Greetings from Boot Key Harbor

Greetings from Boot Key Harbor – City Marina, 

We are anchored among a couple hundred other boats in delightful Boot Key Harbor between Vaca and Boot Keys. The city of Marathon graciously manages this massive mooring field with efficient and cheerful expertise.  Guiding boats in and to their assigned moorings over the VHF radio requires better command of left and right than I possess - (not to even mention port and starboard!) The directions include fixed landmarks like channel markers and condos but also boats which wave in the wind. We are sitting in a prime location to watch boats arrive and smoothly run to their assigned positions among the already moored hundreds.  It seems we were among the few that nearly rearranged the shoals, our prop and a few sailboats.  We blame it on the lowish tide and stiff breeze….. Alert mariners rescued us and we are safely anchored.  I am sure with the many boats and cruisers who have visited here there are numerous descriptions of life in Boot Key harbor.  For those who have missed these versions, I offer mine.  Morning starts with….  Sorry.  It is surprisingly orderly and quiet drifting amidst these boats.  Some are just sitting here, but most are occupied.  This requires a motor dinghy or row boat to reach dry land for groceries, laundry and the super clean bath house. (Oh, yes there is also a cruisers lounge with free Wi-Fi, TVs and a lending library.) On board people watching is a soothing pastime. I include a few photos of our fellow boats from a recent afternoon tour of the mooring field. 

Also, since some of you are sure things do go wrong – here is a list of a few of Steve’s recent activities with a couple photos to entertain.

·      Repaired the spraying leak under the kitchen sink which we didn’t find until there was a puddle on the salon floor and all the boxes of food storage items were soggy. This repair was made while we were underway.  Steve created a temporary plug so we could get into Key West for the required parts.

·      Unclogged the vent in our holding tank – this major problem meant the holding tank could not be fully emptied and always seemed full and occasionally bubbled up delightful aromas in our head. Steve spent almost 24 hours over two days under the bed in the master stateroom when he wasn’t running to West Marine or some other store for parts.  The only consolation was the proximity of supplies and cold beverages.

·      When we arrived in Boot Key, Steve fashioned a clip on painter for our dinghy to make my job of hooking and unhooking the dink much easier (and faster).

·      Since we left home, Steve has been working on the dink – scrapping away at old tape and planning to repaint the stripe, I think? He needs frequent breaks from this basically tails up work and yet again we are glad that liquid refreshments are close at hand.