What a wonderful, wonderful story from our very special Florida Keys correspondent, Captain Charmaine Smith Ladd. And who would have thought about such an intimate 9/11 connection in the Florida Keys!

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Life Aboard in the Keys: Where Last Names Are Optional
by Charmaine Smith Ladd

Down here in the Keys, boaters are very laid back and unassuming. Most never inquire about the past of others, nor do we often know last names. Nicknames such as “Diver Dave” and “Fiberglass Dave” serve to differentiate boaters and tout their trades. I am probably one of the very few boaters who doesn’t have a nickname. But Charmaine is a very unique name. My spouse, however, is known as “Charmaine’s Bill.” There are lots of guys named “Bill” in the boating community. LOL

A gentleman I have known for many years, “Ed on Old Broad,” is a delightful man with a kind heart. He and his wife, Sally, are more known for their gigantic feline ‘boatcat’ than probably anything else. Or so I thought. Another boater came by yesterday and told me others were gathering to watch CNN’s feature “Footnotes of 9-11.” He told me, “Ed on Old Broad’s interview is gonna be on there.” Not imagining the connection, my friend then enlightened me that “Ed on Old Broad,” before his cruising life, was Ed Ballinger, a Dispatcher for United Airlines in Chicago. Ed Ballinger handled 16 flights for United Airlines on that tragic day ten years ago, 9-11. Two of the flights Dispatcher Ed Ballinger handled were Flight 175 and Flight 93. Both were hijacked.

At the time of the interview, CNN came here to Boot Key Harbor (BKH) and filmed it while aboard Ed’s sailing vessel, Old Broad. Currently, Ed and Sally are just a few boats down from September Sea at a marina where we are enjoying the benefits of ample shore power for cooling off during the hot summer months here in the Keys. Last night, a number of us got together at the marina tikki hut bar, along with Ed and his wife Sally, to watch as planned. Ed was visibly shaken and cried during certain portions of the broadcast. We all cried along with him. We all consoled him. This was a real life truth to the adage, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” We who live aboard and/or cruise full-time come from all walks of life. Our life aboard and sailing give us a freedom much yearned for, and needed for many differing reasons.

I hope many of you will share this with others, including landlubber friends and relatives. Just as there are those who live vicariously through we who cruise and sail, embracing the thought of such freedom; contrarily, many do not understand why anyone could give up a house or condo on land and opt to live aboard a boat. For my fellow cruiser and friend, “Ed on Old Broad,” who, for a brief time last night became Dispatcher Ed Balllinger once again, today he’s back to being “Ed on Old Broad.” I like it that way. I’m sure “Ed on Old Broad” does too.

Click the link to view the interview:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/09/06/september.11.footnotes/

Charmaine Smith Ladd
SSECN, Special Correspondent for the Florida Keys
“Bringing you the low down from down low.”
Charmaine@SeptemberSea.com, or
csmithladd@marinersbarr.org

Shows you how even boat names aren’t that important down here in the Keys: Ed’s boat’s full name is `Good Old Broad.’ Sorry about that, Ed, she is most certainly a ‘˜GOOD Old Broad’! Didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.
Hugs!
Charmaine

Hi Charmaine:

Thank you for the quick reply. What a moving story about Ed. You know ‘“ that reminds me at something my mother used to say. `Behind every window there is a light ‘“ there live people, just like me and you. You never know what they went through in life ‘“ they just try to make the best of it.’
Ernst & Melinda

Another GREAT article authored by the Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net Florida Keys Special Correspondent, Captain Charmaine Smith Ladd. How great to hear the story of how Bio Diesel is now available in the Florida Keys!!

July 16th, 2011
Bio-Diesel Fuel Company in the FL Keys
by Charmaine Smith Ladd
My dear friend, Captain Jack Burnett, has lived in the Keys for nearly four decades. We have known one another and have been truly “family” for nearly nine years. He loves to talk of old times in the Keys and has been a plethora of local knowledge for me since first landing here. During all that time, I’ve only questioned one thing he’s ever shared with me: the recommendation of using discarded restaurant vegetable oil for running September Sea’s Yanmar diesel engine.
Captain Jack has been running his 33-foot sailing vessel on the vegetable oil he obtains from local restaurant fryers for quite some time now. Vegetable oil from the fryers restaurants would otherwise discard is recycled by Captain Jack as he strains it and pours it into his boat’s fuel tank. He swears by it. He says his vessel actually has never run better!
Well, Captain Jack was absolutely right! The proof is now making big news as Marathon fisherman, Jeff Lillie, has recently put his brainchild, Marathon Bio-Diesel, on the map as the first bio-diesel fuel company in the Keys. It took him seven years to do it, but he’s well on his way as the word spreads of the advantages of using recycled vegetable oil instead of diesel. Buyers use it not only to fuel their water crafts, but also as fuel for their automobiles and tiki torches! Some begin by using a 50% ratio of the bio-diesel with regular diesel. Many soon find, sometimes after some minor modifications, 100% bio-diesel is their fuel of choice! Captain Jack made no such modifications and uses 100% vegetable oil with no problems for years.
It’s a different way to “Go Green,” that’s for sure. But Green is always a good thing when helping to preserve our natural resources.
This writer must admit that the aroma of french fries while motoring is a remarkably refreshing improvement over the smell of burning diesel fuel. Besides…smelling french fries is almost as good as eating them; and inhaling involves no caloric content! Ha!

