Hanging Out in Marathon (for longer than we thought)

We have arrived in Marathon to find only three remaining moorings that will accommodate our boat, and it is only the beginning of December.  Marathon is filling in fast, and we are happy to be here.  We meet up with old friends, check out the local watering holes, 

One of our favorites, Fiddle Rock, plays at Dockside.  We also try to see the duo, Cory and Ty, when they play at Burdines. The music scene in Marathon rivals anything in the rest of the Keys.

and explore the area on bike and on foot.  Life is easy with most amenities just a short walk or bike ride away.  Burt gets busy on some projects and I begin to prepare to leave for the Bahamas in a month.  But, weather-wise, Marathon is also different from previous years.  It is very hot and humid with temperatures reaching 90 and humidity even higher.  The Gulf Stream is close to shore, and we constantly see cumulus clouds and squalls over those waters. Almost daily, a squall will come through the harbor; some are mild but others dump copious quantities of water, sometimes enough to sink dinghies that are not being attended.   

A rainbow (actually a double but not clear in the picture) over the harbor after a squall.

To clarify, the total rainfall in Marathon for 2015 is 31 inches, but in December we get 11 of those inches and December is traditionally a dry month.  Early mornings before it gets too hot, we enjoy bike rides out to the Old Seven Mile Bridge.  

The Old Seven Mile Bridge continues after the cut - perhaps this looks familiar as it has been featured in many movies.

Part of Pigeon Key at the end of the accessible Old Seven Mile Bridge.  It is now an oceanographic research center open for tours.

 Here we pedal a two mile portion of the bridge over the turquoise waters, stopping along the way to look for critters in the water.  We see sharks, dolphin, tarpon, tropical fish, and one day, three spotted eagle rays gracefully swimming about. 

One of the rays we saw - it had about a five foot wing span.

Along the ride to the bridge, we often see iguanas in the mangroves and sunning themselves on rocks and concrete.  The iguanas are plentiful and considered a nuisance by many.  In fact, there are now companies that specialize in iguana removal.  We, on the other hand, find them fascinatingly beautiful, but harmless as they are vegetarians.   

The iguanas can be quite colorful, often matching their habitat.

When it gets too hot, we dinghy over to Sombrero Beach where the water is around 80 degrees.  Everyone clusters in the shade of the palm trees dotting the beach as the sun is burning hot.  One day we take the big boat out to the reef three miles away for a day of snorkeling.  We’ve seen the water clearer, but never this warm.  Wet suits aren’t needed, and we enjoy swimming among a variety of colorful reef fish with a few not too intimidating barracudas keeping watch over all.

Christmas is upon us, and we celebrate in a variety of ways.  One night we attend a performance of the “Messiah” at a local church.  Another night, the harbor sponsors a Lighted Boat Parade through the channel which we enjoy during a Christmas party hosted on a friend’s large catamaran. 

Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

We decorate our boat appropriately with colored lights strung on the exterior and a live rosemary tree below decorated with lights, shells, starfish, and sand dollars.   

Ready for Christmas on Exuberant.

We attend a candle light Christmas Eve service at a church across the street from the marina.  Christmas Day we head north in a rental car to Burt’s sister’s second home on Boca Grande Island.  Usually they rent it out over the holidays, but this year they are having their family down for a week, and we have been invited to join them.  I am delighted not only to celebrate Christmas with family but also to have a five hour drive in an air conditioned car each way, along with two nights in an air conditioned house.  Did I mention it is very hot and humid?  We have an opportunity to meet our new great-nephew, Alistair, and enjoy the antics of our three nephews.   

Playing with brother-in-law Randy's Christmas present, a drone.  It was great fun until the neighbor's dog tried to retrieve it.

We explore lovely Boca Grande by foot and bike, visiting the lighthouse and beach at the south end of the island, 

The south end of the island, overlooking Boca Grande pass.

goggling at the many lovely homes, and swimming at the beach just a few doors down from their home. 

Our great-nephew Alistair gets his first taste of the ocean.  Isn't funny how we mothers can laugh as our off-spring become hysterical.  Moments later he was having a ball with the water.

On the way back we check out Punta Gorda and Burnt Store Marina where dockmates of ours from Sandusky have recently moved. 

