Marathon Marina

Marathon Marina Office

Unfortunately, I have to re-enter the working world again for awhile.  We won't be able to resume our journey until January of 2016.  So... here is a little peek of Marathon before I take a break from blogging. The marina sits literally right off the ocean - there is no "sea wall" or break of any sort.  Talaria's stern is facing the ocean. The only thing out there is highway one which connects the line of islands (Keys) all the way down to Key West. 

Sun setting over Seven Mile Bridge

Talaria in her slip - the Atlantic at her back

To the right is the famous Seven Mile Bridge - which is an experience to drive over.  Nothing but ocean on either side for the full seven miles.  This one spot is where boats can cross over from the Gulf to the Atlantic side.  The side you see is the Atlantic Ocean, on the other side of the bridge is Florida Bay.




The marina itself is nice - but pricey!  There are a few little Tiki huts where you can sit out and eat.  There is a "Captains Lounge" - with TV and a large selection of movies to watch.  Never see anyone in there!  





We do however see quite a few people at the pool.  Particularly, around "happy hour" 
their cocktails in hand!!  Now if you are looking for an "inexpensive" way to live in paradise.  You can always take a lesson from the enterprising folks who just drive their RV into a trailer park - cover the windshield, hook up some power and water - wa la ... HOME.  Next stop Cuba!!  Will catch up in January!!

Captains lounge - Tiki Hut

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salt water pool at Marina

RV home in the trailer park

Key West Redux... Jill's Post

Jellyfish - one of these jumped on a ladies back at the beach.  Bad jellyfish sting!!

Interesting business in Key West

One of many quirky Key West statues

Having a good time at Sloppy Joes!

So... per my sisters request for "more pictures" I am revisiting Key West.  This will be a picture fest!  Key West is like no other city -the residents there personify "laid back".  So laid back in fact that there is only one restaurant in the whole town where a jacket and tie are required.  The attire in Key West is shorts, t-shirts and flip flops.  And sometimes just a swimsuit!  Once we had rested up after our sail to Key West - we walked up to Sloppy Joe's on Duval Street.  Hemingway's favorite pub in Key West.  He liked to drink his rum with grapefruit juice.  Now what could be better??  Yum, Yum!!  Enjoy the pics!
 

This is a fully functioning Coast Guard ship - we met this one in the channel when we arrived!

Ernest Hemingway's favorite US pub

Hemingways House- he has a tree house on the property that he used for writing

Southernmost House in the entire United States

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coast Guard ship that is now a museum - ship was used in WWII

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Everglades

Mandatory that anyone spending any amount of time in Florida visit the Everglades - the "river of grass" that exists nowhere else in the world.  It is also the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators live side by side.  Unfortunately, we did not see any crocodiles - but there were plenty of gators around. At first glance the Everglades look like a big prairie.
 

But there is water under all that grass - flowing water!!  Lots of flowing water!  All kept clean by this stuff that looks alot like cardboard called periphyton.  Its like a big sponge that is constantly filtering the water.  They say its so clean you can drink it - but I don't think I would!  The gators this time of year are trying to keep cool so they tend to stay in the water during the heat of the day.


This little guy is actually around two years old and is out there trying to fend for himself. Scary huh!  Unfortunately, Momma Gator has no choice but to kick them out of the nest this small.  If she did not then her smaller babies would be at risk as this "juvenile delinquent" would eat its siblings!  Talk about sibling rivalry!

This Momma certainly has plenty of babies to protect.  Fortunately, its much easier to do when they are sitting on your nose!!  The baby gators are black with yellow stripes, she has about eight of them around her.  They will stay with her for about two years and then off they go into the wild. With any luck at all they will make it to be this size. Many, many do not - but if they do then they are pretty much the king of the Everglades. 

The only predator this guy has to worry about is the Burmese Phython.  The phython is of course not native to the Everglades or Florida for that matter.  Despite all efforts they phython has yet to be eradicated in the park, but they are trying!!  If the Everglades is not on your bucket list perhaps you will revise it as this park is well worth the visit.

