Friend and Foe off the Florida Coast

We tacked west out from Florida Bay to get away from the ominous clouds. Florida Bay is considered the waterspout capital of the world. The area can have as many as 500 waterspouts per year. The clouds were thick and very low. It seemed to make good sense to tack out and then back in toward Cape Romano. This move would also steer us clear of the many crab pots that you always have to dodge in the region.

A tack seaward is a maneuver that always provides the elements for escape. You head away from land and toward faraway places.

"No chart?" The Kid asked not so much as a question, but as a confirmation to sail chartless.

"No chart. Compass needle west. Where to?"

Where to, was not a question needing a response. Where to, was the phrase to set in motion imagination to do a little escaping on the open water. Away from the coast. Away from heading somewhere, to head everywhere. Away from the weather gathering in Florida Bay, or so we thought.

I watched The Kid scanning the southwest horizon. I wondered if The Kid was on the way to Central America somewhere. La Ceiba? Dangriga?

This Captain, usually a look south kind of person, was squinty-eyed looking northish. No particular destination in mind, but in the frame of mind that a coastal circumnavigation of the Gulf would bring escape and other places of great variety and culture.

As we scanned out horizons and left the sloop for awhile, a spray of a noise was barely audible off the starboard bow. Back on board from my somewhere near the Louisiana/Texas border, I heard the noise again and leaned out over the rail to see a dolphin running north with us. It would out swim us about a foot under water, disappear; then leap from the water on the aft port.

The Kid, back from Central America, spotted it and began to make dolphin noises to communicate. Most people will knock on their hull to attract these acrobats to stay with them and draw closer. Not The Kid. The Kid took two years of secondary dolphin and could, although not always grammatically correct, be conversant in day to day dolphin vernacular. The show put on by both was hypnotic. Both would whistle, click, moan, trill, grunt and squeak, when it was in good manner and appropriate to the conversation to do so. What a show! What a fine escape into a world at and below the surface.

Behind us another spectacle was brewing. Out from the Florida Bay weather a squall had been playing catch up to us while we were playing. The storm looked like it was rising from the water. It was catching us quickly and the seas began to pick up. There are times when it is best to stay deep and ride it through. There are times when it is best to head in, if you can safely do so. Out came the charts! It looked like we were out some from Indian Key Pass. The weather was not hugging the coast but was eagerly trying to embrace us, so we opted to head in. We were on a northeast heading which was taking us away from the weather, but due to the mounting seas was rocking, rolling and pitching us around. We had a good fix on where we needed to head. I pulled the binoculars out to scan the distantly appearing coastline. "There!" I pointed to what looked like where the Pass would be as we got closer to get a visual.

"There!" The Kid called out pointing off behind us.

This Captain was trying to hold the wheel up on course, and the single course for lunch down. I was sure what I had spotted was the coast. It had to be off our bow. What is The Kid saying.

"There off our stern!" The Kid called out again.

Nausea is not our friend. It doesn't care who you are or the kind of day you are having. It comes uninvited and stays until you are utterly miserable, and then on the way out it attempts to take the inner you with it. This is NOT an escape! This is a place you do not want to go, but at level red nausea, or rather level green, I turned my head, hoping not to further turn my stomach, to where The Kid was pointing. There it was. A waterspout. it was the second one The Kid had spotted. This one was touching the water and with all the other motion external and internal I could not discern what direction it was heading. As I turned back to right our course back to the now visible coast and the nearly visible Pass, my new non-friend took over control of The Captain. Lunch was not the greatest the first time, but part two.!? The Kid took the wheel as The Captain heeled over.

The Captain does not get seasick. The only thing I can figure is too much time looking through the binoculars as we rolled and bobbed. The Kid was hooting and howling back at the wind and wave as we pitched and rolled toward the Pass.

"Somebody fix me a sandwich, a big one." The Kid hollered out. The Kid was on a high and riding this storm, rippin on the way in to Indian Key Pass.

Once in we could stay out of the weather and wait it out.

A lesson in escape:

Its good to getaway, but there are times when you have to watch where you are even when you are someplace other than where you are.

The Kid brought us safely into the Pass. Our friend the dolphin did not follow us in. Our foe the waterspout spun around the water for awhile but didn't follow us in. The Captain's lunch, first friend, then foe, didn't come in with us, and hopefully isn't following us in.

More next time from inside the Pass.

The Captain and The Kid

Marathon, Florida Keys is never boring.

If you get bored in the keys its because you brought bored with you. The Captain and The Kid have been waiting out the weather in Marathon, about the half way point on the Overseas Highway that stretches from Key Largo to Key West.
We were crossing U.S. 1 on our way back to our sloop anchored out in Boot Key Harbor just out from the City Marina, when a car rushed by nearly missing The Kid. A quick look revealed Charlie Daniels and Spike from Herbie's, and Loose Lips from Captain Tony's stuffed into a Kia heading north. The whole mystery about our missing pirate friend just became more intriguing. What were these three doing together? Did they just meet? Is it coincidence they are together, and was it by chance we had encountered them at different places different days? No way we could rush away, but with the weather clearing and the sea coming down we were ready to head up to Sarasota. Maybe where it all began on Siesta Key is where we will learn more to solve this mystery and hopefully find our friend.
This Captain and The Kid do not do bored. Too many places to go and too many opportunities to escape even when you cannot go other places. Back on our sloop we watched a small power boat head out through Sister Creek. It was a 25 footer with a walk-around cabin. Nice vessel. Behind it was a ketch that was all of 35' heading out the Creek. It is no problem for the power boat to use this short cut out of Boot Key Harbor, but a sailing vessel? The Creek is maybe 4' and at that changing with time and weather.
"She'll never make it out." A voice called out to anyone who was watching the Ketch.
"Hey Frenchy." I responded to the voice.
Frenchy is from somewhere off the Carolina coast. He is not French. He does not speak French and has never been to France. Frenchy likes French wine and French cheese and French pastries, but he is not French.
"Do you think they'll make Whiskey Creek?" I called to Frenchy.
"I doubt it. She must be drawing 6' if its a foot."
"You wanna help if she gets stuck?"
"We'll see. She looks like the type who'll call towing to me."
We watched, busied ourselves with some getting ready to getaway chores, watched some more, and then went below for some reading material.
When you have people to watch and things to read you cannot be bored. We wondered how far the Ketch made it up the twisting outlet of Sister Creek. I was sure she would not make even Whiskey Creek. When, not if, you get stuck on a sand bar, there a many ways to get yourself off. Kedging is recommended. Calling Boat U.S. is an option but if you can kedge your way off, why waste a call. Someone on another boat will throw you a line and pull you off, but be careful about this method. If everyone knows what they are doing, then go for it, but if its more good intention than good experience, go back to kedging or make the call to the pros.
We heard later the Ketch went aground. The stories about how she got off were mixed. The good news, she got off and made it back into the Harbor.
"What've you got?" The Kid asked about my book.
"Tales of a Sea Gypsy. You?"
"On the Spanish Main."
We settled into our books out on deck. The Kid opened a Red Stripe. This Captain opted for rum.
Don't bring bored with you, ever, but especially when you are visiting other places, or trying to escape. Stuck at Marathon is an expression about waitin' on the weather, or doin' repairs, or replenishing your kitty, but bored? Nothing about escape, the Keys, or Marathon are boring.
Keys to not being bored include this short list:
1--People watch and discuss what you saw, what you think you saw and what you would like to think about what you saw and watch that.
2--Meet characters. Characters are kind of like people except better. Characters seem to have a better view of life than people do and they never mind sharing that view.
3--Read books. Actually, reading isn't the best way to read a book. Being in a book is how to really enjoy them. No matter the style, narrative, or subject inject yourself into the story. Some books have a hard time letting someone in who wasn't written in by the author, while others welcome you to join in. Get in there, introduce yourself around, change your name if you want to, and get involved.
4--Eating, Eat fantastic. Cook it yourself, or spice it up yourself if eating on board. Food is secondary to the eating. Whatever food is decided upon, add escape to it. Maybe a dash, but better to make it heaping portions. If eating out look for places you cannot see. You see the Golden Arches, or the Red Lobster, but you don't easily, lazily, see Pink Gold off the Highway, or hard to beat Key Lime Pie at MM 50.5 Bayside. Look for and experience tasting other places and escapes.
5--stop trying to not be bored, or make lists to not be bored. Getaway. Escape.

If Webster is right, the seas will be down in the morning. We will go out the way we came in and then sail under the Seven Mile Bridge, head up the coast to Sarasota. The Kid wonders why we are not going back to Key Largo and set free the African Queen being held hostage at Holiday Inn. We will get there another time. It's possible Charlie Daniels and the gang are also heading to Siesta Key, so we gotta go.

