A Marathon of Projects

Jan 28, 2018
4 min read

“Surprise, we’ll be in Marathon later today! Where is a good spot to anchor?”

Our text to Donna and Dan on Syzygy was unexpected for us and them, as we ended up leaving Key West immediately after we arrived. We were anchored behind a tiny strip of island, and instead of waiting out a week of 30 knot winds there we decided to take our last day of good weather and book it to Marathon. Boot Key harbor is incredibly secure, and we were very excited to see Dan and Donna, as well as Jerry and Marty on Monarch. We missed our travel companions and looked forward to catching up and celebrating the completions of their loops- congratulations to Syzygy and Monarch! Jerry and Marty had no idea we were coming, so we got to surprise them- it was an awesome night.

Samadhi and Elpis were tucked away at the Marathon Boat Yard, and I don’t think we could have been more snug for the weather that came through. The wind howled for about a week non-stop, and we were stuck waiting. However, with our next move being sailing to the Bahamas, it was the perfect place to stay and catch up on boat work. Most boaters know that the list is never-ending, and we may have possibly fallen behind in our diligence over the last few weeks. With the help of our friends, we managed to tick off a list of work that I never would have dreamed possible, INCLUDING (I’m going to write it all down because I am very proud of all the work we did):

-Replaced the packing in the stuffing box, with the correct size material (size does matter)

-Changed both fuel filters and the transmission oil

-Plumbed in a check valve and a Y fitting to a thru hull for the hose from the electric bilge pump, eliminating the need to throw the hose overboard when we wanted to empty the bilge

-Wired in a float switch (Thank you Dan!!!!!!), we now have an AUTOMATIC BILGE

-MADE OUR BILGE PUMP AUTOMATIC (two mentions because this is the most exciting thing ever, and I guess safe or whatever)

-Scrubbed away mountains of mold

-I cut my hair (very important)

-Greased the rudder cables

-Successfully wired our stereo, resulting in me yelling so loud in excitement that Mike and Dan thought I chopped off a finger (music is a big deal)

-Continued to scrub away mold

-Tried to figure out how to go to the Bahamas (routes, rules, insurance, guidebooks, etc.)

-Refinished lots of newly mold-free teak

-General “oh hey we’re leaving the country for an undeterminable amount of time in a few days” prep

-Bought enough groceries to sink the boat; the cashier made fun of how much food we had

On top of a multitude of other boat tasks, we almost finished all our lists. For anyone who thinks we’re on vacation, think again. We worked like maniacs for 8 solid days, trying to keep our home afloat and in one piece, and even a little bit nice to spend time in. It all paid off though, and we were ready to head to the islands.

We didn’t spend all our time working however. We had sailed to the Florida Keys for goodness sake! Our friend Troy, living in Islamorada, graciously picked us up to take us to Key West and actually spend some time exploring. I got to check out the Hemingway House (coolest place ever), and we wandered the streets and craziness of town, finishing with a Mallory Square sunset (though I can confirm that a Key West sunset is way cooler on your own boat, just saying).

I also got to spend some time with the Delucas, family who winters in Islamorada (we were never able to figure out how we’re actually related-aunt and uncle in law??). Tony likes to fish (to say the least), and after hearing that we were headed to the Bahamas with no fishing gear helped set us up with some super amazing rods, reels, and tackle (to the delight of Marie- more stuff cleared out of the closet!). I was treated to a tour of Islamorada and my last few delicious American meals, and had a wonderful day catching up on the family gossip and starting to learn the basics of fishing. It was a great last day in the states!

Food bought, spares acquired, and weather forecast verified, our time in Marathon was coming to an end. We didn’t look forward to the goodbyes and the long crossing ahead, but the thought of “gin clear water” and islands awaiting us kept me too excited to sleep. Bahamas, here we come!

The sail to Marathon, emptying the bilge the old-fashioned way one last time