We are currently anchored in Marathon, Florida, along with hundreds of other boats in the harbor. It is a safe haven, similar to a very small lake surrounded 90% by land. The anchorage is long and skinny, running along Highway 1 in the Keys.
The cruising guides talk about cruisers coming to Marathon and just staying here. A lot of boats in the harbor have been here through several hurricanes and content to stay. There is a net on the VHF radio each morning at 9 a.m. They also match up "buddy boats" with each other for next crossings and departures. We met two other sailboats that are interested in going directly to South Riding Rock in the Bahamas from here. It has probably the easiest access from Marathon and you can take advantage of the ride in the Gulf Stream to push you and additional 2-3 knots. It is about 110 miles from here, so it will be an over-nighter, in order to arrive in sunlight. So, we will probably go directly to the Bahamas, rather than up to Miami and then across.
We have been exploring marathon, by foot and by dinghy. Dinghy is far more comfortable. While exploring yesterday, we saw two huge manatees right in front of our dinghy. They are not pretty, but, they are gigantic and we took some pictures.
The nearest grocery store is over a mile away, so when walking, you limit your purchases (or buy light stuff)....
Dinghies are definitely a way of life here. You hear them in the distance.....it will get near.....it will get very, very near.....then you hear it continue on its way down the harbor. We hear one, right now passing by.
This anchorage is a nice one. The wind has been from 0-12 knots the whole time, and mainly out of the east. At night, there is a nice breeze for sleeping.
1/6/05
Today makes one week we have been in Marathon. We have been waiting for a weather window to go to the Bahamas. A front is passing through this morning. Right now, in the harbor, we are having winds 20-25 knots. Since there are so many boats in this anchorage, everyone has out two anchors to reduce your swing area. It makes you check out your neighbors real good and hope someone new coming into the harbor for a safe haven doesn't anchor on top of you.
Most of the boats here, have been here through hurricanes and are secure right where they are. The other cruisers are just waiting for a good weather window to journey on to some other destination of choice.
On the cruiser's net this morning, evidently, there are several boats that are ready to depart for the Bahamas. So, we arranged for everyone interested to meet at the local dockside restaurant and compare itineraries and life stories. There are a total of seven boats going together with stop offs at different destinations along the way. Two of the boats are gentlemen that are single-handed. As soon as we get the weather window, and give the Gulf Stream time to settle down, we will all head across. We are thinking it may be Tuesday, but, not sure yet.
Living aboard on the hook is a very different lifestyle and would not be for everyone. But, we sure do like it. It makes you very aware of your surroundings. When the sun is beaming and wind really blows, Sonny is happy. Our solar panels and wind generator are making power, therefore, we would not have to charge the batteries as often. It becomes a game to see how long we can go without charging our batteries. You learn to conserve water, like never before. I wash my dishes in the salt water, and rinse them with fresh water. And, washing clothes, you either wash them in the sink or haul them to shore in the dinghy. It makes you either wear them more than one day or not wear as much. There is no television and limited radio, so what news you get, it is either on-line or on BBC on the ham radio.
We went to the dockside restaurant Wednesday night for dinner and stayed until almost 1 a.m. to watch the exciting Rose Bowl game with Texas winning the championship. It was such an exciting game, and, we met another couple from Houston.
It is a small world.
1/13/06
We left Marathon, Florida on Wednesday morning about 11:30 and headed out to the Gulf Stream. It was a bumpy, rough trip, but, not near half as bad as the Gulf of Mexico. I think we have the bad ones behind us, so,we can start enjoying this beautiful crystal blue water.
After motor-sailing all day and night, of course the wind was on our nose.....We arrived on the Great Bahamas Banks at sunrise and traveled across them to anchor for a few hours rest from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. We pulled up anchor and started the trek to Nassau. It was 56 miles, so we sailed again all night and arrived at daybreak.
We had two buddy boats that accompanied us on this crossing. One was a 36' PDQ catamaran "Kokomo" from Baltimore, MD and the other was a single-handed Canadian gentleman on a 40' Benneteau "Ellusion". It was nice having someone along to check on each other along the way.
We arrived this morning to Nassau around 8:30 a.m. and found our way to a marina. We found a marina that is $.75 per foot per day. Very reasonable....we thought the Bahamas would be very expensive. So, we will stay here a few days. You have to come to the marina for customs to come to your boat to clear you in the country, then Immigration comes aboard. We had the Customs officer come this morning, and we are still waiting on Immigration.
You have to fly a "Q" flag for quarantine until Customs and Immigration have cleared you. Sonny (the Captain) can get off the boat, but I cannot until we are totally cleared in.
We have washed down everything on the boat and showered and ready to go walk around to explore.....hope they come soon.
I will probably have our mail delivered here, so we may be here a week or more.
Will update the website when we can walk around and find an internet cafe.
1/14/06
We received a call this afternoon that Sonny's mom has been diagnosed with cancer. We do not have many details yet.
So, we have airline tickets to return to D/FW tomorrow, arriving tomorrow night. Not sure how long we will stay.
Please pray for our family during this time.
We have our boat at a marina in Nassau and we will check in the morning if we can leave it here, while we are gone.
Just wanted to let you know.
We will take our laptop and you can email us at sailingvalentina@hotmail.com rather than the boat N5OTB address.
1/15/06
We secured the boat and flew out of Nassau at 1:20 p.m. We arrived in Dallas at 8:40 p.m. Garrett and Stacie picked us up at the airport and we all went to the hospital to see Maw Maw. When we got to the hospital, Gina, David, Charlene, Angela, Linda, Ken and Karen were all there. Ken and Karen had brought a basket of sandwiches, chips, and tons of goodies. The whole family has eaten out of the basket all night.
1/24/06
Sonny's mom is feeling pretty good. The doctor said the cancer was mainly in her liver. The prognosis was better than we had anticipated. In the future, we foresee trips back and forth to the boat, and possibly moving it to different locations. We have rented the slip at Bayshore Marina for one month.
Sonny's mom is feeling pretty good. The doctor said the cancer was mainly in her liver. The prognosis was better than we had anticipated. In the future, we foresee trips back and forth to the boat, and possibly moving it to different locations. We have rented the slip at Bayshore Marina for one month.
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