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Mon19Jul2010

July 17-18, 2010 - A menu of burgers and steak (or "No fish for you!")

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Bob Diaz | SpearBlog 2010 | July 19, 2010 | Print
Seas: 2-4 feet Winds: 15-25 E/SE Viz:  8 feet Temp: 84F

Well, this weekend really blew (literally)! I pulled in Friday night to the sound of wind chimes that were more hanging on for dear life than playing the soothing sounds of a tropical breeze. The winds were considerably stronger than the 10-15mph winds the forecast called for and we of course hoped that it would settle down by morning to see if we could head out in search of clean water. As I awoke on Saturday and stepped outside however, it really didn't look like things were going our way.

 

In spite of the winds and what I would have thought were high seas one of our neighbors geared up and attempted to trek offshore for some blue water fishing (rod n reel). I was terribly discouraged to see his return to the campground less than 1 1/2 hours later. We remained somewhat hopeful that maybe, just maybe even though it might have been too rough to head out into the gulfstream that he had seen some clean water on his way out and back. Alas, there was no joy in Mudville today for the mighty Casey had struck out again. He informed us that there was next to no viz at Sombrero light which was only 5 miles offshore (and is a tourist mecca for its regular extended visibility).

Discouraged, we kept hoping that the winds might lay down enough for a trip that might still give us a chance to find what we wanted. Around 11a we loaded up on a friend's 31' boat and decided to check out some spots. Realizing that the slack low tide was about to happen, we decided to dive the bridge just to see if there was anything. The water was dirty, but only about 10' deep so the bottom was discernable (but not terribly identifiable). While we were in the water for the next 45 minutes or so, the winds picked up yet again and the ensuing white caps gave us signs that the day was pretty much done for us. When all was said and done, there was a red grouper and a hogfish in the cooler. Not exactly what you would call a bountiful trip. So we headed back home to spark up the grill for lunch and have someone hunt down some steaks at the local Publix for dinner.

Sunday was not just more of the same but actually worse. There were rolling storms in addition to the high winds and seas. This made for a short weekend for many of the campers as they started filing out early in the day. As usual, the kids made the best of a less than great situation and were having lots of fun on paddle boats, kayaks and windsurf boards in the marina with the occasional water balloon fight thrown in for good measure. Another grilled lunch and an afternoon of repairing a trim tab on a friend's boat. Before we knew it the time to head home had arrived that evening. We left an emptier than usual campground behind as we headed out while still thinking that bad weather in the keys is usually better than good weather at home, so until the next time...

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