Key West 1998

We spent Christmas in Key West, on the boat (see Boat). Casey decided to go to Chicago to spend a more traditional Christmas with Cindy's family (especially the babies). Cindy, Nathaniel, and I toughed it out in Key West. The weather was beautiful. We sailed and snorkeled. We also had great seafood and went to some pretty exotic restaurants in Key West proper (Cuban, etc.).

	After the long drive down, during which we picked Cindy up at the Miami Airport, we put the boat in the water at the Navy's NAS Boca Chica Marina. We were at a mooring so we used the canoe to get back and forth to the beach. We stayed on the boat the first three nights and then moved to Navy Bachelors Housing where we got two rooms for a very reasonable rate. Here is Nathaniel, still in the rack after the rest of us are up and about. He usually sleeps in the stern while Cindy and I sleep in the V-berth forward.
	This is the lovely Cindy, before her first cup of coffee. Cindy is really good about staying on the boat. She enjoys it and likes to prepare meals and eat on the boat. I did not have any mosquito netting for the boat yet, so we were bothered by mosquitoes at night. Cindy and Nathaniel bore up pretty well, but I HATE mosquitoes and was the first to suggest moving ashore.
	The high point of the entire trip was definitely the West Sambo Reef, six miles due south of the Marina. We would usually motor out to the reef and snorkel if the water was smooth enough. If not, we would sail back in. The government has put in mooring so anchors don't plough up the reef. All you do is hook up and start diving. You can see the mooring float in front of the boat here.
	The boat is real easy to get on and off. We just put the rear seat up and go up and down the ladder over the transom. Everyone snorkeled, even Cindy. At first she had a very hard time. Then we realized she is the only one in the family with negative buoyancy. We strapped a life jacket on her and she was fine.
	The reef was beautiful. The coral, the tropical fish, the barracudas, it was all wonderful. However, this fish, a very strange looking fish indeed, started to follow me around. I finally felt compelled to exit the water until he went away. It is a good thing the boat is easy to get in and out of. You can see how clear the water is.
	This is one of the NAS Boca Chica Marina Cabanas. There is a nice white beach right at the marina. It is great for sunbathing and picnicking.
	On one of the days we were diving on the reef, a dingy from another sailboat approached us. It was Jim Perrie, of A-1 Sailboats, from whom we had bought our boat. He was down in the Keys with his wife Joyce, delivering a sailboat. He saw the MacGregor, came over to chat, and it was us.