Its blowing pretty good. The wind is somewhere around 20 knots with higher gusts. Before we leave the dock at Bahia Honda we decide to tie a deep reef in the main. Its a gorgeous day for beating 10 miles to Marathon.
To leave Bahia Honda you sail or motor through a cut in the old railroad bridge. As you exit the park the water is shallow to port so head out a little south west. A good chart or chart plotter will help you avoid the shallows.
Everywhere in the Keys seems to have shallow water. If the wave action is heavy due to wind or the sun is in the wrong position mistaking shallows for slightly deeper water is easy. I recommend a depth sounder or swing keel, on a sailboat. That way when you find the shallows its easy to get going again.
It only took a few minutes to get south of the spit of land shooting out from the state park. We needed to sail north east, but that unfortunately was where the wind was blowing from. So we set our course to Sombrero reef light. The waves from the north east knocked us back a bit and made for a long afternoon. Since lobster season is in full swing we also had the joy of dodging lobster pots all afternoon. At least the buoys marking the pots give one something to aim for and add interest to an otherwise almost care free afternoon.
Initially, I wanted to sail to Key Colony. But the afternoon start would not allow it with the remaining daylight. We ducked into Boot Key harbor and tied up at Marathon City Marina. Just in time for a cruiser’s pot luck.