Island Dreamer sailing on a close reach

Island Dreamer sailing on a close reach

Margie and I have spent the last few days sailing the backcountry of the Florida Keys on our journey  to Key West to pick up our next couples sailing charter. I am reminded once again how pleasant it is to sail along at 6 knots in 15 knots of wind and still have calm seas and not have the boat heeled over to the rails.  The combination of having the sails reefed and set properly and the protection of the many small islands and shallow water makes it easy to relax and enjoy gliding through the water.

We are looking forward to spending some time before our charter with our friends Captain Holley and Captain Denny who own the Schooner Conch Pearl. They do Liveaboard sailing scuba trips based out of Key West. We got to be good friends when Margie and I were running the Schooner Heritage of Miami for the Boy Scouts High Adventure Seabase and our days off coincided two summers ago.  Because they have a compressor on board to fill their Scuba tanks they are able to dive locations that diving day trip boats don’t go to in the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary.

We are looking forward to spending some time before our charter with our friends Captain Holley and Captain Denny who own the Schooner Conch Pearl. They do Liveaboard sailing scuba trips based out of Key West. We got to be good friends when Margie and I were running the Schooner Heritage of Miami for the Boy Scouts High Adventure Seabase and our days off coincided two summers ago.  Because they have a compressor on board to fill their Scuba tanks they are able to dive locations that diving day trip boats don’t go to in the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary.