Awakened in the night I carefully ventured out of the cabin
expecting a barrage of famous Little Shark bugs, but instead found a clear
cloudless night dotted with brilliant diamonds, including the dust of the Milky
Way; Just another breath-taking cruising
moment.
One lone fisherman appeared around 7:00 a.m. to cast a bit
in the Little Shark River, joined by one lone pelican on the channel marker. All 3 sailboats were southward bound by 7:15, keeping a sharp lookout for crab pots with literally hundreds strung along
our route to Marathon. Stone crab pots
can be destructive to a prop if the line happens to wrap around it. Attached to our props is a blade which is supposed
to cut the line attached to the pot preventing damage should we happen to catch
one. Tom Wells, on Higher Porpoise, noticed
his RPMs slowed down at the 7 mile bridge and when he arrived in the mooring
field found a crab pot line dangling from his prop. He was able to successfully stretch the line
across his cutter to remove it, preventing damage to the prop; another problem
easily solved, but if left unnoticed could have meant serious
consequences. Good catch Tom!!!
Stopping at Burdines to top off the diesel fuel then continuing
on Marathon Boot Key City Marina to successfully pick up a mooring ball,
everyone arrived safely without incident. The mooring field looked great
considering Hurricane Irma had just plowed through in September 2017 causing massive
damage to many boats in the harbor. It took
only 3 months to get the mooring field and marina reopened, and was amazing to
see 200 boats already there. It was easy
to pick out the surviving hurricane boats, patched up with plastic, black tape,
and plywood. Around the marina there
were areas where the damage was evident, but not as bad as expected. Their main
building, restrooms, laundry, and dinghy docks were all intact. All in all it
looked like the boats took the worst of it.
After two great days out in the Gulf, a celebration at the
Keys Fishery picnic tables overlooking the water was in order. Small tarpon and sharks swam a few feet away giving
us a close up look at the sea life in Marathon.
A mother manatee with her baby gracefully nosing along the
dinghy docks were the highlight of another fabulous day on the water!
Nautical Miles Traveled: 45
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