The Holistic Dingy Research Study

One dingy has "Dingy Chaps"

Obey the Rules

Inflatable floor with wooden slats

Someone left this dingy by the trash, someone else came along to save it.

The fold up dingy's really fold up, and they are water tight!

Homemade Moby Dick Dingy

 these are relatively inexpensive, like $500 and they have a small catamaran hull

Viking Dingy

I talked to this guy and he made this himself using a inner aluminum shell with spray foam all around the outside and wrapped up in a blue tarp. Unsinkable.

The Smallest Dingy in the World!

Evil Walker Bay Dingy very unstable, I once went in the drink when one of these flipped over on me.

Better Walker bay with stabilizing pontoon fitted all around

Canoe Dingy with outboard, this guy really cruises fast in it.

This is a Fast Garvey, A Kit that sailors from the NorthEast like to build.:  http://www.bateau.com/proddetail.phpprod=GV10#.UUYieheG1Uo

The new wave, a propane outboard even Honda makes one.

A Portland Pudgy: http://www.portlandpudgy.com/ everyone likes looking at these and  talking about them.

The sunsets look just as good from a dingy!

The Holistic Dingy Research Study

There are so many different types of dingy's hear in Marathon that it is fun just seeing them come and go. There are lots of homemade dingy's, several types of inflatables, several types of RIB's, fold up dingy's, Kit Dingy's, Really big dingy's, really small dingy's, sailing dingy's, plastic, wood, fiberglass, foam, aluminum and on and on. I thought about doing a Holistic Dingy Research Study while I was here but after googleing Holistic Research I realized I would need a committee to get it done. I pitched it to a few sailors on the dingy docks but no one took the bait....I thought it cold be great fun culminating in a big Show and Tell at the dingy docks where each owner could do a presentation on his or her dingy. After being in Marathon now for almost 4 months I know that a Holistic Research Study will never happen here, it is just to much work and there are way to many other things that you would rather do than stand around and interview sailors about their dingy's .
I just wonder why they have the dingy they do?

This is the last blog from Marathon, Bill is here and we plan to depart tomorrow 0700 hrs. for Little Shark River, here is a Google Earth Pic of the Anchorage there:

Next Blog will be from St. Pete...Wand'rin Star out, standing By on 16

2013 Marathon Seafood Festival

This is the Entrance to the Seafood Festival

This is the Tent where I worked as a volunteer for the Marathon Chamber of Commerce. 

Great Reggae Band out of Miami, The Island 5

They got everyone up dancing

The Big ponytailed guy working the sound board is the Marathon mayor!

This was my Sweet reward

The 2013 Marathon Seafood Festival

While the Admiral was away in Texas banking some time with her parents I looked for things to do that were fun and cheap. I heard the Chamber of Commerce was looking for volunteers to work the Seafood Festival which at the time I had no clue but is the Biggest such event in all the Keys each year. I was asked to show up at 1200 hours on Saturday and find Tina, unfortunately she would not have a T-Shirt that all the volunteers get since she had just run out. I told her that would be just fine I just wanted to help out in any way. So when IO got there Tina was not easy to find but one volunteer told me they had her number at the front gate. I called her up and left a message. She called right back and gave me directions to the T-Shirt Booth, they needed help  selling the T-shirts. I hit the ground running, as there were already long lines waiting to buy T-Shirts, some kind volunteer quickly showed me the ropes and clued me in on the pricing of the several different types of t-shirts available. Once I started selling it did not stop. The long sleeve T-shirts were $20 or $35 for two, sometimes I sold three or 4 at a time. I was taking in $20-$70 per minute. I figure a conservative estimate of just the T-shirts I sold in my 2 hour shift was $2500 and it was probably more like $3500. there were 4 of us selling as fast as we could, I have never seen t-shirts sell like this. Evidently it is one of the yearly prized possessions in Marathon. I did not get to have one of these but Tina hooked my up with a Free Cap and that was even Better!
After my 2 hour volunteer stint I made my over to the food booths and saw that two of the booths had the longest lines. I chose the Conch Fritters since I had not had any since coming to Marathon....Yep they were very good. Then I found a empty seat in the shade and sat down to enjoy the Island 5, a reggae group out of Miami.  

Marathon Tidbits II

The owner of this vessel passed, his kids have it up for sale.

What a deal for $6,000 and the scuttle butt is they will go as low as $2500.

There are lots of permently anchored boats with live aboards. They  all seem to have at least three anchors out and due to swinging around over the years the rodes get tightly wound up all the way to the bow.

These vessels no longer swing into the wind.

\When I need some exercise this is the Gym.

I have always wondered about these sailboats with the small cockpit forward of the main cockpit?

I thought it was ok to cle3an the dingy on the dingy dock but it was not.

So they advised me to use this little beach around the corner.

