Marathon - We go today after all

Marathon - no room at the inn!

We had intended leaving on Saturday  but when we awoke this morning in a light rain and looked at the radar, it looked like the storms were past once the present one played out. They seemed to congregate over the Gulf Stream south of the keys and left Hawk Channel (our path to Marathon) was free of rain or storms.

So I busied myself with disconnecting from land after a month which required about 1/2 hour to complete, strange how many ties you make if you stay in one spot very long. We carefully counted how many lines we had tied to shore and pilings, we've done that trick before where we've back out only to be suddenly stopped short by a forgotten line! This time we remembered them all (Ann and I both counted) and Ann backed Fleetwing out as I managed freeing the last of the lines.

A Marathon sunset

The weather, for once, was just as predicted. We had a north wind, off land, and very little wave action as we headed east. The rain stayed south of us over the Gulf Stream and we had a pleasant ride. Getting into Marathon, we refueled and took on ice so now we're set for at least a week. However, the Marathon mooring field is full! We are number 10 on the waiting list, ugh! So we circled for about 1/2 hour looking over the anchorage area to wedge us into a spot just big enough for us so we are secure for the night. Hopefully we'll get a mooring over the weekend but if not, we'll just head north to Marine Stadium near Miami at no charge. Well, we've started our homeward leg but we're in no hurry!

Key West - Still here

What we saw Thursday morning! Not good!

We were greeted in the morning with a series of rolling storms from the west, all with high winds and rain. As far as the radar could see, the storms kept coming and the prediction had changed from last night from partly cloudy to rain all day - so much for the accuracy of the weatherman. So faced with the prospect of storms all day, we decided to stay in port and wait out the bad weather (the vote was unanimous!).

Many, many tee shirt shops, this one had an in-store printer for any message you wanted

Without the full sun all day, the weather turned cooler (in the high 70's) and the locals broke out the jackets and hooded sweatshirts. I can't wait to see what they wear tomorrow morning when the low is predicted to be 63! That's not to say we're immune anymore, we closed up the cockpit when the temp dipped under 75!

Every year they sell chances on a sports car and a bike on Duval Street

We plan on staying until Saturday morning now if Friday comes up as predicted on tomorrow's forecast. Then we'll make a run for Marathon and a week's stay probably, hopefully there's an empty mooring available.

Key West - time to go :(

Not sure what these leaves were, it's the natural color of a plant down here - I like the red color

We are leaving Key West a day earlier than required by our reservations due to a west wind on Thursday. A west wind down here is rather rare since the wind is usually out of the east this far south. On the run up the Hawk Channel, a west wind is a welcomed push. Our only concern is whether the Marathon mooring field is full or not. If it is, we'll have to anchor out and wait for a mooring to be freed.

A meeting place along the Harbor Walk

So we're pumped out and the water tanks are full and the TV is cancelled with all the boxes returned, we're ready. The forecast is for scattered thunderstorms with the west wind (a front is coming through) followed by high winds at night, Marathon looks inviting as opposed to Newfound Harbor.

For our going away dinner, I bought sea scallops at the local fish market and Ann found a recipe from  Molly Stevens Fine Cooking off the internet, "Seared Scallops with Herb-Butter Sauce", very good. It's like a summer night here for our nightly walk of Hoolie. We stopped and listened to the latest performer at Schooner Wharf, they always have someone who's pretty good, sad to leave.

Thursday morning update!! The weather has deteriorated with thunderstorms and rain squalls with winds 15 to 20 kts, we're now staying Thursday and Friday. Saturday looks like a good day for easting. 

Key West - Bottom scraped, oil changed, almost ready to go

The smallest of the three ships in today - how can this be enjoyable?

It still looks like Thursday is our exit day to head east, at least with the current forecast. So today I had the bottom scraped and prop cleaned so we would be sure to reach our cruising speed of 7.3 kts. The diver took about an hour to do the boat, the dinghy and replace the zinc - so we are all ready in that respect. I changed the engine oil and filter. On Wednesday I'll take the cable box back and cancel the service. On the way back I'll stop by Publix for last minute provisioning. Back at the dock I'll do a pump out and refill the water tanks - ready to go!

The thing about pelicans is that they keep the seagulls away, fine with me!

