Left Ft Lauderdale and the landmark four stacks used by mariners to identify
Port Everglade from a distance. These distinctive towers are scheduled to be
significantly shortened within the next 18 months.
It’s always great
catching up with old friends and making new ones. Met with Joy & Walt from CA in Ft
Lauderdale, Sharon & Kevin from MD
in Dinner Key and Gary & DeLynn from AR in Marathon.
Sailing and motor boats are in abundance near Miami.
The anchorage at No
Name Harbor was a bit crowded on the weekend but by nightfall only the sailing
vessels remained.
Bill Bagg’s State
Park is located at No Name Harbor and it’s beach is ranked
ten of top ten beaches in the US. The Park
is named for Bill Bagg, former editor of Miami News, who petitioned Federal and State officials to purchase the
land for preservation. This land has an
interesting history from Ponce deLeon’s Cape of Florida in 1513 to the
dedication of the new park in 1967.
As we left No Name Harbor we passed a 1950 community known
as Stilltsville.
From Biscayne Bay we
sailed south to Rodriguez Key near Key Largo.
Key Largo labels itself the “diving capital of the world” and has one of
three Italian made, Christ of the Abyss statues from the original mold.
After leaving our Rodriguez Key anchorage in no wind, we motored to Marathon Key. Marathon was given the name by Flagler’s
Seven Mile Bridge railroad construction worker’s who considered the hectic work
pace to be a marathon. This bridge was an engineering marvel of the
time with supports driven into coral and the project completed in four years. Some of the original rail worker’s homes
are preserved on Pigeon Key. What
remains of the seven mile bridge is open to pedestrians and funds are being
raised to maintain the bridge.
The City Marina has few slips but over 200 mooring
balls. This lovely town caters to
cruisers and many come and make Marathon home.
Each morning begins with a very organized and fun Cruiser’s Net. This daily radio chat allows fellow boaters
to acknowledge arrivals, departures, questions, needs and even some fun
trivia.
Everything in Marathon is within
easy biking distance. Of course loading
up the bikes in the dinghy can take some packing skills.
Great restaurants,
dog friendly beaches and beautiful sunsets have made Marathon a place we will
definitely return to.
This blog is geotagged. By clicking the link below showing our location the satellite view gives an idea of the size mooring field at City Marina.