Turtle Hospital

Today we paid a visit to the Sea Turtle Hospital.  Who knew that Sea Turtles faced so many issues??  The hospital has a group of marine biologists that "take call", staying at the hospital to take care of "critical" turtles and going out to rescue them when they are called.  Turtles apparently eat anything - including all the trash that ends up in the ocean.  Then they develop an intestinal impaction and will starve if it is

not relieved.  Power boats and jet skis hit turtles and damage their shell.  They then will end up with a "bubble butt" like this poor guy on the right.  When that happens they can only float.  Bad thing if you are a turtle.  Turtles have to "dive" to eat as that is where there food is - down in the sea grass usually.  So... the hospital has to put weights on these sea turtles so they can continue to dive.  Problem is - over time the weights fall off, so the turtles with cracked shells become permanent residents. 

You can see the black weight that is attached to the turtles shell on the left.  Eventually, they try to find homes for these guys and gals at zoos or aquariums.  According to their literature one such fellow is now living the life in Vegas!!  Another common problem with Green Sea Turtles especially is fibropapilloma - a tumor that they develop.  Believed to be related to all the chemical runoff into the

water.  No matter where you are - it all 
eventually ends up in the ocean.  Mary Ann has several tumors but the one on her left eye will blind her if not removed.  The tumors are removed with a laser.  After surgery the turtles stay at the hospital for a year to see if they develop more tumors.  At the end of the year if they are tumor free they are released back into the ocean. How much stuff do we need to put on our lawns anyway??  It was an enlightening day and great to know that their is someone to call if you happen upon a hurt or ill turtle.  Keep up the good work Turtle Hospital!!

Made it to Marathon... the end of this leg of the "journey"

Paddle Boarders in the Atlantic Ocean

Left Key West at 0815 Sunday morning.  Made it thru the channel and over to the other side of the Island - the Atlantic side - before long we kept seeing all these things sticking up out of the water in the distance. They looked like markers or some sort of sticks. There we sat just scratching our heads and trying to figure out what to do as they were everywhere.  Michael said go around them - but when I looked they were as far out as I could see. Going around not an option.  By then we were convinced that they were some kind of markers for fishing as there were crab pots everywhere as well.  And then as we got closer ... paddle boarders!!!  We were laughing and talking to them as we were trying to weave our way between them.  About 1430 the Coast Guard came on the radio with a notice to mariners regarding a paddle boarding event in Key West.  A little late with that message boys!  Weather was good and we had good wind, for awhile anyway.  The water is much clearer on this side you can see huge fish swimming- we have seen several Tarpon.  We pulled into the Marathon Marina at 1600, got all tied up and the boat sprayed

down.  Looked over at the famous seven mile bridge and lo and behold there was a waterspout.  Its an over the water tornado essentially.  Winds in the area are up to 50 knots!  Shortly thereafter the storm hit and we were thanking our lucky stars that were not still out there (although we would have had good wind!!). 

Key West - Southernmost City in the US

Sun is setting on our trip from Marco Island to Key West.  Left Marco Island at 1400 thinking it would take an hour to reach the channel where we would set our course for Key West.  Wrong!  It only took 30 minutes.  We were hoping to reach Key West Northwest Channel at sunrise - but at 0330 we were seeing the channel lights.  Oops- time to slow way down!  We totally forgot to factor in the increase in speed we would get from that bottom job (or I will say I completely forgot as I was the one doing the time/distance calculations).  Wind was pretty good - not completely out of the east as we were hoping, but not completely on our nose either.  Very good sail without any major issues - only thing that happened was the light on the compass went out so we had to rig something up to be able to see the compass at night.  Northwest Channel into Key West is very long - took about 90 minutes to get down the channel and to Marina.  So here we are hanging in Key West- eating good Cuban food and drinking rum!  Going to stay one more day to plan our next leg of the trip, then its off to Marathon.  Decided against the Dry Tortugas on this trip as it is so hot, hot, hot.  There is no power, water or any amenities there.  We would be at anchor with no AC - hard to do in Florida in September (one of their hottest months).  So... we have decided to make that trip in January when its 70 degrees instead of 107. We have now reached the southernmost point of the US (started in Kentucky) and will begin our way up the east side of Florida.  Hope to make it all the way up to Canada before we head back down.  And from there who knows - Europe?  For today - we will enjoy Key West and the chickens that are running around all over the place.  Below this Mama is trying to herd her chicks to keep them from being run over by tourists.  She has a wary eye - never know when you will need to peck someone.  Watch yourself tourists!!










