Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

    Sombrero Marina, Marathon, Florida:  February 9, 2021

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6982386,-81.0849577,15z

Gizmo

Small bird

    

Marc-  We get up every morning and the marina cat, Gizmo, is sleeping on top of the dodger.  It was another hot day.  Luckily we do our morning walk early before the sun has its effect.  Most of the day was spent doing boat prep for the new air conditioning unit.  This included running new electrical cables (x3) and two non collapsible hoses from the lazarrette where the condenser will be located and the seacock and water pump in the midship bilge.  Then came the biggest issue: the frozen seacock that we hope to use for water access.  My initial plan was to go below and temporarily plug the seacock thru hull from the water side.  I put on my wet suit and brought the plug under.  First problem was with floating on the surface due to the buoyancy of my wetsuit.  I was able to get below the boat but could not find the through hull fitting.  The bottom needs a good cleaning.  The solution is to get a diver to clean the bottom and plug the hole while he is doing this and remove the plug when I am done. I will install a new ball valve and water strainer on the inside while the diver completes the cleaning.  I set up the new hose and strainer right in line so all I will need to do is to switch out the hoses.

Now all we need is a diver. I have asked the marina manager for names.

Michael assisted with the boat prep today and we went to lunch at the Cracked Conch Cafe.  We ate outside and a small bird flew in to sit next to me. 

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

   Sombrero Marina, Marathon, Florida:  February 8, 2021

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6982386,-81.0849577,15z

The guts of our new Dometic Air Conditioning Unit

Marc-  We survived another Super Bowl.  It was strange seeing Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski on the Tampa Bay Team when we had watched them for so many years with the New England Patriots.  It was quite a game for Tampa Bay who did a good job of protecting their quarterback and stopping Kansas City.

Today started with an early walk around the local golf course followed by a 4 mile round trip walk to the library.  Unfortunately the 98% humidity here and the strong southern sun brings the 80 degree temperatures to the uncomfortable point by 09:30.  Then we did the New York Times crossword puzzle with Brian, Michael and Doreen Gilmartin.

Michael came by to drive me around for some needed items.  The first stop was the air conditioning store called SALT.  I finalized the deal and waited for Michael to return from the laundromat.  I am doing the installation and obtaining the required installation accessories.  The power connections are ready as well as the plumbing required.  We now wait for the delivery of the main unit.  

Sue and I did our after dinner sunset walk. 

Marathon Sunset

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

  Sombrero Marina, Marathon, Florida:  February 6, 2021

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6982386,-81.0849577,15z

Our neighborhood Publix supermarket

Marc-  Today started out hazy , hot and humid with intermittent tropical showers.  All of this weather came straight up from Cuba to our South. Luckily the old AC unit is working.  I made the mistake of opening the Head porthole overnight and Sue found the Head a very damp mess in the morning. It was so humid it was as if someone had taken a long shower (we do not have a shower).  We started off on our morning walk but got a call form Michael about plans for the super bowl just as we were walking past Publix Supermarket.  We deviated from the plan to go shopping knowing we would have a ride back to the boat.  People were clearly buying for game day.  There will only be our POD of four at this get together.  Michael also has excellent sports internet connections for the game.

Sue and I started off for the Public Tennis Courts and completed several games before the heat and humidity started to get to us.  We are now comfortably back on Lucy III until the evening.

I will begin to explore the installation details for the new air conditioner.

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

     Sombrero Marina, Marathon, Florida:  February 4-5, 2021

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6982386,-81.0849577,15z

Marc-  We have had a few days of low activity so I have combined two days.  Thursday we welcomed Doreen down here to Marathon with a joint breakfast at Fiddler's Green.  I prepared my special crepe recipe (from the French Babar series) Wednesday evening.  The ingredients are quite simple: 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, dash of salt, and 1/8 teaspoonful of vanilla extract.  Mix all of the ingredients and then refrigerate overnight.  Check the consistency and add milk if it has thickened.  We brought bananas, strawberries, raspberries, nutella and maple syrup.  Then we did our usual walking about town.

