The morning came quickly and we were ready to depart by 7:15am as the winds were only going to increase throughout the day. I looked out the window as the coffee was working and saw our friends behind us pulling out. They were heading the opposite direction of us as they were going to Ft. Myers Beach. We were heading to Marathon today to try to beat the high extreme winds and possible rain expected in the next couple of days. The forecast is showing winds in the 22+mpg range for days and we don’t want to be caught trying to cross the Gulf in that! The coffee was ready and we pulled anchor and headed out. On the way out we passed by a few other boats that must have arrived last night and they had anchored with the other boat that was by itself at the mouth of the river- so much for their privacy! We slowly motored past everyone so not to cause a wake or wake them up if they were still sleeping and turned south toward the Keys. There was a brisk wind blowing south and the waves were pushing us. Our destination was about forty miles away, and with the help from Mother Nature we were averaging just over seven knots so it ended up being a five and a half hour trip.
Once we cleared the bottom of continental Florida, we could see no land. This didn’t last long, however, as about an hour later we could make out tall antennas and water towers on shore ahead of us. As we were crossing, the mine fields of lobster pots was a never ending game of dodge ’em. The lines of small buoys suspending traps underwater went for miles. There is no rhyme or reason to the direction as they are left to float once dispersed. The fishing boats will come back at some point and retrieve them and whatever they are catching, but for now they are hazards to travel for those going through them. You don’t want to get the lines wrapped around your propeller as that could do damage as well as bring you to a complete stop. The buoys are small, about the size of the floats in a swimming pool that separates the deep and shallow ends; and each have unique colors and/or markings to identify them but sometimes you don’t see them until they pop up out of waves when you’re about fifty feet from them. Once I see one, I can usually follow the line and see the long string of them. They are usually spaced out about thirty feet, sometimes more, sometime less; and there are the occasional ‘rogue’ single ones floating which makes me wonder where the rest are. You can go between them if they’re stringed together, but you don’t want to get too close to either side for fear of snagging the line that is holding them together- hopefully it has sunk far enough underwater you glide right over it. This isn’t the first we’ve encountered these but it does seem to be getting more dense the further south we travel. Once we got close enough to make out shore, the depths started to drop. Now we were in anywhere from six to nine feet of water. I asked Lauren to call the marina for some identifying land visual as we weren’t sure of exactly where it was. The woman on the phone passed us to the harbormaster and he gave us a location, then told us he would come to flag us down on the shore bank. We located him waving his arms and turned toward the marina. As we were approaching, it became apparent the entrance was very narrow- so narrow we couldn’t even tell it went back to a marina. Once in the channel the harbormaster was waiting at the end pointing to a dock where he wanted us. He had told us on the phone we would want to turn around to dock so we would have the starboard (right) side against the wall. As we came down the narrow channel it opened up a little, with boats sticking out on either side. This ought to be interesting- he wants us to turn around? The fairway is only about thirty feet wide and we’re almost forty feet long! I came down slowly and saw some other boat owners watching closely. The ones closest to where we were going were telling each other they had better get on their boat to protect it if something goes wrong! We executed a perfect maneuver and got turned around with little room to spare, and we had help from the harbormaster with the lines. Once secure, it was time to hook up power and give our batteries a well deserved charging, as well as marvel at how I did that- I was impressed with myself! Now that we had completed securing everything and getting Frank to shore, it was time to take the bikes for a ride to the beach. We found the beach and went swimming to cool off. It has been hot lately and we’re not complaining! This is a part of the reason for doing this trip- chasing the sun and avoiding snow. After cooling off in the ocean, we headed back to the marina. Instead of going right back, we kept going a little further to check out Keys Fisheries which is a marina, restaurant, fish market and they have a tiki bar upstairs overlooking the water. We checked it out and went upstairs where they have happy hour until 7pm. On the menu was $3 large stone crab claws and a few other items. We of course had a half dozen of claws as well as some peel and eat shrimp and a dip, all washed down with a local beer and fresh cocktail from the happy hour menu as well. once we were done stuffing our faces with crab, we figured it was time to get back and take Frank for a walk. The evening ended with some late night pizza from across the street and a double check of the lines to make sure we’re secured for the expected winds and adjusted for tides.
Day 2- Lauren asked me what I wanted to do today. “Nothing” was my answer. The wind had definitely picked up so the beach was not a great option. The marina we were at: Black Fin does have a heated pool. I just wanted to hang out and enjoy the heat, maybe swim, maybe not- but I didn’t want to have a plan today. Lauren took the opportunity to do some laundry and I set up our hammock between two trees by the pool. I tied Frank up to one of the trees on his long leash and I read a book I found in the laundry room library. Lauren hung out at the pool between loads of laundry and all was well in our world. Frank did have some cats come by and taunt him into barking, but otherwise I think he was pretty content too. Nothing else was done and it was wonderful.
Day 3- Not much more to talk about other than going to the beach again and hanging out. We stopped by a grocery store on the way back and got a few items, then made it back home to relax some more.
Day 4- The winds still continued but tomorrow is our planned departure day so we will keep a close eye on the weather. We did a bit more of nothing except filling our water tanks and preparing for tomorrows departure. We decided to hit happy hour at a close by restaurant: Florida Keys Steak and Lobster House. They had some great sushi on happy hour and some other items we enjoyed. From there we biked to Marathon Ale House . We were greeted with an Irish band and a ton of guys in kilts hanging around. There is a Celtic Festival going on tomorrow and they w ere obviously starting today! After this we headed back to the marina and stopped at the onsite bar/restaurant they have called Hurricane Bar and Grille. Apparently this bar dates back to the 1930’s and is still going, albeit the new name “Hurricanes” in the 1950’s. We made it back to the boat and dinner was had. Final plans were made for our departure- we are going to another marina on the island of Marathon, but we will have to go about fifteen miles, around the bridge and to the south side of the island. The only way to get there for us is to go west to where the bridge is sixty five feet tall, come under there, and turn east to head back to Boot Key.