Greetings from Boot Key Harbor in Marathon Key, Florida! Boat Monkey and the crew are settling back into boat life; dinghy rides to shore to fill jugs for our water tanks, electricity conservation, meeting new people, and of course..no air conditioning! Thankfully, the summer weather has eased into fall with cooler nights and fresh breezes to keep us cool. However, these same fresh breezes and winter weather patterns are also keeping us from crossing the Gulf Stream and beginning the next chapter of our adventures. If there is one thing I have learned about myself and my boating abilities over the past year is that I do NOT enjoy getting beat up in rough seas in order to make a passage. I would rather sit here on the mooring in Boot Key for another week than risk overly rough seas and a difficult passage. We are still conservative when it comes to the weather despite our increased comfort with the boat. Eileen is built for blue water and will always be able to take more abuse than we plan to give her.

Putting the sails and sail pack back on Eileen in Stock Island.

So with that, we are keeping ourselves busy with boat chores and whatnot while we wait for calmer weather and winds from the proper direction. We started out from the dock in Stock Island on December 1 and motored over to Fleming Key to anchor for the night. About 15 minutes out from the marina, blue lights were flashing on an orange RIB that was heading towards us. “I think we are getting pulled over.” Celia said. Sure enough, the Coast Guard pulled up along side and requested to conduct a vessel safety check. I wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad omen for our trip, but I knew we should have everything in order so I was not worried.

Pull Over!

Two very nice Coast Guard officers proceeded to ask us if they could board our ship. Boat Monkey, being a pirate and all, was none too happy about this perceived aggression to our sovereignty and suggested we try to fend them off. Being outnumbered and outgunned, I convinced him that discretion may be the better part of valor in this particular case. Boat Monkey relented and we were boarded. The Coasties were polite and professional and went through their checklist as efficiently as they could. Life jackets…check. Flares…check. Fire extinguishers…check. Ship’s papers in order…all was well. Although mildly annoying to deal with so soon after leaving, Celia and I both have the utmost respect for the mission of the United States Coast Guard and especially for their SAR operations (which hopefully we will never need!).

Sunset Tiki Drive-by.

We rounded Fleming Key and headed for a drive-by of the Sunset Tiki Bar and said farewell to Grubby and Tony; two of my favorite Key West people whom I have had the pleasure of working with for many years. After getting our fill of positive vibes from the fellas, we headed up into the anchorage at Fleming and popped a couple of cold beers. It was good to be back on the water! We listened to the waves lap against the hull and watched the turkey vultures riding the wind high above us (when the turkey vultures are back in the Keys, you know its winter!). The sun set behind the aptly named Sunset Key off in the distance and we dozed off into a happy slumber, excited about the voyages ahead.

Boat Monkey is Ready!

The next morning, we woke up early and checked the weather to see if it might be possible to keep moving. It seemed a little sporty but we were eager to get started in case a weather window opened up to get us across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. So out the channel we went. After raising sail behind Fort Zachary Taylor, we turned the corner out into Hawk Channel. A brisk Southeast wind greeted us but the forecast was calling for it to settle in at about 15 kts. We would either duck into Newfound Harbor’s protected anchorage or continue on to Marathon if we were making good time. As usual, the weatherman was not quite right and the wind continued to gain strength and settle in at a steady 20-25 kts.! It was certainly a little more sporty than we had anticipated or really wanted to deal with on our first day. But we were making such good time! Celia was enjoying being at the helm so we decided to keep on to Marathon.

Boot Key Harbor

We pulled in to Boot Key Harbor around 4 in the afternoon and pulled up to our assigned mooring ball. If you have never hung out in Boot Key Harbor and the associated city marina, it is quite the operation! I had no idea what a huge liveaboard community was here, even after working on the waters of the Keys for over 20 years! The mooring field consists of over 250 moorings, most of which are full in the winter. There is a mix of people who live here year round and people who are passing through on their way someplace else, and a smattering of snow birds who spend part or all of the winter here. All walks of life mix and mingle here and there are a fair share of “Keys Kritters” here. All and all it is an interesting community of boaters and we have already met several new friends and a few old ones from our adventures last year. While it is not quite Georgetown, Bahamas, there is always something to do (potlucks, parties, fundraisers, yoga, bocce and the like). It is also a short dinghy ride to Sombrero Beach if we want to feel like we are on vacation.

City Marina Dinghy Dock

Although we are getting anxious to get going, we are having fun. Just wanted to update our status in case you were wondering where we have made it to (not very far). Hopefully, my next post will have a little more fun and adventure to share. With nothing further exciting to report at this time, I will sign off. Thanks for checking in.

With love and waiting on weather,  Todd, Celia, and Boat Monkey!

« | »