Marathon 2016

2-23-16  We left our anchorage at Lower Matecumbe Key by 8 AM leaving Soul Serenade behind. Soul decided to take the inside route due to wind and wave conditions outside the protection of the keys. Karen and I both agreed we rather get outside and ride the predicted 15 to 20 knot winds from the SE rather than motor down the ICW.

It turned out to be a spirited sail with 3 to 5 foot waves and a top wind speed of 34 knots, there was never less than 24 knots of wind. For the start of the morning we had one good rain shower start just as we were crossing under the Channel 5 bridge. It would’ve been nice to end the day with a good rain since Mango and I became a very salty during the ride. Karen stayed pretty well protected and gave me direction to waypoints from behind the dodger. I was expecting Karen to give me a little grief for the conditions but she was good with it. It was a bit bumpy but with 2 reefs in the main and a bit of jib we moved along well at 5 to 7 knots and only occasionally had a splash of blue water in my face. On the other hand the front of Mango is crusty with salt. Weather has predicted a rain event for tomorrow which I look forward to and plan on getting out the sponge and soap.

Karen's coffee shop will be closed. Gotta listen to SpongeBob.

After arriving in Marathon it was now time to find a place to lay our anchor. We’ve known the waiting list for a mooring ball was at least 50 deep so we assumed finding a little spot would be difficult. As it turned out there wasn’t much room but we were able to tuck into an area near Soul Serenade in 9 feet of water. We’ve spoken with our new neighbors and they all seem great with our location. Karen stayed on Mango to verify our swing would not interfere with anyone else while I went to checkin with the marina. We got on the list at number 48, at least it’s not 50. Shortly after that we were on our way to Burdine’s (one of the local bars) to meet up with some friends Pat and Tim Cass off of M/V Bodacious. They’re from San Diego and we met them last year while traveling down the river system. Bodacious is named appropriately in our opinion since it’s quite full bodied. The evening passed quickly and I was in bed by 8:30 but only sleeping with one eye closed listening for noises and occasionally peeking my head out to verify Mango’s spot in the anchorage. All is well, I worried for nothing.

Our welcome to Boot Key Harbor Bag.

Our much waited for and enjoyed Pina Coladas. It is nice and hot and
thanks to the Tailgator these are nice and creamy cold.

2-24-16   Morning came and the wind was still doing its best to blowing SE at 15 to 25 with the forecast calling for it to turn N at 15 to 25 this evening. The wind was great because it was 85 degrees and 80% humidity. We witnessed Towboat US pull a Tennessee sailboat off the ground and unfortunately moved it into our little anchorage much to the dismay of people around us. This boat was really not too near Mango, it would need to bounce off several other boats before bouncing on us. The day went by with us tending to chores (we stripped the canvas off Mango to hopefully get a good rinse from the upcoming rain) and before we knew it 4PM was here and we were having dinner at 5 on Bodacious. We called to let them know we would be delayed due to the cold front arriving. We wanted to be aboard Mango for the change in wind direction and radar showed the front to be quite intense. We sat aboard Mango talking with neighbors about the upcoming storm and heard everything from “tornados are coming” to “nothing to worry about”. Over an hour passed and the front seemed to be breaking as it neared so we decided to dinghy over to Tim and Pat’s for dinner. Dinner of Cobb Salad was great thanks to Pat and we went to Burdine’s for desert and to listen to the band. The place was packed and just as the waitress took our order the wind changed and blew in very cool air from the North. We knew then it was time to leave but we just placed our order. We contacted Soul Serenade via text and they stated Mango was good but they were having to fend off the Tennessee boat which was bumping into them and fouling other boats anchors. We quickly ate our deserts and made our way back to Mango after the first drenching of rain had passed. Though a few rain drops hit us we arrived to see Mango riding well pointed the opposite direction from when we left her. Boat neighbors told us of the fun we missed with the bouncing boats just as the rain started coming again, we quickly sped over to Mango and climbed onboard.

