Sail to Key West, and Back to Marathon - Ruth and James visit

This certainly has been one of those weeks that goes by in a blurr !!!  Actually it was more like two weeks... as we sailed the AB down to Key West, and took a mooring north of Garrison Bight.  The weather was great when we arrived there..   (See Sunrise picture below).  But the weather turned very windy, by the time Ruth, and James arrived.
 

The plan was to include diving the Vandenberg (wreck)... but even the professionals wouldn't venture out.  So... The week in Key West consisted of variations on the Duval Street Crawl...

including Mallory Square activities, and vegging at the pool (Dante's).

The anchorage was a long dinghy ride from Garrison Bight or the Raw Bar dock at Key West Bight.  Sometimes this ride was quite the adventure!!!  

"The Best Ten Minutes" spent was spent by Ruth, James, and Susan when they "hit" a tourist info center... and garnered gobs of coupons for dinner and drink specials, all over Key West.  It saved tons of money, but more important got us to frequent places in KW we probably would have never gone, otherwise.   Nice !!!

  We had a wonderful show at Mallory Square the one night... The Sailfish Tournament was starting, and just as the band finished playing the national Anthem, the US Navy orchestrated a fly-by, so low that we were looking level at the pilots when we were standing on shore.  The the USCG took over, and put on one heck of a show about air sea rescue, (dumping off and retrieving rescue swimmers from helicopters, and patrol boats...).  The performers at Mallory Square hated the demonstrations, because it was taking people away from their shows (and money)...

James left on Friday, for Minnesota, and Ruth sailed back to Marathon Key with us for kiteboarding lessons, and scuba diving on Sombrero Reef.   If the weather would have cooperated just a little on the way back... we would have stopped at Loo key for diving.  But it blew 20 to 25 knots all the way from Key West to Marathon.   

We did end up diving at Sombrero Reef the day before Ruth left for home.  Full day at the reef; (pictures to follow).    '

Ruth got to meet a bunch of our cruising friends, both at Key West, and at Marathon's Boot Key Harbor.

Sombrero Reef and Marathon Key

We were invited to go sailing, and snorkeling out on Sombrero Reef with Earl, and Kathy on the S/V Seeker.
Nice to sail again... I think we've been sitting still too long...  Although being in a protected harbor, with lots of services available has been nice... I admit it.

The photo to the left has the Sombrero Light in the background. (hard to miss).

The second photo is of Earl and Kathy on the S/V Seeker. 

The water at the reef was a little murky (not as clear as the Bahamas water), but the reef was quite impressive... tons of fish, eels, and nice coral.

Last night we walked over to Hurricane's restaurant with Kathy, Earl, and a canadian gentleman, Michelle, for dinner, and to watch the semi-finals of the Final FOUR (especially the DUKE/WV game).

Yesterday afternoon there was a Seminar here in the Marina on DSC (Digital Select Calling) on VHF/SSB radios.  Very interesting. 

We've got about one more week here in Boot Key Harbor (Marathon Key). 
Then we move west to Key West...to pick up Ruth, and James for a mini-vacation with them... Diving, sailing, the Duvall Street Crawl, and relaxation. 

The last photo was taken at the American Legion Breakfast (for charity).  Attendees, more or less around the table (clockwise from the top left) are Joe Pooler [hardly visible] (s/v C-Note); Carrie (our neice); Carla and Rick Rister (s/v Euphoria); me and Susan.

One of the many activities here in the Marathon Community.

On Easter Sunday there's another charity event (cancer soc.); a dinner (5 PM)  at the Latitudes Resort. 

The only thing that is really bad about sitting so long in a secure harbor like this is the growth on the bottom of the vessels (AB, and dinghy).

So the scuba gear comes out shortly to remove this growth before we sail west to Key West.