First days of 2023 in the Keys

We woke up on the first day of 2023 in Marathon at Marlin Bay Marina. Capel always says that we’re ‘chasing 80 degrees’. Well we found it!. The morning weather was sunny and mild and climbed to the low 80s as the day progressed. We were tied up in slip 41 which was in the marina’s outer basin on the west side. This meant that we would have stunning uninterrupted views of sunset from the boat and great views of the sunrise during our stay here. The first thing we did was explore the marina and resort.

Marlin Bay Marina sits near the west end of Marathon on the gulf or bay side. There is an outer basin and an inner basin. The inner basin is more protected than the outer basin and is closer to the resort pool and clubhouse. The pool area has an outdoor bar, hot tub, and many outdoor games. The west side of the pool is surrounded by several three-story homes. The clubhouse sits at the other end of the pool opposite the pool bar. It has offices, a bar, a shower, and a gym. On the east side of the property, there is a large section of partially developed land. On the west side beyond the homes, there are sidewalks, tables and chairs, grills, fish cleaning station, and a watchtower.

Emmaline was still visiting us for the first couple of days in January. On January 1st, we rode the dinghy over to the ocean side of Marathon to ride through the infamous Boot Key Harbor and hang out at Sombrero Beach. Boot Key is south of Vaca Key where Marathon is located. Boot Key is not developed and there are several waterways through the mangroves that form the key. Between Boot and Vaca Keys lies Boot Key Harbor. There are hundreds of boats moored here and most are liveaboards. We concluded that this is where many of the service workers who support the island live. Most are sailboats and many look very ‘rough’ and somewhat derelict. There are lots of rumors about crime in this harbor. We only passed through on our way to the beach. Sombrero Beach is a small horseshoe shaped beach. When we were there the waters were filled with seagrass and jellyfish so we didn’t do much swimming. Capel rested in the sun while Emmaline and I hunted for shells. In the waters just off the beach there were several abandoned and grounded boats. However, these were the barest of boats having only a hull. We would realize later that these were the boats that carried the recent migrants from Cuba and Haiti. We had heard other boaters radio the USCG about migrant boats when we were cruising into Marathon but didn’t realize they had landed in Marathon as well as other parts of the keys. The day we went to the beach was ‘dinghy cleaning day’ for the locals. By the time we left, there were several dinghies parked on the beach..all flipped upside down..and all covered in different growth like algae and barnacles. One dinghy had a layer of barnacles at least 2” thick. I wish I had taken a picture of this.

Once we were back from our beach trip, we took a taxi to tour Crane Point Hammock. Taxis are more prevalent in Marathon than Uber and they only charge $8 to go anywhere on the island. Crane Point Hammock is a private park and historical site. We walked along the trails to the bay and passed by many trees that were marked with ID tags and information. One of the trees was the native poisonwood tree. It was good to know what it looked like as they are all over the keys and can cause a serious rash if you touch it. One of the attractions here is the Fish Pedicure. On our way to the Fish Pedicure Lagoon we saw many different kinds of rescued birds and a house built in the 50s. At the lagoon, we all dipped our feet in the water and as promised, small dark fish began nibbling at them. It felt like a small flutter and didn’t hurt at all. We gave the fish a test by sticking our hands in the water to see if we could get a fish manicure. Surprisingly, they weren’t interested in hands…only feet. Once back on the trail we passed the oldest house in the Keys built out of tabby, a butterfly garden, and a small rustic natural history museum.

For dinner that night, we visited Keys Fisheries which was right next to the marina. Emmaline treated us and said we were going to have stone crab claws so we could see what the big deal was after having dodged several thousand of them on our trip. Keys Fisheries has a small commercial marina that stored a fleet of stone crab boats. They also had a fish market and restaurant. The stone crabs from the restaurant were delicious. They were served chilled with a creamy mustard sauce. Toward the end of our meal, we celebrated the sunset with a complimentary shot of rum punch and a cheer along with the other diners. Keys Fisheries celebrates the sunset this way every night.

On Monday, we rented a car so that we could travel to Key West to visit and take Emmaline to the airport on Tuesday. This day we arranged a snorkeling cruise for the afternoon after stopping to grab sandwiches at Publix. The tour was on what we call a ‘cattle’ boat as it was filled with many snorkelers and divers. One of the divemasters cautioned us about eating the sandwiches before the ride because the seas were so rough and we might get seasick. We were so hungry we ignored his advice. Once we left the dock and headed toward Sombrero Reef, we saw what he meant. Winds were 25 mph and the seas had two to three feet swells making for an uncomfortable ride out to the reef. Once the boat was tied to a mooring ball, everyone but Karen and a couple other folks jumped in the water. Capel and Emmaline said the water was very rough and had low visibility but they did enjoy swimming and seeing some fish. After about an hour the passengers on board started getting sick. Then as the snorkelers came back on board for a rest, they started getting sick. So the divemaster was right, people got sick…for the next hour or so. Many were unhappy about it. We felt that the tour operator shouldn’t have gone out that day because of the weather. Despite the divemaster’s warning, none of us got sick.

Tuesday morning, we headed over the Seven Mile Bridge and down the Overseas Highway to Key West. Our first stop in Key West was the Ernest Hemingway House with the six-toed cats. Our tour guide said there were about 50 of them that lived on the property and that they were federally protected. Afterwards, we walked down Duval Street to the Butterfly Museum. It was the best butterfly museum we’ve visited. We walked among many different species of butterflies and birds. It felt like we were in an enchanted forest. After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and taking in the sights like the Southernmost Point. The line to take our picture with it was too long so we opted for a pic from across the street.

Our plan was to drop Emmaline off at the Key West Airport late in the afternoon and then stop by Perry Marina on Stock Island to visit Tracy and Joel on Summer Place. We met them at the Fall Rendezvous on Kentucky Lake and we started our loop at the same time. We found out that their son who was visiting them for the holidays was going to be on the same flight as Emmaline so we picked him up and took them both to the airport. It was a tearful goodbye as we won’t see her for another four months. We stopped by Stock Island again and got caught up with Summer Place before heading back to Marathon.

Without a doubt, we thoroughly enjoyed cruising and touring with Emmaline. However, we’re eager to ‘stay put’ for a month at Marlin Bay and relax.