Key West is virtually at the end of the Florida Keys and as most of you know, truly a bohemian and off beat place. Here's an article I happened upon as I was writing this post http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/03/09/13167146-qmi.html which speaks to how zany folks here are.
We could take our boat here but the anchorage is not great so we opt to take the bus along with Bob and Carolyn. It's about 50 miles but we can figure on an adventure along the way. True to form, not long after we board the bus, a wacky woman joins us and regales us with her crazy ramblings and musings including one Judy loved, "any day above ground is a good one!". We think she has certainly had more than a double latte this morning! Five miles from Key West the bus runs out of gas and they send another to pick us up. Somehow I don't think this is an unusual event.
Key West is just what you picture; t-shirt shops, bars, restaurants, bike rentals and any other imaginable clip joints line the narrow streets. The pedestrians fall into two categories each with a sub category; tourist which include the bikers and the other and the locals which include the weirdoes and the service industry folks. We have lunch then with Carolyn's guidance, we take our own walking tour of downtown Key West. The highlight of course is "Hemmingway House" Most of you have probably read the seminal novel by Ernest, "The Old Man and the Sea". But you probably know that he was a prolific and powerful writer and is a legend here in Key West as he is in Havana, Cuba. I won't do the travelogue of the tour of his house but suffice it to say that it confirms that he was "larger than life". Judy particularly liked the proliferation of cats - all descendants from Ernest's first cat Snowy. They are cared for and pampered almost as much as Chopin.
We have to have a drink at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. And, while you know the esteem with which I hold the great bard Jimmy, his bars are over priced, garish, raucous places but worth the visit.
We walk and walk and finally have dinner a block off of Duval Street at a more quiet restaurant. Then the adventure of the trip home. We await the first bus which does not come. We hail a taxi who informs us that he does much of his business from tourists waiting in vain for the local busses which never come. We get the bus to Marathon and as might be predicted are joined by various locals working their way back home including some very colourful (and speaking colourful language) characters. All in all the day was the adventure we expected!
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Thanks for the great week. Back in the gym, etc. to recover from all the 'tofu'. Sea Sharp is definitely a five star resort.
Those of you who have followed our Blog since last year and fellow Frederictonians will recall this wonderful couple who have not only been great friends but also, along with Harold and Ann and Helen and Ray, helped us immeasurably during our tragedy last year. We're so anxious to have them join us.
Last year they spent two separate week or so times on board Sea Sharp. Unfortunately we were not able to do much sailing during either time and with the weather forecast, we think this time aboard will be similar. Notwithstanding, we have lots of things planned for their visit. True to form, we had a series of incessant cold fronts with high winds and cold temperatures one right after the other. But you wouldn't want to have two more accommodating and flexible folks on board. Judy loves to play the hostess and one evening over a great meal she says, "I love cooking on Sea Sharp", quickly Bob retorts, "we love eating on board Sea Sharp".
So a few of the things we did in the too short week they were on board.....
We went to the Turtle Hospital, just up the road. This former motel was purchased by a philanthropist who turned it into a place where injured or ailing sea turtles from near and far can be brought and rehabilitated; some of which will be returned when they are cured; others will have to spend the rest of their long lives here in what was once a luxurious resort. It was an impressive tour and even more relevant 'cause Lisa, former co-owner or our boat works here. They purchase "stuff" for their wonderful grandchildren Sophie and Avery who we understand are quite taken with this notion of a hospital for turtles.
On Saturday night there's a dance at the marina for cruisers as a fundraiser for Cure for Cancer. Bob and Carolyn, like us love to dance; in fact we took lessons with then ten years ago in preparation for a fancy ball for the Millennium celebrations. This is a casual affair but the best thing is that it respects "cruisers'
Hours"; the dance is fro 7 to 9 - and it ends promptly at 9! Then we're all off to bed, exhilarated but exhausted.
We take a trip to Key West but I'm saving this for its own blog...
I'm determined to take Bob and Carolyn sailing so during one interlude among the vigorous fronts we find two reasonable days and I plan an overnight mini-cruise to Bahai Honda, a scant twelve miles from Marathon. We are torn somewhat because this is the night of the now famous final Olympic hockey game but I don't think I could ever face my yacht club friends from home to have had Bob and Carolyn on board once again and not do any sailing so off we go. We have a great two hour sail in twelve to fourteen knot winds to Bahai Honda, a nature conservancy just south west of Marathon. We anchor between the former Flagler railway and the "new" overseas highway (A1A) and have a superb evening. Judy cooks stuffed salmon, Champagne compliments of Carolyn and then to top it off, Key Lime pie. And if that were not enough, a spectacular sunset, for us seemingly between the two bridges and a full moon climbing up from the east. We check the internet and find Canada has won! It doesn't get better than this.
Next morning we hike this park before heading back to Marathon. And, of course, the wind is on the nose so we really can't sail - but at least we had yesterday to keep us happy!