The Captain and The Kid

Stars on the Water

We are still stuck in Marathon. Not a bad place to be stuck but we are still trying to get to Sarasota. A couple of places on Siesta Key we need to check out. More on that later.
Went back to Keys Fisheries for more peel-and-eat Pink Gold. The sun nearing the horizon reminded The Captain again about an unforgettable scene anchored along the edge of the Northwest Channel just out of Chub Cay. The polishing of north Bimini event took too much of our getaway early daylight we had hoped to bank for use later so we could make the run from Bimini to Chub before dark. Many places on the Bahama Bank, and coming into Chub is one of them, can be tricky to treacherous especially when your drawing 5 feet and it is dark.
Bimini is a great place to fish! The Northwest Channel is good too. Chub Cay, though, has a huge reputation for "world class fishing" that can stand on its own to measure up to the reputation Bimini has established from the Hemingway days of fishing in the Stream. The marina, which is only 35 miles west of Nassau and 125 miles from South Florida by boat, formerly had 96 slips. Now it is being rebuilt to accommodate more and larger vessels. The channel in has been dredged to 12 feet.
Transient rates are $4.75 per foot per day during peak season, and $2.75 during the off season (July 16 through November 14). Water is .40 per gallon.
Mostly this is a touristy place and has gathered to it some real attitudes that can make a true escape there a real challenge. Its not for every kind of tourist. Its for the boats from the States type. This remains, however, a good stopover before you cross the Tongue if heading east.
When this Captain and The Kid headed to Chub just ahead of its big bucks rebuild, it was good for escape. The few full-time residents we spent time with were genuine island-timers, not the faux island time that motors in to the newly constructed marina to pose as escapers and pretend that they are on a getaway.
We couldn't make the run before nightfall, so we anchored out. We hung as close as we could to the edge of the Northwest Channel. We planned to do watches throughout the night to keep an eye on our position and watch for vessels traveling through the night. The sunset was awesome, but as the night set in an extraordinary combination of just the right conditions developed.
Stars began to be visible. Time passed. The sea became very calm. More stars filled the night sky. Time passed and soon the stars were reflecting on the water. As you looked out across the watery expanse toward the horizon the sky shared its stars with the ocean. Just the right view across the Channel and the horizon did not exist. There was no clear distinction between the sky and the sea, both were filled with stars.
The Captain has seen something similar to this before, but that one night on the way to Chub Cay, anchored out in the Northwest Channel, would always remain as a place of escape to go to on any given starry night thereafter.
Take places you have been with you when you go, so whenever you need to or have to, you can go there in the twinkling of a star.

The Captain and The Kid

Marathon, Keys Fisheries

Its a hard thing to leave The Keys. The Kid wanted to eat at Keys Fisheries in Marathon, but that's just this Captain's excuse to hang out in The Keys a little longer.
You come in through the west channel entrance to Boot Key Harbor. The bridge opens on demand 7 to 7, 7 days. The harbor opens wider after the bridge as you get into the city mooring field. Around Marker 1A is the city Marina canal with a dinghy dock. This Captain thinks this is more of a dinghy breeding grounds, than just the place to tie up. We tied our inflatable and headed out across the highway and down 35th St Gulf to Keys Fisheries. Its at the end of the street. I'm pretty sure it has an address, but I'm pretty sure I don't know what it is and I'm certain I don't care. Addresses, in the conventional sense, are touristy markers and The Captain and The Kid don't do tourist.
At Keys Fisheries you order at the window and sit out by the water. Don't give your name for the pick-up at the window call. They will want your favorite song, or singer, or something else to call you by when the food's ready. Just an opinion, but it's pretty tough to find better seafood than here. We talked to Gary about this. He didn't act surprised because he hears it so much, but when The Kid told him that the pinks were gold, he hesitated.
Key West Pinks are the Key West shrimp. Peel and eat. No one does shrimp like this. No one. So, The Kid says, "These are Gold. It's a treasure find."
Gary liked that and now you can get them as Pink Gold. You can get full meals, sandwiches, chowders, etc.
If you really want to escape you have to eat here around sunset. The food, the sun, and the water will take you to faraway places, and when during the times you are visiting other places geographically, you will be able to visit here during an escape.
I watched the Sun begin sink, flatten out and sizzle into the Gulf. As it did I went with it to days and one memorable night at sea. Next time about that night. Right now, back to the Marina and the dinghy breeding grounds. We had tied up next to something that looked like a wooden Catspaw. Just the two of us, easy access in and out. After walking back from Keys Fisheries the breeding had spawned a litter of assorted dinghies. Escape at this point is literal. How do you untie, retie, tie-off, and not cast-off someones tender?
Step one: relax. Step two: who is tied to who? Step three: escape during the untangle. Step three makes for the enjoyment and takes you away from the frustration. Think about it. These dinghies are from all over other places. Each one has its story and adventure. Let yourself getaway as you are freeing up your inflatable and enjoy where you are and where this can take you.
As I was carefully re-tying painters The Kid said that it looked like we were in for some weather.
For good or bad depending on who you are and where you want to get to, we may be hanging out in Boot Key Harbor for a few days more than we thought.