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/12/2315460_fill-it-up-with-biodiesel.html#storylink=addthis

Charmaine Smith Ladd
SSECN Special Correspondent, Florida Keys
“Bringing you the low down from down low!”
Charmaine@SeptemberSea.com

Thank you for mentioning us in the Cruisers Net. We look forward to fueling up those who make it to the Florida Keys.
Nancy Kukkue
http://www.marathonbiodiesel.com

I must admit to not knowing that even in Marathon’s Boot Key Harbor Mooring Field, display of a nighttime anchor light is required. Read on, and our Florida Keys correspondent, Captain Charmaine Smith Ladd, will explain why!

April 19, 2011

Where Anchor Lights are Required in the Keys – It May Surprise You!
by Charmaine Smith Ladd

Most cruisers feel well vamped on when it is required by law to display an anchor light. Ask and the answer will most often be, “It’s not necessary when in a designated anchorage at night.”

However, particularly in the Florida Keys, there is a lot of confusion as to what constitutes a “designated anchorage.” It has nothing to do with whether or not an area is designed for anchoring or commonly perceived as an anchorage within an established harbor, but everything to do with whether or not the placement of the anchorage is within Inland Waters or International Waters. Even those designations cannot be determined by what one’s commonsense may indicate.

One may surmise that Inland is within any Harbor. That would be an incorrect assumption, especially in the Florida Keys. Many a cruiser has been shocked when visited by Florida Fish & Wildlife (FWC) or the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and handed a ticket (usually around $70.00) for not displaying an anchor light when anchored in what was perceived as a “designated anchorage.” Like last night in Boot Key Harbor, where Law Enforcement was out and about issuing warnings and citations for anchor light violations.

“It’s a designated anchorage!” is the common protest, “One does not have to use an anchor light when in a designated anchorage, and I’m in one because I’m moored in a designated mooring field!” Surely this has been heard by many an Officer while enforcing the anchoring light regulation. Cruisers truly are serious when they protest, but ignorance of the Regulations is not an excuse. With that said, here’s the low down:

It is all about the acronym COLREGS and its demarcation lines. “COLREGS” stands for “Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions.” Basically, regulations put in place to prevent collisions of vessels. On charts it is usually seen in lower case, written as “Colregs.”

When in Inland Waters inside of the Colregs demarcation lines {shown on coastal charts as magenta colored dashed lines} a vessel does not have to display an anchor light from dusk until dawn if it is in a “Special Anchorage” (clearly marked on the chart as such). However, there are no “Special Anchorages” in International Waters (outside of the Colregs demarcation lines) International Rules clearly state an anchored vessel MUST display an approved anchor light from dusk until dawn while anchored or moored.

In the Florida Keys, heading southwest, the Colregs demarcation line crosses just prior to nearing waters of Lower Matecumbe Key. From there throughout the remainder of the Keys and beyond, a vessel is outside of the Colregs and therefore in International Waters: regulated to display an anchor light from dusk until dawn. Yes! This means that even while in the most protected anchorage area of the Keys, Marathon’s famous Boot Key Harbor, whether on a mooring ball or at anchor . . . one must display a USCG approved anchor light in order to be in compliance with Regulations.

To some it seems silly. However, regulations are regulations. Once it is understood that a “designated anchorage” is deemed by its placement strictly in reference to Colregs demarcation lines on the charts, rather than being simply viewed as “any common inland place of anchorage,” it begins to make sense. When in the Keys, look for the Colregs on your charts and see where you are in relation. It will show whether or not an anchor light is required when anchoring at night.

This writer hopes to add clarity to this issue and help prevent others who come down to the Keys thinking the displaying of an anchor light in Boot Key Harbor is debatable or voluntary. It is not. It is mandatory and enforced as per the Colregs. When outside the Colregs demarcation lines, please make sure your vessel is shining from dusk ’til dawn with an approved USCG approved anchor light (white light visible up to 2 miles in all directions).

Besides, enjoying a nice dinner for two with the $70.00 saved from not receiving a ticket of violation leaves no bitter aftertaste! LOL

For more information on this topic, consult USCG Regulations.

