Memories of Key West...

So, I was going through my camera tonight and found that I had actually taken a couple pictures during Key West Race Week...
From the condo, watching the cold front come through.
In the picture on the right, if you click to enlarge... there's what I think is some type of barge. I forget what this type of vessel is called... Seeing that barge reminds me of hurricane season 2004... the year of Hurricanes Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne all hitting Florida. That was the year I was doing quite a bit of flying between Boston and Key West... flew in and out of Florida in between a number of those storms, including the one storm, i forget which one now, where Travis and I blocked his sailboat, SV Tybee, inside that very barge motoring down the channel in the top left of the picture on the right. At the time, that barge was also blocked. The weather watchers were predicting some serious tidal surges, which actually never really happened, but how were we to know. Everyone was preparing for the worst.
You just never know...
The travel lift was pushed to the limits. I doubt I'll ever see again a sailboat at the very limits of a lift, the bottom of the keel just inches over the end of the barge as the lift brought the sailboat over and lowered her into the barge's belly.
We just barely eeked the sailboat on stands within the blocked barge.
Then we drove off the Florida Keys as the Keys were being evacuated for the oncoming storm...
Hoping for the best.
Not sure whatever happened to those photos. I meant to write our story of blocking a boat inside of a blocked boat and send it in to one of the sailing magazines... never did.
2004. The year I fell in love with sailing.
2004. The year I moved to Florida.
2004. The year I fell in love with Florida.
2004. The year I moved into an incredible segment of my life... which seems to still be ongoing, although different in so many other ways.
Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple.