Anchored in Marathon

Tue  12.20 Marathon FL

After a simple overnight passage that should take less than 16 hrs we finally arrived into the Marathon Harbor at 2:30pm a full day late…   Imagine motoring up the channel to the Marina and the mooring field.  It’s like a huge Walmart Parking lot for boats where everyone hooks up to a floating ball that’s chained to the sea floor.  Long rows of balls and boats all turned the same direction into the wind or current…   Well we are motoring along looking for somewhere to anchor.  (the marina said “you have to come in and sign up to be on the waiting list for a ball.  So just anchor nearby and dingy over”)  Trouble is, there are no spots to anchor.  So I’m driving the boat further and further into the no mans land of the channel.  (I’m getting the ‘feeling’ things are becoming more narrow and more shallow and we have to turn back) 

I had spoken prior with the marina about 'where is your office' and the lady - who is a NEW worker there - told me "past marker 23".  Thus when the numbers end at 21, I decide I must turn around.  i was turning around to get out of the mooring field and go back outside the channel to anchor....    EXCEPT i had another new, unknown rope, wrapped around the prop shaft and when i put the engine into reverse she died.  Prodigal dies - headed straight into the mooring field - going to Tee Bone a boat on a mooring ball.   i ran to the bow to try to drop the anchor - to try to fend off my yacht - to scream for help – to do anything...    ‘An old guy’ was sitting in his cockpit and says "need a hand?"  (hell yes, and quickly!)  he jumps in his dingy and races over the 30' to grab my toe rail and start slowly turning me while the wind pushes me toward this guys sloop.  The boat owner is below and hears the yelling and comes on deck.  another lady a boat over hears this / sees this / and calls an “all hands on deck” to the marina for emergency help with dingys.  i'm up on deck now as the boat starts to go sideways, face to face with "John" the other boat owner as we both push off.  I'm saying how sorry i am and other dingys are arriving and grabbing lines and rails and pulling Prodigal sideways.  Lynne is trying to tie a fender mid ship and it's a total ZOO.  but we did all this with only my foot onto Johns toe tail and him pushing off my bow sprit.  zero scratch, rub or dent.  it was a minor miracle and about 5 dingys, plus 9 people all scrambling to save me.  It was a very high speed, slow motion fire drill.  Probably lasted a minute or three.  We tied up alongside John, to his boat, and he went back below to finish cooking his dinner.  As fate would have it immediately behind us were two people with dive tanks strapping on gear to work on other boats in the marina.  i paid them to dive mine.  "Oh hell yeah dude, there's a big ass rope wrapped all around it.  Looks like a Grapefruit." 

To end this saga i will change to bullet points:

• paid them $50 to dive her and cut off the rope
• Mr. John let me borrow his dingy to go to the marina and sign up on waiting list
• we are #2 for our boat size on list (maybe not this month?)
• upon return, the engine fired right up 
• while tied, we tested forward/reverse and we motored out
• dropped anchor without incident
• ate dinner and past flat out till 7am

Tuesday recap, is that we were anchored about 9 miles offshore in the Gulf.  Lynne locked herself in the bathroom and I had to re-install the handle.  We sailed and motored without incident all the way to Marathon and the Marina mooring field.  I had the engine die and ALMOST rammed sideways another boat.  Divers cut a ‘huge ass rope’ off the prop and we motored back out of the mooring field with zero damage. (except to my pocketbook)  We anchored back outside the Harbour in shallow, safe, water.  Lynne cooked an incredible dinner of Catfish with chips and salad.  I slept like the dead!

Rod Duncan says, "whatever dont kill you makes you stronger."  So i guess i'm getting strong?  I can certainly feel my muscle soreness today.    - Strong Man Skip