Our friends and past dockmates, Tom and Cheri in front of their new home in Burnt Store Marina - lovely!

As we enter Marathon, we stop at San Paulo Church to stroll through their decorated tropical prayer garden – the lights and accompanying Christmas music are a very special part of our celebration.

Part of the San Paulo prayer garden - certainly an amazing display.

Things seem to be going great until just before the end of the month, our generator self-destructs in a shower of sparks and putrid smoke of burning insulation.  Burt immediately shuts it down, otherwise, I believe we would have had a significant fire on our hands. Warning to all – never leave your generator running unattended!  We begin the challenge of finding someone to fix it.  With the disruption of the holidays, everyone is too busy or behind on work commitments.  The best we can do is get someone out to the boat to tell us, yes, the generator is broken and needs to be removed.  We wait two weeks for them to finish up other jobs to find they can’t accommodate our draft at any dock and the only other option is to have the boat hauled and then remove the generator with a heister. Thinking this is overkill, we continue our search for help, finally discovering a boatyard close by that is Westerbeake certified and able to work on the generator by only removing the electrical side of it. After several more days, they have a dock available for us, and we go in to have the offending portion removed.  They are competent and professional but definitely not cheap. At the height of one frontal passage, work commences, and they even allow us to spend two free nights at their dock rather than risk returning to our mooring.

Meanwhile, the weather has taken a dramatic change.  It is no longer hot, rather, it has gotten quite cold with freeze warnings in northern Florida and horrendous weather in the Bahamas.  With lows in the 50’s and highs not much different, we are a bit chilly onboard without heat from a generator, and we are trapped on the boat for days at a time as it is too rough and wet to leave.  Gales, thunderstorms, and torrential rains are commonplace. 

Just before a storm rolls in

Even in this protected harbor, it can get pretty rough during a blow.

And Boot Key Harbor is filling up fast.  There are over 60 boats on the waiting list for moorings while many others decide to not even try for a mooring. All are crowded into the anchorage or tied off mangroves in creeks.  Easily, 350 boats are hunkered down here – no one is going to the Bahamas or anywhere else, for that matter, while others keep streaming in to find refuge from the storms. 

Once the broken half of the generator is removed, we get a rental car and drive it up to a company in Fort Lauderdale which rebuilds generators. After so much bad luck and delays in the quest for a functional generator, we are happy to discover that this company carries an inventory of rebuilt generators in stock, and they have just the one we need.  An hour later we leave with big smiles but a much skinnier wallet. 

We have half a day left in Fort Lauderdale, so we decide to play tourist, eating lunch at a café by the beach 

Looking out from the beach side cafe, we see a submarine coming into the harbor.  We never knew submarines came into Ft. Lauderdale, but days later, we surmise our son might be on this very submarine for a sea trial.

and then taking a tour by water of the harbors and beautiful canal system.  

I enjoy the view of the main harbor from the deck of our tour boat - it's a bit nippy out there.

On an overcast afternoon, we pass by mega-yachts including Stephen Spielberg’s, mansions, 

One particularly beautiful home owned by the former owner of the Dolphins, Marlins, and Heat.  There's a lot of money down here!

and the commercial harbor. I like Fort Lauderdale; it isn’t as glitzy at Miami, but it is beautifully landscaped along the Venice-like canals and seems more inviting and less intimidating. We arrive back in Marathon later than expected, thanks to Miami rush hour traffic. The next day the boatyard is able to take us, and five hours later we have a functional generator, just in time for another chilly night at the mooring.

So, here we are in Marathon with no immediate prospects of leaving for the Bahamas. The forecasts have frequent severe frontal passages interspersed with cool windy days while in the Bahamas our friends are experiencing storms with winds approaching hurricane strength.  We pass the days further exploring the island and socializing with friends on boats or at restaurants and music venues on days where it is safe to leave the boat, while when storms rage, we read, do boat projects (they never end – the list just gets shorter), weave baskets, and watch movies.  It is comforting to know we are in a safe place on a secure mooring, with groceries and laundry easily accessible, but after a while, we’d like a change in the scenery.  Perhaps February will be more accommodating.

Sunsets from our boat, overlooking the harbor, on a rare but calm night.