March 29-April 6, 2017 Our first week in The Florida Keys

7-Mile Bridge painted 2 yrs ago from our anchorage outside of Boot Key Harbor

Snuggled in an inner slip at the Harbour Cay Club Dockaminium Complex, we have enjoyed our 1st week in Marathon, FL. The weather has been a very predictable: daytime 85, nighttime 75. Our car is back at Safe Cove, Inc Boat Yard in Charlotte Harbor on Florida’s west coast, awaiting our return in mid-May. There Summertime will come out of the water and be tucked under an enclosure until we return from Maine in mid-October. In the meantime, we are “hoofing it”, peddling or borrowing a car from friends to get around. The only roadway connecting this part of the world is US Rte 1, also known as the Overseas Highway. Interestingly enough, it begins at Mile Marker 0 at Key West, Florida and ends at Mile Marker 2369 at Fort Kent, Maine! We are at MM 47 at the east and MM 61 at the west as the City of Marathon straddles 7 keys. 

Safe Cove canal dock

Safe Cove storage....Summertimes summer home

After a 4 mile bike ride, we had a delightful visit at the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Museum located at the local airport. We were EAA members through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, flying our own plane from New England to Oshkosh, Wisconsin several times for EAA’s late July/early August Annual Fly-In Convention. It was fun to sit with the two gentlemen on duty at the local museum and reminisce about those days gone by. Both the Winn-Dixie and Publix Markets are within 2 miles of our dockaminium marina. Growing humidity has pushed us to make our biking forays there early in the morning when it's cooler.

Our alternative means of transportation is our dinghy... a 10 foot RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat)... with an 8 HP Yamaha motor. When we arrived here, the motor was barely operational, too much down-time allowing the fuel to foul the carburetor and spark plugs. The folks at Shelter Bay Marine Repair had us back in business within a day...sweet!  Our first dinghy ride took us from the bayside, under the 7-Mile Bridge to the oceanside, into Boot Key Harbor. Along with several marinas, this harbor offers 235 mooring balls and a great club house for gatherings. When we arrived here two years ago, we were listed as #40 on a waiting list for a mooring ball in mid-February...quite discouraging. We’ve discovered that April is a better time to visit The Keys in a boat. The Canadians head home, the cruisers head for the Bahamas and spaces open up here. Another day we scooted over to nearby Faro Blanco Marina to visit fellow Loopers and then on to Banana Bay Marina to introduce ourselves to fellow Kadey-Krogen Manatee owners. The turquoise water which allows for great visibility is just what the tropics are supposed to be like.

Fellow Loopers at Faro Blanco Marina next door

We learned about this 25-slip marina from Dotty and Mike Grady on another Manatee called Cool Beans. They are owners in this co-op marina and they helped us become renters for a month. They treated us to a scrumptious dinner on our arrival day; we welcomed them back from a four-day road trip with dinner aboard Summertime. Every day they go out of their way to make us feel very welcome. Got to love that cruiser hospitality! Co-op responsibilities include up-keep and maintenance of grounds, docks, clubhouse/kitchen/laundry/restrooms with showers, rental apartment above clubhouse, etc. The city garden tour included this marina because the professional arrangement of tropical plants, ceramic pots and resting nooks are so well-tended and inviting. 300 people reveled to see what co-op participation can do.

Mike and Dotty and dinner! 

Restaurants abound along this sliver of land mid-way down The Keys. Burdines can be reached by land or by sea. We saw a happy crowd there when we were 30 minutes into our Boot Key Harbor dinghy trip; we were delighted to find that Burdines is only a 10 minute stroll from our boat...but you can put your life in jeopardy just crossing US Rte 1! That walk offered the bonus of seeing colorful bantam roosters, chickens and chicks scratching for tasty morsels along the edge of the street. We also were treated to the pungent salty/fishy odors emanating from the stacks of wooden lobster traps that had just been pulled from the nearby waters. Florida lobster season ended March 31. Burdines is famous for their plump burgers, hand-cut fries and ice-cold beer... so that’s what we had. No disappointments there!  Yesterday we started the day with breakfast at the the Sunset Grill overlooking the 7-Mile Bridge with 5 other Krogen couples. We had lots of fun comparing notes. Tomorrow our plan is to join friends at The Key Colony Inn for an evening of fine food and fellowship.

Krogen owners' breakfast at Sunset Grill

We departed Fort Myers a week earlier than originally planned due to a severe weather front making its way across the country. Well, it’s here. Tornadoes and hail have already pummeled the southern states. We, in south Florida, are currently hunkered down for a 20 mph blow which could last for up to a week. With our bow facing into the bay, we have 4 heavy lines holding us securely in a side-tie position on a cement wall. Six big fenders hang along our port side to keep the hull of our boat from rubbing against the cement. We even have an additional anchor line off our starboard midships to minimize rockin’ and rollin’. Yes, our dinghy is back on the deck of our boat with the motor run dry of fuel. No trip back to the repair shop for us! 

Created by Darcy O Campbell