The Captain and The Kid

Leaving Key West

That's it! Went to the Turtle Kraals and nothing! Nothing kind of describes the Kraals too. Not only were we disappointed there was no sign of our pirate friend, but there was no wooden baker, and the Turtle Kraals was really a bust.
There is some history with the museum, but mostly its a lousy story about catching, cooking and canning turtles until they became endangered and the work was banned. There are behind the scenes, real stories, but its pretty unlikely you'll hear these unless you can talk to an old salt. He can tell you about fishing and the turtle industry from a perspective yet untold by the museum. That way you get it straight from someone who has been out to sea to learn by experience and not by someone who's been to college to learn by reading.
So, that's it. We will not be chasing off to another place looking for our friend. If more tips come in we will follow any lead, but for now we are heading off the Keys. Maybe one stop in Marathon. The Kid wants to eat at the Keys Fisheries.
As we purposely shunned the Turtle Kraals restaurant, we saw loose lips from Captain Tony's. The Kid wanted to grill him about the wooden baker story, but when he caught sight of us he ducked inside the place and since I figure he was just some nut case and I refuse to go into Kraals, we let it go.
"But it is 1 Land's End." The Kid tried to persuade me. "And what about the figure outside of Captain Tony's?"
I did agree to a cold one at Captain Tony's before we left. We only go to Sloppy Joe's to remind ourselves we never want to be tourists. When you are after an adventure, want to escape, or are gaining experience in life, don't be a tourist.
At Captain Tony's this Captain ordered a draft, it was too early for rum.
"This is for you." The bartender said as he handed me an envelop he had been using for notes.
"When did you get this?"
"Yesterday. Forgot about it when you were here."
"Who is it from?"
"Dunno. Was Stuck in the door when I got here."
Captain Tony's is all about escape and it never fails to live up to that reputation. Just when you begin to worry that the routine of day in and day out is about to claim you as one of its victims, the legend, the lore, and the mystery of this place hands you escape.
Inside the envelop was a simple message: "Sarasota. MNP Marina. Jack Clark"
I pushed aside my draft and tapped the glass to get the bartender's attention, "Rum."


The Captain and The Kid

Captain Tony's Key West

We stayed at Captain Tony's later than anticipated. The rain is spitting off and on, but there is a forecast for heavier storms later. The Kid decided to shoot some pool and promised not to hustle anyone. What I can see from my stool though is there is some sharking going on. At least that is up front, even though it doesn't always pay off as big.
The pool playing is not why we stayed late. As we were about to head out to snoop around for our missing pirate friend, a customer came in and began flapping some loose lips about a wooden figure. I thought that this may be the real clue needed to track down our friend and be done with this mystery.
A shadowy character slipped by the front door, but before I could think clearly, it was gone. I looked down Fitzpatrick, Greene, and Duval, but it was mostly tourists doing tourist things, so I went back inside. I sat closer to loose lips.
"Wooden figure, did you say?"
"Yeah, you know like one of those butlers, or baker figure things where they hold a tray or something."
"Not a pirate, huh?"
Loose lips nodded no, said he had to go back to the head, but instead slipped out the front door and quickly disappeared around the corner.
Captain Tony's is about escape. When you are inside you can go almost anywhere in any period of time. Unless you go out the front door, the world is not out there. The history of the place, of the man, and about the patrons who added to the history and mystery of this legendary saloon are all about escapism and other places.
This Captain first met Captain Tony years ago. Whenever This Captain and The Kid come to Key West we escaped with Captain Tony to more places than Buffett sings about in Last Mango. Captain Tony could escape in the blink of a story,and those eyes could take you to other places you did not want to return from, while at the same time making sure you bought another beer.
Captain Tony died November of '08, but the legend never dies, so the escape is always at hand in his saloon.
I asked the bartender if he knew where Loose lips saw the wooden figure.
Breaking up The Kid's game, we headed to the turtle kraals per the barkeeps tip.
This may be the end of the chase, but this is the best tip yet. Loose lips was hiding something, the figure by the front door , and all of this at the legendary escape place of all time, Captain Tony's. If this isn't it, we are heading off the Keys.


The Captain and The Kid

Key West. Clues and Cues

A mid-level low is currently spinning over the Florida Peninsula and interacting with a surface front to bring locally heavy rain to the Florida Keys. A mid-level high in this Captain and The Kid has us spinning in anticipation for our arrival in Key West and interacting with the locally heavy gathering of travelers, escapists, and local Conchs.
Mile Marker zero. In 1982 Key West seceded from the U.S.A. War was declared, no shots were fired, but the long siege did include shots. Immediate surrender followed, and the request to the U.S for 1 billion dollars in foreign aid and war relief to rebuild the newly establish Conch Republic was made. So far the aid has not come, but this Republic is thriving these many years later. Passports are not required, but are encouraged.
Key West is all about escapism. Its encouraged, sung about, written about, lived day by day in this southernmost point. This will be a good stopover. Who knows maybe Charlie and Spike will show up.
The Kid thinks this may be the clue to where our pirate friend has disappeared to, either willingly, or by being shanghaied. My only hope is that there will not be too many wooden pirates around town to make our search more difficult. Our friend doesn't say much, so we will have to find him by some effort on our part.
With great concern for being thorough in our search we went into Captain Tony's to get out of the heat and cool our core temperature by liquid infusion. We had been here before.
Some years back during a touristy run by some 'Northerners' I headed over to Bo’s Fish Wagon for a fish po boy while The Kid stayed at Captain Tony's. When I get back The Kid is hustling pool. The Kid knows better than to hustle locals, so it has to be tourists. I'm thinking money is tight and it looks like The Kid just handed $5 to the guy in the Hog's Breath t-shirt. The balls are racked, words are exchanged and Hog's Breath breaks, but nothing falls. The Kid chalks up and with some pretty sloppy shooting edges out the tourist. Hog's Breath hands The Kid a 20 and more words are exchanged. Balls are racked, The Kid breaks and runs the table this time. Hog's Breath crosses his arms, which are steelworker big arms, holds another 20 between his big steelworker thumb and finger, and stares a dare stare at The Kid.
This is about the time most of us would trade escapism for escape route. With great concern for what may develop this Captain ordered a rum with just a spritz of coke and sat back to see how The Kid would do facing a Great Lakes steel working tourist who had just realized he had been hustled and his hard earned money for his late night fun was about to walk out the door.
The Kid slipped the 20 from between the thick, muscular fingers and said, "Tell ya what, drinks are on me and you keep the change." We sat through two drinks each, swapped stories about days at sea, urban legends from Key West to the Caribbean and then let him escape into great feats about his life in Buffalo; then Hog's Breath the steelworker left happy with $5 and stories to tell back home.
Today we didn't shoot pool. Today we watched the rain lighten up and then pour down again. Some tourists stopped in, but mostly locals hanged out and we talked about food, and historical legends who had once made this town their home. No one brought up if so and so sold out and ruined being part of the escape that we all had come to enjoy.
Later we would ask about our friend. He may be in town. I head someone say something about a midnight sail, or sailor, or something like that.

