Dry Tortugas, Tropical Depression, and our Hatteras...

[Zydeco IV]

Just in from Dry Tortugas. Zydeco, our '78 53MY handled the very difficult experience beautifully.

We berth her in Pensacola and decided after the past 2 years of unfortunate mid to late summer hurricane activity down here to make our run down to Key West and The Tortugas an early one to beat the weather odds. (Time to revisit that playbook).

Two days ago, we shoved off from Key West Bight to the DT's after an attentive check on the forecast since the 70 mile trip can be a particularly unforgiving one if the weather kicks up.

We arrived well stocked with everything since the park service, which operates and maintains this isolated and stunningly beautiful national park with Ft. Jefferson perched atop it, isn't in the marina or supply business. The weather was gorgeous, great sunset in the small anchorage in the lee of the fort.

Weather radio coverage is typically nonexistant for many boaters there (or in our case spotty, we've got good VHF antennae). Our first check in with NOAA about 8 pm was a bit surprising when the forecast announced a low over Cuba was now headed our way with very heavy rain and significant increases in wind. Up to that time winds were 10-15.

By midnite we were rocking and rolllng enough to wake me and call for a new weather check (memo to self: get that KWH sat, you could have gotten radar images and much more detailed weather info). Now we have a full blown weather alert for the entire FL. Keys and surrounding waters with a forecast that warns that the sytem was becoming a full blown tropical depression and could turn into a tropical storm.

Clearly we (and the 10- 12 other pleasure boats anchored around the 160 year old fort) had no business remaining a minute longer than necessary. We weighed anchor as soon as good visibility that sunrise offered of the Tortugas constantly changing and shoaling anchorage. But by then the friendly sea condition window had already closed. Completely. Immediately after leaving the relative safety of the reef we were in 5-7 footers head on and as our course changed to roughly 90 degrees for the 70 mile return I began to undertand what a remarkable vessel Mr. Slane had built. I cannot say enough about her seakeeping ability.

Things just got steadily worse with wind and seas building. We were making a steady 10-11 kts with easily 5-8 footers hitting us about 25-30 degrees off our bow. We were getting drenched but she held perfectly all the way on our chartplotted course back in to Key West's Northwest Channel entrance. Without a doubt it would have been a considerably different ride without our stabilizers. Hard to exaggerate the difference they make.

Once we had acheived relative calm of the 4-6 ft seas offered by the protection of the Marquesas reef we had a new challenge from one of several nasty T-storms that were coming at us like bowling balls. Our radar showed that there would be no avoiding the biggest one. The cold air preceding it warned just how unpleasant it was going to be.

When it hit us almost perfectly on our beam with gusts easily 35-40 (NOAA was warning over 45kts) a strange thing ,for me, at least, happened with our stabilzers. Up to that point we had been beneftting from their wonderful impact on roll, but now their steadying effect which was preventing us from heeling over and avoiding much of the beam sea from washing onto the boat, was actually enabling a tremendous amount of water onto our starboard deck, right at the deck door opening. It was truly alarming to have sea water on our deck about 15 inches below the door latch. It is a sight I won't forget.Fortunately we had decided to leave the aftdeck winged doors open and much of this water flooded back there and out over the transom. That was was an amazing and disturbing experience. I briefly thought about turning the stabilizers off but soon realized that by altering our course slightly to port we managed to change the direction of these gust driven seas and their impact our on deck.

As we finally cleared the heart of this last T-storm that beautiful green marker announcing arrival at the 8 mi. entrance channel into Key West harbor came into occasional view. Our Raymarine chartplotter had nailed it's position and the initial narrow passage it requires. At that point we knew we were essentially and safely back.

There are at least 2 major mistakes I made aside from more careful scrutiny of the weather. One was an incredibly stupid error in leaving a small custom built, collapsable table which I have always stowed in a canvas bag on the foredeck. In the middle of that T-storm a gust blew it off the foredeck against a dunnage box and hand rail. Had the gust blown the bagged, folded table forward into the cabin windshield the outcome of our trip might have been considerrably different. This was epically dumb. A simple tie down would have eliminated the possibility. Another serious mistake was my failure not to announce our arrival at the entrance to Key West channel. Visiblity was virtually nonexistent except for very brief moments and the storm was so intense my 4 kw radar couldn't penetrate it. There were certainly other boats blindly trying to make it back into the narrow entrance. Had I used my vhf to announce my arrival at the entance other boaters would have been on alert. (Small consolation, but no one else did this either).

We're now safely ensconced at Key West Bight Marina, preparing for the forecasted steady, hard rain and 20 kt winds over the next couple of days. We're hoping the other boats at The Tortugas managed safe passage. If they're still there, it'll be at least 2 more days before getting back will be possible.... meanwhile, I'll say it again.Thank you, Mr. Slane. This is a remarkable vessel.

Steve May,

Zydeco IV

[Gina Marie]

Steve I had to write, we were heading to the keys only from Lighthouse point and we decided to cancel until the TD blew over. To read the decisions you made or better yet had to make and the seas that you encountered I must admit made me a little jealous as well happy I was in dry port. But most of all it was great reading on this soggy rain soaked Sunday morning. Thank you for sharing that experience and as we are all aware of the capabilities of our Hatteras's it was admiring to see how you handled her in those non forgiving seas. Glad you are in safe port and better glad to see you are all OK.

Gina Marie/Tom

[Paul45c]

Wow, that's quite a story, Steve. Can't hear enough of those kinds of experiences. There's a lot of learning there for everybody.

I've personally been to Key West several times (and the upper/middle Keys even more often), but never all the way to Ft. Jefferson & the Tortugas. I can say from experience that the weather all around the Keys can blow up very suddenly and unexpectedly. The flip side of that is what a beautiful cruising ground it all is.

We had kind of an ill-fated trip two years ago this Easter down to Key West with my 45c. The second we cleared Hillborough Inlet in my neighborhood, we ran smack into a big squall that came out of nowhere. National Weather Service called for no more than 3-4' seas, 12 kt. wind and SOME light rain possible till noon time. We were clearing the inlet outer marker at about 6:30AM. We were manhandled, and it was just a taste of things to come, even after doing the sensible thing and scooting into Port Everglades to take the ICW down to Biscayne Bay and beyond. The wind just never let up the whole time, a steady 20-25 kts. in our face going AND returning home! But at least at the Keys you can always dodge the big seas by running either inside our outside. We decided to make it a 2-day trip, and the clincher was coming into Key West's ship channel right before dark. We were running hellbent for leather with a monster black squall (I mean, a tower of black from the sea to about 30,000 ft.) on our stern as we were running the channel. I've always though seeing that beautiful charging white Hatt silhouetted against that black maelstrom would have made a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo. We got secured just before the wind really started to howl.

Mother Nature can be an angry girl sometimes, but she's impressive to watch.

[Genesis]

We made a run from Clearwater to Appalachicola shortly after I bought Gigabite that was kinda like that. Solid 6-8s all the way on the nose, with a few 8s, 10s and 12s in there for sport.

I never felt unsafe - but it was a damn rough ride.

We've also been caught out before 70nm offshore fishing when things went bad.... that's no fun either.

Running from tropical weather is not on my list of fun things to do.... Glad you back to Key West and secured......

[Pascal]

glad you made it back safely, I'd hate to go all the way to the DTs and have to come back right away !

did you check the NHC Tropical outlook and the Atlantic discussion before leaving ? always a good idea to at this time of the year. iknow that friday mornign the oulook mentioned that low, and I woudlnt' be surprised if the Discussion wa mentioning it as early as thursday morning.