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I realized that I did not explain our decision (or indecision) to remain in the US rather than go to the Bahamas this winter.
As you know, our goal for the first year of our cruise was to get to the Bahamas. Despite our terrible personal tragedy, we made it and thoroughly enjoyed the Bahamas; it was everything we expected and more. If there was any dark side it was the dearth of reliable communications back home. I probably grumbled about it in last years' blogs but our inability to easily email or call home haunted us as we would have liked to be able to call our families just to see how everyone was doing and let them know that we too were healing. While this is to a certain extent a shortcoming of Bahamas winter, it is also epitomizes why the Bahamas are attractive; they are off the beaten path but only 50 miles from the US.
Anyway, with this in mind and given the terrible weather conditions, we decided to bump our way down the Keys rather than cross to the Bahamas. Guess we were not in the minority. We heard stories of cruisers waiting weeks to cross then only to be beset my bad weather in Bimini or Nassau and deprived of the real cruising grounds. For the same reason there was a huge waiting list for moorings in Marathon, Florida, Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas apparently had half the number of boats as usual. So we didn't feel so bad that we made the decision to stay in the US as many cruisers did the same. And we certainly don't feel that we chose the second best. Florida Keys is another great experience; particularly taking the leisurely inside track and spending time in virtually solitary anchorages with not quite so nice beaches but the same aquamarine waters.......
Back to our cruising life in Marathon.....
In the small world category, we were dinghying down Sisters' Creek one day and saw another dinghy coming our way with what appeared to be NB registration painted on it. We stopped to chat and indeed this couple is from Waasis Road, just outside of our hometown, Fredericton. Turns out Merle and Sandi sailed their Amber Marie down this fall and are anchored like us in marathon. Very interesting folks, among other things, Sandi does haircuts or as she pronounces, "follicular reductions". So Judy and I make an appointment for one for each of us. She comes to our boat and while she does great work, she leaves in too much of the grey for my liking......
Everyone here has bikes and while we left our folding bike home when we left for our cruise, several folks offer us theirs and we take advantage of this. One great bike trip we took was along the former Flagler railroad bed across the seven mile bridge. You should google the Flagler Folly. He build this bridge from Miami to Key West under daunting conditions. There continue to be significant remains of this engineering marvel.
Forgot to mention but not long after we arrived at Marathon, our great friends and boating buddies Darryl, Muriel, Layton and Doreen stopped by on their way to Key West to see us. They came aboard Sea Sharp then we had lunch at one of the many local eateries. No matter how many new friends we make along the way, there's nothing like someone from home to help combat the blues.....
A bunch of us hop in and on a cruising friend's half ton truck to go to a boaters' flea market at Islamorada. While the A1A highway is congested and slow, this trip by car takes a bit over an hour which by boat would have taken probably eight.
We go to Sombrero Beach often and enjoy what snippets of warm weather we can among the cold and vigorous fronts which have dominated this winter. Our dear frienda Bob and Carolyn are coming to visit us for a week and we can't wait. We provision, clean Sea Sharp to Bristol standard and anxiously await their visit.
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We had been anchored "temporarily" in Sisters' Creek while on the waiting list for a mooring in the main harbour. When we got here, we were about 30th on the list and given the poor weather, the list did not run down very quickly. We get a couple of decent days and I get the call from the Marina that our name's now up on the list so they offer us a mooring. While we've grown accustomed to this pleasant anchorage and consider passing up the mooring and staying particularly if we are assigned a mooring distant from the facilities. But, if you pass up the offer, you go to the bottom of the list so we accept.
Lucky us, we get the best mooring in the field (this of 265 moorings), closest to the Marina. We're glad we've moved. It's really fun as our former Sisters' Creek colleagues and others pass by and comment that my status as Prime Minister of Sisters' Creek must have earned me this prestigious place. Good fun!
So, we settle into our new life in Marathon Harbour. Like in Georgetown Bahamas last year, where we intended to spend a week or so but ended up staying five weeks, it is easy to fall into this easy and comfortable life.
So what's a day here like? I'm up around 7:00 and put on tea, read a bit, catch up on email, etc. Around 8:00 I put on the coffee for Judy and serve it to her in bed. She and Chopin love this time between when I get up and she gets coffee as they have more room to snuggle and gradually wake up.
At 9:00 is the Cruisers' Net. This is an organized "party line"-like exchange of information on the marine radio. It is moderated by one of the cruisers and includes such features as welcome to new boaters, farewell to departing vessels, notification of events, buy, sell and trade and ends up with a short trivia quiz. There's lot of stuff going on and the "net" informs you of what's coming up.
There are things like Yoga, photography lessons, softball, discussion groups, and many other fun events. Every Wednesday is a meet and greet at the marina where you bring a potluck offering and meet other cruisers.
