Another World

The change is surreal.  No, really – I thought I had stepped into another universe.  The day started out with contrary winds and rain, totally unpredicted weather although we’ve come to expect that.  We waited until the worst of it passed before weighing anchor and heading back out.

The winds allowed us to raise the sails early and we headed out to the reef to tack back straight toward our destination of Marathon.  The seas were much higher than expected with the overnight weather just passing through so we sailed with a rail in the water and waves washing over the bow for the first few hours.  The winds didn’t stay favorable, however, and we finally gave up the fight and turned on the engine once again which meant watching for crab traps threatening to wrap the prop. The last few hours were a grueling game of watch and adjust course.

We were exhausted when we arrived.  We had expected to get a mooring in Marathon but they said they were totally booked and had a waiting list of 15 boats and to set an anchor and check in the Marina office when we arrived.  So we motored up the entrance to the harbor to find more sailboats than I’ve ever seen in one location moored and anchored in every direction!  We dropped the anchor the first place we saw and headed to the office as we were told.

So this is where “the moment” happened.  We dinghyed in to find several sets of dinghy docks (remember our Key West experience!) all well maintained with cleats every few feet to accommodate individual dinghys.  Then there’s this big warehouse style building with what can only be described as a sailor’s lounge – with two tv rooms, a bank of tables for computer to plug in, numerous tables for general use, a long wall with endless full bookshelves and a mail station . . .  Toto, we’re definitely not in Kansas any more!  

And it didn’t end there – just beyond this “lounge” is a very large work area for people’s boat projects and then another large building housing the laundry, bathrooms and showers.  Up front is a “tiki” hut and picnic area as well.  That’s just the facilities, mind you.  The services include a twice daily radio call in program called “cruisers net” where anyone in the harbor can tune in find out who’s new, who’s leaving, what’s happening for the day, who’s got what for sale and more.  There’s a board to “buddy” up with others going to the Bahamas . . .  add to that yoga and aerobics classes (free?!), movie night, meet and greet night, pot luck and music jam session night . . . is this for real?! 

The answer is a definite “yes”!  When night fell, the anchor lights looked like stars that had fallen right into the anchorage and we were greeted this morning with a  rainbow crossing the sky.  After our first full day in the anchorage I can say that, although the whole experience can be viewed as a bit “suburban”, it’s really quite wonderful being around so many friendly faces all of whom understand this quirky life we’ve chosen to lead.   

So a new chapter begins – where it will lead is anyone’s guess.