We elected to get an early start in hopes that the winds and seas had subsided some overnight. Clearing Burnt Point proved us wrong. Two reefs remained in the mainsail as we clawed and bounced our way east along Fat Deer, Long, and Fiesta Keys. Three hours of ducking spray while motor sailing brought us to Channel 5.
Invest 97 continued to draw our interest. Computer models had her developing into a tropical storm and traversing our area anywhere between Marathon and Stewart Florida. Our hopes for crossing to the Abacos waning, we began to question if continuing to push towards Miami was the safest option? Perhaps returning to Key West would take us away from the developing storm and continue to provide us with the option to visit the Bahamas? So the guessing game began… which way to go?
Throughout the morning NOAA warned us of small craft advisories in both Hawk Channel and Florida Bay. With doubt in the air and fatigue from the soggy motorsail setting in we slipped in the lee of Lignumvitae Key around 13:00 and dropped the hook.
With a lack of clarity on the future of invest 97 moving anywhere in these conditions simply felt like a futile exercise. We took the path of least resistance… A leisurely, late lunch served as a preface for afternoon snorkeling along the shoreline of Lignumvitae Key. We will have more information on which to base our looming decisions soon.
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