Great Loop Date 03.09.2011: Marathon Again...

Day #209 - 221 (Ash Wednesday): 3223.1 total miles (26.1 miles)
Port #75: Sombrero Dockside Marina; Marathon, FL

(This trip is the GREEN line on the chart)

OB hoisted anchor after one night's stay in Newfound Harbor as planned.  A brisk wind continued out of the Northeast.  We decided if the Atlantic was too choppy, we'd return to the habor and anchor for yet another day.  However, NOAA predicted 2 to 3 foot waves and we should be taking them on the bow.

Once out of the protection of Little Palm Island, the waves did not seem a problem at first.  As the morning wore on, the waves became more of a problem and OB seemed less stable in them.  Todd decided to add more speed to see if putting more weight against the wave would help make our ride more comfortable.  It did, so once again Todd let OB run on plane...and eat more fuel.  We docked at Sombrero Dockside an hour or so ahead of N II Wishin.

Our return to Marathon was two-fold.  The weekend was the celebration of the 35th Annual Seafood Festival.  We had been to Marathon's Seafood Festival last year (2010).  Todd and I agreed it was not to be missed.

The second reason to return to Marathon was to ready OB and crew for the crossing to the Bahamas.  OB needed to be stocked with food and beverages that could not easily be bought in the Bahamas.  OB was ready for a good wax job and Sombrero had a good fellow who would do the job right.  Charlie needed a current health certificate and had visited the veterinarian in Marathon last year.  The office had him on file and would give him an international health certificate good for a full month.  Our few planned days were going to be very full!

Oh yes, and how could I forget the two water pumps on the engines that decided to give out!  We met the Cummings Diesel mechanic at the Seafood Festival.  Todd decided to have him change the fuel filters so no mistakes would be made in the process.  The mechanic found both pumps leaking badly.  It is a BOAT...break out another thousand!

The Marathon Seafood Festival had more vendors this year than last year.  And I came away with a few good finds.

Of course, there was all that good seafood to eat and beer on tap that was cold on a hot day.

I'm not sure what the Sea Monster (that really looked like a dragon) was selling...but he was really pretty.

The Sombrero Dockside Bar and Grill re-opened.  Philip and Connie came over by dinghy to enjoy luscious hamburgers...and were so surprised to find us there.  It was good to see them again and talk more about our plans to go to the Bahamas.  They were going to the Berrie Islands and we were planning for the Abacos.

Dockside even had their music back !!!

It was just as if the Bar and Grill had never been closed.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day in Marathon right there at Dockside...it was so convenient!

We also returned to some of the places we liked before...

...the Keys Fisheries for more Stone Crab Claws and Steamed Clams...

....and Porky's for more BBQ Ribs, Chicken and Pork.

Another look at Porky's.

We also spoiled ourselves with plenty of good food on the boat!

Planning for four weeks or more in the Bahamas took a lot of time.  Once we had everything stored on the boat for the trip, we had to keep buying food and beverages to resupply what we were consuming.  OB was listing to the port side more than her normal because we had packed everything into the guest stateroom.  There really was no other place to put all that beer, wine, pop and juice.  Plus we had to put together a ditch bag that also found itself on the port side of the boat.

A ditch bag has the bare minimum for survival in case of emergency evacuation from the boat into the dinghy.  No one ever wants to think about a situation such as that however we needed to be prepared.  I put a case of water, a case of G2 electrolyte replacement, a very small first aide kit, a hand crank LED flashlight, two ponchos, two space blankets, some powerbars and a handheld radio in the ditch bag...and some dog bones for Charlie.  I crossed my fingers that we wouldn't need it.  Once we would leave the shelf off the coast of Florida, the Atlantic floor would drop to 3000 feet deep.  It was a scarey thought...and I tried not to think about it.

We ended up in Marathon for two weeks when we hoped to be there 3 days at the most.  The weather man did not cooperate.  We were worried our plans would desolve with the big waves stirring outside the protection of Boot Key Harbor.  It did give us two more Sundays at St. Columba to ask the good Lord to oversee our next adventure.