24 November 2008, Key West.

It is always a very tight run to Key West and I need a Northerly wind and a bit of Gulf Stream to get there before another cruise ship comes in. This time we were all by ourselves and that meant I could arrive at the pilot station with an ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) that suited me. After a quiet night, the wind had started to pick up again and by the time we arrived at the pilot station it was blowing near gale force. Courtesy of the next cold front coming down. However the wind was blowing over the island and thus sufficient shelter for a safe docking. The weather was nice again but on the chilly side with this wind coming from the North North East.

The USCG was out in force this time. Cutters, speedboats, guys walking along the shore, there was a lot of blue coveralls present. During one of our previous calls they came
onboard and sailed with us; today they were in the traffic-cop mode, ensuring that the fairway was kept clear of pleasure boats while we approached the dock. It looked like one speedboat was not behaving himself as it was boarded by two coastguard officers and the clipboard came out. Because of the cold weather we have had very few “Sunday sailors” out in Tampa and Key West and thus we have had no issues with boats getting in the way or refusing to get out of the way. Or maybe it has to do with the down turn in the economy that there is less money available to play with expensive toys. To maintain a sailing boat can cost as much as the expense of a regular household and can take up even more time……

Whatever the reason might be it has been a lot quieter lately in Tampa Bay and in Key West. The port of Key West can be a challenge for many a pleasure boat as it is quite often windy but there is also this current that flows through the harbor. It is the regular ebb and flood current but because the whole area of Key West is flat and shallow, most of that current is pressed through the deeper entrance channel to go beyond Key West Island. Thus it churns past the docks of the cruise ships and as the entrances to the docking basins are perpendicular onto the fairway, it catches all the boats going in and out. Because the whole area is so open, you do not expect that much current there but along the Mallory dock it can run up to 3 knots. Further inland, there is a gap between the islands where it can run as much as 10 knots on a bad day. Not a place to be caught out unaware.

Here onboard we are getting busier and busier with the preparations for the coming drydock in April 2009. After our successful refit in 2006 (when we installed the Children’s Loft behind the funnel, the Explorations café and a few other things) we are now gearing up for 2009. Again the ship will be remodeled. It is part of a $200 mln. investment by the company in the four S class ships and the Rotterdam. Details will be announced when more and more is finalized. Fitting new pieces in an existing puzzle is never easy and that means that everything has to be checked, rechecked and reviewed before it can be approved and pre construction and preparation can start.

We left Key West just after sunset, although there was not that much sunset, as a band of clouds lay over the horizon. The wind had been dying down during the afternoon and thus sail away was a nice and quiet affair. Tomorrow morning the wind is supposed to pick up again and that will mean another windy day for Key West. We might get that wind by the time we reach Belize but for the time being we are running away from it. The seas are still choppy and that will keep the stabilizers busy to smoothen the path as much as possible.