Father and son cruise in a c22, Ohio Key to Dry Tortugas .

[caz]

I hope that you enjoy reliving this adventure with me; it might even inspire someone. Starting in the early 90's, up to 2001, my friend and I, along with our sons Will and Jake, loaded up the c22 and trailered down to the Florida Keys for our yearly adventure, and father-son bonding experience. On this cruise we drove seventeen hours and launched the boat from Sunshine Resort, on Ohio Key. We sailed to the Dry Tortugas, spent a couple of days snorkeling and exploring before sailing into Key West. We had some difficulty returning as the wind was on our nose straight out of Key West. We used a handheld GPS for this trip (we had to dead reckon on prior trips) and this took a big load off Will, our primary navigator. You should understand that from Dry Tortugas, Havanna is closer than Miami. This post is complete with diaries, ship's logs, and pictures. There's a note on the last page of the diary stating that we logged 195 miles, mostly open ocean. While discussing this post with the captain, he said,"You know Chuck the trips we took during those years will probably be considered dangerous by some, maybe even foolish by others; but, they are years that could never be regained had they been lost through too much planning and not enough doing." Caz
http://s1177.photobucket.com/albums/x35 ... 20day%201/
http://s1177.photobucket.com/albums/x35 ... 20day%202/
http://s1177.photobucket.com/albums/x35 ... 20day%203/
http://s1177.photobucket.com/albums/x35 ... 20day%204/
http://s1177.photobucket.com/albums/x35 ... 20and%206/
http://s1177.photobucket.com/albums/x35 ... as%20Trip/

[skyking]

Caz,

I for one truley enjoyed this story..Having a fixed keel C22 , I only can dream of such trips..

Keep the stories coming

[tgentry]

We're strongly considering a similar trip in our C26 for December/January. Our work is closed for a week, so if we take 2 weeks of vacation we get 3 weeks off. I figure that gives us a few days to get there, a couple weeks of sailing, and few days to get back.

[caz]

Tom, that's great. My wife and I also have a c26. We spend summers on it, and during the last several years we've cruised and gunkholed the waters from SC to Florida, where she is currently berthed. Caz

[Jmckamey]

What a great adventure, I like your phlilosphy too!! I hope to take mine down there next winter.

[mcrandall]

Thanks Caz! Absolutely enjoyed that! What a wonderful time to have spent with the boys--they'll treasure it for the rest of their lives!

Thanks so much for sharing!

[Kevin Dreher]

great stuff. i liked the reading and enjoyed the pics....it helps to read stuff like this. i have many more hours of work on my boat, and storys and pics like this help a lot....thanks
kevin

[KeyWest]

How long does it take to sail from Key West to the Dry Tortugas?

[caz]

The short answer is the same for any sailing question; it depends on the weather. We never left from Key West, but returned there from D.T. This trip took almost three days. The wind was on our nose, straight out of Key West and we had many tacks and jibes. I was just reading Will's diary from another trip (same trip different year). We were sailing before a strong front and went from Garden Key, to the Key West Bite in 19 hours on the same tack, now that was a sleigh ride!