I called Marathon Marina about a slip for a week and they said one was available then asked if I wanted a sunset view slip which would be more expensive. That wasn't a requirement for us and agreed to call them on VHF when we got close.
The inside route between KW and Marathon has the usual landmines to traverse. Crab pots and shallow water. Still it's a pretty ride as you go from open water to meandering through the small mangrove islands that dot the route.
Before long we were turning to pass under the 7 Mile bridge to the Atlantic side in order to head into Marathon.
As we approached the marina I hailed them on VHF and got instructions to our slip. Now since we've been boating in Florida we've gotten accustomed to having marina personnel meet you at the slip to grab your lines and make sure you know the lay of the land. Not a requirement but certainly a nice touch. With the aid of the gal on the fuel dock yelling "It's over there" to us as we passed we found our slip. We started the docking procedure and as is the case in most marinas, one of the neighboring boaters came out to assist. www.marathonmarinaandresort.com
Tied up and secure we went about getting the power and cable tv hooked up. Now let's go back to an incident in Key West. Upon our arrival there we found that the out limit switch on our cablemaster was not working. Fortunately I must be clairvoyant because I had bought a second hand 50 amp cable from a dockmate back in Ft. Myers a couple of months earlier. Once again I had to drag the backup cable out.
Let me remind you that it's HOT down here and humid and by now I look like I've been swimming I'm so wet. With that image in mind Pam and I went out in search of the marina office to check in. After a couple of wrong turns we found it. The best part of the check in was the air conditioning. It always bugs me when there are four people behind the counter and only one other customer and no one even looks up, let alone says hello.
We struggled through the check in process and found out that the restaurant was good and that was about it. Once back at the boat we hooked up the cable TV only to find that it doesn't work. Of course I fiddled with it to no avail. Finally I asked a dock neighbor if it worked for them or if I just had a bad hook up. Oh! He says. Didn't they tell you that you need a converter box? They have them at the office. Grrrrrr!
The short version is that we got the cable to work. Now for the cablemaster.
I ordered the part and we settled in for the evening. At some time during the night we heard something running. Hmmm. Sounds like the fresh water pumps running. Yep! That's what it is. A quick look at the water level gauge confirmed my thoughts. Crap! Now to search for the leak. Fortunately we found no water inside the living quarters of the boat and surprisingly nothing in the bilge. It's still dark so since we're not sinking we decided to go back to bed and continue the hunt in the morning.
Well it didn't take long once morning came to find the problem. And it was in an accessible place. I only had to remove 2 panels to get to it! Tourist has whale plastic tubing and connections for the plumbing and a couple of these connections that serve the rear wash down faucet had failed.
More parts on the way!
On the positive side we could still see the sunsets from our slip.
While waiting for parts we dropped the dinghy in and took a ride around Boot Key Harbor.
The heat and humidity are oppressive so by the end of our dinghy ride it was time for a nap!
Soon enough the parts came in and it was time to go to work. First on the list was the cable master. As always located in an easy to get to place.
While I was replicating a human pretzel Pam was doing laundry on board the boat refusing to pay $3.00 per load at the marina. The end result was laundry hanging all over the place.
Since we had time while waiting on parts for the water system I decided to change the sea water impellers on the main engines. A job that I never look forward to.
The starboard side went off without a hitch and an hour after I started that side it was done and running. Now for the port. Again dis-assemble the exhaust so I can flop in beside the engine. Get my moving pad in place to cushion my work area, then flop in and be sure you have all the tools at hand. Pam even comes down to make sure I can get the tools and that I don't fall asleep.
It's times like this that I wish we had a single engine trawler with easy access to all points on the engine!
Without muttering too many cuss words (my story), and Pam's help, I got the job done and the exhaust reassembled. Again a job that took longer to do than to describe.
While we waited for the water system parts to arrive we again took off in the dinghy. This time we headed under the 7 mile bridge into the Florida Bay side of Marathon. As we went under the bridge we were nearly choked by a fisherman's line that he had cast out across the opening that we were going through. Fortunately I saw it in time and lifted it up over our heads as we passed under it.
On we went, up as far as the recently opened Faro Blanco Resort. We rode around their marina and chatted with one of the dockhands before returning back to Tourist.
When we got back to Tourist our parts had come in so I quickly put the water problem behind us and buttoned things up. Cocktail time!
Our last day in Marathon we took a cab from Bob Narley's Taxi Service to the Publix at the other end of town to stock up on supplies and saw that we hadn't missed too much by working on the boat all week.
In closing we have mixed feelings about the Marina. The docks are solid. The cable tv worked once we got the right information. The pool looked nice and the restaurant was indeed good. The location is good for sunsets and accessibility from the water. Not so good if you don't have a car. It seemed like most services are at the other end of town. They do give a 10cent per gallon discount on fuel if you stay with them. They don't post the fuel price with tax included which is a little misleading. They have pump out hook ups on the docks. We found out that they don't let you do it yourself and that they only do it on Tuesdays. We came in on Tuesday but didn't find out until Wednesday about their policy. We didn't need the boatyard services but it is available if needed.
Overall the facility is good and might be a nice place to spend time but in my opinion the office staff needs to get their act together when it comes to taking care of their guests.
