We had such a Great trip with these two both from the Washington DC area. They had both been on a sailboat before and knew they wanted more.
So getting them through the 101 Keel Boat class was a breeze they did all the home work before arriving. Once they arrived at the boat I found out I had a gourmet cook, backpacker, rock climber in Jess and Kyle a former medic in the army and an engineer by trade.
Next we have a trip orientation and planning briefing in the boat after all gear is stowed. Then a rundown of all the provisions on board, then up on deck to familiarize them to the lines and other parts of the running rigging. Once this all done we go through all the steps in getting the 35.5 Hunter “Kindred Spirit” out of her slip.
So if we meet by 9am we are underway by noon, our first night out is spent at beautiful Boca Grande Key just 15 miles away. We usually have time for swimming and hitting this awesome beach that we pretty much have to ourselves. At 6 we start preparing the evening meal. The first night, we have nice steaks on the grill with sautéed mushrooms and mashed potatoes with a salad. For dessert, Jess made a bananas foster from scratch with items we had on board. After dinner we played a dice game until 11pm and went to bed. Jess and Kyle had the forward cabin, the V birth if you will, all to them selves with a big hatch that opens for ventilation and star gazing, also a hanging locker on one side and a closet with shelves on the other. There are also fans, and lights, and doors for privacy.
The next morning we are up at 7am and under way, shortly after because by 5 or 6 pm we want to be anchored in front of Fort Jefferson 53 miles away.
Breakfast is served underway and consists of beagles and cream cheese, yogurt with granola, fresh fruit, plenty of Coffee, and orange juice.
Our sail out was a down wind run all the way, since the wind of 15 to 20 knots was out of the East and we are heading west on this trip.
For lunch we have Roast beef on Rye bread with provolone cheese and mayonnaise, chips and water, we drink lots of water when at sea.
Once we get there, Oh and one of my favorite things is watching this huge fort appear on the horizon as we get closer and closer at first all you can see is the fort coming up out of the ocean no land yet so cool.
After we set the anchor, put on the sail cover, we get the 10′ inflatable boat ready for launching from the fore deck, and put on its 2.5 hp motor. By now its time to start dinner, on the menu for tonight, we have 1 1/4″ thick bone in pork chops on the grill with grilled fresh pineapple a sautéed vegetable medley with couscous thanks to Jenn and a salad. She made a peanut sauce from scratch that was soooooo good. I have the recipe, YA.
Ending the night with another game of dice and off to bed. The next morning we have coffee and breakfast while going over the 101 study guide I wrote and work on that for an hour or so. Bruce, the owner of Kindred Spirit and the 1st mate, is ASA bare boat certified takes the dingy in to shore. Jenn, Kyle, and I take KS out for a sail to practice all the maneuvers for the 101 class this takes 2 hours or so to go through depending on the wind, as we are sailing back and forth in front of Fort Jefferson Bruce is out on our far side shooting pictures, with his long lens camera with Fort Jefferson in the back ground. This Hunter Legend sails so nice its fast and turns on a dime. Now once back on anchor we go into the fort for the FREE tour that is done by a historian from the visiting ferry. After that we snorkel the fort, the walls of the fort’s mote are covered with coral and are home to many species of beautiful tropical fish, its one of my favorite snorkel sights.
So now, back to the boat for a late lunch and then we sail over to Loggerhead Key about 2 miles to the west.
There we find the wreck of a wind jammer, YA a wind jammer that went down of the reef there many years ago and is in 12′ of water, The visibility was at least 60 feet on this day. This was the best wreck I have ever snorkeled and there is only one mooring ball there to hook up to, and we were the only ones there awesome !!!!
On our way back, Jenn and Kyle took the dingy into Logger Head key and checked out the beach and the light house. Once back on KS, we sailed back to Fort Jefferson and anchored again for the night. On the menu for dinner is grilled chicken with a pasta side dish and veggies, a salad with a salad dressing made by Jess that was awesome.
We sat around on deck and watched the sunset and shortly there after went to bed, this was a long day, but really fun.
The following day we got up, had breakfast and plenty of coffee as the sun was rising and then set sail for Marquesas Key, which is back by Boca Grand Key some 51 miles to the west. There we planned to go on a dingy ride and check out this big Key, but the sail back was full of tacking and jibeing and it took a little longer so we went over to Boca Grande and anchored out for the night. On the menu for dinner was a salad and Spaghetti with Italian sausage, oh so good. Watching the sunset from the deck and doing a little fishing. Speaking of fishing, we do troll behind the boat, and on this trip Bruce caught a 20 pound 40″ Barracuda which we released, but man what a fight. The following morning we got up late lounged around went for a swim off the boat, and then started for home. We got back to the dock at about 1pm Jess managed to ACE the 101 written test becoming our 11th student to do that. Congratulations to her on that, Kyle scored a 98%, both fantastic scores. These two are off to Great start. What a trip we had.
This has got to be one of the best Adventure trips available and I am very fortunate to be your captain, and guide, on this adventure. If you are serious about learning to sail and want a first class adventure, then this is the one.
Captain Brad
Southernmostsailingschool.com also on face book.
Fully Accredited ASA Training Facility