Log 107; Day 297; Mar. 14, 2009; Marathon, FL.

Our friends Don and Carrie at Burdines. Donnie agreed...great cheeseburger.

Here is the beach just at the mouth of Sister Creek, seems like a nice spot. Deb and I plan to go there today to check it out.

Not sure who this guy is...but we just loved the look of the dog in the dinghy. They were having a great time together.

We keep talking about Deb going to Publix...here she is with her basket on her bike.

If you look in the bottom part of this picture you will see a Iguana, that was blocking the way for Deb to get back on the boat. She said she was freaked out, and had to get the neighbor to come out and move it.

Just in case you did not think it was very big...no wonder she waited until it moved on.

Log 107
Day 297
Saturday, March 14, 2009

7:30 AM EST
Location: Sombrero Resort and Marina, Marathon, FL.
Weather: 73 with light winds out of the ESE...the forecast is for 80 today with light winds

I slept in till 7 this morning...for some reason it just felt good to go back to sleep a few times. Woke to a beautiful morning, again. Deb and I have talked often how we can’t remember the last time it rained. We’ve had a little sprinkle here and there, but no real rain. And, nothing is really forecasted for the next 10 days.

On Wednesday, Don and Carrie stopped by on their way to Key West. They are a great young couple and we loved spending time with them. Of course, the thing to do was take them to one of our cheeseburger places, and we chose Burdines. We took the long way getting there (through the mooring fields) and the long way back (through Sister Creek to see all the beautiful homes on the mangrove canals). It was a little windy, but not bad, and with 4 of us in the dinghy, we did get a few splashes of water on us when we were heading back. They left for Key West about 4 pm...where they will spend the next 4 days.

Thursday we did some mini-projects. I washed the boat, and also had a diver go down and check the bottom of the boat to make sure it was clean. It turned out that there was a lot of Ribbon Worms starting to attach themselves to the bottom, so it was a good thing I got it cleaned. Deb did several loads of laundry, and made a couple trips to the store to take advantage of the nearby Publix. Based on how much stuff we already have on the boat, I didn’t think we needed anything, but I guess (based on the several bags we brought on board) I was wrong.

Friday...is the start of our weekend (now that we’re retired we only work 4 “6 hour days”), so I packed the dinghy and headed off to go fishing. After a quick stop at Burdines, for some gas and 2 dozen live shrimp, I was off to check out 7 mile bridge and see how big the fish were going to be. But getting there I had a few issues. First of all, the current was very swift, and I had a hard time getting the anchor to set. Secondly, the waves were kicking up and it was rough trying to fish from the dinghy. And most importantly...the fish were not biting. So, after not too long, I pulled anchor and headed back to Sister Creek, where I have had so much luck, and I knew I would catch some fish. Wrong. Not sure why, I tried several places, but only caught a few small Jacks. Oh well...there’s always tomorrow. Deb ended up spending a lot of time reading a new book she got from Carrie (Eclipse...some kind of Vampire book???) and jumping on the bike to run some errands. Dinner was (I know you won’t believe this) cheeseburgers on the grill, which, by the way, were fantastic. The movie was Tom Hanks, in Terminal. Great movie.

Today (Saturday)...probably our last day in Marathon. I have been looking at the weather for some time now, looking for a 3 day window to get us up to Ft. Lauderdale, and I think tomorrow will be the start of that window. The winds will be ESE at about 13, which is greater than they said they would be a couple of days ago, but should be fine. Those winds mean that Hawk Channel will be a little bumpy, and we’ll probably end up having to go a little faster for a smoother ride, but, while it may not be a lot of fun, it will not be uncomfortable. So today will be about getting the boat back into cruising condition (instead of living condition). Which means things like, packing the bikes, and putting them in the engine room; filling the water tanks; putting down all the thing on the shelves that you leave out when your not cruising, and in general, making sure all things are ship shape. We don’t need to by another new TV, because we forgot to take it down. With all of this, hopefully, there will be some time to fishing one more time.

Well, it’s a little after 9 am now, and time to get going. Deb is buried in her vampire book, so she is very content for a while. After sending this log along, I will start to get organized, and get some chores done. I can also see a bloody mary, and a dingy ride, not too long in our future.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 106; Day 294; Mar. 11, 2009; Marathon, FL.

This is the boat key bridge, that now will be permanently open as of today.

We were not sure how much we would use our bikes on this trip, but they certainly have come in handy here in Marathon. When we travel they fold up and go in the engine room.

