2026 January: MTOA

 6 January 2026

Today started out as a typical Tuesday. Clark went to guitar practice. Unlike most Tuesdays, no art classes were held at the library as the instructor went to Canada to visit her mother for the holiday season. After spending the morning on the boat, I went up to float in the pool for a couple of hours before getting ready to go out this evening to our first "southern-most" MTOA (Marine Trawlers Owners Assoc) meeting of the year.

Clark and I headed over to the City Park for 5:00 via bicycle. Due to heavy and dangerous traffic on Route 1, we have to go west a couple of blocks to get to a traffic light to cross over and come back east. The park is directly across Route 1 from Marlin Bay, but trying to cross the street at the park takes longer than going out of our way. 

When we arrived, we found a reasonable crowd of folks already present. One other couple came to the gathering from Marlin Bay. The majority came from the Skip Jack and Sombrero marinas on the south side of Marathon. Folks brought a variety of food from croissant sandwiches to hors d'oeuvres to dessert.

MTOA at City Park in Marathon

We noticed a new addition to the covered pavilion at the park. Someone decided to put in a mini library. The crates are standard crates and have the typical open, honeycomb style design. Nice idea, but we wondered how well the books at the top level stay dry in the rain as they appear to be somewhat open to the elements. 

The sandwiches offered for dinner at the event were made with ham. As Clark is allergic to pork, we decided not to partake of that menu item. As we left the park, I suggested we go get pizza so I could avoid cooking. We went west to the traffic light, crossed over Route 1, and pedaled to the Upper Crust Pizza place. 

When we got there, Clark said he did not want to eat there and we should go to Coast to Coast pizza instead. That's near Publix and about a mile further along. Given the choice of biking a mile to pizza or going back to the boat to cook, I opted for the bike ride!

Had we thought about it beforehand, we could have avoided taking the long way and crossing Route 1 twice. Coast to Coast is on the same side of Route 1 as the park where we attended the MTOA meeting. It would have been considerably shorter to go north from the park to the restaurant instead of the route we did take. The pizza, however, was worth the extra distance.

St Columba church's big event of the year is coming up this weekend and the next few days will be spent preparing the grounds for the Celtic Festival and then working at the festival. As a reward for the hard work done, volunteers like us get to go to the festival for free. Every year the event seems to get bigger and, hopefully, better. More vendors are participating this year than before. 

7 January 2026

Today Ev did boat chore including laundry and grocery shopping. My friend from church, Nancy, picked me up in her car so I could stock up! Clark on the other hand went to the city park to start work on the festival. His assigned job this year, as he did last year, was to build the castle entryways. An example result of his efforts is shown below. There are two entrances with castle entryways.

8 January 2026

Clark and I headed over to the park after breakfast to help setup the fairgrounds. We helped unload the truck and then put up a couple of tents. The majority of our day, however, was spent working with Nancy to construct the Pub Tent. 

Volunteers taking a water / food break

Banners started to appear on the fences

Tents slowly started going up

Beginning of the Pub Tent

Starting to come together

Looking much better

After putting up the tent, we tied it down with lines connected to buckets filled with water (It was a tad windy and the buckets did their job quite well.) Then, we built / assembled the bar made of PVC pipe with a plywood table top and front panel and decorated it with "The Nessy Pub" sign. Next we constructed a framework for advertising the offerings at this booth. It was a full day's work to get everything assembled and arranged. 

After all the hard work, we biked "home" and collapsed on the sofa. Thankfully I had leftovers in the fridge to avoid more work!

2026 January: Seagrass

 3 January 2026

Full Moon as seen from docks at 
Marlin Bay Resort & Marina

Marlin Bay celebrates each full moon on the Saturday closest to the event, so tonight we had a celebration of the "Wolf Moon".  We had a live band

and pizza with a discounted drink menu.

The bar had a full contingent of boaters taking advantage.

As I walked back to the boat from the pool bar, I snagged a couple more pictures.

Taken near the pool bar - moon low in the sky

Taken from the east docks 
(no moon shown but I loved the reflection of the buildings)

None of my pictures compared to one taken by a friend from the Faro Blanco Resort (shown below) and "borrowed" from Facebook.

5 January 2026 - Sunday

The band / music director at the church was on vacation for today's service, so the rest of the crew were on their own for the program and songs. Without their usual leader, the group decided to get together at 9:00 a.m. this morning to have extra practice time before the service at 11:00. 

Clark checked the weather and thought he would need to leave by 8:30 as some rain might be passing through. Radar showed Marathon clear, so I poked my head out to check out the sky. We got no rain, but the cloud cover was impressive!

I typically go with Clark if he is getting there for a 10:00 practice, but I draw the line there. I saw him on his way and then went about my own business onboard until closer to time to arrive for 11:00. 

Today at St. Columba church they celebrated the "Feast of the Epiphany". This year they are taking some of the activities that occur during the more formal, 9:00 service and incorporating them into the 11:00 Contemporary service. 

