Marooned in Marathon

2-20-18 January 9 Karen and I arrived here in Marathon aboard Mango chomping at the bit wanting to sail to the Bahamas. Our normal traveling partners aboard S/V Fracas left for the Bahamas before Karen and I were ready. There was a somewhat short weather window and Fracas has the good fortune of being able to move through the water much faster than Mango. Greg and ML have since reported that the crossing was the best they’ve ever had. Oh Well, we can always hope that we get blessed with great weather also.

Mango’s still located at mooring ball S7 and since then we have witnessed many sunrises over Mango’s bow and many sunsets over her stern. I reference the bow and stern because the wind direction and speed has been relentless. Each morning when we wake Mango is pointing east into the wind with almost the same compass heading as the day before. The wind has been great for producing power this year since the addition of the Marine Kinetix wind generator. We’ve been told that Mango resembles Miami at night with all her lights on burning excess power created by the 20 plus knot winds. Evenings aboard Karen and I have been watching movies at night on the TV not having to care about battery levels.

Rainbow making an appearance. Just enough rain to make
everything sticky.

Superbowl at Boot Key Marina. Free beer and pizza.

 I had previously thought that the term “Keysie” was being lazy and or chronically inebriated but my understanding has changed a bit. Maybe because I’m feeling a little Keysie since I have recently been really inebriated although not chronically and have felt as though I’ve been a tad lazy. It seems that Karen and I have been busy and the time seems to melt away here at Boot Key Harbor but I don’t accomplish much. Our recent activities include a night of Pirate trivia at the Hurricane Bar, attending Fishing Seminars, partaking in Super Bowl night at the marina, attending a “Free Diving” seminar put on by Evolve Free Diving, witnessing the release of a 130 pound female Loggerhead Turtle from Marathon Turtle Hospital and two trips to Key West and most importantly meeting many new friends as well as reacquainting with friends not seen for some time. I’ve said it many times before that I have a warm spot in my heart for Marathon (Boot Key Harbor) and this year my feelings are no different even after our extended stay. We’ve met many new friends and have had some great times. I now have some new favorite musicians including Fiddle Rock and The Kennedy’s but I have to say my favorite is JoMama. JoMama is a one man act that has been making music since 1965 and tells the story behind the music he sings. Watching and listening to him weave his stories into the music is just a wonderful experience. Karen and I did listen to Rick Derringer Sunday evening with mixed reviews but a new appreciation and realization of all the music he has written. I’ve attended fishing seminars and learned the finer points of chumming (25# bags of fine grade are recommended). I have also been lobstering and consider myself proficient but needing to procure a weight belt.

Another day melts into the western sky

 When our boating year was just starting we had been warned by other cruisers that crime in Marathon may be high post Irma. We have always been surprised by the lack of crime in the boating community. Very few people lock their boats or dinghies when they leave unless they’re leaving for an extended period of time. I have yet to hear of anyone having anything stolen other than a bicycle which I believe was found later in the bike rack. Cruiser’s watch out for each other and we know who belongs on our neighbors boats just as they know who belongs on Mango.

Meeting people here is very easy if your interested, there is softball 3 times a week, yoga 5 times, dominos at least twice a week and many other activities if you wish to become involved. The local boaters here don’t seem to have much but are more than willing to share what they have, there is no shortage of good will. There are a few things that can get you put on the “Shit List” but common sense can keep you off of it. 

Turtle Hospital Ambulance returning an injured Loggerhead
turtle back to the wild. Big turnout.

1. Pick up after your dog

2. Create as little wake as possible, don’t speed and be very careful around manatees, dolphins or any wildlife.

3. Follow the recycling rules (No plastic shopping bags in the re-cycle containers).

4. Clean up after yourself.

Following these simple rules will keep you and everyone else smiling, possible exceptions include the occasional old curmudgeon.

Sunset off the Marquesas Key

Karen calling all dolphins. She loves to sing to them. Any day
with dolphins is a good day.

Karen had caught the mother of all colds about two months ago and is still trying to shake its remains. I have been unscathed and healthy up until today when I started with a fever, chills and cold symptoms (Man Cold). Having all the ear/hearing issues I have I immediately started taking cold meds and after suffering for 2 days feel well enough to continue my normal daily workout routine. I’m attributing the malady on our last trip to KeyWest since we were on public transit in close contact with sneezer’s and cougher’s. This trip to Key West was made to obtain our local boater cards that allow us to leave and enter the good ole USA without having to travel to a customs office to clear back in. Now a simple phone call should suffice. Our appointments were at the KeyWest courthouse and our contact with the guards at check in seemed to portend trouble. Fortunately the Homeland Security staff were great and reminded me of a bunch of fun loving fireman. After approximately 45 minutes we had our “Local Boater” cards and were ready to go grab a drink and lunch. The record should show that it took Karen 35 minutes to process and 10 minutes for me. Karen apparently had much more information to divulge, go figure.

Doctor Mudd had the largest cell of all inmates with a great view.
Still a locked door. Many inmates attempted escape, none successful.

Overview of the grounds. Enough room for 2000 people?

 2-25-18 Feeling marooned in Marathon Karen and I decided to take a trip to the Dry Tortugas. In planning the trip we thought we’d make a short hop from Marathon to Newfound harbor (just a bit north of Key West). Mango was sailing so well we arrived in New Found Harbor in about 2.5 hours and decided to sail into Key West for the night. I had made breakfast sandwiches for Karen and I while sailing, that’s all we ate all day. We have a routine aboard which consists of a drink or beer after anchor down. This afternoon I made Rum Swizzles which totally knocked us on our butts. We sat in the cockpit watching the remnants of the sun and really mellowed out. We ate an abbreviated dinner and were in bed by 7:30. 