Our backyard neighbors.

Boot Key Harbor park bench to drop off trash found
in the water. The Nose Pickers will reward anyone who
picks up trash.

The night was another restless one for me as I climbed into the cockpit several times to check our position, again all was well. Even the boat from Tennessee appeared to be lying well, albeit close to the others.  Morning came bright, shiny and cool as Karen was making a skillet for breakfast we overheard boat neighbors telling Tennessee “It’s time for you to move”, at least that’s what I thought I heard. Needless to say Tennessee started to pull anchor and the crew of Soul Serenade was not aboard their boat. Karen suggested I dinghy over and make sure Soul weathered the exiting of Tennessee. I was already on my way, Tennessee had his wife at the helm as he was at the bow retrieving the anchor. Tennessee appeared to be retrieving his anchor from under Soul, way too close. I had my dinghy between Soul and Tennessee at the stern and another boater had his dinghy at the bow as Tennessee's bow went into Soul’s lifelines. The wife left the helm to try and ease the blow just as their anchor came up. Luckily the guy in the bow dinghy was there otherwise it could’ve been a bad scene. Hard to believe there was no damage, but that’s a great thing. I’m not sure where Tennessee motored off to but hopefully it was just a series of bad days for them. We wish them safe sailing.

2-27-16   Boot Key Harbor is a very interesting place with many contrasts. When sitting back watching people you’ll see people walking around without shoes, teeth and otherwise looking unkept yet they will greet me as I pass. I assume many of these people live in some of the flotsam that pose as boats around the harbor. On the other hand each day I watch the small private jets fly people into and out of Marathon. From what I can tell everyone seems to get along well. I am truly amazed at how well things work here in the harbor and both Karen and I have commented this to the staff. I believe the staff does have a hand in this but also the people who live here take pride in the area. They take the time to make things better here, they pickup garbage that’s not theirs. If this were any other town in America it would be much sought after in my opinion. Yes, it’s not perfect but to have so many people living and sharing this small area it’s impressive. That being said, I’ll let you know how I feel after our month has passed. Possibly I’ll see the ugly underbelly of Marathon and Boot Key Harbor.

Each morning at 9 in the morning Boot Key has a “Cruisers Net”. This consists of anyone who’s interested getting on their boats radios and sharing information. The categories are as follows:

Welcome new boats to the area

Saying goodbye to boats leaving

Announcements (Activities for the day, softball, basketweaving, bible study, yoga and others)

Buy, Sell, Trade or Giveaway

Trivia

Thought for the day

We’ve been making ourselves feel at home, the other morning Karen actually answered one of the trivia questions correctly. I get an assist on this since I read the same question to her a few days earlier. Otherwise we’ve had our boat neighbors over for drinks and snacks and are meeting others as we can. We have a few more boat chores to do before Hannah and Jared come down for their spring break. The weather has been great lately, mid 70’s and the winds have lessened. Many boats have left for the Bahamas but we’re still around number 30 on the wait list. We’ll see what the next few days bring.

The local Sea Turtle Ambulance.

Hard to believe how fast the bottoms will foul. I think this one was a little
neglected. 

3-4-16   Sorry I haven’t posted lately, guess I’m getting lazy. Here’s a bit of an update, the good news is that we are number 7 on the waiting list for a mooring ball. The bad news is that on yesterdays Cruisers Net there was a report of a stolen childs bicycle. Karen and I are getting a fair amount of projects done while floating around on anchor. We’re looking forward to Hannah and Jared arriving. It’s really amazing how fast time is passing as each day kinda blends into the one before. I’m looking forward to moving down to Key West and the Marquesas Key providing weather remains well.

My next adventure. We met Derek while sight seeing in Marathon. Derek, a Canadian
has cycled up and down the West Coast and then across Canada. He's now heading back North
after going down to Key West from Nova Scotia. Good Luck to him.