The next day we headed east from Key West to the marina at Boca Chica Naval Air Station. Getting here we experienced the worst seas we have so far. I would say they were about 4 feet most of the way. Although we slowed down from our normal 9-10 MPH, we still ran at about 8 MPH for most of the trip. The boat handled well and we never felt uncomfortable. Ok, maybe a little uncomfortable, but we were never concerned for our safety or for the boat’s. Upon arriving at Boca Chica, we were assigned an interior slip on B Dock. That is significant for two reasons. First, you will recall I have pointed out how well I have moved into and out of slips all during our trip. Well, the interior slip at Boca Chica (don’t you just love to say that name?) spoiled my perfect record. It was very windy and every time I tried to back in, there was a gust of wind that took hold of our substantial rear end and began moving it dangerously close to a boat in the next slip over. I would then power out of the attempt and try again. By the third or fourth attempt, the dock master had assembled a platoon of volunteers to hold the boat close to the finger pier and walk us in while the wind tried to blow us away. You will note that I said a platoon of volunteers. In this case, the term “platoon” is entirely appropriate. This Navy-run marina caters exclusively to DoD-related personnel. By far the largest group of marina-dwellers is retired military – with the Army well represented.
This marina is very unusual. As I said, most of the residents are retired military, many of whom live here at least part time. Because the costs are so reasonable – you might would say even cheap – some people pay slip fees all year long, take their boats north during the summer to putz around and get away from the Florida heat., then return to their slips during the winter. Others live here all year long on their boats. Still others keep their boat in its slip all year long, but travel north to their land-based lives during the summer and return to live on their boats during the winter. The most important aspect of this marina, however, is how friendly everyone is. The first day we were here, I had to ask Ann to get out a paper and pen to keep track of all the people who came up to us and introduced themselves. I would try to reproduce it here, but I am afraid we would forget someone. The second day we were invited to two parties, one starting at 5 and one at 7. Ann thought they were related to one another, but not so. Anyway, we made the 1700 party and showed up for a little while at the 1900 party, but we weren’t there for too long.
Today is our second full day at Boca Chica. We had a repairman over who was sure he could help us with our windlass problem – but, like Dan from Fort Myer, he has so far been unable to take the thing apart. He is coming back tomorrow and bringing, literally, a bigger hammer. I will write more as Kevin tries to fix the windlass.
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