The Captain and The Kid

The Florida Keys, Clues, and Cues

It is raining in Marathon in the Florida Keys. This Captain and The Kid are staying dry (from the weather). We found our way over to Herbie's. However, what we have not found are any additional clues about our Pirate friend. Key Largo is at MM106 and about mid-way down to MM0 is Marathon. Either we have not understood the telegram, or it was a bogus reported sighting.
We did stop in Key Largo to look at the African Queen. We stopped, not as tourists, but just to escape down the Ulanga for awhile with Kate and Bogey. She is tied up like a hostage. It is not certain if the Holiday Inn is to blame. We know that it was a movie boat, and not a true story adventure, but it seems to this Captain she needs to be cut loose and get back on the water. If that does happen in the near future, please do not contact this blog, this Captain, or The Kid. We will not recall anything that may happen on that night.
Back on Marathon, in Herbie's, we shared a couple of beers with Charlie Daniels. He said he wasn't but why would he tell us that? We didn't want him to sing, we just wanted to have a beer with him. We were concerned that Spike, who was riding shotgun for Charlie didn't understand the concept of escapism because he kept saying to Charlie that they had to leave to get to Key West before midnight. Spike and Charlie looked like two guys who knew how to getaway, but that lack of patience and clock watching was disappointing.
"Why before midnight?" The Kid asked.
"What about midnight?" Spike responded.
"You said you had to to get to Key West before midnight."
"He never said that." Charlie interrupted.
Spike shifted in his chair, Charlie shifted his eyes, The Kid shifted bar stools, and this Captain was shifting into rum mode.
"Closing time at the Cafe?" The Kid asked.
Spike clutched the bar and shifted again.
"Think you'll ever pass this way again?" The Kid continued.
Spike clutched and shifted. Shifted and clutched. He clutched and shifted so much it was more like being at the Sprint Cup Series, than at Marathon.
Charlie winked and said, "Maybe when the midnight moon is shinning."
After they left and we headed back to the marina, The Kid filled me in about the lyrics.
Escapes and getaways are always fascinating like that. Everyone does it a bit differently and yet its the same. Charlie and Spike were on their own getaway to other places and it took a little persuasive playfulness by The Kid to get them to join us in our escape for the night. So, if there is a point, it is this: Everybody is somewhere. Sometimes you can join them in some places, but don't push it. Even if you have to run parallel for a distance, go for it. If they join you, fine, if they don't, that's OK too.
We may continue down to Key West. All the talk about midnight reminded me about our search for our friend the wooden pirate from Midnight Pass.

The Captain and The Kid

Pirate Sighting

The game's afoot! We just received a telegram about our wooden pirate friend. Here is the message.

PIRATE SIGHTED "STOP" LEFT ALLEY "STOP" MM106 START "COMMA" ZERO STOP "STOP"

Was it our friend? Your help with the telegram is appreciated. The Kid has a clue, so we're off.
This getaway will take us to foreign soil if The Kid is on to something. It is a good place to escape to, but for now we need to find out if this was our friend, or perhaps another pirate traveling by land overseas.
Come Monday we should have a report. Please notify us if you have insight about the telegram or there is another sighting.

