Marathon, FL

After a wet and fast trip across the Gulf, we are tied up to a mooring ball in the Marathon City Marina (also called Boot Key Harbor, still not sure what the difference is...). No serious issues on the way over is allowing us to make a quick turnaround to try to catch this weather window and make a quick trip again to the Virgin Islands!

Of course, the biggest surprise upon landing in Marathon was the election. I don't want to turn this blog too political, but suffice to say each one of us aboard was very surprised.

City Marina is really amazing, the staff is incredibly helpful and the other cruisers are a great group. We found someone aptly named "Stich" to patch up our No. 2 jib which was the only real casualty of the crossing (after the forestay of course). It would be a cool place to visit for a while, though in all honesty, I feel like Edward Bloom in the movie Big Fish stumbling on Spectre twenty years too early.

Our faithful crew member Eric safely got home to Freeport, TX and we picked up our new crew, Fred from Seattle, WA. He'll continue to the Virgin Islands, then fly home while Ed and I continue to Panama after we meet up with my parents in St. Johns.

Enjoy the pictures below from Marathon and the crossing! Ed's having some technical difficulties so we'll have to wait to upload his photos in the USVI.

Oil rig off of Freeport. This was just a small one. Later on we saw what we believe was the Bullwinkle oil rig off of New Orleans. It looked a like a large city lit up at night. At least it was easy to avoid.

Ed bravely manning the helm in a bit of easterly breeze and spray.

This supposedly shy parrot, "Slocum," took a liking to me. We ended up whistling the march from "Bridge on the River Kwai" together, which Ed got on video! Check out the video here.

On my bike ride this morning to Bahia Honda, I met this guy on Seven Mile Bridge. His name is Ed and is currently 44 miles from hiking from Canada to Key West. It's taken him 5 years, doing it in section as the seasons permit.

Route 1 looks a lot different here than it does in West Chester, PA!

Yes, the bike is a pain to bring on the boat. And yes, it is totally worth it :).