Marathon Key (Boot Key Harbour)

We sailed down to Marathon Key last week, and put our name on a "waiting list" for a mooring ball.  We were 14th on the list when we anchored.  We anchored out in the Hawk Channel (South of the 7-mile Bridge) for about 4 days...  (See photo below for anchorage PIC).
 We finally got "the CALL" from the City Marina for Ball B-12.  The same Ball we were on in one of the previous years.

View from our anchorage in the Hawk Channel at 7 Mile-Bridge

B-12 is very close to the Dockside Restaurant and Bar, which is sort of why you hear about the 'Dockside' all the time in our emails.  :)

Lots of our cruising friends have also shown up here, (some live here all year 'round like Karen and Tony).

We've been very busy visiting, and doing small projects around the boat... (No BIG projects planned... YET).  :)

Mickey and Gary at Dockside - Benefit for Dave

Cruising friends here have been keeping us really, really busy... It seems everyday is FILLED with luncheons, bike riding, shopping, dinners, parties, swimming, boat chores, and parties... Mind you...  I'm not complaining... it's wonderful, and so are the people we do these things with... (see photos above, and  below)

John, Carrie, and Susan at Dockside Dinner
Celebration of everyone getting a mooring.

Tony, and Karen at Dockside Benefit Party

Sydeny laying on her Bowl with a sad face! (No more food?)





Iguana at Bike Rack - length about 4 feet

Ondra and Nelson Gainey at Celebration dinner - Dockside



STILL at DINNER KEY - Coconut Grove -

Sunset at the Dinner Key mooring Field

Frank & Deb Gillig from s/v Heron - Musicians

Cockpit - Music Central

Actual light when playing at night on the AB

S/v C-Note

Deb Playing Tug-O-War with Sydney

Joe and Dean - happy Hour

Nice stay, so far at Dinner key (Coconut Grove,FL).  

We've done a bit of reading.  I (dean) finished the final chapters of a Ken Follett Book "Flight over Water".    Susan finished a book on Harvard Law School.

 

The water in Biscayne Bay has been like glass almost every morning.   Very easy sleeping here... 

We did take the dinghy in to land, and walk downtown for some exercise, several times. (and to  see what movies were playing...)

I will definitely need a couple of Advil tonight (Tuesday); ... I used some of the rubbing compound, and wax that I purchased at WM yesterday.... to "spiff up" the AB's hull... It had seen a lot of weather, and dirt, and 'stuff' since I last touched it in Catskill, NY. So...it's looking pretty sharp at the moment... but my shoulders, and hands will be stiff tomorrow...

Later in the PM...while we were making fresh water, I took the Stainless Steel Polish outside and polished the complete Wind-Vane system ("Nigel"), and then the starboard side stantions... Like I said..."Where are those Advil?"..... :)

Sydney was so funny this morning...When I got into the dinghy to rub down the hull, and wax it... Sydney wouldn't let me get more than 3 feet from her.... She was NOT going to MISS any chance to swim.

WELL.......... she did get her chance later...and NOW...she's "CRASHED" on the cockpit seat. ;)

I (dean) started a new novel today.... New for me anyway... Lee Childs "Running Blind" (Jack Reacher Novel). I started a Tom Clancy novel... but switched....

Dinner Key - Coconut Grove FL

We moved to Dinner Key this afternoon.   more later.

Severe change in the Miami (all of FL) weather - brrrrrr

WOW.... the weather front swept through here last night about 6 PM... bringing with it a change to North and NW winds...   Normally when this change happens it doesn't stick around for any significant length of time... the winds will drive the cold air out to sea... NOT this time... IT's HERE!!!   All the news stations are warning of "freeze conditions", and have clips of farmers initiating their irrigation, and spray systems to save the crops.... 

So far, so good here at our anchorage... The holding is good (It's blowing between 15 and 30 knots), and we're sheltered just enough that there's very few white caps, and wave action.
(It's not FLAT, but it's not really rocky either).
Every so often the boat will heel over about 5 degrees, before rounding up into the wind, and standing up... 

SO... anyway...the temp in the main Salon this morning was a balmy 64F... But I guess tomorrow it'll be significantly colder.... until mid-afternoon.   Then it should be back into the 60's....and up from there....  

I'm glad we didn't move down to Dinner Key yet.... There's a whole bunch of anchored boats (either semi-live-aboards, or semi-derilict) to the north of the mooring field (north of the Dinner Key Channel).... and this morning when the winds really kicked up, a few of these anchored boats were dragging toward, and through the mooring field at Dinner Key.   The VHF was busy...

OK... time for lunch...more later.

happy New Year !

Happy New Year to all from Miami Beach.   We're still here after two weeks...
This has been a delightful anchorage.  We came down the coast with our buddies, on the s/v "Dot's Way", and into this anchorage at the north end of the Sunset Islands (gated communities with some very, very nice houses).   I'll try to post some photos later today.

View from stern of Dot's Way - AB in distance

Anyway,  that was a while ago.... It's so easy to get to the bus lines, and they have an "Airport Flyer" that will take you from Miami Beach to the Airport for $2.35.  How can you beat that...
That's how we got Susan to the airport for Christmas at home (NY) with Ruth.

Andreas-Dean-Susan-Helen at Hard Rock

Getting back to the AB, from the airport, was a little trickier, ... in that her flight came back into Miami at 11:52 PM, and the buses stop running at 11:00 PM...   We took a cab for $33 that brought us right to the dinghy dock....  GREAT!  Because by that time, and that late in the day we were both tired, and ready to relax, and  talk a bit. 

We've seen three movies while here in Miami Beach:  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Sherlock Holmes; and the last Mission Impossible.   The theater is so close to us; located on the Lincoln Mall at Alton Road.  

Bayside Mall Trip with the Tzenos'

More later.