The Captain and The Kid

Stormy Weather on Chub Key

NOAA said it was the first tropical depression for the season and that the first tropical storm may develop from this rapidly forming system. About half past dark we began to think money spent on a slip was a mistake. It probably wasn’t going to storm. About two Captain Morgans later and we wondered if we were supposed to have brought two of each kind of animals on board with us. The rain fell in sheets. The slips we were in were separated by four foot docks. Next to us, four feet away, was a 40’ plus ketch. We could not see her through the rain.
Much to our surprise, and pleasure, there was very little wind. I’m certain it didn’t stand a chance with the force of the rain. The rain was like being in the water, not having water fall on you. If there was wind it was coming straight down and it was shoving the rain ahead of it. It was hard to tell if there were lightning strikes. It seemed like there were, but they were hard to discern through the rain. Forget thunder claps. The only sound heard was rain.
A tropical confession about this depression is the rain’s ever incessant drain on our mettle. Fiberglass, being pelted by this downpour, was not exactly the same as rain on a tin roof, but it was as exacting on our sanity. Would the rain ever stop? Rain. Rain. Sheets of rain. Walls of rain. And just when we thought it would never end, it didn’t.
What to do when there is nothing to do? We were sitting in safe harbor and would not be going anywhere, so This Captain decided to sit with a little more of that Captain and sip out from under the rain. The Kid escaped without me, but then came back to bring me along. We went to two places that we had not been to in quite some time. The first place was when rowed across Sarasota Bay with a hand-tossed, two item pizza during a storm. The challenge to row against the wind and waves with a rapidly cooling pizza sliding around in a box with a lid that kept popping open takes special seamanship skills. As you pull the oar with its blade bouncing off the surface from crest to trough you must develop a rhythm. The blade of the oar is used to move your pizza safely across the water to your waiting sloop, and the handle is used to bump the pizza box lid closed during this rhythmic exercise. The cadence will vary depending upon the storm intensity and its effect on wave length, height and other dynamics. But this for now is about getting the pizza safely to your boat. Everything can get rained on, splashed, and soaked, but there is no excuse for soggy pizza. So the rhythm went like this: pull, bounce, crest, bump close, trough; pull, bounce, crest, bump close, trough. When we made it to the boat in twice the normal rowing time, and four time the rowing effort, everything on board the dinghy was swamped, except for the pizza. The other place we went was the time when The Kid was hustling pool at Captain Tony's in Key West. The details about that other place escape will wait for the next time, but during our rainy day on Chub it was a good place to go to wait out this tropical depression, turned storm. So, while we waited, the rum was good. The stories were good. The laughter was good, even though the rain continued.
Sometimes, even while at other places, you have to getaway. The rain was over by morning, but just to wait out a storm, to worry about something we could do nothing about, and stress-out, doesn't make sense when you can chill-out by escaping.

Pirate Alert Update: We have no new updates about our missing wooden pirate friend. Please keep watch and report to us if you have any information.


The Captain and The Kid

Pirate Alert

A friend of This Captain and The Kid is a wooden pirate. He doesn't say much. He is very tight-lipped as wooden pirates can be. He has been on some hair-raising and hair-losing adventures. We first met him at the Midnight Pass Pub and Marina in Sarasota, Florida. He worked there as the greeter and customer relations/marketing pirate. He spoke to a very few people and seldom acknowledged anyone. After all, he was a wooden pirate, not a corporate suit. The Kid and this Captain hit it off with him right from the first time we saw him. We took our drinks out onto the deck where he was working and began swapping stories about escapism and other places to visit. I was not sure he would open up to us, since it was our first meeting, but The Kid said that because we were kindred spirit, practically brethren of the coast, we would become fast friends. As is often the case, The Kid was right. As we spoke about far-away escapes, our pirate friend would gaze out across the porch, across the parking lot and street, and toward the Gulf of Mexico. When we related some adventures on The Spanish Main and a few close scrapes we had with high seas and even higher winds, his one un-patched eye peered toward distant places and earlier times.
It was clear, as we talked, we leaned upon one another to relieve the stress of being on the hard. It was boats and travel we pined for and not sedentary life that can make you stiff as a board and hardened as your skin takes on an ashen hue.
So, it is with desperate plea The Captain and The Kid put out this Pirate Alert! The pirate is missing! The Pub changed its name, the other workers have moved on and cannot be reached for questioning, and it appears our friend may be in trouble. Suspecting foul play I said to The Kid, "The game is afoot." Not dismissing the possibility that our wooden friend may have taken some deck job on a cargo ship or freighter heading to southern islands, we couldn't help but escape with him if this is the case. And, if so, we're thinking Lesser Antilles as we share his adventure. This, notwithstanding, being our hope and then best wishes for the pirate, we cannot be suspicious. Too many midnight decisions have altered the escapism allure of Midnight Pass. PLEASE! Help us find the pirate of Midnight Pass. If there have been any sightings, any clues, please contact The Captain and The Kid. You will remain anonymous for your protection. Our friend, Jack Clark, who shall remain nameless for now, has agreed to look into this matter since he had been a close companion with the wooden pirate years before.

A description: He is a Pirate. He is wooden. One eye patch. A bandanna covered by a pirate hat.