This is the boat Full Circle I have talked about

This is Jan and Tim...owners of Full Circle. We picked them up yesterday for a margarita and a dingy ride.

Not sure if you can tell...but this is me...trying to get to the air cleaner...wedged between the engine and the fuel tank. I would never make it as a full time mechanic.

Log 106
Day 294
Wednesday, March 11, 2009

6:30 AM EST
Location: Sombrero Resort and Marina, Marathon, FL.
Weather: 70 with light winds out of the East...the forecast is for 80 today with light winds

Monday...Beautiful day, with light winds and about 82 degrees. Deb and I putzed around the boat early in the morning, developing our to do list we wanted to get done before we head North. I also made reservations at 3 marinas, between here, and Ft. Lauderdale. After lunch, I jumped on the bike, and went to Boaters World to get a few things, including new set of “water ears” which I use to flush out the dinghy engine. It seems the ones I had previously did not float, and are located somewhere on the bottom of the harbor, because I dropped them on Sunday. I also picked up some new fishing line for my pole...the new braided line, that is supposed to be the “next big thing”. Deb also jumped on the bike, and went to Publix, and Kmart for supplies, and presents for the grand kids for their birthdays coming up. In the mid-afternoon, things were a little slow, so I decided to go fishing for a while. Nice day, but very slow fishing...only caught 1 little one. For dinner, Deb made some great fish cakes, and the movie was 2 pre-recorded episodes of Trust Me...not the best show.

Tuesday...woke up at 4 am, and finally got up about 4:30. When I first came up to the back deck, the moon was so bright, I thought it was starting to get light out. Beautiful morning. One of the things I have not really mentioned, is that each day, at 9 am, they have what they call a Cruiser’s Net on the VHF radio, channel 68. They have a moderator, and all cruisers in the Marathon waters are welcome to participate, or just listen (which is what I do). They always cover...1)introducing new cruisers who have just arrived the area; 2)say good bye to those leaving the area; 3)comments, questions, or anyone needing help;4) buy, sell, trade, give-a-way; 5)trivia question of the day; and 6)final business. One cool part of this is when something good is happening, you can give applause, (like for a birthday, or someone that did something great) by clicking your mike on your radio, which (when your listening) sounds like a combination of static, and a “clap track” on TV. A little corny...but cool. The net lasts anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes, and is very helpful to anyone visiting. I have also mentioned the bridge tender on the Boot Key Harbor Bridge, who is always so happy. He welcomes new arrivals, and to those leaving he normally says...”We’ve really enjoyed having you in our harbor, Captain, and we look forward to your safe and speedy return...fair winds, and following seas”. It is so different from any other bridge I have ever listened to. Well, yesterday, the bridge was officially “opened” for the final time. They no longer plan to use that bridge for traffic, so it will be locked in the open position. On one hand, this is a good thing, because boats over 25 feet won’t have to have the bridge opened, but on the other it is sad, because the bridge tenders warm and friendly voice will not be heard in the harbor anymore. Many, if not most, folks in the harbor keep their radios on (it’s the way they communicate with one another) and you would always hear the bridge tender talk about where someone was from...or headed. It is a cool part of this harbor...and it will certainly be missed. Anyway...during this Cruiser’s Net yesterday, the bridge tender (Wayne) got on the net to announce this was the final opening, but he was so broken up, he could not get the words out. Deb was listening, and started to cry with him. The applause (clicking on the radio) went on...and on. I’m sure you had to be here to appreciate this...and I’m glad we were.

Yesterday’s chores consisted of Deb really cleaning the inside of the boat. I’m not sure if it has ever been this clean. She was wiping down everything...at one point I even saw her wiping down the stapler (I’m serious). Anyway...the inside of the boat looks great. Me? Well I have been putting off installing new air filters on the engines, because I knew the starboard one would be a bear to get at, and I would probably have to crawl between the engine and the fuel take to get at it. I’m sorry to say I was right. It took a long time to wiggle myself back there...and I was seriously concerned about getting out, without hurting myself. After getting back there, I knew I only had one shot at getting this done, so Deb came in the engine room to help me. I’m not sure you can see by the picture how tight the space is, but I’m certainly glad to have this behind me. Late in the afternoon, we called Tim and Jan on Full Circle to see if they wanted to go down for $3 margarita’s at Dockside, and we picked them up in our dingy. Nothing much better than a margarita, and a dinghy ride, on a beautiful day. Dinner was great steaks on the grill, and the movie was a recorded episode of 24. Another great day.