It's been fun in Key West and I've already made reservations for next year, same dates, same dock. However, for now we're headed back north but not too quickly, we like the warm weather too much. It looks like we'll meet up with Kwak in Vero Beach. We got an email from him today that he's going to stay there for a couple of months and he'll be there when we pass through.

One last look at night in Key West Bight Harbor

It's another gorgeous night here (75F) but Ann closed up the cockpit when the temperature dropped below 78, kind of cool... When I was out running this morning, I passed a local on a bicycle who had a jacket on and long pants (temp at 72), cool to them. Well, a busy day on Wednesday and then we're off.

Key West - A ride out to Sunset Key for lunch

Three huge liners were in port today, we passed under one to exit the dock where the shuttle was at

One place we always make time for is lunch at Latitudes on Sunset Key. Part of the attraction is the ride out to the Key. When you make a reservations for lunch at Latitudes, you automatically have a spot on the launch out to the island. The ride is part of the fun of eating at Latitudes. You get a good view of Key West from the water and a view of all the boats at anchor north of the island. The shuttle runs every 30 minutes so you just call to make a reservation and show up at the Westin dock to meet the shuttle. There is no charge for the shuttle if you have reservations at Latitudes.

In the background is the "water play area" for all the charter boats

The Key is a private resort community but the restaurant is public and spotlessly maintained. We always go for lunch since dinner is much more expensive. The restaurant faces the bay where all the charter boats go for their day sail with customers so there's always something going on out front. Better yet, just sit back and enjoy the warm weather and the view of the sand and water. Ann had the seared Tuna salad which consisted of strips of fresh tuna lightly seared with greens, avocado, mandarin oranges, cucumber and tomatoes. Ann loved it. I had the fresh grouper sandwich with key lime tartar sauce, great. If you're ever in Key West, don't miss Latitudes.

Orchids everywhere, this one was right by the entrance to the restaurant

We are watching the weather charts every couple of hours now, preparing for our trip east. The winds are generally out of the east so you would like a day when they are out of the west, ideally. It looks like Thursday might be that day, so far. These forecasts change every 6 hours so you never know. The one for 24 hours in advance is usually pretty accurate but beyond that it's like rolling the dice. We still hear that Marathon is full so we'll call first and duck into Newfound Harbor before getting to Marathon if all the moorings are gone. We've also been tracking John Kwak and he's now in Ft Pierce city marina, he's been going north for the last few days.

Key West - warm day, relaxed day - what else...

The sculptures actually moved

On a Sunday morning it's a trip down to the local bakery for pastries - a tradition in our family. After a suitable recovery from breakfast, we walked back to the street art exhibit so Ann could spend a little more time talking to the artists, comparing notes so to speak. We walked on the shady side of the street to avoid the heat of the sun, it's hot down here (82 today).

Orchids - growing along the sidewalk in town 

We were relaxing on the back of our boat when friends we had met before dropped by on their fishing boat with two fillets of Tilefish, good for two dinners. We had the first one tonight, it had been caught this afternoon and we watched as he filleted it for us - can't get any fresher than that!

Typical of the many schooners in harbor

We passed by BO's Fish Wagon and Schooner Wharf when walking Hoolie tonight and the weekend crowds seemed to have thinned out some. Hopefully it will be less crowded during the week. Meanwhile, we're watching the weather for our return trip north. We really do not want to motor into 15 to 20 kt winds on the way east so we're looking for a calm day which appears to be Friday or Saturday at the present time. Needless to say, the time has absolutely flown!! Only yesterday we arrived...

Key West - Key West Craft Show

Typical array of display tents

For the last two years Ann's had various ailments which precluded the several block walk to the craft show held the last weekend in February. This year however, she's feeling much better and we walked over to the she show this morning. At least 100 artists had rented space at the show so we took our time and saw the sights. Unfortunately, taking photos is frowned upon by the artists (stealing their work?) so I could only take a few pictures from a distance - but I got a great picture of a popcorn vendor!

The main drag, nice popcorn vendor...

The array of talent goes from "You shouldn't really be doing this" to "Wow, you are really good, much better than anyone else here". Of course, they are out to sell their wares but with the limited space on our boat, we didn't buy anything. Also, it was very hot with us dodging to the shady side of the street whenever possible (high of 81 today).

