Still in Boot Key Harbor, Marathon

Day 29: Monday, March 21, 2016

Sand Sculpture on Bahia Honda Key

This has been a long day in Marathon.  We began this day with our last jar of sausage with which we make our sausage gravy.  I savored it! I frequently monitored the weather forecast both on the NOAA radio channel on our VHF radio and also on a weather app on the computer.  Our boats wind indicator has not functioned properly since we got the boat and has not worked at all on this trip so I don’t know the exact wind speed we have encountered.  However, the radio reported 26 knots or approximately 30 mph wind gust with a sustained wind of 22 knots.

Taking in the sun

We spent the majority of the day reading and checking the security of our anchor. Sometime after lunch, our anchor alarm alerted us to the fact that we had moved and, upon checking, it appeared that we had drug about 20 feet before the anchors reset.  I reset the alarm to compensate for that amount and continued to watch for further movement.  During the remainder of the afternoon, the alarm went off 3 or 4 more times.  Most of the time it was a function of a wind shift pushing us into a different direction. 

An unhappy Osprey

Our small anchor finally lost its grip and left us with only the main anchor to hold us.  I pulled the small one in, got in the dinghy, had Janine hand it down to me, and I carried it out as far as I could and dropped it. Back on the boat, I pulled it in probably 10 feet before it again took hold and it seemed to hold for the remainder of the day.

It is also cool.  The temperature did not get out of the 60’s and with the wind howling, it was definitely sweatshirt weather.

We enjoyed a wonderful supper.  We grilled the three huge pork chops that Mike and Frankie gave us and supplemented them with fresh asparagus.  For dessert, we again enjoyed our Bake Packer blob spice cake with cream cheese icing. 

 Our final entertainment for the night was a rousing game of dominos.  The winds have moderated significantly towards the end of the day so if that continues, it should be a comfortable nights rest.