Today...our friends Donnie and Carrie will stop by on their way from Miami to Key West. Perfect weather, so our plan is to take a long dingy ride to show them the harbor, and find a place for lunch on the water. Speaking of plans...I did a fair amount of looking at the weather this morning, and it looks like either Sunday or Monday would be a better day to leave than Friday. The winds will be very light, and make the trip even better. We’ll see how this unfolds.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob

Log 105; Day 292; Mar. 9, 2009; Marathon, FL.

I spent most of the weekend fishing.

The next 3 pictures are all on Sister creek

Lots of beautiful homes on Sister Creek

One more Sister creek shot...this is NOT where I go fishing

This critter was perched on the piling next to us. The locals say they climb up here, and then walk the ropes to the boat, so they can get to shore. It makes you think about keeping all the hatches closed!

Log 105
Day 292
Monday, March 09, 2009

7:30 AM EST
Location: Sombrero Resort and Marina, Marathon, FL.
Weather: 68 with light winds out of the East...the forecast is for 80 today with light winds

Sunrise today is 7:39 am, and just as it was starting to get light, there were several boats leaving their slips (and moorings) and heading out. This is the first day in some time that the winds are light, so many boats are taking advantage of that. You can tell it’s that time of year when boats that have been here for the winter are heading north. More are leaving each day.

The last couple of days have been all about relaxing. Deb and I are in to a routine that we work Monday through Thursday, and then take a 3 day weekend to do whatever we want. I know that may seem a little crazy (because we are retired and live on a boat), but this seems to work for us. We plan to do boat chores during the week, and then we don’t feel the least bit guilt about playing on the weekends. Anytime we talk about needing to do something on the boat, we say “we’ll do that during the ‘work’ week”. Hey...works for us.

Fishing...I have had a blast for the last 3 days catching fish. Friday I went out to Burdines and got 2 dozen live shrimp and tried to go out to the 7 mile bridge, but it was too rough, so I came back into sister creek and went back into one of the mangrove creeks. I fished for 4 hours and caught 10 fish. Nothing huge...but all nice sized and fun to catch. I caught a couple Pinfish; a couple Red Drum; a Grunt; a Jack Cravelle; a Lookdown (very cool fish...incredibly flat, and bigger than my hand); a couple of Spotted Sea Trout; and the last thing I caught was a Barracuda. Saturday was more of the same, only I caught about 15 fish in the same area. One quick, cool, story from Saturday. I was about out of shrimp on Saturday afternoon, so I looked in my tackle box to see what artificial bait I would use, and saw my biggest lure, which is a J-plug I use for salmon fishing on Lake Michigan. It’s a big green lure, with a silver belly. Anyway...I put the lure on; made my first cast; yanked on the lure to give it a little “life” in the water; and BAM...a huge fish nailed it. It turned out to be a big (I’d say 2’ long and about 5 or 6 lbs) Spotted Sea Trout, and for the next few minutes it was a lot of fun. On Sunday, I had run out of shrimp, so I decided to head out and try just artificial lures. I caught about 6 fish...mostly Ladyfish, and nothing large, but lots of fun, none the less. Fishing in salt water is great. You never know what you’ll catch, and each time you cast it’s a different experience. I love it.

While all this fishing was going, on Deb seemed to be enjoying herself as well. On Friday and Saturday, when I came back from fishing, she was sitting in a chair on the back swim platform, reading her book. Both times, I had called her to say I was coming back, and she said “don’t hurry back on my account...I’m doing just fine”. Everyone has there own way of relaxing. Thank God.

This week...Deb and I both have our to do lists to work on. Nothing huge, but just a list of things we want to get done before we leave Marathon. On Wednesday, we will have some company. When we lived in Delaware (1984-1988) our Daughters best friend (Carrie) was also our neighbor. Through the years, we have all stayed in touch, and she, and her husband (Donnie), will be heading to Key West and stopping by the boat. They are both great folks...and we look forward to seeing them. I can see a dinghy ride down to Burdines for a great cheeseburger in our future.

Our plan to leave...at this point is on Friday. The weather forecast looks good for a few days, and the highest winds predicted are 12 mph...and not until next Sunday. Our plan is to stop for one night in Islamorada, and then to head to Miami for a couple of nights. Then on to Ft. Lauderdale, where we plan to spend at least 2 weeks...maybe longer. We love Marathon...but we can’t wait to go cruising again.


I’ll keep you posted.

Bob