Delilah's Meanderings

Sailing the coastal waters of Southwest Florida, the Keys, and the Bahamas

Vessel Name: Delilah
Vessel Make/Model: Gemini 105Mc Catamaran
Hailing Port: Whiteland, IN
Crew: Mark & Kim Hayes
About:
We have been sailing over 25 years. Starting with a 14 foot sailboat, then a Catalina 22, and next a Pearson 27 before buying our dream boat the Gemini. This is our seventh season aboard Delilah. We are seasonal coastal cruisers, spending the winters on the boat in Florida. [...]
Social:
25 February 2021
14 February 2021 | Boot Key Harbor
30 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor
19 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor
12 January 2021
05 January 2021 | Pelican Bay, Cayo Costa, Florida
29 February 2020
15 February 2020
08 February 2020
18 February 2019
03 February 2019
25 January 2019
10 March 2018 | Warderick Wells Cay, Exumas
Recent Blog Posts
07 February 2022

Season 7 aboard Delilah begins

It has been a really long time since our last post. Last year's cruising season was cut short when I ruptured my Achillie's tendon playing pickle ball in Marathon in the Florida Keys on Feb 18th. We flew home and I had surgery March 1st. The surgery went well and 6 months later I was mostly back to [...]

25 February 2021

Man plans ... God laughs!

I am writing this blog on the couch with my left leg propped up on two pillows in our house in Whiteland, Indiana. A week ago today, I ruptured my left Achilles tendon while playing pickle ball. There was loud pop and I went down. Next thing you know, everyone was helping me and Kim. Applying first [...]

14 February 2021 | Boot Key Harbor

Still Enjoying Marathon

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone from Boot Key Harbor. We continue to enjoy our time in Marathon, especially life on a mooring ball. We've been here for one month and I just paid for another two weeks. This is highly unusual for us to stay in one place. We're not exactly the relaxed type of people! Within [...]

30 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor

Enjoying Marathon

Kim said it was my turn to do a post ... so both your luck and mine ran out! We are still in Boot Key Harbor, but now tied to mooring ball U1. We were 10th on the waiting list and it took 12 days before we got the call. What a relief it is compared to anchoring in tight quarters in shallow water. [...]

19 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor

Made it to the Keys!

Hello. We are currently anchored in Boot Key Harbor at the Marathon City Marina. Waiting for a mooring ball. When we arrived on Thursday, January 14, we were #10 on the wait list. Today we are #6. We hope to be on a mooring ball in about a week (or less!).

12 January 2021

Heading to the Keys...

On a quiet morning sprinkled with rain, we set out for warmer temperatures. We have spent the last six nights at Ft. Myers Beach mooring field. Today we are making our way south down the coast to Marathon in the Middle Keys. With luck we might be able to pick up a mooring ball at Boot Key Harbor. There [...]

Enjoying Marathon

30 January 2021 | Boot Key Harbor
Mark & Kim Hayes
Kim said it was my turn to do a post ... so both your luck and mine ran out! We are still in Boot Key Harbor, but now tied to mooring ball U1. We were 10th on the waiting list and it took 12 days before we got the call. What a relief it is compared to anchoring in tight quarters in shallow water. We got the ball on Tuesday, just in time before strong winds returned on Thursday. Even after years of coastal cruising I learned some good lessons on anchoring with help from Tim on Links (a Gemini 105Mc like Delilah). The boating community is a tight knit group and quick to help out a fellow sailor in need.

One bonus during our anchoring days here was that we pulled up a 70 lb Luke storm anchor with 20 feet of chain which got tangled with our anchor line. This anchor is huge and in the style of a traditional fisherman's anchor. We decided to take it home at the end of the season and use it as a lawn ornament. Fortunately it disassembles making it easy to store and transport.

We have been enjoying our time at Marathon. We went to happy hour at Dockside with our friends on Links and listened to live music ... a one man band. Afterwards we went to their boat and played Phase 10. I had forgotten how long this game can take. It was a late night, got to bed after 10pm! As usual we have been eating out at the local restaurants, mostly outside. Everyone is respectful of each other's decision on how to protect themselves from COVID 19 virus. We continue to play bocce ball on the clay courts in the park next to the marina. We both are getting better. A guy stopped and said that there is a group of people from the marina who play regularly at 2pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. So maybe we will join to see how it is really done. There are other activities we could join as well ... pickle ball and yoga. Slow down Grandpa, pace yourself! :)

We don't have TV and it is nice to be disconnected from the "real" world and all the chaos of late. At night we play games and read. Lately I am on a winning streak. Kim is not impressed, she is the competitive one. Also we have been putting some miles on our foldable Dahon bicycles. We use them everyday and usually multiple times a day.

So far so good on the boat, no major issues thankfully. Our Dometic propane refrigerator did have an issue where it wouldn't stop running and was getting too cold. We tried a few things including defrosting it, but no luck. To control the issue we had to manually turn it off and then restart it, a few times each day. After researching this issue, mostly commonly the thermistor (thermostat) needs replaced. We ordered a new one and it arrived in a few days. Another advantage of being here is receiving packages in the marina office. After installing this (which took a few hours) it is working again. You may have heard that the definition of cruising is fixing your boat in exotic locations.


Fair winds,
Mark & Kim aboard Delilah
Comments
Delilah's Photos - Main
7th season aboard Delilah - February 2022
22 Photos
Created 5 February 2022
7th season aboard Delilah - January 2022
21 Photos
Created 16 January 2022
6th season aboard Delilah - February 2021
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6th season aboard Delilah - January 2021
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5th season aboard Delilah - March 2020
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5th season aboard Delilah - February 2020
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5th season aboard Delilah ... January 2020
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4th season aboard Delilah ... April 2019
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4th season aboard Delilah ... March 2019
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4th season aboard Delilah ... February 2019
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4th season aboard Delilah ... January 2019
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April 2018 - third season aboard Delilah
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3rd season aboard Delilah ... March 2018
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3rd season aboard Delilah ... February 2018
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3rd season aboard Delilah ... January 2018
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1 Photo | 4 Sub-Albums
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Getting Delilah ready for 2nd season.
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