This was the opening gambit of a series of books I read about an ancient Roman private investigator who’s life was turned upside down by a random event. The thing that struck me about the series was how you can just be going along in life thinking you had a plan and system set up for a while. Then just a random turn of events can change your entire perspective on that plan. Such is life in Key West…
Since arriving in Key West I’ve really been grinding out the hours trying to build the cruising kitty up and get some projects done. I’ve failed on the “getting projects done” part but the cruising kitty is getting a little fatter. But I’ve kind of gotten lost in the daily grind, and found myself not even thinking about the plan, let alone working towards it.
!$&*$($#% Thieves!!
Then I showed back up to where I had tied up my dinghy when I went to work for the day. Because I had a large package waiting for me at my mail service place I didn’t part at the city dinghy dock (which has a secure gate) but tied up behind the Dennys. I’ve been tying up here periodically for the last 10 months, relying on it’s out of the way location (hidden hole in the mangroves) for security. When I got there that afternoon, the dinghy was gone.
In disbelief I checked all the other little holes and tried to see if had just untied itself and drifted off. No such luck.
I then headed down to the jetski rental place just down the channel, which you have to pass to head out to the mooring field. The guys there were awesome. They had seen the guy going out, he was struggling with the oars cause he couldn’t get the engine started. One of the guys put me on the back of his jetski and we did a tour of the nearby islands and the mooring field. Spoke to a few boat owners who promised to keep their eyes open (one even called me a few days later with a possible sighting). But no luck and I was dead in the water. I had the clothes on my back, my shower gear in my back and no way to get home to the boat. That night I went back to my work place to sleep and figure out what to do. I had just paid for my new sails the previous day and was tight on money.
I ordered a new outboard motor. This was an upgrade that I had been wanting to do for a while. A 3.5hp motor will get you to shore. But it’s slow (5 mph) and that limits you on distance. The new 6hp would change things, more than I had thought it would turn out. But it would take 4 days for delivery and I had nothing to attach it to.
Then I started looking at dinghy solutions. I really like having a solid dinghy. It has foam blocks between the two shells so it’s unsinkable (and we’ll test that soon), is easier to row than an inflatable, less expensive than an inflatable and doesn’t need to be pumped up. The only solution I could find here in Key West was to order one from West Marine but that would take 7 – 10 days. And as most the money went to the new motor I would have to wait a few days until payday. Looks like I was crashing at the shop for the next week (and going to have to buy some new clothes to hold me over).
Then around noon the next day I get a call from the City Marina. My dinghy is blocking a sea wall spot and could I please move it. Seems the guy had only borrowed it for a few hours and then just left it when he came back to shore. This is where it gets weird…
He left the following items of value:
- The motor which runs fine
- The gas can with gas in it
- The brand new pelican case with the brand new tools inside
- The brand new dinghy anchor
He took of limited value:
- My scuba shoes (great for getting out on rough coral beaches)
- My little cup that I use to bail out rain water
He left the following items of some value:
- A brand new fishing net for scooping up baitfish out of a well.
- A used 5 gallon bucket (can always use a bucket)
- A stick of deodorant (which was left in the pelican case which means he saw the brand new tool set)
Key West is a weird town.
So I quickly caught a ride across town and moved the dinghy from the seawall to the dinghy dock where it should be and was set. Luckily, I hadn’t ordered a new dinghy but the new motor was already on the way.
Time To Get Focused
This incident was kind of a wakeup call. I had slipped into a rut and lost focus (easy to do in Key West). I decided to use the larger motor to commute closer to work as it’s much faster (10 – 12 mph). This will save me money on Ubers to work on those days when I don’t feel like biking in (which is most days).
I bought a bunch of locks and cables to secure everything. A huge cable and lock to secure the dinghy to land. A lock for the pelican case of tools. A lock to secure the motor, gas can and dinghy to the dinghy. An extra lock that secures the knobs to tighten the motor to the dinghy so it’s SUPER hard to get it off – unless you have bolt cutters then it’s all easy.
After running the motor slowly for a week to break it in, I did a run out to Stock Island, where I work, to find a place to dock the dinghy. I had first tried all the marinas and businesses on the waterfront and no one would even talk to me about it. So I cruised around and found another hole in the mangroves on an old easement. I’ve been using that for a week and it’s been good. It’s a 20 minute dinghy ride to and front work, then a 10 minute walk. In the winter time when the winds pick I’ll probably have to go back to riding the bus but in the mean time boating is an awesome way to commute.
UPDATE: I ran a speedometer app that I have on my phone today. The trip to work is 3.75 miles and takes 20 minutes. I averaged 10mph, with a high speed of 13 mph (mostly doing 12mph). There were almost no ways and there was a 1 – 2 knot current against me while in Cow Channel.
I’ve become a little more focused to get out Key West now. I’ve tightened up my budget (less Uber, more walking, less eating out, cutting back on drinking) and when it cools off a little more I’ll get back on top of my boat projects. I’ve been doing maintenance but haven’t worked very hard on improvements lately. I have a new mizzen sail and the new mainsail will be here in a couple of weeks. I’m trying to get out of here by November 2020, maybe off to the Virgin Islands (as they are US territories I can work there without a permit). But expect to see more posts on the blog as I start projects again and also get focused on my photography again.
A calm sunrise in the Bay Keys area