The procession of the "Three Kings Bearing Gifts" today is one of these carry-overs.

The other novelty of today's service was "Bring your dog to church" day. The pooches came up to the altar for blessings.

Pastor Deb Blessing the Pups

Our friend's dog - "Diesel"

Later in the day, we took a second bike ride and stopped into Winn Dixie for some items. Since we were not in a rush, we stopped into the "Surf Style" store that moved in where K-Mart used to be. The place is huge! Perfect if you want a t-shirt, sandals, beach toys, or memorabilia. Everything I looked at cost more than I was prepared to pay.

I accidentally took the wrong door to exit and found myself in the surfing room. Two young men were in there practicing their moves! This was a great "mistake"! Clark had waited outside with the bikes while I stuck my nose in to snoop around the store. I sent him in to take a picture or two, and he came back with a video.

Later, at sunset, I was on our boat and heard someone blowing the conch and a bunch of folks cheering. I quickly ran to the bow for the sunset picture for the day.

5 January 2026

Once again, seagrass has invaded our space at the marina. Depending on the wind and current, the seagrass takes turns visiting each of us in its time. If the seagrass is piled up high, it refuses to move along and forms the equivalent of an island. 

We have have several islands form behind our boat, and we keep breaking them up and sending them on their way. It's good for building upper body strength! We have to pick our times to send the seagrass on its way so that nature. i.e. wind and current, helps to move it along; otherwise, it is a useless endeavor. Today our choices were mid-morning or mid-afternoon! I took advantage of both opportunities.

A recent island came to visit bringing us a coconut! We passed on the offering however and sent it along to the next customer.

Seagrass behind "Sunset Delight"

The slip beside us did not have a boat in it, and the seagrass filled in the spot!

Port side of "Sunset Delight"

Unfortunately, when it piles up and refuses to move, it dries out and starts to smell pretty darn awful. My allergies are not a fan! Thus, we bring out the boat hooks and start breaking it up. 

One of our boater friends, Del, has gotten more aggressive with the seagrass islands. He uses his dinghy as a plow and pushes the grass out of the basin.

Del pushing seagrass island

I saw him later using a hook to try to move the seagrass away. Later he told me he grabbed the "island" with a small anchor and towed it out that way.

Del getting ready to tow the
seagrass "island"

For the moment, we have gotten rid of the seagrass that sat at our stern. 

Looking good until the wind shifts direction

Neighboring boats have not been tended to in quite some time.

I heard the conch as I was typing up the blog post and ran out to get tonight's sunset pictures.

t

Our neighbors to the west

Sailboat on the horizon - to the east

Clark is friends on Facebook with the Dockmaster here. The ballad below is something she posted ...

(To the tune of "The Sounds of Silence" Simon and Garfunkel)

The Smell of Seagrass: A Ballad of the Blowing North Wind

Hello winter, my old friend,

It’s time to smell you once again.

Because the tides are slowly creeping,

And dead seagrass has started reeking,

And the stench that was planted by the breeze,

On the Keys...

Still remains...

Within the smell of seagrass.

In restless nights I walk alone,

By mangroves green and seafoam blown.

‘Neath the humid glow of the dock light,

My nose assaulted in the moonlight.

When my lungs were stabbed by the whiff of decay,

That day...

It split the air...

And formed the smell of seagrass.

And in the salty air I saw,

Ten thousand tourists, maybe more.

People coughing without speaking,

People Febrezing without breathing.

People trying hard to find where that smell came from,

And moved along...

To flee the smell... of seagrass.

“Fools,” said I, “don’t you all know?

That’s the Keys’ perfume that blows!

If you don’t like what’s decomposing,

Head back north where things are frozen.”

But my words, like pelicans’ squawks,

Echoed off the docks...

Carried by the smell... of seagrass.

Then the north wind starts to blow,

From the mainland down below.

And the locals grin and bear it,

‘Cause this stink’s our badge of merit.

And we raise our drinks as the tourists flee in fear,

“See you next year!”

We’ll still be here...

With the smell... of seagrass.

2026 January: AC leak search on New Years Day

 

First Full Moon of the year
as seen at Marlin Bay Resort

1 January 2026

With the continued northerly wind, we still have a chill in the air, but the wind has dropped down significantly. Having bought the piece parts he needed to construct his tool to search for the AC leak, we spent today searching for the leak source with his homemade tool. 

His project consisted of a sheet of copper, some brackets, bolts and washers, a longish wire with a plug on the end, and the use of one of our boat poles. Some assembly was required! 

I contributed some foam to pad the boat hook from the metal, so it wouldn't slide up and down during our experiments.

When we had it all screwed together, Clark took it outside with some power cords to test the waters. One can see from the picture below that today was not a particularly warm day in south Florida.

We unplugged the power cord to the boat and plugged our "tool" into the outlet on the dock pedestal.