The Captain and The Kid

BAHAMA BANK FROM BIMINI TO CHUB

We polished the north end of Bimini for hours. The wind, the current, and the man we had met at Taco Bell three months ago was the reason. What could seem like a wasted day, turned out to be part of a classic escapism day. No matter how we tried to tack, we were still at the north tip of Bimini trying to stay on the bank to Chub.
Once you accept you are not making way east to Chub, then you realize it's the ingredients for escape. The wind and the current could have easily been our vehicle to take us places while it was keeping us from going places. However, we chose to escape via the man form Taco Bell. He had been sitting alone eating a Mexican pizza when we met. The retaurant was almost empty, so we asked if we could sit next to him. He was cautious but gracious and in want of company. This was something The Kid picked up on.
As we talked about places we have been and that we were on our way to other places, including the Bahamas, he asked if we were going to Bimini. We can, replied this Captain. He gave us his best recollection about where to go, how to go, and when to go. This included, sail around the north end.
"Don't most people go south to cross?" I asked.
"Why do what most people do?" he responded.
So, north it would be. He shared some of his Bahama adventures with us, including the time he recalled when, according to him, he had met up with pirates.
"Was that in the Bahamas?" I asked with some doubt in my tone.
"Does that really matter? It's not where you meet them, its that you meet them."
We talked for some time about places he had been. It was a mini escape right inside Taco Bell. He excused himself to use the restroom. As we waited for his return we loaded up with questions about the Bahama Bank and the trip from Bimini to Chub. We waited and waited and waited. He never returned to the table.
Now we were polishing the north end of Bimini, and we found ourselves on a great escape to Taco Bell and beyond from our meeting with that man. We thought about where he might be, and why he suggested the northern route around Bimini when it seemed obvious that southern way would have been the choice for people on schedule, on time, and in need of getting to the next destination without delay.
As we kept not going east, it became more and more clear. Some routes, roads and paths take you to a certain destinaton, and others take you to many places on the way there.
The man from Taco Bell may not have known, or maybe he did, we were the kind to escape and visit other places. The Kid suggested that the man knew we would go north and that thought would go with him, so he could go with us, even though his days were restricted to talking to strangers in Taco Bell. He escaped through us and now we had the time to go other places and be with other people while we polished the north end of Bimini.
The time went by more quickly and finally we were set free from the northern part of the island and on our way to Chub.

The Captain and The Kid

BIMINI AND ISLAND TIME PART 2

The Kid picked up a Kalik for a cool down. This Captain opted for rum. We went over to the Big Game Club on Bimini to check out the fishing boats. What we found were boats used by people to do game fishing. This is different than fishing boats. The boats from the States, used for fishing off Bimini, were loaded with the following baggage: ego for breakfast; sham on wry for lunch; and slices of boast with a full head of let us for dinner.
These boaters had not come to escape. They brought the places most try to escape from with them and set it on display. There is little you can do when someone else barges through escapism with egoism. The best tactic is to visit other places to get back to escaping. We headed to Bailey Town to visit with some of the locals. This proved to be just the right tack. The people of the Bahamas, including many, but not all on Bimini, do not fully realize the true beauty they possess. The two we sat with were true natives and on their faces, and in their speech, we escaped to a far better place than the boats from the States.
"Do you ever leave the island?" The Kid asked the man.
"Yes and no," he replied.
The woman companion smiled a beautiful broad smile that made her eyes sparkle. "That be true." she confirmed his comment.
The explanation came slowly from the man as we sipped a rum drink. He said that when he is on the island he can travel far away by just watching the water from the high point along Kings Highway. "This is the Mother of many waters." he said. "They take me a far as they flow and her fish take me as far as they swim."
He also explained that the times when he has had to leave, like the trip he had to make to Miami, that he was physically in Miami, but he kept his thoughts on Bimini. So, he concluded by repeating the answer to the question, 'do you ever leave the island?', "Yes and no."
For a moment we went with him. We are not sure where we went. His eyes gazed with a contemplative focus to the east. He may have been out fishing, on Nassau, on in the Berrys. This Captain went along and ended up on Chub. The Kid got as far as the Azores. When we all got back we thanked him for his island and left some rum with him. We rowed out to our sloop and smiled as we remembered where we were and where we had been, and that we had not got caught up with the boats from the States people. Afterall, we came to escape and visit other places. Those boaters had not done either.

The Captain and The Kid

BIMINI and ISLAND TIME.