Charmaine Smith Ladd, s/v September Sea
SSECN Correspondent for the Florida Keys
“Bringing You the Low Down from Down Low!”

And, from a fellow cruiser:

In addition, the USCG has issued an `Interpretive Rule’ (33 CFR 90.5) which states that `A vessel at anchor includes a vessel made fast to one or more mooring buoys or other similar devices attached to the ocean floor. Such vessels may be lighted as a vessel at anchor in accordance with Rule 30, or may be lighted on the corners in accordance with 33 CFR 88.13.’
I’m not aware of an exemption from displaying anchor lights in Inland Waters. I’ve been unable to find any reference to such in my copy of COLREGS.
Sorry, I could have been clearer.
I should have written, `I’m not aware of an exemption from displaying anchor lights STRICTLY BECAUSE ONE IS in Inland Waters.’ Of course, there are `Special Anchorage’ areas, but in my experience they’re very rare, and are clearly outlined on the charts and the CFR’s.
Let me try again. Unless you see a clear outlined area on your chart about a `Special Anchorage,’ with a reference to the CFR number authorizing it, you need to show a USCG approved anchor light (not a solar-powered porch light), whether anchored or on a mooring.
Larry Shick

And, Captain Charmaine responds:

Very true, Larry. It was not my intention to be unclear and give the impression that as long as one is in Inland Waters no anchor light is required. A practice such as that certainly would not help prevent collisions at sea.
Rather that such `Special Anchorages’ are found in U.S. Inland Waters, not International Waters ‘“ and clearly marked on the charts. To many a cruiser, a Harbor with anchorage is a ‘special anchorage.’ Your comment is perfect to bring the entire point to light that a designated or special anchorage is not what we may think it is, but what the charts dictate it is. Many thanks!
Charmaine Smith Ladd, s/v September Sea
SSECN Correspondent for the Florida Keys
“Bringing You the Low Down from Down Low!”

I believe the above article is inaccurate and confusing. Captain Charmaine seems to use the terms `designated anchorage’ and `Special Anchorage’ interchangeably, as if they meant the same. They do not. And she states that designated anchorages do not exist outside the COLREGS lines. They do.
A designated anchorage is simply an attempt to establish order in a area where vessels are likely to anchor, or to safely anchor dangerous cargoes. Many designated anchorages exist along the east coast outside major ports like Beaufort, Charleston, Jacksonville, Port Everglages, Miami, etc. All of these are outside the COLREGS lines, and all require anchor lights.
Special Anchorages do not require anchor lights. Special Anchorages are all inside the COLREGS lines simply because the federal government has no authority to alter the International COLREGS rules. As Larry Shick points out, Special Anchorages are very rare. They are listed in the Coast Pilot Chapter 2 and clearly labeled on charts. There are only six Special Anchorages from Cape Henry, VA, to Key West, FL. It is very unlikely that the average boater will ever anchor in a Special Anchorage.
The fact that the USCG only occasionally enforces anchor lights adds to the confusion and misconception.
Bottom line: Show an anchor light whenever you anchor or moor.
Bruce Marschall

Thank you for your comments, Bruce.
I agree it is all quite confusing. My article was not meant to add further confusion but to hone in on the ever asked question as to why boats in Boot Key Harbor are required to display an anchor light ‘” as some see it as being a `designated anchorage’ and assume no anchor light is required when moored.
Thus my conclusion in the article:
`This writer hopes to add clarity to this issue and help prevent others who come down to the Keys thinking the displaying of an anchor light in Boot Key Harbor is debatable or voluntary. It is not. It is mandatory and enforced as per the Colregs. When outside the Colregs demarcation lines, please make sure your vessel is shining from dusk ’til dawn with an approved USCG approved anchor light (white light visible up to 2 miles in all directions).’
I do hope that much of my article is crystal clear, as that is the intent of the article. With that said, if you feel otherwise, please let me know. I certainly do not want to mislead or confuse, but the parameters of my article were more akin to the problems we have in the Keys and BKH regarding the requirement of having an anchor light on whether in the mooring field or anchored within the boundaries of the Harbor. That has caused considerable confusion down here (and the shock of a ticket to those who thought it was okay to not display their anchor light).
Many thanks for your comments. No doubt I have much more to learn on this subject as a whole.
Hugs,
Charmaine

Change your anchor light to an LED light which draws less than 20% of what your incandescent lamp does and makes it a non issue to turn on the anchor light at dusk as the load on the battery bank is now so small’¦
Marinebeam dot com has an excellent selection of high quality LED lamps that do not put noise in your VHF radio’¦ I have not used the Dr Led bulbs so I cannot comment there’¦
Dennis O’Connor

The Salty Southeast Cruisers’ Net is proud and honored to welcome back Captain Charmaine Smith Ladd, as our regular Florida Keys SSECN Correspondent. Some two years ago, Charmaine did some sterling work for us, but then health and other factors caused us to part company for awhile. Now. SHE’S BACK, and we could not be happier.
Few know more about Florida Keys waters and ports of call than Captain Charmaine. Look for her reports here on the Cruisers’ Net several times a month.
On a personal note, Captain Charmaine is just one of the “neatest” members of the cruising community I’ve ever come across. She is witty, lovable, and, on the other hand, her life has been tempered by more than its share of tragedy. Take a look at her web site, http://www.SeptemberSea.com.
WELCOME BACK ABOARD CAPTAIN CHARMAINE!