It was fun just to walk down among the artists and their displays

Going down Duval Street we found that the crowds have now converged on Key West, more so than earlier in February. I understand that we are still ahead of the spring break bunch but they're due in a couple of weeks so we're aiming to leaving this coming Friday for Marathon. The problem there is that they may be full (no moorings) so we'll wait and see. On the way down we skipped Marathon altogether but on the way back we may have to stop to pick up some routine medications for Ann.

Key West - no more convertible :(

This is BO's Fish Wagon, of course, where else would you see such a collection

Well, I had to take our car back today so no more fun cruising around with the top down. On the other hand, you have to be careful and put on plenty of suntan lotion, this Florida sun it hot down this far south! So today was chore day (laundry, pump out, take on water, get ice, etc.) We had to run the A/C all day to keep cool.

I dropped by the fish market to pick up a pound of grouper and Ann found a Key West recipe for our enjoyment featuring Key West limes. The crowds are starting to thicken up these last few days, definitely more than when we first arrived. It's getting time to move on. We plan on leaving Friday for Marathon unless they are full (no moorings available).

It's very quiet at night here, somewhat surprising given Key West's reputation

We've been following John Kwak on his blog which he doesn't update very often but he does turn on Spot so we can see where he's been. He sailed south from Ft Lauderdale, spent two days sailing in Biscayne Bay and then sailed back north to Ft Lauderdale where he's at tonight. I don't know where he's headed next but we'll follow him on Spot.

On Saturday we're headed for the art show which is a big deal for Key West with over 100 artists in exhibit and 25,000 visitors last year. We missed it the last two years due to illness but we're all healthy now.

Key West - Long distance problems

The dinner crew is lined up for excess fish form the fishing boats - but they keep out the seagulls!

Being away from New York so much and still having to do everything necessary to support a house there requires good long distance communications. All of this is made much easier now with the now common unlimited phone service and internet service by gigabyte. The best way is to have all bill paid automatically, it works best to keep all services alive but there are still a few hangers-on that still are not up to date, one being the local taxes and the other being insurance on the house. All other bills are automatically paid. So you can imagine the consternation upon receiving a letter in the latest mail drop (weeks old) that said if I didn't respond by a certain date (long past) my house insurance would be cancelled - and cancelled it was. Many phone calls later, it turned out to be an error on the part of the insurance agency who didn't forward the payment to the New York Mutual office - so I really was without insurance! Fortunately, it appears that everything at the house was okay (via the 6 webcams) and the insurance will be reinstated tomorrow - hope nothing happens before then...

Schooner Wharf always has a band that's always lively

All this is a reminder that  bad things can happen even with the latest phones and internet connectivity. So after spending several hours over the phone, we finally got our act together and provisioned at the nearest Publix. That was followed by our last tour up and down Duval Street in our convertible which we have to turn in on Friday morning, no more convertible fun :(

As I looked at the thermometer on the car at 9:00 while cruising, it read 80, not bad for a February night!

Key West - Road trip to the Cracked Conch Cafe

Not much to look at on the outside - but oh those conch dishes!

Key West is called the Conch Republic after an attempted "secession" from the USA on April 23, 1982 in response to a roadblock set up by the US Border Patrol as a checkpoint for drugs. It instantly killed Key West tourism and Key West responded by claiming to secede from the USA. Of course they never did secede and the whole event became famous in Key West lore. But the basis of selecting the name Conch Republic is, of course, the conch. It's edible but usually tough unless tenderized by beating which you can hear in the background of any restaurant that knows how to serve conch.

A satisfied customer

The most famous conch restaurant in the Keys is the Cracked Conch Cafe in Marathon which has been featured on the Food Network - they came to the expert to learn how to cook conch. Armed with all that info, we headed east on US 1 in our Mustang convertible and was at first dismayed by the 10 mile backup on the lane going in the opposite direction, ut ho for the trip back, however, onward to Marathon 50 miles distant.

The appearance of the restaurant does not inspire confidence in the presence of the finer gourmet arts but we knew their reputation and ordered a variety of conch dishes. Ann had the conch fingers and conch fritters and I had the conch sandwich. I can now understand the attraction of properly prepared conch. My previous experience was with tough, stringy conch but what I had today was nothing like that. The sandwich had a huge slice of conch and it was as tender as fish or chicken but with a taste all its own, quite nice.

