Little Shark River to Marathon
08 April 2014 | Tied to a mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor
John
This is what it means "to be tied to a mooring ball"
We are safe and secure in the Boot Key Harbor mooring field (ie Marathon) awaiting the arrival this evening of a cold front which should bring high winds and rain from the north. Unlike us, the locals are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the front. The Keys have been setting record high temperatures this whole winter. Key West sat a new record of 77 deg a night or two ago for the highest night time temperature in April.
Needless to say, this front is a mixed blessing for us. Sure, it is a little hot, but the winds are going to stir up the Gulf Steam just when we need it to be calm. The current Gulf Steam forecast has at least five foot seas for the next five days.
If we are stuck on this side of the Gulf Stream for a week or more, we might just run up the Keys to the John Pennekemp State Park. We had a great time there last year touring the Park by kayak. In any case, we are staying here in Marathon for at least the next three days, resting and relaxing. Maybe the forecast will improve by that time.
One reason we need the rest is that the last two days sailing from Marco Island to Marathon have been a little rough. The wind was relentlessly on our nose for the whole journey. The sails were out about half the time but since we were tacking, we managed to cover only about a quarter of the straight line distance under sail. On both days, we ran into the sailing cruiser's dilemma of not having enough daylight to make our destination if we kept sailing.
Running under engine wasn't a very pleasant option. Wind and waves have a pronounced effect on the speed that can be obtained. In no wind and flat seas, the Gemini can motor comfortably at six knots. Running into a 15 knot wind and three foot seas, however, drops the speed down to 4.5 to 5 knots. The slow speed coupled with the bouncing up and down the waves was tiring and unpleasant. The first day out, from Marco to the Little Shark River, we almost waited too long to fire up the engine. We reached the Little Shark right at sunset with only about 10 minutes of sunlight left to get the anchor set.
Likewise, the trip from the Little Shark into Marathon took longer than desired. The wind and waves were again on the nose just like the previous day adding at least two hours to the transit time. This time, however, we fired up the engine a little earlier in the afternoon allowing us to drop the anchor off Marathon's north shore at a more decent hour of 6:30pm.
This morning after a good night's sleep at anchor, we motored through the seven mile bridge around to the mooring field in Boot Key Harbor which is next to the city of Marathon. We feel like we are home. Boot Key Harbor is one of our favorite stopping places especially with bad weather approaching.