel MM 1160 on the ICW. The picture above is our mooring with one other sailboat