Although we were only supposed to spend a week in Key
West getting things squared away with the boat from the Gulf passage, we ended
up spending 10 days there due to strong winds keeping us from sailing north to
Marathon. On Friday, the winds finally
looked favorable for a passage. It is
about 56 miles from Key West to Marathon, which could be done in a day;
however, with this being our first sail on our own, we decided to split it into
a 2-day sail. We left Key West at 8:00
am and headed out the channel in progress to sail Hawk Channel up to
Marathon. From looking at the charts, a
good stopping point for us would be Big Pine Key; specifically, New Foundland
Harbor Key. When we hit Hawk Channel, we
found favorable winds from the Northwest at 15-20 knots. This allowed us to make good time on the sail
and arrive in Big Pine Key just after 1:00 pm.
One major obstacle that slowed our sail time was dodging the
lobster/crab pots. Some would be in a
straight line, which we could sail against.
Others were scattered, which affected our point of sail.
New Foundland Key turned out to be a beautiful anchorage that was 6’ deep and well protected, but being that we had never used the anchor nor even set the anchor on this boat, we were two nervous little ticks in a flea bath. Thankfully, we set the anchor, let out the rode, and it held. But, being unsure of the holding power, we decided to sleep in the cockpit that night, in which we froze our butts off. Waking up to a beautiful sunrise, we made way at about 8:00 am. Hitting Hawk Channel, we found favorable winds again; however, even more lobster/crab pots this time. We did make good time to Marathon and pulled in before 1:00 pm.
Marathon has a terrific mooring ball field, which is very cruiser friendly and the lady on the other end of the VHF was quite colorful while directing us to our mooring ball.
Community Park Lighting Ceremony
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