Reluctant
Departure from Key West: February 14 2016
We
have a nice walking route on Stock Island which allows for a breakfast pit stop
at DeLuna’s Café and some chit chat with the ladies behind the counter, Christy
and Janet.
They are cheerful and friendly so we try to time our arrival between
the rushes so that we can kibbitz; after the fisherman and before the
office workers. Chris continues his boat
projects without much bandwidth to plan fun stuff so I have become the Barefeet
cruise director/organizer of fun. His
head is currently puzzling out the wiring from the solar panels to the
batteries – specifically, how to get the wires the exact length needed and
crimped. Yes, the wiring was newly
installed but Chris has seen a voltage drop and wants to reduce/eliminate the
drop for maximum charging as well as get the Ft Lauderdale installed shunt corrected. Chris
will add a bit more detail about this project here...go Chris...Yes,
dammit, the wires were installed professionally at great expense.
Unfortunately - not only did they install understized wireing at
the time, but the electrician also installed the panels on the wrong
side of the shunt. What that means is that the device that
measures amps in/out of the batteries does not "see" the solar panels.
So you never have any real idea if you need to recharge your
batteries or not - nor what kind of a load is on them at any particular
moment. This is unacceptable. Sadly, the only fix was to
install a new shunt (the thing which measures amps in/out) in the
engine room down where the solar charger was located. That means
running new wires from the battery monitor in the pilot house to the
new shunt in the engine room, as well as rewiring the battery bank so
that the batteries lead to the shunt first and then to the negative
bus. The wires required are big (4/0 guage for anyone who cares)
and don't bend well. They also require a serious machine to
crimp them. Of course, since we are worried about voltage drop
the old crappy battery connectors need to be replaced, too. Plus,
we also need to put some over current protection in the solar circuit
(which the professional seemed to miss). All this needs to be
done on your belly and twisted up like a pretzel. Think twice,
cut and crimp once.
But
have no fear because it is not all dull work for us. I have taken the chance to sleuth out a
half-day of speargun fishing. I talked
to a local dive shop, Finz, then Chris and I went back to finalize our plan (http://finzdivecenter.com/index.html). It will be just the two of us, an instructor
and a captain for four hours of free diving and speargun instruction. We tentatively decided on the date of
February 2nd; however, we left it flexible because the weather has
been so squirrely. Luckily, the weather
cooperated and we had a gorgeous day above and below the water with clear,
sunny skies and good sea visibility.
Instructor Levi was patient and conscientious and thoroughly familiarized
us with the equipment. Donning 3mil
wetsuits had us yanking and wiggling and groaning these rubbery body corsets
into place. This made us realize how
spoiled we have been with warm water oceans.
Into the water we went and started looking for fish. I decided to play tourist and look for shells
while Chris and Levi went off hunting.
Chris used the speargun and was successful! Okay, it took some
practice – both shooting and reloading underwater…yikes, tricky business. A few
fish merely lost some scales and swam away but a couple were caught and we have
a new way to bring home our own dinner. Plus, I have some blackening
seasoning ready to go...already sampled with sauteed veggies in a quesadilla
(recipe below). It was a great day on the reefs off of Key West. Thanks Levi and Phil! We highly recommend these guys if you are in
the area.
Chris
puzzles mentally (on the wiring) as well as works tangibly on projects (dinghy
tie-down and anchor gypsy and leaking sink) while I work on tasks around the
edges like lining up an outboard motor
mechanic to diagnose our engine problem.
It is under warranty and has never quite run smoothly. Fingers crossed we can get it sorted.
However,
cleaning is where I get a bit carried away.
I started with a small bit of deck cleaning but didn’t end up stopping
until stainless had been un-rusted, large gummy/greasy bits were removed and
the entire deck had been scrubbed. Phew! Barefeet gleams…but…I underestimated the
amount of sun I got as my project continued to expand…resulting in the fact
that I now look like the poster girl for what NOT to look like after a day in
the sun.
