After a long slog down the coast, the Foleys settle into
Key West

Downtown Key West from the Shipwrecker's tower

After a couple of wonderful days in Bahia Honda, the good ship Calypso set sail for Big Pine Key in search of the elusive Key Deer. We sailed up Newfound Harbor and dropped hook in Pine Channel, just south of US1 and set off in the dinghy to go deer spotting. Ginny spotted the first deer in the mangrove cover shortly after we began our hike. As the sun set and we made our way back to the boat (with chicken fried rice for dinner!), four more would make their way out of the woods to check us out.

Our anchorage that night was a welcome reflief from the crowding we had in Marathon, where over 300 boats were at anchor. On this evening we were the only cruising boat at anchor in the area.

In the morning we pulled anchor and headed for Saddlebunch Keys. Unfortunatley, the harbor was shoaled over and there wouldn't be any easy way to get the dog in for his walks, so after a short meeting with the crew, we left the harbor and made a run for Key West.

Melora and Don have been to Key West before, but have never sailed into the Conch Republic. On previous visits, our stays were always short. This time we did it right and sat tight for a month. Monthly slips were usually booked long in advance in Key West, but we lucked into a slip at the Hilton Marina. With hotel amenities, such as a pool, hot tub and room service, we wouldn't be struggling too much during our stay.

Our days in Key West passed quickly, each drifting into the next. In the morning Don would go to work in the Hilton's business center while Melora home schooled the kids onboard. We'd ride our bikes to the market to get food for lunch and dinner, walk the dog along the canopied streets of town, kayak over into the old sub basin, nap in a beautiful hammock, watch the sunset, cook dinner, and take Rugg out for an evening stroll.

Rugg is a very popular dog in Key West. We can't take more than 50 steps before someone stops us to ask to pet him. Then they tell us about the dog they left at home. He became the "Key West" therapy dog. He knows when a cruise ship is in town and would look at us with his big brown eyes "time for a walk?" His saddest days (as well as the concessions serving the cruise ship passengers) are when there are no cruise ships in town.

Our evening walk is a world of diffrence from our usual stroll. While underway the "10-o'clock walk" usually means Don and Rugg heading off in the dinghy to find a barren patch of land to land. In Key West it means an amble down to Captain Tony's to listen to the musician of the moment, toss a tip in the jar if they're good, maybe an occasional trip to Rick's for some pizza and then Rugg stops by his favorite 'statue' street performer for a quick pose. The usual 15 minute walk has become an hour adventure.

Shortly after we tied up in Key West, we began meeting crew members of one of the two tall ships that use this small marina basin as their home port. In time we'd find ourselves hanging out with the crew and getting to know them better. Such an interestingly textured group of individuals would be hard to find anywhere. The girls would join them as honorary crew and work the day sails. We watched many a sunset with our new friends and the adults even found their way to the local haunt for a round of darts. Of our experiences in Key West, our friendship with the crews of the Liberty Schooner and Liberty Clipper would become one of our most cherished.

Wonderful friends we'd met along the way also became part of our Key West month. We caught back up with the crew of the Sea Spirit and Ginny Cate and Savannah were able to enjoy the Sea Spirit's extended family when three of their grandchildren came to visit. All the children had a marvelous long weekend in the sun with fun at Fort Zach building sand castles and 4 p.m. tea time back at the Truman Annex.

We fit in some of the local attractions as well, trying to intermingle some history and literature into the tourist fare. The girls both wrote reports on the Heminingway cats and made a couple trips down to Ernest's house. They also visited the Butterfly Museum, the Shipwreck Historeum, the chicken coop, and the aquarium as well as a scattering of other establishments.

Since Key West is a tourist-driven town, restaurants are expensive and we quickly found ourselves back in our usual routine of cooking our meals aboard. A short bike ride gets us to the Waterfront Market or Faustos Food Palace, where we do our shopping at least once a day. We tool around town on our folding bikes and have found the best routes to bike to avoid the inevitable Key West congestion. Biking is a lot faster than driving a car, and in the future when we come down to the island we'll definitely be packing our Dahon bikes.

Our month stay in Key West is a reward to ourselves for our long slog down the coast over the previous six months. While we didn't sail very fast, we'd find ourselves in a new port every few days and exploring our new surroundings. While the trip south was great fun, it was also completely exhausting. So to find ourselves in a nice marina, with good friends and great weather was quite a treat.

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CRUISE UPDATE: Between the summer of 2004 and the spring of 2005 the good ship Calypso and crew logged almost 2000 miles on the Chesapeake Bay, Intercoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, the cruise was a great success and the Foley Family is beginning the process of settling back onto land again.

In the near future we'll update our archive of the trip so all can enjoy the unique adventure we experienced!

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Calypso under sail, just before we cut from the "inside" to the "outside" at Channel Five Bridge near Long Key.

Watching sunsets was our nightly ritual. One night while watching the sun set there was an unusual quiet right after the sun passed the horizon. Everyone was waiting for someone else to confirm what they just thought they saw. Indeed, it was THE green flash.

Ginny at the helm of the Liberty Schooner, a 32-ton steel vessel. Like her time aboard the Calypso, she did a great job 'driving the boat.' Captain Rich is in the background.

Savannah pulls on a halyard to raise the sail while crewman Cully looks on.