Ok we are leaving soon

Still in Boot Key Harbor with serious plans to leave, perhaps this week if the newly fabricated “essential” part for our holding tank is ready. (Can you hear the sucking sound?)

We enjoyed a brief visit from Saudi friends and family – Mary Claire, Gregg, Anne and Paul.  We are glad they had good weather to drive down from Lake Worth to see us and sample the cruising lifestyle.  We hope to see them again as less work and more leisure is in their near futures. Oh, yes, the dinghy is finally running with our motor and we can hardly remember when it didn’t.  We thank our visitors for the help with getting it to and from the shop. Cars are handy and brawn helps too. Thanks Greg and Paul.

Living on this open air boat reminds me of my house in Chieng Rai, Thailand. That house had no glass in the windows only shutters, and when they were open, the breeze and everything else blew through.  We enjoy the same fresh air feeling when our windows and doors are open, even with glass and a few screens – the dust from off the water (?) comes on in.  Not that sweeping daily is a huge chore since there is not a lot of other house work; it is constant. So we keep busy with the weekly activities of living in Boot Key Harbor. Here is a week in snapshot:

 

Typical schedule in Boot Key Harbor

Monday: pump out day – very entertaining watching the pump out boat visit in every sense of the word each boat in our area. These captains are the source of information, gossip, and advice freely given along with their cheerful empting of the holding tanks.

Tuesday: Kroganite breakfast group at the Stuffed Pig. A variety of the 19 or so Kadey Krogan owners in the area meet for breakfast and a generous exchange of information and ideas or solutions.  We received an invite from long time Krogan owners who were cruising the harbor in their dink just for fun. They dink travel with invites since this is their first year in Marathon without their boat.

Wednesday: (Ok we do this when we really have nothing else to do or nothing clean and sometime it is even Wednesday.) laundry day – a few hours in the laundry room catching up on what is happening while folding towels and matching socks. Every visit has yielded new info from fellow cruisers as well as advice on how to keep the machines from overcharging.

Thursday: lunch at the hurricane – 5$ deal that most boaters don’t miss. Another chance to meet and great fellow mariners.

Friday: Cocktails at Burdines – another largely Krogan group with a few wan-a-bes or close associates. Nice music to end the week on a sunset photo op not including any of our deck railings.

Saturday: after oiling my deck chairs, free time for   errands and touring! Fishing/lobstering or diving depending on the weather. We end often with music by the folks living in the harbor under the tiki hut - free fun.

Sunday: Super Bowl Party hosted for Kroganites! Other fun has included a sunset celebration for a couple hundred hosted by the AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruising Association). There is always the weekend flea market in Big Pine Key or the Gigantic Nautical Flea market in Islamorada.

In between there are the almost daily runs to Publix, Home Depot and, of course our favorite nautical store in which we should own stock, West Marine. Tough Life but we are holding up.

One note on the cultural highlight of our stay in Marathon:  It was not the Pigeon Key juried art show, nor the Pigeon Poop craft show, but the world famous National Pig Day races at the Stuffed Pig.  This event actually lasted three days and included live pig races – a treat not to be missed and a great fundraiser for a local charity. The still photos are a small taste.  We will attempt to post the video on you tube. or search for it! (I'm sure someone with better technical skills could produce a link, but we are not there yet.)

 

 

Dinks and other thoughts

Dinks and other thoughts

With over 200 boats anchored here, dinghies wander around this harbor winding their way from boat to boat or boat to dock.  We sit next to a protected area that must be avoided so almost no dinghy has a direct route to the dock from here yet, fortunately, many must pass by. The options for sitting (or standing) in a dinghy seem to have no limits.  The super cool approach is for the lady to stand in the front holding the painter (fancy name for the rope used to tie up the dink) while the gent sits in the rear (aft) to control the boat.  It seemed to serve no purpose this standing approach and is perhaps limited to short folk and the truly coordinated, but it does look pretty impressive and reeks of nautical proficiency.  After weeks of watching this standing act executed by a few skilled practitioners, I was informed that the technique is chosen not for the “coolness” factor, but to relieve stress on the back. Since learning this, Steve has been converted and stands whenever possible!

