On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 18:06:01 -0500, M. Bevelhimer <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>At 09:25 PM 3/18/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>>On Thu, 18 Mar 2004 14:37:32 -0500, M. Bevelhimer <[log in to unmask]>
>>wrote:
>>
>> >I'm leading a group of 18 boy scouts and 6 adults on a sailing trip in
the
>> >Florida Keys next week. I did the same trip two years ago. (Actually I'm
>> >only leading them from Tennessee to Florida and back; experienced
captains
>> >provide the guidance on the boat.  All I gotta do is sit back and
>> >relax.)  We'll be on 3 42' Morgans sailing from the boy scout base at
>> >Islamorado to Key West and back.  We'll play in Key West all day
Wednesday.
>>
>>That sounds like a fantastic trip if all the kids don't drive you crazy!
Do
>>you really think you'll be able to "sit back and relax"? :-))
>
>Yes they did drive me crazy, but we had a great time.  Unfortunately the
>winds didn't cooperate, so our snorkeling was limited to three sites --
>Coffin Patch, Sombrero Key, and an offshore quarry behind Lower Matecomb
>Key.  Saw the normal Keys stuff which was quite exciting for a bunch of 13
>yo's that had never been there before.  Lots of parrotfish, yellowtail
>snappers, angelfish (gray, French, and queen), and barracudas, a big
>pufferfish, a hogfish, a loggerhead turtle, and one small nurse shark (in a
>pear tree)!
>

Sheesh!!! ...those winds! It was pretty bad for a few weeks. But it has
completely stopped, and it was perfectly beautiful today. The water was
even a little warmer, at 79* F. I'm sorry you caught the windy weather. But
I know it was still a great experience.

>As Ray mentioned in an earlier post -- lots of wind in the Keys last
>week.  Too much for our crew to sail most of the week as we were headed
>straight into 25 knot winds and 4-5 foot waves on the way back from Key
>West (and that was on the inside of the reefs).  The boys never complained,
>but you could tell they were getting tired of motoring all the time.  Other
>than a day in Key West we were on the boat (or in the water) from Sun night
>to Friday afternoon.
>
>> >(Brad, any chance you'll be in town?)
>> >
>>
>>It just so happens that I'll be off for six days begining on Tuesday. I
had
>>not yet decided to go into Key West, but you've given me one more reason
>>for going in. ...Yes, I will be there. Let me know where I can find you
and
>>your wild bunch of boy scouts. :-))
>
>The late great Brad lived up to his reputation.  I told him I'd be in Key
>West on Wed, and he called me on Thursday. :-) As it turned out we were
>there most of Tue and left on Wed a.m. so even if he had been on time, we'd
>have missed each other.  Brad, I am truly sorry we didn't hook up.  Would
>have loved to hear more about your life on a little bitty island.  When I
>found out that we were getting in on Tues I tried to reach you through the
>park HQ (I didn't have a phone number for you), but they weren't too
helpful.
>

Hmmm... Will I ever live that one down? ;-)) I guess it's because I'm
blonde, and I've become much blonder in the last couple monthes. Being
outside in all that Florida Sunshine ya know. Anyway, I'm sorry I bungled
the opportunity to meet you, Mark. I was really looking forward to it. I
also wish I had met Ray. I have not been reading SCUBA-SE very carefully
lately. There are a lot of fun things to do, and when the bickering on the
list started lately, I just stopped. So, I probably missed the message that
Ray was coming. I do regret not meeting you guys, and I hope you'll be back
soon. And, I'm curious about your lack of help from Park HQ. Did you call
Dry Tortugas National Park, or Everglades National Park? Tortugas should
have been very helpful, although you may have caught somebody that doesn't
normally handle the phone. And I can imagine how it may have been
unhelpful. As far as my life on a little bitty island, I love it. Some
people have the impression that it would be boring, but that is absolutely
wrong. There is more for me to do here than... anywhere. Last week, I went
diving several days, went fishing and caught (and released) a couple 150
lb. sharks, went sailing in the Hobie Cat two days (also pitchpoled it, and
was rescued by the Superintendent - he just laughed), met a beautiful woman
on a yacht which is a story in it's self, had a midnight swim across the
harbor while sharks circled me, took a midnight kayak cruise, was invited
to dinner and drinks on three yachts... That's just one week. It was
definetly not boring for me. :-)))))


>-Mark B.


...Brad