            


                              

Trek to downtown Marco Island

                           Talaria at the end of the dock - Marina at Factory Bay




Trekked to the downtown area today - leaving tomorrow so thought we should at least see the town!  Tomorrow is our overnight, long trip to Key West.  We plan to pull away from the dock at 2:00 pm and arrive at sunrise - thats the plan anyway!  Ready to go - keep waiting for the perfect conditions, but there is no "perfect".  John the Harbormaster said "If you waiting for a clear day - you aren't going to find it".  True enough it rains here nearly everyday - sometimes twice a day.  Its not the rain - just hoping for favorable wind and tomorrow looks like the best day/night for that.  Regardless, we are going!!!! 

Lazy day at Marco Island

We are checking and rechecking the weather for our trip to Key West.  Were planning to leave tomorrow afternoon - but now it looks as though we will have a headwind the whole way if we do.  Wednesday is more favorable with the wind coming from the East.  As luck would have it there was a diver here cleaning the neighbors boat - so I checked to see if they would have time to clean our bottom.  He has been down there a couple of hours now and only has one side done!  Pretty nasty.  He said the oysters were latching on as we were traveling the Gulf.  Would have been nice if they would have just jumped in -Oyster Bar!!  Going to head to Snook Inn later and check out their "Chickee Bar".  If you are like me you are wondering if that means they have "chickees" there??  Apparently not - it is Florida's take on the Tiki Bar.  Thatch roof, open sides - they borrowed it from the Seminole Indians. The smaller building below is the boaters lounge/clubhouse.  Craig and John the Harbormasters are exceptional - incredibly nice!

This is the Marina at Factory Bay on Marco Island, Florida.  Lots of condos here!

Waiting for a weather window at Marco Island

Michael had become spoiled - sleeping till 0800 every day, not getting on the water before 0900.  Docking by around 1600.  Thursday night my little inside voice, that over the years I have come to heed, said "set your alarm and be gone by 0730.  So at 0600 I was up and in the shower.  And sure enough I caught the weather on the way out and they said storms in the afternoon.  So my reluctant partner and I left Ft. Myers/Estero Island at 0800 heading for Marco Island.  We had wind in the am - had all the sails up, but of course it died down when we didn't want it to!!  The day was busy trying to troubleshoot electronics: our chart plotter quit working (we use it to tell us where we are and if we are on course).  After trying forever to get that working again (likely pushing too many buttons!) we gave up and used the Ipad that we have for backup.  Our autopilot also quit working which meant we had to hand steer.  Which I admit doesn't seem like a big deal but when you have a 15 plus hour trip coming up that is a BIG deal.  Particularly, if the seas are rough as your arms get very tired after several hours of steering.  We did however manage to arrive at Marco Island before the storm hit and it did kick up wind around 30 plus mph.  That's a lot of wind when you are out in the Gulf -even in a heavy sailboat.  Decided to stay at Marco Island before we do our overnight crossing to Key West to rest up and fix our chart plotter and autopilot issues.  We did manage to fix both of those problems today - A for the day on troubleshooting!  Our eyes are to the weather and it looks like we have decided that Tuesday afternoon we will take off for Key West.  We will leave in the afternoon to try and time our arrival for daybreak.  It is not advisable to head into Key West at night - too many markers, too easy to lose your way.  Tuesday night the wind is supposed to be out of the East which will be perfect for us.  So... in honor of labor day we have decided to NOT labor tomorrow. 

