Touching base from Marathon, FL



Sunset in Little Shark River



Well, one thing about boating is there is always plan “B”. I haven’t posted for a few days because we were without any service. Techno-withdrawal, can be quite nice, no phones, emails or figuring out how to work your iPhone. After leaving Goodland we headed to Everglades City for lunch. Everglades City has quite a history behind it. At one time it was designated as the County Seat and it was the central point for all political activities. Eisenhower, Truman and others use to come to the Rod and Gun Club to fish and hunt with guides. The main structure is unchanged from that era. Pecky cypress lines the walls and you can visualize everyone sitting down after a day of fishing and hunting and shooting the breeze. I used to fish from here with a guide, Snapper Butler, the Mayor of Everglades City, years ago. The area is known as 1,000 Islands and it got its name for a reason. Before GPS you could turn around and get lost, only the guides could get you home. As Snapper would tell me, “Only me and the Devil know where you are right now”, comforting isn’t it. I always prayed that Snapper never suffered a heart attack while we were out there! After lunch of Stone Crabs and shrimp rolls at City Seafood we decided to anchor out in Russell Pass. This is a Beautiful spot and well worth the stay. You see porpoise, turtles, manatee, egret and other species we could not identify.

Our low oil pressure issue came back so before we left I spoke to the Yanmar people since I had about 70 miles to go in wilderness and no way to contact anyone except by VHF radio. It was decided that I go and head for Marathon to meet the local Yanmar Mechanic.

Taking a shower on the hook!

On the way down, we anchored out in Little Shark River another spot for wild life. It is so quiet and untouched. Porpoise playing and feeding, fish jumping, birds flying and feeding and the stars at night are magnificent. You can see forever. The only drawback is those little no-see-ums! Does not matter what you use to repel them they get you. So once the sun sets, you have to retreat indoors. We left early the following morning to get to Marathon. Louis, the Mechanic will take a look at things on Monday. In the meantime we decided to stay at Harbour Cay Club. We met with three tugnuts from our Ft. Myers rendezvous, so it is like old times. The people here are friendly and helpful. When we entered the marina about 8 of them came out to say hi and help. They have an open kitchen, a tiki hut that they call the Cone of Knowledge. You meet there every night, 5:00PM to shoot the breeze. We decided to stay a week, I asked one woman,”so how long have you been here”, she replied, ”OH, 8 years”. I hope Louis is quicker than that for our repairs. We are members of the American Great Loppers Cruisers Association and coincidently they are having a Sunset Gathering tonight down the road, so I called and signed up. So far we have met the nicest and welcoming people. If you have trouble with your boat, someone is there to help, People have driven us to the stores for shopping, and people invite you into their boats for a drink and tell stories of their adventures. The boating world is small also, you meet someone, who knows someone and somehow there is a connection. Three years ago I was reading a website about a boat Kismet, Jim and Lisa Favors, well don’t you know it, we have met up with them a few times and have cooked and eaten dinner together. They sold their large 40 foot Fathom Boat that they lived on for 5 years and now own a Ranger Tug 27, same as ours.  Well this was a long one, hope I didn’t bore you, see you soon.





Another good evening with friends!