These people sailed here from the Czech Republic with two small children on this
Beneteau, they have used up their time here and are bound for the Bahamas.

This board matches up boats to buddy up for crossing to the Bahamas and other destinations, it is constantly changing.

I love this place, tons of great new and used marine gear located in Ft. Lauderdale.

And the Largest West Marine in the World  is just down the street from SailorMan. 

The Admiral helping sew up part of my project for the Jerry cans. That little 40+ yr old Singer still gets the job done!

Even the power boats add solar and wind to beef up their electrical systems.

Another budget Cruiser living the life.

Don't think you can't take it with you!

The Customs cruising the neighborhood looking for foreign vessels.

Yep the parking lot is full of cruisers cars who somehow manage to get them to Marathon for their 2+ months they plan to be here.

My buddy John Furlinger just showed up on his 1979 44' CSY, she is a beauty and all authentic on the interior, very nice!

John and his crew Tom from Tamps, These guys have more stories about putting out fires aboard the big commercial vessels they  sailed on, Tom as Captain and John as Chief engineer. 

I wanted to get the bottom cleaned before departing Marathon and knew it would probable be time to change the shaft zinc.

Just another example of boat dogs living the life, this Dalmatian easily balances looking for sea life  on the front of this small Kyak/dingy

Whoa, wait a minute some one bought the vessel in the above pic and  made a duplex!

Last Beer at Burdines where I took the jerry cans for diesel and gas for the dingy

Marathon Tidbits II
Some short notes:  Preparing to Leave Marathon is a bit bitter sweet for us. After almost 4 months we have really grown to enjoy this wonderful community. I will pick up Bill Wilson Tomorrow at the Ft. Lauderdale airport and if the forecast holds we will depart for Little shark River on Monday and points between on the way back to St. Petersburg. I wanted to document just a few things in this post before leaving here.
There was some discussion among those that live year round here on their vessels about the above boat for sale. there was a rumor that the children who were selling their deceased fathers boat would take $2500 for it. Recently I noticed it was tied up to another vessel that is permanently anchored here and so I guess they now have a duplex! I also wanted to get a couple of pics in if the vessels anchor rode who have been here for years and have 2-3 or more anchors out. The anchor rodes have wound up really tight as the boat has shifterd with the winds over the years. the rode is so tight that the vessels barely move anymore, they do not point into the wind as all the rest of the vessels on Mooring balls do. Then I noticed the guy who has a full size motorcycle on his 30'something boat, amazing,  we all have speculated on how he gets it off to the dock? As you can see the parking lot is full of cruisers cars. I know there are cars scattered all up and down the East coast just waiting for the owner to return some day to get it and move it on down the coast when they stay somewhere long enough to need it.
A couple with small children who sailed here from the Czech Republic on a 38' Beneteau were adopted by the Boot Key Harbor Community. they were running low on funds and needed a few items to continue their journey. One of the locals worked with them and made a list which was announced on the Cruisers Net. All the things they needed were assembled from the community and delivered to them. Wand'rin Star donated a 4 pin GPS cable to the cause so they could hook up there chart plotter to their laptop and download needed charts.
When we first got here I noticed a pretty new 45' Sea Ray on the East side of the harbor, the thing that made me notice the vessel was it had two wind generators mounted above the Bridge deck. You might expect to see a trawler with a wind generator but not the Amero/Euro designed Sea Rays that project all that Sex Appeal. Those Wind Generators ripped the Sex right off that vessel, But hey I guess they don't like hearing the Diesel Generator run either! since then I have seen all manners of power vessels with wind and solar mounted wherever they could.
My Buddy John showed up just the other day on his 44' CSY, a great vessel. Tom helped him bring it down and they had great North winds. John Said this was his best trip ever to Marathon over the years he has been coming here from Tampa. They got to sail all but 2 hours. I spent an evening with these two guys and the stories would curl your brain as they recounted several moments when all hell was breaking loose on the ship they were on. Tom is still working as a Captain but John has retired as his Chief Engineer.
The day after John got here I jumped in and managed to finish cleaning the growth off the bottom and clean the shaft and Propeller for the trip back to St. Pete. It was time to change out the shaft Zinc and this was a first for me. It took me about 20 minutes to get the old one off and the new one on but I moved slowly as I did not want to drop any of the parts. When I got the old one on the deck I was sure glad I got the job done, I do not think it would have made it must past the harbor.
I ran over to Burdines today to fill up the dingy fuel tank and drink a last beer there. It is a great spot to see the boats coming and going from Boot Key Harbor as it is located right on the narrow channel leading into the Harbor. We plan on making stops at Little shark River, Indian Key, Naples, and Fort Myers Beach, all outside passages, then coming into the GICW and going to Engelwood Beach, Long Beach, then on to St. Pete Marina. Stay tuned.