As I said, it doesn't inspire confidence but they deliver 

The restaurant has a reputation of staying open 7 days a week, holidays and all, and prides itself on not closing during hurricanes, as the owner once said, "Everyone out in emergency situations needs somewhere to eat so I stay open!" So if you're even down this way, pay the Cracked Conch Cafe a visit.

Photo from Sharman Fitchett  of a Stuart, Florida sunset - Key West has no monopoly on beautiful sunsets

On the way back, the traffic jam had cleared, great! In the evening, we once again toured Duval Street at night with the top down. As you pass by each bar, you hear the blare of music come and fade which intermingles with the night scene and musicians playing on the sidewalk, quite an experience. On Thursday we provision, back to chores, one more week of Key West!

Key West - Neat car, Mardi Gras and Fiona

Great way to start the day - a Mustang convertible rental

We wanted to drive out to Bill McKeever's RV park to be part of his Mardi Gras celebration that he organizes every year so I reserved a car from Enterprise for $29/day. Getting to the rental place, they were short of cars and as I was looking at a fire engine red Mustang convertible, the guy asked me how I liked it, and I said "great", he replied, "It's yours!" I had no problem with that and put down the top and drove off!

At the party we met Hicks who used to work with Rudy Colich - small world (now we know the real story of Rudy)

Back at the marina, I walked Ann out to the car and said we had the gray compact next to the red Mustang, I pressed the unlock button on the key chain and the lights on the Mustang lit up - Ann was surprised, she has a great weakness for convertibles. So we headed out to mile marker 20 to Bill's KOA park for the Mardi Gras.

No trouble here - temp was 79

Bill and Ruth had organized the event and there was food for everyone, more than needed which is part of the fun. We are starting to get into the swing of things down here, just lots of fun with people you can really like - and of course the weather is wonderful.

Typical bar in Key West - a place for the entertainment and patrons nearby - here it's Fiona

Back at the marina we took an intermission before piling back in the car for a trip down Duval Street with the top down, an immersion in the sights and sounds. We wound up with the same group we partied with at the KOA park but at an Irish Pub with Fiona playing and had a great time, a Key West easy time more and more.

Key West - Schooner Wharf

Schooner Wharf - the band played on... and the ladies danced...

Ann wanted to see the exhibits of the local artists so we walked down to the Key West Art Center on Front Street to see what they had. They specialize in local artists with a variety of media. Ann had fun comparing styles. The best of the bunch were watercolors by one particular artist. Ann now does pastels but she used to do a lot of watercolors (they are very unforgiving, you can't cover up a mistake).

Close up of the band

We mostly just enjoyed being being out in the warm weather, walking around. Back to the boat it was another afternoon of lazing around (what a life...) and watching the passing parade of dinghies and boats coming in.

We had a chicken casserole for dinner and another walk to listen to the band at Schooner Wharf for awhile. It's so enjoyable to listen to music that good to listen to (does that make sense?). They know their audience so nobody around here plays the top 10 of current hits. In fact, Barry Cuda advertises he plays nothing later than 40 years old. Most of the other bands are not that bad but there's still no top 10 current hits (whatever they may be, I wouldn't recognize them if I heard them anyway). On Tuesday we'll pick up a rental car again and drive out to Bill and Ruth McKeever's RV Park for Mardi Gras, food, beer and festivities.

Key West - Sloppy Joe's and Barry Cuda

After another trip to Old Town Bakery, I picked up our usual Sunday morning breakfast of  blueberry cheese danish, blueberry scones and walnut sticky buns along with a Sunday paper from Miami. It's really nice sitting on the back of the boat with breakfast in the warm sun, sipping coffee, and relaxing on a Sunday.

Even some of the trinkets look good - wind chimes

I got a call from our oil company making sure we had the driveway plowed out so they could make a delivery. I assured them we did (confirmed by our home webcams), our 22 inches of snow was taken care of by Paul, our summer lawn care company. The oil company evidently had a lot of trouble trying to deliver oil when nothing was plowed out and wanted to make sure in advance that they could get in.

