January 17 - 25 MOVING AT LAST

Coconut Van in Key West



Parting Shot of Friendly Strangers at No Name Harbor -- I love these bikes!


Jan 17 We got the final parts installed and paid off the diesel mechanic. We’re fairly satisfied with their work and VERY happy to have the engine running again. For our last day in No Name Harbor we took 2 bike trips (we each did one) to get supplies. Had a celebratory lunch at Boater’s Grill in the harbor. Dinghied around to say goodby to people on boats that we had gotten friendly with. Then after dinner on our boat we went ashore to dance one more dance at Boater’s Grill, to lively Cuban music, and buy a flan and Cuban coffee to take back and savor for dessert!

After two full days of sailing we arrived in Marathon in the middle of the Florida Keys. The accommodations for cruisers there are legendary, as they have moorings (rare down here), tennis courts, laundry facilities, weekly potluck dinners, seminars for cruisers who are planning to go to the Bahamas, etc.

We have met up with our Canadian and Mattapoisett friends and there are also several boats here from Scituate, and maybe another 10 from other Massachusetts towns. We arrived about the same time as another Tayana 37, TRANQUILITY, from Block Island, RI.

We watched the inauguration of President Obama at the Marathon Marina with about 80 other cruisers. Lots of applause from the cruising group!

Jan 24 There are many helpful facilities near the marina in Marathon but it seemed that there was not the contact with nature we have had at other stops. So we took our dinghy and a couple of our friends and traveled down the fairly shallow Sister River that leads south out of the harbor. We were in company with some kayakers and canoeists and many birds. Where the river joins the ocean we beached the dinghy and walked along a nice beach, one with many tiny shells and tiny bits of coral. We watched a wedding set up in the park near the beach, and then sat on a side beach that faced the river and enjoyed the beer and snacks we had brought. A nice break from the bustling mooring field in the harbor.

Our batteries are staying topped up thanks to getting a last-day charge from a borrowed generator in No Name Harbor and to the new solar panels that are working very well. This mundane fact is actually very important to us and allows us to not have to pay the bigger rates to stay at a marina and charge up there.

There aren’t as many Spanish/Cuban-speakers here in this part of the Keys. There are several government properties with tall radio towers. We are speculating that this is a monitoring area for illegal immigrants. Marathon has it’s own “Bridge to Nowhere”, one we hailed to get opened to enter the harbor, but we can see that is blocked from any traffic. The key on the other side does not appear to have any, or at least not many, buildings. We heard that there is a political reason for the city to maintain the bridge and employ a bridge tender on a bridge no one seems to use.

We took a bus to Key West, about 50 miles, and walked around there for a good part of the day on Sunday. There are still some sailors left from Race Week which ended on Friday and there was a Disney cruise ship in at the dock so those passengers were out and about along with us. There are definitely a few characters out there also. Of course we had to have a slice of Key Lime Pie before we left.

The weather in Marathon has been cooler -- I know, not bitter cold and miserable like in New England -- but it is comfortable and there are no bugs at this time of year. We are still evaluating our options for the Bahamas. Stay Tuned!!