Clark's new meter indicates stray current of the AC variety (not DC).

We had to fidget with the power cord situation. The yellow cord shown below turned out to have a bad ground connection, which of course, is the hole we needed to tap into. We ended up borrowing a very long 3-prong extension cord from our neighbors on "Heart of Gold". 

The wire to the boat hook/ copper plate contraption fed through the clamp on the meter to give us readings (or at least it did that after we stopped trying to use the yellow wire).

We walked together up one side and down the other side of the dock. Clark poked the metal plate in the water as I called out numbers ranging from in the 20s to in the 60s but constantly fluctuating as he moved along. Numbers seemed to increase as he passed by the cement pilings under the dock, but the results of our tests were inconclusive. 

I never know what "nonsense" Clark will get into and pull me in for fun. We certainly caught the interest of a couple of folks who watched us march around the dock area. One of the other boaters here became very interested and asked if he could help. As he and Clark got deep into conversation, I conveniently disappeared from the scene. My part of this exercise was done.

Although Clark was in a Gortex jacket, other folks were out enjoying the now beautiful weather. With almost no wind, folks brought out their toys to play with.

Signs in the marina clearly state "No Fishing"; however, if folks stick poles in the water and they aren't in the way, no one seems to say anything about it.

A place just east of us rents jet skis. Folks on jet skis, especially when there is a group of them swarming by, make wakes that rock our boat and others on the east side of the outer basin.  They are out there having fun and most likely have no idea that their wake is coming our way.

I thought I saw a dog on a surfboard and went to check it out. 

Yep! There he was having a fun time with his owner. 

Remote controlled, powered surfboard

2 January 2026 - Friday

While Clark spent the majority of today on the boat playing guitar, reading, etc. I had a pretty busy agenda. 

My friend from the library, Mary, graciously offered to give me a ride to meet with our art group in Key Colony Beach. I walk over to the Marathon City Park to meet her as she goes there early to work out with an exercise group. 

Clark walked up to the Club House with me as I headed off to the park. We saw our friend Del along the way and heard some disturbing news. Our friend, Robin, was exercising on the back of her boat.  She had an equipment failure, fell, and broke her wrist and injured her knee. What an awful way to start the new year! She is on her boat and waiting to hear the plans for the wrist when she sees a specialist.

 After our brief chat, I hurried off to meet up with Mary for my ride to KCB. Pat P lives in a condo there and invited the art group to visit since the weather report indicated it would be a bit nippy to do art outdoors. 

I have seen a couple of condos in Key Colony Beach now. The ones I have seen are pretty amazing with nice pools and gorgeous views of the ocean. The pictures below are from my friend's balcony where we sat to do our art.

Large pool area surrounded by the condo units

Ocean access with beach

condo owner going to play in the ocean

A few folks out on the beach

When I saw the man (shown in picture below) motor in with a net in hand, I thought he was going to be fishing. However, Pat said that his job is to trap and tow away the sea grass to keep the area pristine for the condo owners. How nice is that! Apparently, he is there quite often.

Boater with a net

Jeep with "rubber duckies" in the window
(apparently a popular theme with jeep owners)

Our art group broke up just after 12:00, and Mary dropped me off at Marlin Bay Marina. Clark and I quickly ate lunch and then jumped on our bikes for a quick run to Publix for a few essentials. I was watching the clock because I had another commitment for 3:00!

I had just enough time to do the shopping, bike home, stuff the food in the fridge, and jump back on my bike to go to the City Marina to meet up with the Boot Key book club. The assignment was an easy read, and I finished it within a couple of days at the end of December. Even so, I had to review my notes to jog my memory before discussing the book in detail. 

Six people showed up to discuss the book. I got to meet some Boot Key Harbor folks who were all very friendly. We had discussion questions that came with the book and took turns being the first to comment on each question.  Our meeting was over in an hour as at 4:00 boaters starting arriving at the Boot Key Harbor Tiki hut, where we were meeting, to start setting up for docktails. Having not participated in a book club previously, it was interesting to attend.

When I got back to our boat, I had "homework" to do from the earlier food shopping as I wanted to prep and freeze the various meats I had purchased. When that was done, I gathered up the greasy / smelly packaging and took it to the garbage can. Once there I decided to keep walking and ended up on the west side of the inner harbor to watch the sunset with a couple of other boaters. 

As I "wandered off", I wondered how long it would take Clark to notice I was missing. Surprisingly, he phoned me shortly after I reached my destination. Turns out he "missed me" because he needed to know where to find a Band-Aid for a cut finger. I told him where I was and where to find what he needed. Later, he joined me / us to watch the sun set and the moon rise.

Sun going down

Moon going up

After a while it was too chilly to sit out in the dark, and dinner would not cook itself. It was time to walk back to the boat. As we walked along, I grabbed a shot of the tower which looked to be glowing with the sunset behind it.