The red bricks at the top came from Maine during the Civil War.
The lower bricks came from Pensacola Florida pre war.

Soaking it all in.

2-26-18 We motored out of Key West by 8 this morning and were making great time heading to the Key known as Marquesas. Karen spotted dolphins off Mango’s bow and loggerhead turtles everywhere so we knew it would be a great day. The wind lasted an hour or two and slowly died away. Shortly after 1 PM we were forced to drop the spinnaker and motored the remainder of the way. We laid down the anchor on the West side of the Key and did not follow our beer/drink routine, we just ate lunch. After lunch I proved the fact that it is possible to loose items on a 35 foot boat. Yes, I somehow misplaced a quart of oil for the outboard. I was planning on changing the oil on the outboard but it’ll have to wait. At least I didn’t drain the old oil out of the motor before I recognized that I couldn’t find the replacement bottle. We dropped the dinghy and motored to the beach to enjoy a bit of beach coming and exploration. During our visit to the beach we met two other sailing couples who were heading the same destination of the Dry Tortuga’s and Fort Jefferson.

Darkness set in and I decided it would be a great time to try some fishing. I threw the line over and before it hit the bottom Karen was telling me I had a fish. Sure enough I’d caught a Hard Head Catfish. Catfish back home would be great to eat but I believe that the saltwater variety is a crappy fish so it went back in the water. Being very dark now I decided it would be a good idea to put away the fishing pole before I caught something I might want to keep.

2-27-18 Anchors up at 7 and we were off with our destination of the Dry Tortuga’s being roughly 50 miles due west with winds from the ESE at 10. We made the decision to put up the spinnaker making 4 to 4.5 knots hoping for more wind. Karen was playing with dolphins off Mango’s bowsprit and our wishes came true as winds increased throughout the day. 2 PM arrived and I told Karen I was thinking of dropping the spinnaker because of the increased winds, Karen agreed stating “If you’re thinking about it, just do it”. With the wind building and seas bouncing Mango all over the place Karen helped drop Mango’s spinnaker which was soon in its sock and stowed on deck. By the time we raised the main and unfurled the jib out new traveling partners had passed us by. Hard on the wind and partially reefed Mango was making 5.5 to 7 knots as we rounded Iowa Rock. We dropped all sails before entering the Fort Jefferson entrance and dropped anchor on the southern portion of the anchoring area in 17 feet of clear blue water.

After checking in and registering our vessels a wonderful Ranger named Curtis gave us an impromptu tour. We returned to Mango wiped out tired as we watched dolphins, including babies catching and eating small fish in the anchorage. Karen made dinner and I afterwards I went out on deck to stargaze. The moon was 2 days from being full and so bright that it made  stargazing possible only in my mind. We went below and fell fast asleep as the moonlight poured through Mango’s forward hatch onto our bed. It was another great day in the books.

View of the North side of the moat.

Seaplane unloading guests on the south beach.

 2-28-18 After a great nights sleep Karen was up shortly before sunrise excited for the new day. Karen commented while sailing from Marathon to Key West that she thinks she finally kicked her winter cold. Whatever the reason it’s wonderful to have her wake in the morning without being congested and clogged. We lazed a bit this morning and ate a late breakfast planning on a tour of Fort Jefferson afterwards. In addition to being a fortress, Fort Jefferson was also a prison mostly to union deserters. The engineering that went into the design of the fort seems incredible for the early 1800’s. The architects designed water catchment systems with built in filters, boilers to distill saltwater and 1.5 million gallon cistern. The fort was the largest masonry fort ever built by the US and remained a Union installation during the Civil War. Most supplies at this time were shipped from Maine. Doctor Samuel Mudd was imprisoned here after attending to John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg the day of Lincoln’s assassination. Mudd later became the fort’s only doctor and is credited for saving many of the fort’s residents throughout the 1867 Yellow Fever epidemic. He was eventually pardoned in 1869 by Andrew Johnson and was able to leave the fort March 8 of that year. The fort sustained its share of damage from last years hurricanes and the National Park Service appears to be doing what they can to start repairing the damage.

View of Loggerhead key to the west.

The area surrounding the fort is absolutely beautiful, it’s made up of nothing but a few keys and several shoals. The wildlife in the air is abundant, this time of year is nesting for the Sooty Tern and the Brown Noddy. The area has the highest concentration of Frigate Birds I’ve ever seen so the terns need to keep sharp eye on their nests. Below the water is alive also with many different varieties of coral taking hold near the old docks along with dolphins coming by to eat the numerous fish in the area. I jumped off of Mango into the water to make sure our anchor set properly and got the shit scared out of me by 3 Goliath Groupers who seemed curious about my being in their world. They are huge growing to 8 feet and 800 pounds. My new aquatic friends were on the small size, only about 4 feet but plenty big for my comfort level.

Setting sun as seen from Mango's stern

My new Grouper friend. Next time I'll bring shrimp to feed
him.

We both took quick boat showers as evening set in and watched the last of the seaplanes leave for the day looking forward to a sunset with no obstructions in sight. We weren’t disappointed as the sun turned the western sky a flame orange color and the quietness of the evening only broken by the sound of the nesting terns.

Karen and I absolutely loved our time here at Fort Jefferson our only regrets come from not being able to stay longer. Weather dictated the time to leave if we wanted to sail and not be weathered in for 5 days or more. We certainly plan to return to spend more time hopefully with a bit of settled weather with plans to snorkel the many wrecks in the surrounding areas.