Marathon Marina

This lovely picture was taken from the dock at the slip we were assigned when we moved from the mooring balls at Boot Key Harbor to Marathon Marina. The boat in profile is the Shingebiss. We absolutely loved our unobstructed view of the ocean and the sunset. Even though we were right next to the restaurant, it was quiet and breezy and what a view from the back deck of our boat.

We like everything about this marina. It's nicely landscaped, there's lots of cool boats to look at and the laundry and shower facilities are plentiful and close by. We're located at the west end of the island, right before the Seven Mile Bridge. It's a 2.5 mile bike ride to the Publix or you can bike out the 'old' bridge walking/biking path to Pidgeon Key. The folks in the marina are real friendly, many of them winter here on their boats. We went out to dinner last week with a group of them and learned that some of them have cruised their boats throughout the Caribbean.


After four nights in our slip, we woke to a barge and crane removing the old slips in front of the restaurant. The marina manager came to tell us we would have to move over onto a more "interior" slip because our dock was being removed and replaced. Oh darn! Here's the slip without us there and without the dock, but the view remains and they say we can move back when the work is done. We'll see if it happens within our month long stay.

We've been both very relaxed and very busy at the same time since we arrived here. In the morning we do some boat chores, in the afternoon we go for a bike ride or a dinghy ride. Marathon is a favorite winter stopover for current loopers and past loopers who are still cruising. The marinas and the mooring balls are all full and the cruising lifestyle is very much a part of the town culture. There are alot of good restaurants, a weekly farmers market, and a large West Marine store. We love Marathon and are sure our time here will be lots of fun and go by quickly.

We are now 4 months into the Great Loop. Out of 121 days gone by, we've traveled on 61 of them. We've gone 2386 miles for an average of 39 miles per cruising day. We went through 40 locks and have purchased 738 gallons of fuel. We stayed in marinas 74 nights, anchored 33 nights, scored 3 free dock nights, and stayed on a mooring ball 8 nights. What a ride !!