The Marathon is Over . . .

We intended to pull out of Marathon Harbor yesterday morning.  As this new life would have it, however, we spent so much of the day before on busy projects – laundry, groceries, happy hour, gatherings . . . that we weren’t quite ready to go when we woke up yesterday.

Along with our projects on Monday, we had lunch with other owners of CSY yachts in the harbor.  Our sailboat is a 1979 44' CSY Walk Over (Caribbean Sailing Yacht).  They were manufactured in Florida from 1976 – 1979/80 and just over 300 of our size (44’) were ever made.  We had over 10 boats represented at the luncheon and there were lots of stories, info  and woes to share. 

We continued with groceries, etc after lunch before sharing happy hour with two neighboring boats, Sea Notes and Snow Goose.  So we woke up yesterday not quite ready to weigh the anchor, so to speak.  After a short while debating, the decision to stay wasn’t that hard.  First off, it was Valentine’s Day AND we had more friends to have a last sundowner with AND (fill in the blank) . . . . so we stayed in Marathon for what we determined would REALLY be our last day.  

We had a great lunch at Chikiriki on the channel into the harbor and shared our table with an older couple, Herb and Nance, who are in Marathon in their RV from Boston.  We did more projects, checking the engine belts, doing some minor stowing of stuff around the boat, etc and climbing the mast for some last minute checks.

Climbing the mast is always an interesting project and requires a lot of attention and backup assistance.  While the person rising must be sure to have all of their tools secured so as to not drop them unexpectedly on the crew on deck, those raising them must be on full alert to ensure no catastrophes occur.  This requires a strong arm on the winch and someone else tailing behind them to act as an additional guarantee.  After our friends John and Penny assisted us, we followed them to their boat Caribbean Soul and raised John up his mast.  All projects being successfully complete, we continued to break out the Valentine’s sundowner with beverages of choice and Penny’s gooey turtle brownies . . . this has not exactly been a HEALTHY voyage!

The morning dawned beautiful and early and it’s time to start the engines and head to the dock to fill the fuel and water before heading out to sea.  Leaving all of our new friends behind is sad but this does take us one step closer to our friends and family at home.  The great thing about cruising is that we’re sure to meet up with all of these folks again somewhere along the island trail.  What lies ahead is bound to be interesting . . . and "home" awaits!