Following the net, we scope out our day. Judy often goes to Yoga while I go for a run. If this is the case, we usually finish with showers on shore and venture back to Sea Sharp (which as you can see from this picture is not a long voyage). We often go for a long walk in the afternoon or borrow bikes for a bike ride.
There are chores to do and keeping ghe boat clean, provisioned and orderly takes time. The marina has a good Laundromat and this'll take some time.
For dinner, we sometimes dine with other cruisers either on one of our boats or at one of the many local eateries. Other times, if there is a happy hour, we dispense with dinner or just have something light.
Chopin has come to expect his walk, so Judy often takes him ashore for longer and longer hikes and early evening is a good time as there are fewer dogs for Chopin to terrorize. In fact on one of their hikes, a large retriever, off leash, bounds over to greet Chopin, who is less than delighted by this approach. Judy puts herself between the dog and her cat and tumbles to the ground with a few minor cuts and bruises. As is usually the case, Judy suffers the worst from this encounter and Chopin shrugs it off. People never cease to be intrigued by this walking cat and Judy loves the attention. Chopin could care less.
To be continued......
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s/v Seeker
a reef, bow line, or square, how to do he sought,
so he kept letting go the rubber boat,
and watch Judy keep a float,
so on another knot tier he did dote.
go look in a bush, you might see a frog,
you can boil it, eat it, or drag it along,
or bring it to judy so she can sing it a song.
chopin says if the frog dies, you might say it croaked.
The storm has now passed and while it was exciting, it wasn't that bad, nor did anyone in Sisters' Creek have any problems. We hear later that a number of boats in the inner anchorage dragged anchors and there was quite a bit of excitement.
As is usually the case following a tense and challenging event, there is a palpable sense of relief and calm. Judy and I decide to invite our neighbouring boats over for happy hour to debrief and relax after this strenuous event. We each start mentioning it to boats and when we confer we realize that we've invited 16 people over. Now we consider our boat commodious but it's just not that big. No worries, they won't all show up right?
Wrong,! Soon after the appointed hour of 4:00, a swarm of dinghies approaches our boat and, yes, 16 people (18 including Judy and I) descend on Sea Sharp for a wonderful afternoon of mirth, stories and getting to know each other.
These are very interesting people, from varied backgrounds and places (although most were Canadians). They were most open and forthcoming when I probed them about their backgrounds, thoughts on cruising and other nosey questions on my part. One cruiser appoints me the Mayor of Sister Creek. Another modifies this to Prime Minister of Sisters' Creek. I accept the nomination.
The crowd thins out but several couples remain and we retire below to the cabin to share more stores and adventures. It's been a really fun day and an ideal counterpoint to the tense day the day before.
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So, it's Saturday, the day after our dangerous and challenging night with strong winds, lightning and the real risk of impending danger. We're both up early and I'm boat bound so despite the continuing strong winds, I feel the need to get into town. I leave Judy and Chopin in charge.
I spend a couple hours in town getting basic provisions. As well there is a book signing by Tim Dorsey at a local book store. Tim is one of the several authors, including Carl Hiassen, Laurence Shames, James W. Hall, Tom Corcoran and a few others whose books I've been reading for years,. They are mystery books set in south Florida and speak to the seedy side of life in this area. So, my afternoon involves a stop at West Marine, pick up Tim's book and a quick conversation with the aforementioned, fill up three water containers, check into the Marina to see where we are on the mooring waiting list, then back to Sea Sharp.
It's still windy as I dinghy back to Sea Sharp. When I land back at the boat I yell to Judy to help me unload the various pieces of cargo onto the boat. We ferry the stuff on to Sea Sharp but I forget to tie off the dinghy and as I step on board Sea Sharp, our dinghy, in the still fierce winds, drifts away from the boat, heading towards the mangroves - this our brand new dinghy.
Judy is quick to the rescue and immediately dons her bathing suite and, despite the unseasonably cold weather, jumps into the water. She catches up with it at the edge of the mangroves but now, how can she get back to Sea Sharp? It's very windy and she cannot make progress back. Nothing I can do as I obviously don't have a dinghy (and I ain't goin' in to this cold water). Judy is able to swim/drag the dinghy towards a neighbouring boat and then can hold on to it. The owners (and friends) are not on board and their ladder is up so Judy cannot heave herself into the dinghy, nor climb unto the boat. I'm now getting a bit worried. In a while another dinghy is coming through the creek and I commandeer him to come to Judy's rescue, which he gladly does. With his aid and some acrobatics Judy is back in the dinghy and brings it back to Sea Sharp. She's quite proud of herself; I'm less proud of not tying off the dinghy.
Fast forward two weeks (I'll fill in the blanks in ensuing blogs) and we're on a mooring in the harbour now, right at the front of this huge fleet of boats. Guess what? We're unloading the dinghy and once again, I forget to tie it off and away it goes. And, once again Judy plunges into the cold water, to retrieve. This time, there are lots of people around and watching and I endure a lot of teasing for my poor nautical skill.
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