Key Largo to Marathon

After walking Bailey, Pete returned to the dinghy and captured this magnificent sunrise!

Pulling up anchor

     There were 4 sailboats and a large power cruiser anchored in the lea of Rodriguez Key. We had a beautiful breeze through the boat last night that made for great sleeping.   Those folks probably had very little breeze and plenty of bugs from the island. We were up early, dog walked and anchor as the skies lightened.  Another beautiful start of our day on the water. 

The dreaded Man-O-War

. . . and the equally dreaded crab floats!

      Yesterday, we commented on the sporadic crab floats.  We seem to remember lots more last time we traveled the Florida Straits. Well, we were just off by a day.  Being closed hauled, every time we had to dodge a crab float, we lost some of speed. There were more Man-o-wars today. During our crossing to the Bahamas in 2011, we must have seen a couple of hundred large sails on the Man-O-Wars.  Today, their sail size ranged from 2-3 inches up to a few 6-8 inch, but most on the smaller end.

Backed up against
the bulkhead & close
to parking & the road

      We picked up fuel as we entered Marathon. The marinas in this area are pretty open from the south-east to the west. I hope the forecasted winds won’t cause trouble for them. The mooring field is always impressive.  Including the anchored boats, there are probably 300+ boats. We had to pass the mooring field to get to Sombrero Marina. We came in just before 4, never realizing Dave, the dock had only works until 4. After securing lines and plugging in, he told us to settle up with Roy, the dock master, on Monday.  He gave us some suggestions for restaurants, which will have to check out.

     This is a great little marina, with all 57 slips backing up to the bulkhead, and parking1 0 feet away on street. There are 3 washers and driers onsite.  The restaurant is closed at present. It is about a ¾ mile walk to the Publix, Win-Dixie, Home Depot, and Bank of America.  West Marine is about 2 miles south of the Publix. Across the street, there is a nice-looking golf course with warnings posted to be aware of alligators! 

North end of the mooring field

     We are so fortunate to be here for this weekend.  The latest forecast for Sunday night has changed with winds increasing to 35 mph by about 2 am Monday and remaining that intense for most of the day. 

~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~  K & P