March 7, 2011
Boot Key Harbor Anchorage, Marathon FL Keys (N24 42.228 W81 06.172)
by Charmaine Smith Ladd

A lot has changed in Boot Key Harbor (BKH) since last season. The bridge is now permanently open, as the drawbridge was removed, allowing cruisers to come and go as they please. This is a wonderful thing as it expands the very freedom we cruisers love to enjoy. However, it also means some cruisers attempt to enter after dark, which is not a wise decision if needing to anchor. Many boats in the anchorage have two or more anchors set in various directions and one cannot clearly see the many anchor rodes. It is therefore highly recommended to anchor outside BKH and come inside to anchor only during good light. Nuzzling up to the west side of Boot Key (South of the main channel entrance markers) offers great protection from East or NE weather.

Winter to early Spring it is season in Boot Key Harbor (BKH). Which means lots of cruisers arriving to enjoy what has proven to be “the friendliest Harbor in the Keys.” Though there are 224 moorings, during
season you will often find they are all taken. Hail Marathon City Marina (all spiffied up with a new bathhouse and improved commons area) on channel 16 once you are East of the bridge span to inquire about moorings. If there are none available, you can anchor outside the yellow buoys marking the perimeter of the mooring field. Then get on the waiting list by visiting the City Marina office (very friendly and helpful staff!) by dinghy. Unfortunately, BKH no longer has a water taxi service.

Most find it prudent to anchor on the South side (off the main channel located immediately starboard as you pass through the bridge opening). The anchorage area stretches from there Eastward {to red marker 18}). Be wary of the far south side as that is the backside of Boot Key. Some boats are on their own moorings and do not swing much, so they can be much closer to Boot Key than someone with 40 ft. or more of anchor rode! There are also a few pockets of deeper water with shallows around them. Just because you see other boats in an area near Boot Key doesn’t mean you can anchor there. “Brown, brown, run aground” is the saying in the Keys. Steer clear of brown water. Near the grass beds off Boot Key the deep water drops off and the bottom comes up remarkably. From 9 ft. to inches in a flash! Many a catamaran owner has insisted he’s safe there after being warned. A change in wind direction puts him aground and he has Crow Pie for dinner! Local knowledge being offered by someone should always be heeded; not taken as a challenge to one’s anchoring skills.

If you do anchor, please take note that when winds are light and variable in BKH…so can become the positions of the boats: quite variable! Make sure to leave room for neighboring boats to swing in all directions. This doesn’t happen too often during season when the winds are usually plentiful; but it can and does happen. When it does, boats can turn completely contrary to each other and the circus of fenders and fending off occurs. Staying apprised of wind conditions will keep you out of trouble. You may be just fine anchored where you are as long as the wind stays out of the East or West, but be too close to a neighbor if the wind shifts to the South or North. You get the idea. If you are waiting for a mooring, this information can open more options for anchoring. Listen to the weather and what may appear to be a full anchorage will have room for you if the winds remain in your favor for the duration of the time you need to anchor.

The holding here is excellent but you still have to set your hook. Many a cruiser has merely dropped the anchor and expected it to hold. This writer suggests setting an anchor with no more than 30 ft. of rode out. This way you can feel when it bites. After it bites, rev up your engine and back down to allow your anchor to truly set. When your bow swings you know you’re dug in. Then pay out the remainder of your rode. If possible, ask others around you how much rode they have out. Noticing whether boats near you are on a single or multiple anchors is also very helpful in knowing how much room you have to swing.

Boot Key Harbor is a wonderful place with friendly locals and cruisers. The changes mostly have been good ones and the City Marina is looking much improved. Hopefully, the information offered here will help to quell any apprehension one may have about anchoring during season. We’re ready for you! So come on down and see us!
Charmaine Smith Ladd, s/v September Sea
SSECN Correspondent
“Bringing you the low down from down low!”

With the price increases this is a place to avoid by a retired minimalist cruiser as myself..the city is much too greedy..let the `yachties’ have the place..refuse paying to anchor..will get the word out to other cruisers as well!!
JD

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s Florida Keys Anchorage Directory Listing For Boot Key Harbor

Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Boot Key Harbor