Miami to Marathon

11-26-11 thru 12-12-11

We left Miami on Saturday after getting fuel from the fuel barge. It’s a big yellow barge that moves around the Miami waterway and you pull up to it, tie up, and get fuel. We were concerned about it but it wasn’t a big deal. They operator was very helpful with instructions on tying up and getting away. Well, this fuel wasn’t as good a deal as our other fillups. But we are full and should not need fuel until summertime or later, depending on how much we move around.



Final views of Miami







Ken and Margaret had left earlier and were going a different route than we were. When you leave Miami, you can go inside the Keys or outside the Keys in Hawks Channel between the Keys and the reefs. Rocking B will be going inside for a day, and then they will move to the channel. We are concerned that the water crossing from inside to the channel will be too shallow for us so we are going directly to the channel.

After we fueled up we went to No Name Harbor in Biscayne Bay, south of Miami. We actually anchored outside the harbor near the island of Key Biscayne. We only traveled about 10 miles so we had a short day. We were bounced around by boats coming and going but it settled down near dusk.

"Stickhouses" near No Name Harbour

Key Biscayne Lighthouse

We had talked about going about 50 miles and anchoring but decide to go all the way to Marathon in 1 day. We knew the mooring field only had room for 15 boats our size and it is “first come first served” so we felt the sooner we got there the better. We had been told the some people had to wait for several days or longer to get a mooring.

We knew it would be a long day and were ready to leave as soon as it was light, about 6:15. We knew the water would be bad for the first part of the trip but knew it would get better as we turned into Hawk Channel.

The waves were 4-6 feet with a 5 second interval. That means the waves were coming every 5 seconds. That means rough water. I got to feeling bad and took some Bonine and laid down. I think there are some really crazy people that go by the name fishermen. They were out in those waves in small 16’ boats that were bouncing around like toys. No way would I do that. 

You can see how calm the water was after we got to Hawks Channel

The first 2 hours were rough, but as we turned more westerly, the waves settled down, but then the crabpots started. We were shocked since they were right in the middle of a marked channel. We had to keep a close eye out and be ready to change course at any time. The crabpots were difficult to see, since we were driving into the sun and the markers were hard to see. We actually ran over one. Shay didn’t see it until it was too late, so he cut the speed to idle and put the engines in neutral. He told me to watch out to see if it came up or not. We had a few tense seconds, but finally it popped up and we were ok. We got started and paid even closer attention after that.

About 3 pm, we called the marina and asked about a mooring. He told us they had some open, but he couldn’t reserve one for us until we were closer. When we asked when they closed, he told me at 5:45. I told him I knew we would not be there before they closed and he told me to call at 5:00 and he would see what he could do. I called a little after 5 told him we would be there about 6 and he gave us an assignment and told us we could register in the morning. We were glad. If we had not gotten a mooring we would have had to anchor in an area that we were not familiar with and didn’t have a lot of places to anchor.

We pulled in at dark and thank goodness Ken and Margaret were there. They came out in their dinghy and found our mooring ball for us… we couldn’t see in the dark. I had asked the guy what kind of pennant the mooring had and he told me 15’ of rope. So I was ready to pull the line up and cleat if off. Well, of course it wasn’t just rope; it had a thimble on it so I had to drop it. We came back by and I couldn’t get the rope with the boathook. Ken and Margaret to the rescue again. They took my rope, passed it through the thimble, and gave it back to me to cleat. Then we ran another line through and we were secured. They offered to take us to a restaurant close by since we were all starving and we were all ready to eat. We had had a long, rough, 12 hour day on the water.

We got registered the next morning and got acquainted with our winter home. We decided there are some strange people in Marathon. They have been here a long time and have lost touch with the real world. We call them the “tree people” since they sit out under the trees near the dumpsters everyday.

When we were in Vero Beach, Shay went to the lounge early in the morning to talk to the other guys and tell boating stories. Well he tried that here, but it didn’t really work out. There were a few people sitting around but they were different. He was pretty sure that one was smoking pot, but the other told him he was smoking a dried herb from Hispanic health food stores. He said it was cheaper than pot, was about ½ as powerful, and you could still pass a drug screen test if you used it. Shay told him that was good to know.

Now don’t get me wrong… not all the people down here are like that, but we haven’t been able to find out where the others gather. Maybe they just get together on their boats.

When I tell people about Marathon, I keep saying the economy is depressed but Shay corrects me. He said he doesn’t think the economy was every any better. It’s always been like this. There are a lot of empty buildings, no hotel chains like Holiday Inn, and no restaurant chains except Wendy’s, McDonald's and IHOP.

But there are palm trees, beautiful blue/green water, blue sky with fluffy white clouds and a breeze blowing…what more do we need. The scenery changes constantly. Every time the wind blows us around we have a different view.



There are lots of boats here!



 


Beautiful rainbow



We have been pretty active since getting here. We have taken Ken and Margaret’s bikes for a ride and have gone walking several days. Of course we have to walk or bike to get groceries and anything else we need. We’ve checked out West Marine, Publix, Winn-Dixie, K-Mart, and some local stores.

We have enjoyed getting to know the cruisers here. We have been invited to other boats and have also had boaters to our boat. Shay likes to show off his improvements. We went by a boat the other night to invite them to come over to our boat to visit and the guy said he would love to come and he had already heard about our boat and all the things we had done. Everyone is interested in hearing about the solar panels.

The solar panels have really made a difference in how much we have to run the generator to charge batteries. On clear days with lots of sunshine, we do not have to run the generator to charge the batteries at all. We have had several cloudy days so the solar panels have not been able to keep the batteries fully charged, but they are still charged.

Shay just asked me if I wanted a piece of Key Lime Pie and I told him not now, I am getting ready to post this blog. The rainbow pictures are from yesterday. YES, I AM FINALLY CAUGHT UP!
Thanks to all of you that waited so patiently while I struggled through starting and catching up this blog. I promise I will try to stay up to date.