Now the Atlantic - Day 122 - Key West to Marathon, FL

We awoke early to a beautiful morning.  Partly sunny skies, light winds and temperatures in the mid 60s.  As is our custom, we first checked Weather Underground for Chicago where we found 21 degrees, overcast and a forecast for heavy snow Tuesday through Wednesday.

Given our dual goals of exploring the Keys and reaching Miami for the boat show by February 16, we decided it was time to move eastward.  The forecast called for 2 foot waves in the Hawk Channel, which is on the Atlantic side of the Keys.

Preparation this morning included retrieving the dingy, which we had to off load in order to get off the boat.  Notice in the photo below that we are tied stern-to to the dock.  We accomplished the retrieval by pulling Guided Discovery into the gas dock and loading the dingy from there. 


Guided Discovery stern-to a floating dock at A&B Marina

We departed at 9:10 and headed west and then south around Ket West to intersect with Hawk Channel.  Hawk Channel runs east and west along the keys just inside of a reef that runs parallel with the Keys.  The reef provides shelter from the Atlantic, which translates into smaller wave heights within the channel. 

The run from Mile Marker 1240 to 1195 (45 miles) took just under two hours and was relatively smooth with 2 foot waves coming from the southeast (i.e., off the starboard bow with no spray).  The only challenge was dodging numerous of crab pots that the fisherman had diabolically located along the chart's sailing line.  At 25 miles an hour the pots come up quick and due their size are hard to see.  Diana and I teamed up to ensure we missed them all, which we did.

Boot Key Harbor

We entered Boot Key Harbor at 11:38 AM, stopped at Marathon Marina to pump out and then proceeded an 1/8th of a mile to Burdines where Diana had arranged dockage.  Burdines features a neat restaurant above the marina where we had lunch and the best key lime pie ever.

Burdines Marina and Restaurant

The only difficult part of this trip was pulling the boat into the slip.  The fairway was particularly narrow, maybe 60 feet, and the pilings were just over 15 feet apart.  Guided Discovery's beam is 14 feet 8 inches making this a tricky maneuver.  Fortunately, we had calm winds.

Guided Discovery in another very narrow slip

No sooner had we secured the boat than Diana discovered Elegante, a magnificent 63 foot motor yacht built by Whitgar circa late 50s.   In the late 50s I worked three summers as first mate on a 65 foot Wheeler that was practicaly identical to Elegante.  She brought back fond memories.  We chatted with the owners and learned that they had brought her down the Western Rivers from Harbor Springs, Michigan as captain and mate and then had purchased her from their boss.  Rarely do you find a wooden boat in such pristine condition.

Note: The new owners told us that Mr Whitgar, the builder, who just turned 100 and had recently visited the boat declared that she didn't look this good when she was christened.

Elegante, a 63 foot Whitgar build in the late 50s

One reason that we visited Marathon was to link up with our friends Sue and Darryl from Present Moment who we had met in early November in Florence, Alabama.  We walked over to the Marathon Marina, located their boat and knocked on the "door" (actually the hull).  We then spent the next hour catching up on adventures.  Then, we walked back to Burdines where we joined them for drinks and dinner with other Looper friends they had met.  I sat next to Pete and Anna, a young couple who started the Loop in May from Nantucket, MA.

Before dinner we caught a beautiful sunset.  Old friends, new friends, perfect weather and a beautiful sunset.  What a way to end another spectacular day.

Sunset looking west from Boot Key Harbor

Written by Les.