Marathon At Last!

Day 34! We woke this morning very early. We had a very long day of travel, about 52 nm and we were anxious to be finished. You can see by the photo that the skies we overcast. The rising sun was attempting to emerge out from behind this cloud bank.

They call the Keys the Caribbean of the US. I wish my camera would capture the color as I see it. The water is aqua marine in color and very inviting. I missed that hue in the water this Summer in the Chesapeake. The picture is of one of the small Keys but I can't remember which one at the moment.

Sailors have a saying, it goes like this. It's not a matter of if you will go a ground but when. We had our when today. The water in the ICW around Islamorada is very shallow and it is important to stay in the channel. You can see by the photo a small Hobie Cat was on the water along with about a dozen or so more. We think they were racing and right in the middle of the narrow channel. Larry being the considerate Captain and obeying the rules of the water, moved aside to let them pass. Our chart showed about six feet of water depth just outside the channel but it lied. We promptly went a ground. After a failed attempt to free us Larry called for Tow Boat US to come to our rescue. In the mean time he kept up the attempt to free us by using our jib sail and the engine. The tide was rising and with the wind full in the sail we were free once again. After a call to cancel our tow we were on our way again.

We experienced a few rain showers but nothing major. You can see by the picture it was an overcast day. This bridge was a welcome site, it is the seven mile bridge here just outside of the Marathon Channel. We were very happy to finally arrive.

Once inside the channel we called for a mooring assignment and got ourselves settled. On the way in we waved at our friends Pete and Dee on S/V Wind Lass. They invited us to come over for cocktails which we did after checking into the marina and having a hot shower. It's good to be back and we are looking forward to meeting up with friends from last season and making new friends this season.