After fueling, we left Key Largo at high tide, with 15-20 knots of wind and 3' seas on the bow quarter. Ran 50 miles in the bouncy Hawk Channel at 2100 RPM to beat the approaching cold front. Marathon covers several Keys. We entered the 8' deep east-bound channel into Vaca Key, proceeding into Boot Key harbor, where the City Marina manages a 250 ball mooring field. After getting our assigned ball, Kathy caught the mooring pendant on the first try! Expecting 30 knot winds and a wind shift, we ran two mooring lines through the mooring eye. We were absolute professionals, compared to the Nordhaven40 that tried for the ball next to us. The guy maneuvered every way, coming very close to us, then circled our boat, for another try. When he finally got close to the ball, his wife snagged it on the first try.
Ran the genset to cook dinner and heat the boat, as the cold front passed, dropping temperatures into the 50s. Delayed our departure from the mooring ball until 11:00 AM when the winds were forecast to veer northeast and diminish to 15 knots. Never happened!
Skies were partly sunny as we ran the 45 miles into Key West. Entering the Key West Bight, we had two cruise ships moored to our right and another cruise ship starting from the moorage. Our little boat looked very small as we passed between those huge ships. We moored in the Galleon Marina, after a 3 hour, 15 minute trip. Visited the Waterfront Market, where we bought 1 1/2 pounds of Key West shrimp for dinner.
We have traveled 1240 statute miles on the intra-coastal Waterway and were underway for 20 days. The trip took 104 engine hours, and we consumed 861 gallons of diesel fuel. Total fuel cost was $2920, or $2.36 per statute mile. Our average cost for a gallon of diesel fuel was $3.39.
Finally, we are in "Margaritaville" and are kicking back for a long stay. The bikes went ashore this morning. The TV, DVD player and aft cockpit chairs and table are set-up. We biked around Key West's quaint side streets this afternoon, bought a fresh loaf of Ciabatta bread and grouper ceviche for dinner.
Ebb Tide II underway