Sponges were a major business for Key West

Ann started another pastel and afterwards we walked over to Sloppy Joe's to see Barry Cuda play the piano. He's one of our favorite musicians in Key West and we lucked out in getting a front row seat for the afternoon. After a drink apiece, we decided that we couldn't leave Sloppy Joe's without trying their signature sandwich named, of course, Sloppy Joe! Ann remembered sloppy joes type sandwiches from the high school cafeteria and was not about to try Sloppy Joe's version but eventually she nibbled at a piece and found it was nothing like what she had in the past by the same name - it was very good! I can understand why it's popular in Key West.

We enjoyed Barry Cuda at Sloppy Joe's

After Sloppy Joe's it was back to the boat and feasting on leftovers from yesterday's sail, Cuban sandwiches from the Cuban Coffee Queen, hard to beat. It's turned a little cooler her with temps tonight in the low 60's but it'll heat back up tomorrow. Key West is surrounded by water, a great moderator.

Key West - We go for a sail and visit Mallory Square

Bill McKeever at the helm of Fleetwing in sunny Key West

Ruth and Bill McKeever dropped by today around noon for a sail. They had visitors with them from Virginia, Pat and Joe who also joined us for the outing. I know the description of weather down here is wearing on a few of our northern readers but I have to describe today as nothing less than perfect. The winds varied from 10 to 13 kts and the seas were mostly flat with full sunshine and temps in the high 70's, just perfection for a February sail.

Pat and Joe joined us too from Virginia

Bill brought along Cuban sandwiches from the Cuban Coffee Queen, none better on the planet (well, that's probably an exaggeration but they are certainly good and a bargain at $6.50 each). Bill bought six sandwiches and we still have two and a half left over, they are very big.

Ruth McKeever is at the left and Pat on the right

Getting off the dock is a little involved. We tend to grow attachments to land but with the help of the crew, we eased out and this time didn't forget any lines. Ann does all the docking now, both leaving and entering a dock.

Key West action - the Disney cruise ship and a daily charter out for a sunset cruise

After our guests departed, we walked over to Mallory Square to see the sunset. In the two weeks we've been down here, we've yet to see the sunset from there. It's just been so nice to sit on the back of our boat and sipping wine and listening to music in the evening. In Mallory Square the celebrations were in full swing but everything stops when the sunset comes - all eyes are focussed there! I watched closely for the "green flash" but didn't see it tonight but the sunset was beautiful nevertheless. It was a perfect day!

A glorious Mallory Square sunset

Key West - How to find things on a boat

There is a certain technique available to anyone that will guarantee finding something that you've lost on a boat. I don't know if it will work elsewhere but it might but it works great on the water. I first used it when I was missing the bow light for my dinghy. It was a portable light that was held on my a suction cup and I had placed it for safe keeping over the summer. I turned the boat upside down, I thought, but I could never find it for over 6 months (!) until I used this technique - then it turned up within a week, no problem.

The second use of this secret of finding lost items was encountered by me when I could not locate a thermometer. The thing was, it was still transmitting its temperature remotely to the master station but I could not find the transmitter. It was obviously still on the boat (otherwise I would not be receiving the signal) but find it I could not! After the statutory 6 months I gave up and used the "secret technique" which turned up the lost temperature transmitter within a week (today)!

The artist Wyland paints buildings with marine scenes all over the world, here's one in Key West

So what is this "secret technique" that always turns up the lost item? It is simplicity itself, you just buy another unit identical to the item you're looking for and, voilà, the lost item will instantly appear (out of nowhere)! I had ordered a thermometer replacement from Amazon which arrived last week. When cleaning out the bench locker (where I had looked for the missing thermometer multiple times before) it suddenly materialized in front of me. Actually, I think it's a form of asking permission. If I buy an identical replacement, then I have permission to find the original. Or maybe it's a form of an offering? You never need two of these things but if you want one, then you must buy another and then you have two. Hopefully I won't lose track of my boat!

This hydrofoil boat will speed out to the reefs and then customers can see through the glass bottom and not get wet

I made use of the local fish market again to buy Key West pink shrimp. It's caught locally and the fish market supplies all the local restaurants and so the fish they have don't stay in the restaurant more than one day tops. Selling the fish retail is more of a local service since it's got to be a very small part of their business but I'm sure am glad they do! Ann made shrimp scampi for dinner, great.