Another noticeable feature of dink watching is that the males are at the helm almost 99% of the time.  This is especially true when a couple is in the dink together.  Women drivers alone are only infrequently spotted.  So, I, of course, wanted to become proficient at dink handling. This can’t be so hard, can it? Steve has been patiently letting me practice – no standing for me although I do now appreciate the back strain which motivates it. I have yet to solo – but stay tuned. I also haven’t rammed any actual boats, only other inflatable dinghies.

 

The variety of dinghies in the harbor is also impressive.  We will include some photos which might speak more profoundly than my descriptions. One of my favorites looks like a padded shoebox lid with motors attached to the rear and a steering wheel. While this does not look seaworthy so far we have seen no need for any emergency rescues.  I also have enjoyed the fold up variety of dinghy. They are not as amusing as some of the homemade versions, but they are clever in their own way. Also, being hard (versus our inflatable) a little more stable, which brings me to another topic related to dinghies.  The techniques for entering and exiting a dinghy also seem infinite and infinitely amusing to observe. Thankfully I am spared any video footage of my own technique. (And, since I don’t have a telephoto lens, you will be spared photos of what we have seen.) Leaping into a bobbing rubber boat can be tricky – the dang things tend to move. Steve who is more agile than I, often leaps gracefully first and secures the mini-vessel to the swim platform while I attempt my move – timed to any wake or waves and plop safely onto the bow. Compared to getting out, the entrance is easy.  It requires upper body strength, timing and spring in the thighs to avoid a salt water bath.  So far I have managed, but I suspect my baptism is only a matter of time.  I am consoled by watching the other boaters, ok primarily the gentle ladies, crawl, claw, and clamber onto their boats.  I am eternally grateful that we are not on a sailboat or are forced to heave ourselves over the side. Less you think it is easier to exit or enter the dink from the dock, let me advise you the water and movement are still obstacles and often there is even less to hold onto. I think of it as my daily visit to the weight room for free! On the exercise topic, I read being on a boat one burns 15% more calories than on dry land.  I am beginning to get the reasoning as I flex the sore under used muscles need to just exist on this boat.  Then there are the bruises……We are both spotted with a variety of bungs and nicks of mysterious origin. Fortunately since we don’t remember what we did, they don’t hurt tooo much.

 

 

But I digress, dinks serve other purposes – you can find the party – the boat with all the dinks attached.  We also caught a heron using our dink one evening. The presence of a dink floating behind tells which boats have sailors on board which is handy when you need to borrow an egg or a motor. And, just recently we have discovered how to exist when the dink is out of commission. Steve went out in the dink to do a little bug hunting and was towed back with a malfunctioning water pump on our dink motor.  We hitched rides to the beach over the weekend waiting for the parts repair shops to open on a “work” day.  This requires hanging out on the back deck waiting for a big enough dink to pass close by – waving frantically to get their attention over the engine noise and bumming a lift to the dock. We reverse the procedure on the dock by hanging out waiting for a – not overloaded – dink to head our way. This has been a very entertaining way to meet our neighbors. The cruising world is friendly to say the least. Knock on wood, so far we have not been reduced to rowing…..much. Since the part is not due for a few more days a generous captain in the harbor has lent us a motor which has us back in business and even got Steve out bug hunting yet again – yum.

 

 

 

 

Still in Boot Key Harbor

Greetings still in Book Key Harbor,

Some of you may have wondered where we have been – doing next to nothing takes a lot of time.  We have been puttering in our own way and I have neglected to log on and post any pictures.  So here is a little catch up for us.  We were delighted to host Lynette Klein and her sister, Lavonne Ector, who bravely joined us on our mooring ball in the harbor.  We enjoyed teasing them about floating their luggage out to the boat and testing the capacity of our dink with shopping. Since they are amazingly flexible and adaptable, we all enjoyed the close quarters with nothing more than an occasional “excuse me” as we squeezed past in the galley. Steve took us out to a reef just off shore where we were hoping to spend the night; however, since the small rollers were causing everyone but Steve discomfort we headed back about sunset and hung out in the harbor.