Coco Plum Marina Swap Meet

Roco and Gator rode with me over to the Swap Meet

They did not show up for the swap meet

Wished I could have bought the shark!

The swap meet was spread out all over the boat yard and marina

Nearly bought one of those mast ladders that runs up the sail track  over here.

A lot of interesting stuff over there but just to look at

These guys were restoring this old wooden vessel, Roco and I did not approve of their work, Gator couldn't have cared  less.

Coco Plum Marina Swap Meet

I heard on the Cruisers Net there was going to be a swap meet at Coco Plum Marina which is just a few miles to the NE on Hwy.1 I stopped by Roco's and Gators boat to see if they would like to go check it out with me and they said they would love to and would be up to the dingy dock in just a bit. You can see some interesting marine gear in a Marathon swap meet, a lot of really old stuff, there were about three items I was interested in but only bought just one small electrical part that will eventually clean up my NEMA connections and make it easier to service in the future. We spent a couple of hours here and we were really interested in the cove where this marina is located, we saw a few sailboats in there that made us think that we could get our boats in there as it looked like a great place to hide out from storms. Roco and Gator could not find any thing to buy but I think Gator had a great time smelling everything. Gator is a Western Caribbean Rottweiler.  Everyone seems to like to come up and say hi to Gator. He is a famous dog in Key West! Roco says everyone remembers Gator but they don't remember him? I just heard that the Dania Beach Marine swape meet and flea market is this coming weekend...This is the biggest one in the world and unfortunately I will have to miss it as preparations are underway to make the return trip to St. Petersburg. We plan to make it a 7 day trip + any weather delays so I can see all the stuff we missed on our trip down to Marathon.
The float plan is all day trips starting with 4 off shore passages to Little Shark River anchorage in the Southern Everglades, then to Indian Key Anchorage in the Northern part of the Everglades just 4 miles from Everglades City, then to a anchorage or Mooring in Naples, then to the Ft. Myers Beach Moorings. From there we will travel up the GICW to Engelwood Beach Anchorage, then to Long Beach anchorage and lastly to the St. Pete Municipal Marina. I send out a test Spot Saturday. Bill Wilson is coming down from St. Pete to take the ride, the Admiral is in Texas helping her parents out and she will fly back and join me when we get to St. Pete.

Key Largo, Tai Chi, Buttonwood Bay, and the Chinese New Year

These Orchards were growing on the trees throughout the  Buttonwood Bay property. 

They just attach them to the trees and they take root.

A lot of the owners here have a water front on Florida Bay, the Gulf side.

The Admiral in her Tai Chi T-shirt

The Buttonwood Bay Marina was pretty big and the whole thing was cut out of the Coral  Rock as you can see along this ledge.

The cool little Channel leading in to the Buttonwood Bay Marina

Part of the Chinese New Year Celebration, This little guy dances around you for good fortune. 

Key Largo, Tai Chi, Buttonwood Bay, and the Chinese New Year
http://buttonwoodbayfl.com/about.php

The Admiral hooked up with the cruisers who wanted to continue to practice their Tai Chi moves so 9-12 of them would meet a few times a week at the park nearby to practice. This soon led to her attending the formal Tai Chi at a near by Episcopal church. That in turn led her to making the 1 hour drive a few times to Key Largo to practice with that group there. They planned on having a 2 hour Tai Chi practice and afterward getting together at the Buttonwood Bay Condominiums for a Chinese New Years Celebration and dinner. She invited me along, I declined the Tai Chi but accepted the Celebration and Dinner. I could always find something interesting to do in Key Largo for a few hours. The Key Largo group meets at the local Lions Club so I dropped off the Admiral and my first stop was a used Marine supply store. I spent about an hour there carefully looking for any gem that might serve Wand'rin Star. I nearly bought a couple of things but decided to wait. I then checked out the area on the Ipad and drove to the Atlantic side to check out a couple of marinas.
It was time to recover the Admiral so we drove to the location of the dinner and we still had some time to kill so we had a leisurely walk around the Marina and the Gulf side of the property. I was amazed at how they cut through 15 feet or more of the Coral rock to create space for the Marina. There were a lot of small power vessels in there mostly fishing type but a few pleasure cruisers.
The Dinner was of course great, more food than the group of 40 or so could eat and then a Tai Chi master of sorts who was down from Miami for the event showed some slides of her recent visit to china and ended with a Chinese New Year Celebration where this puppet like Dragon Dog danced throughout the group to bestow good fortune on all. I had no Idea how powerful the ceremony could be. Soon after we heard the incredible news from our daughter that she and her Husband Russell were 3 months pregnant with their first. We were so excited we decided right then and there to get the boat back to Texas and be in Seattle by August when our 3rd Grandchild will be born.