Marathon

 
Finally, the Florida weather we have been waiting for. Temps mid-high 20's (75 to 80F) with light winds and low humidity.

Marathon is the next "big" town in the Keys, about half-way to Key West. We have been based here for 4 days, interspersed with a night at anchor in Bahia Honda Key, near the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge.

We found a great marina/resort in Marathon, called Marlin Bay yacht club, which just opened in November, so not yet well known, with very nice facilities including pool and gym. Spent two days here, principally waiting for an ATT service call, then departed
for Bahia Honda.

Spent our time swimming, relaxing, watching the sunset, and reading up on service manuals.  Even met a couple from Alberta on their boat here.

Bahia Honda is known as one of the best beach locations in the Keys, but it is a relative description, as the Keys is not known for great beaches. There is a south anchorage, and a north anchorage, and due to the constraint of the Seven Mile bridge, which can only be transited at roughly mid-crossing, a significant distance between the two.

We initially headed for the south anchorage, thinking that the prevailing wind would make it the most protected.  This required us leaving the Florida Bay side, through the Bridge, and into the Atlantic side.  Turned out to be a bit lumpy.  So after a couple of miles of struggling with that, we decided to turn back for the Marathon harbor on the south side of the key (resort we were at was on the north side of the key), and tour the famed harbor anchorage.

One of the side benefits of this change of plans was due to the lumpy seas, I decided to try running at higher speed to see how this changed the ride.  So instead of 8 knots at 1250 rpm, we tried 15 knots at 2200 rpm, and indeed it made the ride much more comfortable, with the stabilizers engaged.  Burns a lot more fuel at this speed, but it was only 20 minutes or so to the Marathon harbor entrance, so well worth it for the better ride.  Interesting learning experience, which we are having many of this week.


I say "famed" as Marathon harbor is noted as the largest anchorage in the Keys, with approx 200 mooring buoys.  One would think it would be reasonably easy to find one available, but turns out there is a wait list due to the very reasonable price, compared to moorage locations in the area.  So we had a good tour of the harbor (known as Boot Key) and decided to try Bahia Honda North.  So back out to the bridge (at speed), and to the Bayside, for the then very leisurely run down to BH North.  Much calmer seas and truly tropical cruising.

Anchoring was a treat, in 8 feet of water, and allowing for height to the bow, even 60 feet of chain provided more than adequate scope for the anchor to set well.  We even swam here, which gave me an opportunity to check the anchor set, and the running gear, after being thru such a swarm of lobster pot floats on the trip down.  All good. Water temp was OK, probably 76F, but refreshing on a warm afternoon.


We are expecting Tristan to join us in Key West next weekend, so we don't need to be down there too soon.  So today returned to Marathon, and Marlin Bay, to enjoy the resort, and the Pigeon Key Arts Festival.  A show of about 70 artists, with a concert in the evening.

Tomorrow, we will continue south, with a few anchorages planned in the remote Keys, on our way to Key West, so will be out of Internet range for a while.