Porgy Bay is nice. Drop two hooks Bahama style (fore and aft). Head over to Alice town. You're on Bimini now so when a tourist asks if you know what time it is, just smile and answer, "Yes", and keep walking.
You do not go to Bimini or other places to know what time it is. You go to escape the things of man, including and often especially, time.
Island time is not a time of day measurement. It is a pace defining a lifestyle. When you escape it is not a good practice to take time with you. If you take time along, then have you really escaped? But, what if someone askes to meet you for drinks? Or, you are invited to join a fellow traveler for lunch, or worse supper?
The Kid and this Captain rowed to shore and went looking for Hemingway's footprints. Not where he walked, but where he put up his feet on a bar rail and got into the pace of island time. We were just past the post office and out from the laundry came the invite.
"Join us for drinks later?"
"Are you thirsty now?", The Kid responded. We didn't wait for the answer. That's island time. If you are thirsty now. Drink now. If you are hungry now. Eat now. If you don't want to do anything now. Don't do anything. If you start setting appointments, checking schedules, and synchronizing watches, you have not escaped or gone to other places.
We headed to the End of the World Bar becasue The Compleate Angler was lost to a fire some years back. OK. Hemingway probably stopped in here too, but the Compleate Angler had all the photos and stories. The challenge arose. Have we come to tour, or have we come to be there?
When you escape and visit other places do not bring your tourist with you. The tourist you misses the point of escaping. The tourist does at home things from the at home comfort level in the self-deception that he is on an adventure. If you want this, stay home and watch TV. If you are escaping and your Compleate Angler burns down, you just take it with you into the End of the World Bar. Now, you're escapism is on island time, doing island adventure, and nothing can alter the experience from being a successful escape.
The bottom line. Do not take time, past, present or future with you when go to other places. Just go.
One more Bimini next time.

The Captain and The Kid

The Gulf Stream. When it did, and 10 Days When it Didn't.

Dip your toe, or your bow into the Gulf Stream and off you go to more places than you can reach just by looking out across this river of sea water. The current runs at about 5.6 mph, but its not the velocity at which it flows, but it is the veracity of its behavior and effect on the vagabond that hangs around the network of regions in the brain's cortex that controls the daydreaming network you draw upon when you need to escape.
The Gulf Stream flows through the Straits of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It splits in two, with the northern stream crossing to northern Europe and the southern stream recirculating off West Africa. Next, it flows westward off the coast of northern Africa and when it interacts with the northeastern coast of South America, the current forks into two branches. One passes into the Caribbean Sea, while a second, the Antilles Current, flows north and east of the West Indies. These two branches rejoin north of the Straits of Florida and back around it goes.
So, there you are toe deep in international travel. You don't need delta brain waves, or Delta airlines to let the Stream take you to far away places. Your toe (with a little help from your cortex) will take you there.
Then, ten days during the month of November 2004, the Gulf Stream stopped. If it had been your bow you had dipped into the Stream you would still have traveled your happy way out to the Biminis, or somewhere on the Bahama bank and deposited good times here and there, to and fro, for later withdrawals about the places and faces that made your stopovers memorable, but if it had been but your toe you were traveling by, it stopped.
You could have waded knee deep, waist deep, or up to you frontal lobe, you were not going anyplace except right where you were.
The Kid and this Captain were swinging on a hook just east of the Stream when it went from 5.6 to zero in 60 seconds. It appeared to us that the globe itself was still moving, we were still bobbing and swinging, and the beers at the End of the World Bar were still pouring, but the Gulf Stream stopped. We were relieved that we had brought our escapism with us to the "other places", because what if it had lasted a week, a month, or longer? When you are getting away and the wanderer side of you needs to trek, you never want to find yourself in the doldrums. Who would ever have thought the Gulf Stream would stop streaming? Its working again and its effect is intact. Your toe can take you across the Pond and back through the Spainsh Main, but ten days in November is a sober reminder to always have a back-up plan when you need to escape.
Next, a bit of time on Bimini, and is there really a need for to be concerned about time on Bimini?

The Captain and The Kid

Take a Left at the Next Right

It's all about timing. Leave too soon and you take your baggage along with your luggage. HUGE mistake! Leave too late and you realize you're still here. This application is the same whether you are escaping or visiting other places.
The next right time to leave is when you recognize you left. Make that turn. You've worked hard. Stress level is in the Red. Unpack your baggage and head to your Kokomo, or Margaritaville. Here is the point. Go! Even if you can only be gone for a short period of time, GO! Sometimes we can cross borders or drop off the continental shelf, but sometimes we can only cross our legs and put life on the shelf. For the times escapism is only accessible by way of song, or book, (or your choice of at-hand frigates) it is no less the escape.
For example: If you go by book, or other reading material, read with more than your eyes. Read with your nose. Read with your touch. Read with your ears. You get the idea. Put your senses where you want your body to be. If the material relates to far away places set out a globe or a map and keep it nearby. Do not be distracted by these, but be aware of their presence. Go to where you read and stay until you have to return.
If you go by music, volume should go with you. Too little and you really have not gone anywhere. Too much and others who did not want to join you ruin the get-away. However, crank it up enough to escape. And, as with the book, do not just listen with your ears. Listen with your nose, your eyes, your touch, etc.
When, and if, its time to return. Bring back places you have been with you. Every now and then reflect upon them and plan your next escape.
Other places? Next blog. Some places are good to visit, but don't forget to pack escapism. If you don't you'll just end up being another tourist. Savvy?

The Captain and The Kid