Since I have not taken any pics of Marco Island yet I am sharing this pic of the sunset on our first night out to sea. Lovely!

Cheeseburger in Paradise

                                              Talaria at Cabbage Key Marina

Finally!! Got all the sails up today - still had to run the engine though as the wind was light, but there at least was a little, tiny bit. Great day! Cabbage Key is beautiful- I could spend some time here!!

This is the restaurant at Cabbage Key and YES that cheeseburger was yummy!  Thanks for pointing that out Jimmy.  Key Lime Pie was great as well.  Place will fill up tomorrow for the Labor Day Weekend - so we are going to head out in am and avoid the crowds.

Motor/sailing to Venice

Wednesday - September 2, 2015

 Well yes it is hurricane season here in Florida and we were sure worried about the seas today.  Worried about the lack of wind that is!!  Pretty much had to motor all day - had the staysail up for awhile when we got a little wind around 2:30.  And then of course, as soon as we reached our destination for the day (Venice, Florida) and got all tied up the wind picked up.  Blowing very nicely out there now.  So... all in all we traveled about 40 miles today.  We stayed about 3 miles off shore the whole day.  Ran into a big patch of what looked like dirt on top of the water - with a lot of purple something in it.  No idea what that was.  Traveling down to Cabbage Key tomorrow in Charlotte Harbor.  Legend has it that the little restaurant on Cabbage Key was the inspiration for Jimmy Buffets "Cheeseburger in Paradise". Will let you know if its all that!

                                                            Venice Inlet

Slowly making our way!

Tuesday - September 1, 2015

Ever felt that tug?  The desire to "not stand still".  Ever wanted to see and feel something different, to get away from the DAY IN AND DAY OUT.  To be certain there is something to be said for the "routine and familiar" - but don't you sometimes just get tired of it?  Does it occasionally seem too stagnant and stale?  Maybe not for you - but that is what we were feeling.  We thought maybe its good to stir things up a bit from time to time - to leave the familiar behind in search of new adventures.  Surely, life is more than working to make money and then spending it all on things you don't really need putting you in a position where you have to go out and make more money so you can again spend it... all the while griping about the inflexibility of your work and life!  Its a never ending cycle that we are all caught up in.  And through it all we fail to see that which is truly worthwhile...  That is the reality for most of us - DAY IN AND DAY OUT.  One day after our son had left for college we realized that our big house was becoming a burden - it was work all week at work, then come home and work all weekend keeping up a house over and over, DAY IN AND DAY OUT.  The monotony only occasionally broken by a vacation.  We started dreaming about sailing away... paying off the house and saving for a boat.  And then... as fate would have it life changed.  My work situation changed not once but twice in two years!!  Now how is that for a little push in the direction of your dreams??  Fate was talking to us - we needed to heed the calling.  So... we sold the big house, bought a little house - and a boat on the same day.  Our dreams were becoming reality... slowly.  We bought Talaria in Punta Gorda, Florida August 2013 and sailed her across the Gulf of Mexico (which was really just motoring across as there was no wind) with our Captain buddy and then dropped the mast in Mobile.  From there it was up the Tenn-Tom to Kentucky Lake.  Our boat became our home and the plan was to stay till around February and then head out.  But February came and went (we made it through one of the worst Kentucky winters on record) and we were still there...   Finally, we made the return trip to Mobile put the mast back up and headed out for Florida with the goal of making up the Atlantic coast.  Tomorrow we leave St. Petersburg for the Keys - we will winter in the Bahamas and then up and out of Florida.  Life in the "fast lane" is becoming "life in the slow lane" - at five knots (seven on a good day!).