Isla Mujares to Marathon Florida

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Isla Mujares to Marathon Florida

Both John and I were keen to leave Isla Mujares. We had enjoyed our time there, and touched base with other friends who were also there. It was time to head out. A weather window was opening, giving us 3 – 4 days of favorable winds followed by yet another norther/front. Neither one of us wanted to go through another front/norther in Isla Mujares anchorage.

During the previous front we had dragged at night, been awoken by Jim our neighbour, had to reanchor. Then John had to stay in the cockpit all night while the wind raged looking out for other dragging boats while worrying about ours. Followed by one and a half days of staying aboard due to bad winds, dragging again and reanchoring. (Dragging with 200ft of chain out in 15 ft of water tells how bad the holding was) We were well ready to leave.

The passage:

Heading out were a number of other folks that we knew. 2 boats headed to Cuba, 1 boat to Bimini, Bahamas, another headed to Tampa Florida and us to Marathon.

The first day out was a Sunday it was the regular getting used to the sailing routine again. The Sunday night was very challenging. We had headed towards the Cuban coast as it was supposed to be more sheltered. However this was not the case and the winds were way stronger than predicted, the seas much larger and very testy. It was not a good nights sail. The following day Monday, made up for it by being everything we could have asked for. Followed by a wonderful Monday night in which to cross the Gulf Stream again. The next day Tuesday was again a lovely day sail for half the day and then a bit of a plough up wind to our anchorage in the Marquesas Keys.

After a wonderfully calm night’s sleep we set off for another anchorage 30 odd miles away and again enjoyed a calm evening and restful sleep.

The following morning we headed to Marathon where Boot Key harbour marina is located. There wasn’t a lot of wind so we were motor sailing. Then an alarm went off! It was one of the smoke detectors from the engine compartment. Umm, John decided we could continue as it seemed not to be too bad….Chico became anxious, meowing, not happy at all. The smoke became worse and we had to stop and drop the anchor. There we were just off 7 Mile Bridge about an hour away from Marathon, stuck.

We tried Sea Tow, but to no avail. John decided to see what he could do. The smoke was coming from a newly blown hole in the exhaust. He got some special epoxy he had, had me undress it and squeeze it into shape while he dressed the hole. Then he put a piece of rubber held in place with a hose clamp over the top as well. We fired up the engine and limped towards the bridge, under and out the other side then down the channel towards Boot Key Harbour.

The marina appointed mooring # O4 as ours. We lucked out in being able to land on it fairly quickly. This is the biggest mooring field in the whole USA, with 400 moorings and a good scattering of anchored boats around the edges.

Ashore we went and registered, got all our handy info plus goody bag. It was definitely a very different temporary home for us, compared with what we have had for the past many years.

We had to get a taxi up to the airport and get ourselves checked in, which proved to be easy. These days one has to register online well before entering the United States and then finish off at an airport. Surprisingly, no mention was made of covid or vaccinations….

What do we do in Boot Key, Marathon?

The tasks started, the chores, the ordering, the maintenance all the reasons why we were in the middle of the Florida Keys.

Off to a grocery store, for us Publix. After not being in an American grocery for many years it was quite overwhelming, just miles of selection/items, so many choices for so many similar items can prove to be quite tiring.

John made good friends with Amazon. He ordered numerous boating needs: solar panels, wiring, water maker needs, etc.

A few days of car hire:

On our 3rd day we hired a car from Enterprise and set off to get our soda stream gas canisters. John has our soda stream rigged so we can use massive gas canisters which last many months.

Of course being away from any proper facility to refill we had gone without for quite sometime. Here in the Keys we knew to go to Air-Gas as this was where we originally obtained them 5 years previously. It is located near Key West so after getting the new gas canisters we visited Key West.

We were fortunate to be able to find a parking lot and then headed off for a walk around and lunch in Key West. The walk along the front was very much as it was years before. Still packed with visitors of all types, tarpon being fed from the docks, pelicans lingering nearby.

Large custom built flying bridges above sleek looking fishing boats, the old tourist schooner waiting tourists, the open air seafood restaurants dockside, yes, just as it always was – Key West. After lunch we went to return to the car park and realized we had forgotten where it was located…..never mind after a bit of a turn around a few blocks we found our jeep and we retraced our journey to Marathon.

Day two with the car we sped to Homestead to visit a mall and a Walmart….. We had a list of items we needed to replace on Aeeshah. This was a confusing excursion for us as 1st locating the shops then finding what we wanted/needed in huge shops required patience and endurance.

Most days have comprised of us riding our bikes, for exercise going to usually to either Home Deport, Publix or West Marine where we get what we need for the days projects or food. It’s a good ride and keeps us somewhat fit, especially when we ride against the wind.

Friends Alex and Dave arrived on their boat Banyan. We had fun catching up with them and going to a local seafood restaurant for lunch one day.

Key West excursion

Believe it or not but I had managed to get not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 flat tires on my front wheel. Each right by the value! John decided that it was the cheap Chinese inner tubes we had purchased. When friends said they were heading to Key West on the public transit we jumped at the idea, as the closest place to buy inner tubes was in Key West.

7:30am we were at the bus stop and alighted the bus, nearly 2 hours we arrived downtown Key West.

Our companions: Roy and Madeline off Mistril and Lucy and Rosaire off Ma Blonde were there on different missions so off we all set in differing directions.

The bike store was easy to find as we had been there 5 years previously. With new inner tubes tucked away in our bag we set off to the nearest site to visit.

The Key West Graveyard

We had visited years before, but it was well worth walking through again. Interesting dedications to those passed, lovely iguannas and lizards, quaint signs and lovely shady lanes.

Duval Street

Was our next stop. This street would never fails to interest just about anyone. It has character, quaintness, arts, entertainment, culture and oh, so much more. For me the highlights were the art galleries.

I adore the unusual, especially where the textures and colors are extreme. Of course there are also the people to watch with their eccentricities, and then wonderful differing architecture to be found. We managed to walk both sides, I loved it.

Lunch was next

We had arranged to meet up, this ended up being the Waterfront Brewery, where John and I landed after Duval Street as it was shady and the AC was blasting out. Yep, they had AC blasting out onto the walkway. Fish and chips was the popular choice at lunch. The fish was Mai Mai and was very good!

John and I set off to West Marine, while the others went back to exploring Key West. However, no sooner than we reached West marine than we heard from them, they were all headed to the bus stop ….. it was too hot, time to head back. John and I completely agreed, we were quite happy to head back to Marathon.

When we arrived we had:

– A stove whose oven door had broken off in rough seas, a new one was ordered and delivered.

– A water pump and pressure switch which was barely functioning, a new one was ordered and installed.

– The old VHF had died months previously, a new handheld VHF arrived.

– A starter motor which barely started the engine, a new one was ordered and has been installed.

– The exhaust with its hole has been dismantled, taken apart and the new exhaust ordered, delivered and is now installed after many weeks by John

– John’s iPhone which was more or less dead and my phone which did not have 5G so wouldn’t work here; both have been replaced.

– My wonderful Mac Pro computer of barely 2 years old stopped working. Apparently the motherboard was shot. It was repaired, but meanwhile I have a reconditioned iMac pro to work with.

– John has ordered and received 3 new solar panels and all the connections. – To replace the 10 year olds that are not efficient any more.

– We had a few stitches needed in the mainsail near the clew, plus the track had corroded. I stitched and we ordered a new track, which is ready to be added.