Enough
puzzling and outlining…it is time to start the wiring project since Chris has
found a solution to the crimping issue…Los Cubanitos. This is not a Latin rock band but rather the
crew at Key West Marine Hardware Store on Caroline Street (https://www.facebook.com/keywestmarine/). They will cut and crimp our needed runs of
wire which is BIG wire - roughly the size of an Oscar Meyer hot dog. The crimper found online that would be big
enough to do the job is priced at $1500…gulp…not to mention it would be a bear
to store once the project is wrapped up.
At $2 per crimp these guys are a perfect solution. Several trips to the store already and pretty
quickly we are on a first name basis with the friendly and knowledgeable Los
Cubanitos – Fita, Nick and Armando. Plus, there
are two great breakfast options nearby which means we can still start the work
day early but more slowly at either Harpoon Harry’s or Pepe’s (http://harpoonharryskeywest.com/ and http://pepeskeywest.com/).
Chris
bends and twists and crams himself into crazy small spaces where he works on
the wires in one position long enough that his body actually falls asleep. However, one by one the wires are measured
and crimped and attached to the appropriate busbar…but we are back living in a
tool shed.
Long
work days and tools strewn everywhere make take-out a great dinner idea…and a
chance to sample a Key West favorite – Sandy’s Café (http://www.kwsandyscafe.com/). I went for their celebrated Cuban sandwich
and Chris went for a chicken burrito. We
returned with our steaming bag of aromatic goodness and could not get to the
top deck fast enough (to avoid staring at the tool shed of the main room). The food was great! And since there is a laundromat attached –
maybe I can finagle a twofer in the future.
We
are beginning to see the end of our month in Key West on the calendar; however,
there is no noticeable change in the weather conditions. January 2016 data is in and this January Key
West has seen a 500% increase in monthly rainfall (from an average of 2 inches
to 9 inches this year). El Nino is
certainly living up to its reputation and has January 2016 recorded as the
wettest month on record (since records began being kept in 1932). However, a passing five-day cold front has us
optimistic that cold fronts are becoming longer which might herald longer quiet
periods in between. More calm periods
will give us a chance to make our next hop…to the west coast of Florida and up
to Fort Meyers.
In
the meantime, friends of friends, Carl and Deb, have taken us into their social
circle with dinner at their place as well as Happy Hour bar hopping. It has been nice to have a local group of
folks to hang out with. And we keep
exploring more and more Key West gems like the Lazy Gecko on Duval Street for
cocktails and the Green Parrot on Whitehead Street for live music (http://www.thelazygecko.com/
and http://www.greenparrot.com/).
Motivation
has been primarily focused on boat projects so that we can be ready to scoot
when the weather gets nicer. This has
been successful as our list of projects continues to dwindle and I feel right
at home popping around town to grab this or that resource as needs arise. What has been harder?! To muster the motivation for proper dinners
aboard; however, at the risk of feeling like Barefeet is not much more than a
take-out window or a PB&J joint – I have continued with my fish recipes
(Feb 6). The latest was black grouper in
Panang Curry (recipe below). Holy cow –
this is another keeper! The fish was new
to us but an easy and perfect recommendation from the folks at
Fishbusterz. The mix of flavors in the
curry was awesome; a bit of sweet from brown sugar and creamy from coconut milk
and heat from chilies and salty from fish sauce and snap from fresh peppers,
onions ginger and cilantro. Yum!
You won’t believe it but the wiring is complete (Feb 10)! Chris is over the moon - all the volts and amps and math indicate that the solar and batteries are netting out. Okay, except for a phantom 2 amp draw…but…that’s for another day. Our 1200 watts of solar panels are flowing and being tracked for power to the batteries…comparable to running your microwave in reverse.
Honest, our list of projects is positively
evaporating. Sabrina from Cosme’s Marine
came by with the new carburetor for the outboard motor and the dinghy is
purring like a kitten – something she has never, ever done (Feb 11). Sabrina is on track to become a certified
Master Marine Technician under Master Juan’s tutelage (http://www.cosmesmarine.com/). She
switched from diesel engines to outboard engines
because - and I quote, "with my tiny fingers they give me all the
little hand jobs" (followed by blushing to her roots after realizing
what she just said - tee, hee, hee) - you work with what you
got. Thanks Juan, Lynn and Sabrina!
