Marathon - Got stuck on the way out of Tavernier

Nah, I think I'll keep my Fleetwing

Well today was not just the long it was the loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong haul. We started the trip of with a nice sand bar and then had a nice dish of sand bar in one hour. And topped it off with anchorage mayhem. Dessert was a nice good pee on the dock from Hoolie. So yea that’s how the day was. But we had a smooth landing and decided to dock. I was relived when the cool air swooped in. Tonight’s menu is jerk chicken and some beans and asparagus that’s all I got for you today.         

We had 6.1 ft on the way into Tavernier on Monday with a 1.8 ft tide so I thought it was safe to leave the next day with a 1.0 ft tide. I was thinking 6.1 - 1.0 = 5.1 which is enough for my 4.8 ft keel. However, overnight the east wind eased off and that allowed the water pushed up against the southern edge of the Keys to drain away. I had figured may 0.5 ft but it was more like 1.0 ft of less water due to the subsiding east wind. So the right equation was 6.1 - 1.0 (1 ft less tide) - 1.0 (1 ft less water pushed up by the failing east wind) = 4.1 ft. That was not enough for us to clear the bar across the entrance with my 4.8 ft keel.  So there I sat, waiting for the rest of the tide to come in.

Eventually, the moon did its job and brought enough water in for me to get moving, after about 45 minutes of sitting. So off we went with not much wind which was both good and bad. On the good side the waves were minimal but on the bad side, what there was hit us broadside and slapped the boat from side to side and since the wind wasn't much, there was no steadying effect from the sails. So we slopped along to Marathon.

The docks are fixed and raised higher than the sides of Fleetwing. Sturdy but not especially boat friendly

Coming into the anchorage, we called the city marina and found there was an eight boat waiting list. The anchorage looked as crowded as ever (where are all these boats coming from !) With a front coming through, the anchorage was going to be chaotic to say the least.After last year's experience, we wanted no part of it and took a dock at Marathon Marina and Resort (it's not the city marina, it's the one on the west side as you come in).

So we are fit for the night but we have to decide what to do on Wednesday. The front won't come until later in the day so we could make a run for Key West if our dock is free. We won't know that until the morning. Otherwise, we'll stick around here and wait out the high winds and rough seas in Hawk Channel.