On Saturday we're due to take the McKeevers and their friends for a sail, ought to be fun.

Key West - Rain jacket sail

So you have no motor and no sail, what do you do??

Today was a day of high winds and rain, mostly high winds in the 20's. We were glad to be snug in a protected marina and not out exposed at anchor. While having wine on the back of the boat, we noticed one dinghy coming in without a motor that improvised a sail consisting of a rain jacket on an oar! They evidently had some mechanical problem and did the best they could in getting ashore. Luckily, the wind was mostly behind them on the way to the dinghy dock. I wondered how they were going to get back out to their boat at anchor?!

Ann's painting of flowers nearby

For us, Thursday is laundry day so that consumed about four hours since one load had to go twice to get dry. Continual usage seems to tire these dryers out, even the commercial units. So how we are clean once again. Ann has found a way to continue her pastel painting on the boat, for which I'm glad. It's more restrictive on a boat than at home but she has managed. I've taken to buying fish at the local market that also supplies all the major restaurants in the area so the fish is absolutely fresh! Tohight we had red snapper fillets Caribe with a dozen ingredients I won't repeat here - it was delicious as usual, Ann's a very good cook!

On Friday the winds are due to die off but the temperatures barely get above 70 so we've planned our sailing adventure with the McKeevers for Saturday when the high is predicted to reach 78, good for this time of the year at Key West.

Key West - Mangia Mangia Restaurant

Another view of our marina - we're on the left, about halfway down

We're due for a change of weather for the next two days with temperature dipping down to 70 for a high and with increasing winds into the low 20's. I'm sure the locals will break out their winter parkas with long pants (as in the past), you lose your tolerance for cooler weather once you get used to Key West in the winter. We're suffering through a spat of thunderstorms at the moment, nice to be in a secure marina.

Fine Italian dining

We walked down about three blocks to Mangia Mangia, an Italian restaurant that makes it's own pasta fresh everyday. It had a reputation for  being crowded so I called ahead to be sure they had a free table, and they did. Actually, the restaurant is bigger than it appears and there were still a few empty tables when we left although it was a Wednesday night after all. The meal was outstanding. Bill Spencer had recommended the restaurant and he knew whereof he spoke! I had Chicken Piccatta (white wine, capers, Fusilli Pasta with creamy Alfredo Sauce) and Ann had Scallops with spinach Fettuccine - all just great.

Not much to look at from the outside - but great food inside!

The restaurant has seating both inside and outside and we chose the outside tables. When we got back to the boat, the heavens opened up and I think a few of the outside patrons must have gotten a little wet. Most of the restaurants in Key West are open air with only a few with inside seating (or more correctly, with covered seating).

High winds are scheduled for Thursday and Friday so we'll do some boat work. On Saturday we hope to go for a sail with McKeever and a couple visiting with them.

Key West - Wreckers

A typical "wrecker" boat

Key West as once the biggest and richest city in Florida, a fact not well known. It reached a high point in 1890 and prospered as the center of "wreckers" or crew that salvaged ships that came to grief on the nearby reefs. The Keys is the third largest reef system in the world and it provides protection from storms from the south and for safe passage along the Hawk Channel which is between the reef and the keys. The "wreckers" are ships that positioned themselves ready to run to the rescue of ships that floundered on the reefs, first to rescue the crew and then to claim a share of the cargo. It made Key West the richest city per capita in Florida at the height of the wrecker era and also with a larger population than Miami!

Native crab in blue - for tourists but pretty

Now it is a tourist destination but they are poised to take advantage whenever Cuba is opened up to American tourists. So far it's been a long wait, over 50 years! So we took a walk along the southern piers, only 90 miles from Havana as the signs proclaim, closer than Miami and looked in the shops. There is still a very large Cuban influence from the Cuban cigars to the Cuban food such as Cuban sandwiches which are delicious. The Cuban Coffee Queen is tops in that category.

A sponge gatherer, another important trade in old Key West

We had the last of the tilefish today, still fresh and tasty. On Wednesday we plan on eating out at Mangia Mangia, a small restaurant, family run that make all their own pasta. We'll report back on our experience.