Now
it’s time to enjoy Key West without projects hanging over our heads as we plan
a departure…possible weather window next week for a 10hr hop to the west coast
of Florida. Things are lining up. And for icing on the cake - Mother Nature has
decided to give the forecast a bit of normalcy with clear skies, warm(er) temps
and bright sunshine. We are lovin’ it
and do not take it for granted…especially because it is negative 20 degrees F with windchill
in Boston.
Pizza
Alert: we have a new flavor. It is
garlic, bacon and at the last minute – sliced bananas. What?!
Well, we were intrigued and curious when friends mentioned this favorite of theirs to us so
we made an inaugural run under construction supervision of Deb and Carl. These guys learned about this flavor combo
while in South Africa and we will definitely make it again…now named the Deb
& Carl pizza.
We
have had a great month in Key West! It
is a place with a combination of characteristics that mix really well for us. Goodbye
for now before the bottom growth
roots us here but we will be back. Assuming that weather holds we
will make a ten hour/65 mile hop to Cape Sable on Tuesday,
February 16. Bugger - old habits die hard and our provisioning
for the passage has us sliping into old patterns of
get-what-we-need-for-a-three-month-period-without-resources...nope...it
is just a long, single day passage with Florida supermarkets on the other side.
Scale back the provisioning and relax.
Our Key West wrap up:
ˇ
Caribbean
island - chickens roaming and crowing everywhere
ˇ
Great
food - think New Orleans where the restaurant next door is always better…even
if it’s a take-out window
ˇ
Casual
vibe - no drycleaners
ˇ
Live
music all day flowing from open windows and doors - just drop in or stay awhile
ˇ
Color
everywhere - murals and mosaics even on mailboxes and porches
ˇ
Happy
Hour options galore - it’s practically a competition between bars as each tries
to outdo the other
ˇ
Flip
flops - that’s all you need to enter any establishment
ˇ
Humor
- on anything with words…like the Stoned Crab digital billboard...Wanted: iguana jockeys – experience a must
ˇ
Welcoming
people - from different places and dancing to different drummers but always
friendly
ˇ
Driving
by landmark - left at the dolphin statue, right at the 5 foot giant conch
Blackening
Seasoning
(crewman Pete Puentes - Florida Keys Commercial Fisherman's cookbook)
1 Tablespoon paprika
4 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1.5 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Note: For fish - melt butter, coat fish in it and dredge fish in
seasoning. Cook in hot skillet.
Note: For grilled veggies - slice veggies of choice (peppers, onions, mushrooms) and sprinkle with 2-3 Tablespoons of seasoning. Saute in skillet with olive oil.
Panang
Curry
(from Deb on s/v Wings) serves 3
3
Tablespoons Panang curry mix (we find the small cans of curry paste in Chinese
supermarkets or the international aisle of normal markets but you can use
whatever curry you like – red, yellow or green curry paste)
2
Tablespoons fish sauce
1
can (14 oz) coconut milk
1
red pepper cored and sliced
˝
cup cilantro, chopped
1.5
lbs firm fish (or chicken breast), sliced
2
Tablespoons lime juice
1
Tablespoon brown sugar
2
Tablespoons ginger, thinly sliced
1
red onion, thinly sliced
1)
In
a medium skillet mix the panang curry with half the can of coconut milk. Stir frequently until bubbly.
2)
Add
the remaining coconut milk, red pepper and onion. Bring to a boil and simmer 2 minutes.
3)
Mix
together the lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar. Add to simmering sauce along with fish (or
chicken). Bring to a boil then reduce
heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4)
Add
cilantro and ginger. Stir and cook
another 1 – 2 minutes more until the meat is cooked.
5)
Serve
over rice.