Marathon News

Lay Day: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keys, Mooring Ball D2, MM 1195.0

L/L: 22 42 43N 081 05 40W

Weather: Overnight showers; mostly sunny; high in the high 80s low 80; 

E < 10 knots

Comment:  Happy Halloween! This is our first Halloween in Marathon. The first thing we realized is that it’s still summer in the Keys, even though there are fewer hours of daylight than dark.

The big news in the harbor is that the Dockside Bar and Grill is closed. The building is still there, the tables and chairs are still on the deck, but the place has been closed for a few weeks, if not more. So far, we haven’t found out what happened or what is going to happen. Most of the slips at the Sombrero Marina are empty, but that’s true for all of the other marinas as well, after all, its still summer. And, its still hurricane season. That point was brought squarely to our attention, although we were not oblivious to that fact, when we had to sign a hurricane preparedness document for the marina. 

Since it so hot, we're planning multiple trips to the beach and maybe even some local pools. The beach is about a three mile bike ride. The Sunset Bar and Grill has a great view and a free pool. That pool is a two or three mile bike ride. Banana Bay Resort and Marina has a pool and offers daily pool passes. It’s within walking distance. Speaking of Banana Bay, they have re-opened their restaurant (Cabana Restaurant) and offer a $2.22 breakfast special and a $3.99 cheeseburger and fries lunch special. I include this information because our friends Joe and Dee have reservation for Banana Bay for sometime in the new year.

We're Home!

From: Tarpon Basin, Key Largo, FL MM 1140.0
To: Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, Florida Keys, Mooring Ball D2, MM 1195.0
L/L: 22 42 43N 081 05 40W
Distance Traveled: 63.5 miles
Elapsed Time: 9.9 hours
Average Speed: 6.4 mph

Weather: After last night’s T’storms, the day dawned mostly sunny; the cold front brought an overnight low of 80 degrees and it reached 90 again during the heat of the day (so much for the cold in cold front, but we know cold from last year so we’re not complaining!); E @ 15 knots most of the day

Comment: The predicted wind materialized as forecast, but for the first part of the trip, we couldn’t take advantage because we were winding our way through narrow, twisty channels that would have caused numerous jibes. Rather than that, we continued under motor power until we reached Channel Five, where the bay opens up a bit. Given these wind conditions, we chose to stay on the gulf side and motor sailed toward the Seven Mile Bridge and Moser Channel at over seven mph.

Along the way, we saw a sea turtle and several dolphins. Unlike last year, there were no dead fish (remember the cold spell that killed a lot of fish?).

We made it to our mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor at 1800 hours. Because the marina office closes at 1800 hours, Anna Marie secured our ball assignment via the telephone.

Entering Boot Key Harbor (the old bascule bridge has been removed)

What Happened to the Wind Prediction?

Friday, October 29, 2010 Day 41

From: South Lake Anchorage, Hollywood, FL MM1072.5
To: Tarpon Basin, Key Largo, FL MM 1140.0
L/L: 25 07 16N 080 25 80W
Distance Traveled: 68.9 miles
Elapsed Time: 11.4 hours
Average Speed: 6.0 mph

Weather: Sunny all day, thunder heads appear around the anchorage justas we were setting the hook, thunder in the distance; S wind generalle < 5 knots; high 90, low 80

Comment: After calling for openings of the final four bascule bridges, we motored past Miami and under the Rickenbacker Causeway into Biscayne Bay. As usual, the water was clear and we could see bottom in 11 feet of water.

Sadly, the predicted sailing weather did not materialize. However, in both Card Sound and Little Card Sound, we were able to unroll the jib and motor sail at over 7 mph. That helped our average speed for the day!

We set the hook in Tarpon Basin after 11.4 hours underway. On the way home last year, we took two days to cover the same distance.

ALong the way, there was drama on the radio. I heard a Mayday call and the captain was reporting that his boat was on fire. Within minutes, three good samaritans were on the scene and not long after that, a park ranger showed up.

The USCG handled the details on the radio, but never made it to the scene. We even heard News Chopper 7 give a report of the apparent conditions of the three people who were rescued. All were in good shape and needed no medical assistance.

After setting the anchor, we battened down the hatches. Thunderheads popped up within five miles of the anchorage. In fact, we anchored near Key Largo rather than take our usual spot out near the mangroves in the Northeast corner of the anchorage. We were surprised to see another cruiser, on a big catamaran, already at anchor.

Eighteen!

From: Lantana, FL MM 1031.0
To: South Lake Anchorage, Hollywood, FL MM1072.5
L/L: 26 00 49N 080 07 52W
Distance Traveled: 42.0 miles
Elapsed Time: 9 hr 35 min
Average Speed: 4.5 mph

Weather: Cloudy in the early morning, clearing to mostly sunny; hot again, high 90, low 80; SE wind <6 knots all day

Comment: Eighteen! Anna Marie called us through eighteen bridges today. Many caused us no delay at all, but there were three of four that caused 25 minute waits. That negatively affected our average speed. Still, we made 42 miles in a little over nine hours. We are about 10 miles north of Miami Tomorrow, we’ll finish the bridge portion of the trip with five required openings.

We’re hoping for sailing weather tomorrow. IF we get it, we sail Biscayne Bay all the way to Key Largo.

Lantana

It's been five years since we used the anchorage to the southwest of the Lantana Bascule Bridge. We were last here in Fodder's Cat on our maiden voyage. The anchorage is a bit exposed, especially to south wind, but we're expecting south east wind less than 10 knots tonight.

Before leaving Peck Lake this morning, we went ashore and enjoyed another beach walk. This is a remote beach in the Hobe Sound Wildlife Refuge. Sadly, the beach was strewn with trash for as far as the eye could see in either direction.


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Peck Lake

We finished our run on the Indian River today. The wind and currents were mostly against us, but we persevered and made it to Peck Lake by 1500 hours.

The boat is handling fine and the motors don't miss a beat.


View S/V SUNSHINE 2010 - 2011 in a larger map

Picture of the Day

This guy was enjoying a meal in one of the Live Oaks on the marina property. He got a bit rambunctious when a squirrel happened by. Trapped on a "branch to nowhere, the squirrel patiently waited for the woodpecker to finish its meal.

Pileated woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus