February 16, 2009

Hi and Happy Monday! ...and how was YOUR week? Ours was very Florida. Mostly sunny and warm, with some windy and foggy days, but basically delicious weather. We managed to mostly keep out of mischief and had a good week! Hope you did too. Some things about boating life are just plain different from living in town. For instance, while our Marina has been beautifully re-built since the damage of Hurricane Wilma in 2007, pump out of the holding tank for the head is an issue here. The Banana Bay Marina officially re-opened in October, and the pump out equipment has yet to be installed. Marine regulations prohibit emptying holding tanks within 3 miles of the shoreline. Sad to say, beyond that, anything goes (so to speak...) Personally, I think it is as irresponsible to think that we can just dump in the ocean indefinitely, as it is to throw 'stuff' into space and not expect repercussions. Vast, yes. Infinite, no. In any case, this week our tank needed emptying. So on Tuesday we walked across the Key to the Marathon City Marina and made plans to boat over there on Wed. Also walked to the grocery store on Tuesday. It is great that we are in a central location! (Re-reading this, I see that the two paragraphs are related. Uffda.) On Wednesday we loosed our lines and headed for the seven mile bridge (more about that next week) where we crossed to the Ocean side of the Keys. Rode into Boot Key Harbor where over 250 boats are moored, and Andy emptied our holding tank using one of their pump out boats. Very novel. The two boats have a schedule and every day pump tanks in a section of the mooring field, so that each boat's tank is emptied once a week. A very efficient system. The local newspapers here have articles almost daily about how Florida towns are dealing with the issue of boats and sewage. Marathon is building a community system over the next few years, we're told. YA seemed happy to be under way, if only for a 25 mile round trip. When we returned we learned that a manitee had played in our slip for an hour or so to entertain the troops. We've seen only one manitee in the almost-a-year (can you believe it?) we've been on the boat. One fellow live aboard had never seen one before, in three years of boating. So it was an occasion. Wednesday evening we decided that since I have a red Bingo card marker left over from last year's UU Bingo fundraiser, (why do I have THAT on the boat, you may ask....no good answer, I fear.) we would walk to the American Legion to play bingo! What a hoot! It didn't matter much that we won zip, nada, nothing. We were just happy to keep up with the fancy games! Holy cow, do they move! The locals were very helpful to us beginners and made sure we followed the rules. I've been swimming laps in the pool from time to time and Thursday was a beautiful day for it. Also did some cleaning and invited the neighbors in for snacks. Had a good visit with other snow birds from colder climes—one home port is Naples, FL. Yes, it is warmer here in Marathon in Jan. and Feb. than it is 1/3 of the way up the West coast of FL. We have a new PET. On one of our walks, we were passed by a vehicle that looks like an electric tricycle. We've been looking for some form of land transport that we can carry on the boat. Not enamored of bikes, but the Go-PET is a whole other ball of wax! Ours arrived on Saturday—as luck would have it, the distributor is nearby! It can go up to 15 mph, holds it's charge for a long time, has lights and a horn, and so far is working very well for us. We rode to the movies on Sat. nite—saw Gran Torino, and zipped home with our head and tail lights making us visible in the dark night! Today we walked next door to Tildon's dive shop and spent the afternoon in wet suits out at the Sombrero Reef. It was fun to snorkel among the fish--who pay no attention to us strange critters in the water. Later, I hooked to a Snuba tube and for the first time in my life went underwater and stayed there. Lead weights will do that for you! Mike, the dive coach, had full scuba gear. My air tank was on a raft with a 30 foot air hose connected to me, and Mike could move the raft around so we covered a lot of territory. All the things I've heard about diving proved to be true for me—it is beautiful and strange, eerily silent while filled with the sound of your own breathing—you feel weightless, and are affected by the movement of the water. Although I will never be 'hooked' on diving, I can see how people would be. I felt strangely like a trespasser in the reef, which looks to need a few years to recover from what ever forces have ravaged it. Sigh. Fred, who has had much diving experience in the Navy, snorkeled and kept a watchful eye on me from above. We chose the right day, as the wind is already picking up, and the water is expected to be choppy for the next few days. On that note, I'll leave you for a week..............be well, and keep in touch! Fred and Linda