Today we started the day with a walk to Sombrero Beach.  The warm weather is coming back and temps reached the high 70's today.  The beach did not disappoint with its white sand mixed with areas of coral.  I found some branch coral that had washed ashore. On our return walk we saw many different flowers by the road.  It is a treat for us to see flowers in winter.  We had coffee with Michael and Doreen at nearby Curry Hammock State Park.  This Park has nice deep protected harbor, beautiful beaches and an excellent campground.

Marathon flowers

Curry Hammock State Park

Michael invited us to join them on a trip to Bahia Honda State Park.  We did a side trip to Big   Pine Key to get a special order from the hardware store and share some of the highlights of this Key with Doreen.  The Blue Hole had its resident alligator and an Atlantic Tarpon.  We drove out through a neighborhood and saw many Key deer.  A short video of a buck eating Palm tree fruit: https://youtu.be/AnN9bvbJQTk  We timed it for a dinner cookout and a view of another perfect sunset.  Michael brought his gas grill from the boat and cooked up very tasty chicken.  Sue prepared a nice green salad as well as a fruit salad.  I enjoyed it all.

Atlantic Tarpon in Blue Hole

Key Deer

Bahia Honda Sunset

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

    Sombrero Marina, Marathon, Florida:  February 3, 2021

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6982386,-81.0849577,15z

Pelican clearly ruling this marina.

Another Pelican king in waiting.

Marc-  The winds today continue out of the North but with diminished intensity.  10 knots is much easier to deal with.  Tonight's forecast is for the coldest night yet in the Keys with Temperatures in the 50's.  The water down here in the Keys is in the 70's so those of us who sleep below the waterline are warm.  

Today we walked as usual and did more boat work.  We tried to play tennis at the Marathon Park but all of the Courts were in use for Tennis lessons.  We took the opportunity to visit the nearby Marathon Municipal Marina.  This is mainly a massive dinghy landing for the several hundred boats in the harbor.  There are a limited number of slips here as well.  The Marina is also next door to the City Park with all of its facilities.  

City Park Tennis Courts.

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

   Sombrero Marina, Marathon, Florida:  February 2, 2021

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6982386,-81.0849577,15z

The Northwest wind is still blowing 20-30 knots.

Our location is at the small blue circle near the center of the map.

(Map courtesy of Google Maps)

Marc-  And the wind is still blowing strong for yet another day.  We did not go out to explore today due to high winds.  That being said we still walked 5 miles.  Much of our walking involves walking across the island to visit Michael located on the Northern shore of Marathon. The biggest challenge is crossing the 4 lanes of traffic on Route 1.  We also walk around the Sombrero Country Club and over to the Publix supermarket located on the map above.  

Today's project was to refinish the teak and holly cabin sole on Fiddler's Green with Michael.  The floor needed cleaning and fine sanding prep followed by two coats of shellac.  

Sailing South aboard Lucy III: 2020-2021 (Part II)

  Sombrero Marina, Marathon, Florida:  February 1, 2021

https://www.google.com/maps/@24.6982386,-81.0849577,15z

On the far shore you can see a sailboat and a powerboat that broke free in the morning Southwest winds before the wind clocked to Northwest.

A windy Marathon harbor today.  

Marc-  Today started off with a distant line of thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico.  Winds were 20 knots from the Southwest.  Then a line of rain clouds came through with a wind shift to the Northwest of 20-25 knots.  We expect another wind shift tonight to Northwest with increased wind to 30 knots.  I made sure to double up our dock lines and add anti-chafe gear this morning.  We walked over to Michael's marina and participated in the group New York Times crossword puzzle while enjoying Michael's coffee.  I assisted in some of the boat prep for the approaching storm force winds in Michael's marina.

Most of the day was spent just reading and doing boat chores.  We did an afternoon walk around our neighboring golf course (2 laps = 3.6 miles).  The Golf course is recovering from the last hurricane but it is nice to have this open space.  Few golfers were playing today with the high winds.

Marathon Golf Course and walking path.