Within moments upon setting foot on the “Island Rose” we knew we had them…

Options!

Captain Gerard made that clear!

If we were cooking a meal, we knew we weren’t limited to only a single choice! We had ham, we had turkey, we had steaks, we had burgers, we had cheese for those burgers, of course lettuce and tomato, we had mustard, we had relish, there were onions, if we chose to slice them and of course there were options as to which utensil we could use to slice that onion! We could have brats, there were supplies to make pancakes, which came with the option of putting chocolate chips in them and of course, butter and syrup for them!

You get the idea!

Our captain liked to point out our options, so we could make an informed decision. So it came as no surprise following a morning snorkel drive near our previous night’s anchor spot, that we had options for setting our course for our next two days of sailing!

The plan for our first day out was to sail about 30 miles down the Keys to Marathon.

Sounded simple enough, but…

The ocean side was feeling the effects of hurricane Alex, which had passed well to the south, but was kicking up some pretty good sized waves. We could sail down on the ocean side or we could stay on the gulf side. The latter meant it would be calmer, but not much fun in terms of actual sailing!

As I mentioned, our captain also liked to show-off just a little, along with a touch of brag and with his salty voice announced…

“All of the other Sea Base boats are staying on the gulf side, we’re sailors, let’s head out on the ocean!”

That’s right, I’ve been a sailor for about 13 hours now, what was I thinking? Let’s go!

But hitting the ocean also meant it was unlikely we would be doing any snorkeling that day due to the high waves, BUT, we could hit a spot that might have a shipwreak to explore that we could swim and walk to!

There were ALWAYS options!

On this day we also found out that everyone on our boat would take a turn or turns at the helm! The captain would set a timer for 15 minutes and following a schedule set-up by our crew leader, we would take turns guiding our boat. It didn’t matter if we were passing under a bridge or in big waves, when your time came, you were at the controls. (The captain was sitting in a chair behind and above us, just in case!)

The waves were about four feet that day and as our captain pointed out, it’s not the size of the wave, but more the time in between waves that make it rough.

Kind of like, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!

You could soon tell a difference from the gulf side of the Keys and the ocean side when the boat started rocking from side to side and just moving about the boat became a challenge! We were sailing with our “jib” deployed and we were doing about seven and a half to eight knots.

Well past something called, “hull speed”!

Anyway you look at it, we were hauling!

When it came time for my turn at the wheel, I learned how to find the “groove” with the boat. The sweetspot! The spot where the line from the movie, “Top Gun” popped into my head…

“I feel the need, the need for speed!”

Okay, it wasn’t like we were in danger of getting a speeding ticket, but in terms of a sailboat, we were moving!

Then the effects of being on the ocean and getting rocked back and forth started to set in!

I am happy to report, none of our crew got sick to the point of losing one’s stomach contents overboard!

Getting very queasy, now that’s a different matter!

With boat going strong back and forth, going down below deck for more than minute became difficult! It posed a challenge when it came time to prepare lunch!

Following a listing of all available options for our mid-day meal, it was decided that brats sounded best.

“Just fire up the grill on the stern and make sure you slice the brats so they don’t roll off,” declared our captain!

Gotcha!

Well, that grill was now going up and down like a bobber in the water! Also, just keeping the thing lit proved to be a challenge. (That situation was helped by placing tin foil in the vents of the grill.)

I don’t think a brat was the best choice for yours truly!

By the time our late lunch was ready I was really feeling the effects of being on the ocean for a couple of hours! I spent more than a few moments staring at the horizon in an attempt to help my growing headache!

I managed to consume my meal. (I went with the onion, relish and ketchup on a bun option!) It wasn’t the best tasting meal I’ve ever had but I was very happy to be able to keep it down!

We continued to make our way to Marathon and we did decide to stop and “explore” the spot with the shipwreck. The one problem…

It was low tide and the plan was to swim with sandals on our feet, then walk the rest of the way in shallow water.

But…

When it came time to walk, everyone was sinking up to thier knees and beyond in muck! (A note, I’m being kind by using the word, “muck” here!)

I was bringing up the rear of our exploration party to make sure everyone was accounted for when my son brought to my attention that he was having difficulty keeping his sandals on his feet. His feet were sinking and his sandals were coming off! (I was having trouble too!) With us getting farther and farther away from our anchored boat and the whole experience losing it’s appeal, my son and I decided to “abort” and head back to the boat and observe from that vantage point. Upon the return of the rest of our crew and the sharing of their “experience”, it was decided we made a very wise choice!

Our crew unofficially named the spot, “Bird Cr*p Island”!

Needless to say, everyone spent a fair amount of time rinsing off from that swim/walk!

So much for that option!

We pulled our anchor and headed into Marathon for the night. Following a stop for ice cream at a dockside store, we toured the harbor and found an anchor spot for the night.

The next morning we headed back up the gulf side, stopping from time to time for a snorkel drive. We saw another boat from our troop, which gave us the opportunity to display our pirate garb as we sailed past them!

We were making our way back up near Sea Base, where we would anchor for the night. The following day was spent back at Sea Base, where we enjoyed a day of beach volleyball, sailing small sailboats, kayaking and tubing. We ate our evening meal at the base dining hall, but we slept on our boat.

We would be headed back out the next day!