Storm in Route to Marathon, FL

The picture is of the front that engulfed us on our way to Marathon. We pulled up anchor early this morning with plenty of time to get to shore in Marathon before the predicted storm was to hit. Well the weather man missed on his calculation. The storm came in about 2 1/2 hours early. We were on the innercoastal after attempting to go outside in the ocean. The waves and wind were uncomfortable outside so we came back in. It didn't help us much, the storm came with a vengeance. We were watching it on our radar and fortunately took our main sail in just before it hit. The winds measured 57 knots, enough to make me sure I don't want to see what a hurricane can do. The last time I remember going through a storm like this was on lake Ontario in our 25' boat. What a ride that was. I can say I wasn't scared in our 36' boat. We were very pleased how she handled. It would have not been so bad if we encountered just one storm but after the first one passed another one was not far behind. My patience were running thin by this time I just wanted to get to shore and kiss the ground.

Docks are at a premium here in the Keys. The hurricanes left a great deal of destruction and many of the live aboards stay put once they get this far. After many phone calls Diane was able to reserve a dock for both of us. Once we were ashore we decided to take it easy the next day and stay put. Besides it was time for laundry, provisions, a good boat cleaning and the Super Bowl.