Steve kept busy while the ladies caught up – Lynette and Lavonne both went to Valpo.  Although we have kept in touch, we hadn’t seen each other in the flesh for more than 10 years, so a little catching up was in order. Steve’s idea of busy was to pass on the trip to Key West and paint the black stripe on the dinghy and install a white light on the motor housing. He was, of course, assisted by his pal, Frank. Our big excitement since the girls left was to cruise into the dock and fill the water tanks – access the Wi-Fi and stock up on groceries.  Oh, yes, there was a local art sale – “Pigeon Poop” to benefit the Pigeon Key foundation. Some of the “poop” did find its way back to my boat. Then there was the music under the Tiki hut on Saturday night – a free concert of local talent which can be enjoyed on the dock or our back deck since we were down wind of the music. I included the chocolate photo to thank the nice man at the Publix who gave me the box after I told him about using chocolate in my classes.  It turns out he works for the Ghiradelli company. His wife was watching, so I am sure it was innocent. Nonetheless, we are enjoying the treat and his generosity. After visiting our friends on their sailboat last night, we are feeling a little guilty about all the space, light, and air we enjoy on this fat trawler.  We hope more of you will be able to join us at some point along the way. Life is good.

 

Pigeon Key

Pigeon Key

Our excursion this week was a ride, walk, boat trip to historic Pigeon Key. We rode our folding bikes down to the east end of the Seven Mile Bridge where we found the Pigeon Key Gift Shop in an old railcar parked alongside the highway. This skinny gift shop is the start of the Pigeon Key experience.  Most visitors buy their tickets and depart on the ferry behind the gift shop for the key.  Needing a little exercise, we elected to walk the old bridge to the five acre island.  This 2.2 mile section of the old seven mile bridge is currently under review and may be closed unless funds are found to make repairs.  We found the parking lot full of cars and the bridge heavily traveled in both directions with walkers and bikers.  No motorized vehicles are allowed, so it is a popular exercise location for winter visitors and locals. We speed walked so that we would arrive about the time the ferry docked and we could join our tour leader, Eric. This island was one of 80+ construction camps for the Henry Flagler overseas railway.  The construction period was the four years from 1908 to 1912. Prior to this, the island was mapped and named by the Spanish explorers in the 1500s although it was not occupied. Several of the buildings currently on the island were built during the construction period.  These gave Eric an excuse to educate us on the conch style of architecture designed for the tropical climate and potential for hurricanes. There was a marked drop of temperature from the outside to inside but then it was only in the low 70s outside and a stiff wind was blowing. I can’t speak to the efficiency of the passive air conditioning on a hot day. We also visited several other buildings added or remodeled when the island was used to maintain the bridge. During that period several families were permanent residents, and a school was even provided.  All the buildings today are charming and in beautiful condition with park-like trees, grass, and native shrubs making this a delightful place to spend a few hours.  The island hosts visitors on the ferry tours three times a day, but also conducts multi-day camps for students who get to live on the island and study marine sciences. This income helps the not for profit preserve this historic site at the eastern end of the Seven Mile Bridge. Since the wind was against us (20+ knots) we rode the ferry back to the gift shop and biked on home – slowly against the wind. As an aside – I really have to do an entry on the wind since we have heard from the many sailors hanging out here at the mooring field that this has been an especially windy winter – with those winds not being favorable for the crossing to the Bahamas. I personally was delighted to see the shift overnight so we had a cross wind on our way to Publix rather than a head wind/tail wind.  I know that this wind issue just burns extra calories, but while I am riding that is no comfort. For your enjoyment some photos from Pigeon Key.