Trouble in Paradise

Marathon, Florida
24 42.40 081 N 05.68 W

I've been writing so many nice things about Marthon this year that it may be hard to mention bad things. Well, there's trouble brewing. Tonight there will be a city council meeting. A group of boaters from the harbor are going to the meeting to protest recent and proposed actions. I don't know how many will attend, so I can't call it a mob. Suffice it to say, the hotter heads here would like to make it a mob.

What's it all about? Two issues.

1. Two weeks ago they raised the fees. The monthly mooring-ball rate increased from $275 to $300 with the new fee schedule, while monthly dinghy dockage for vessels at anchor increased from $135 to $225. The shocking part is the stiff fees for boats at anchor.
   
2. Tonight they plan to vote on an ordinance that would ban anchoring anywhere in Boot Key Harbor except in a very small designated anchoring area. This would displace many dozens of boats that have been living here harmoniously at anchor for years. 

Many boaters, including myself, believe that what is really going on here is that the rich people do not want to live close to the poor people. The haves do not like the have nots. Almost none of the boats in this harbor are live-aboards in the Florida legal sense. They are all cruisers. However, there are year round cruisers who mostly live at anchor, and transient cruisers (like me) who come part of the year and stay on a mooring. The socioeconomic status of these cruisers spans an amazing range. Some are very poor, having bought their boats for only $1 and who live on next to nothing. Others are truly affluent. For example, on the cruisers net last week I heard one of them asking about buying jet fuel at the Marathon Airport. Evidently, she flew down here to her boat using her Lear Jet

I'm rather proud of this boating community. They are very egalitarian, and all of us, regardless of wealth are planning to stick up for the less advantaged. If only the land based residents of Marthon felt the same, we would have no problem. If the city succeeds in this ordinance, they will force many of these cruisers into homlessness. They will have to abandon their boats and live in one of the hobo cities hidden in the mangroves. Shameful and short sighted I think.

Anyhow, Libby and I can not go to tonight's meeting. I will however be intensely interested in hearing how it turns out. Some of the more level-headed boaters going have disciplined the mob to (a) select designated speakers, and (b) to limit their speech to three issues that can be expressed concisely.

Rates should not be changed without sufficient prior notice to those affected. Some say the Florida Sunshine Law makes that a legal requirement. A fee hike that does not apply until next winter's season is more reasonable.

The fees and anchoring restrictions are blatantly discriminatory against those who can not afford to pay.

The proposed changes would evict Captain Jack. My blog readers know Captain Jack. I've been writing about him recently. The "mob" feels strongly that no matter what else, the city must make an exception that allows Captain Jack to remain where he is.

Considering that this mob will probably be allowed only 60-120 seconds to state their grievances, I think their three items are well chosen. Stay tuned for a report on the meeting results.

Sunrise

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Worst Foot Forward

Marathon, Florida
24 42.40 081 N 05.68 W

It is customary for people and institutions to put their best foot forward, right?  Well that doesn't seem to be the case in the Florida Keys.   Which foot do I refer to?   It is US highway 1, locally called Overseas Highway.

As a tourist drives down US 1, he sees nothing but ugliness, tackiness, run down, ramshackle, retro commercial themes.   It would be fair to call it the world capital of tacky.  However, the beauty in the keys is in the water and at the waterfront homes and businesses.   Because of the geography, the waterfront is necessarily very close to US 1.

A few examples.  The Hurricane Restaurant where we go to SSCA luncheons each week, looks like a broken down business, perhaps a closed business.  Inside it is very nice, and the menu is good.  Behind the restaurant is a garden, then a nice motel, then a nice marina, then the Bay.  None of that is visible from US 1.

Boot Key harbor with all these cruising boat is nowhere visible from US 1.

The Sunset Grill with nice food, and beautiful views is not at all visible from US 1.

Vaca Key where Marathon is located is typical of the Keys.  Above is Florida Bay, below is the Ocean. US1 is the one and only highway.  To the left is the famous Seven Mile Bridge.  The big green areas is Boot Key for which the harbor is named.  There are no roads and no residents on Boot Key.  Short side streets come off US1, many dead-ending at the water.  Also there are many canals cut into the island so that residents can have boats in their back yards.  Typical Florida.  The side streets are numbered, and each has an ocean side and a bay side.   Navigation is very easy.

If you are a bank robber fleeing from the police, or a tourist trying to evacuate in advance of a hurricane, the Florida Keys are not a good place to be.

On the bridges between islands, you do get to see the beautiful waters, but of course you can't stop.

Not until Key West is there beauty you can see from the streets.   There are numerous very quaint and beautiful residential neighborhoods in Key West.

One man told me, "It's good that Marathon looks so ugly from US 1.  That way the tourists won't stop here; they'll keep going to Key West."

Dinghy Photo Essay

Marathon, Florida
24 42.40 081 N 05.68 W

Boats come in an infinite variety of sizes and shapes. That's especially true for our very small dinghies. I marvel all the time at how radcially different some of them are.

Inflatable dinghies are the most popular among cruisers. They come with rigid bottoms or with soft bottoms. However, they look more or less the same above the water. Hard dinghies on the other hand show much more variety.

I made a little slide show of some of the dinghies here in the harbor with us.

Formidable

Marathon, Florida
24 42.40 081 N 05.68 W

Libby continues to expand her horizons artistically.  The toothed starfish below is about 6 inches in diameter.   Libby wants to find a way to make it beautiful as an integral part of a pine needle basket. I think it looks formidable to the point of being frightening.

Libby said she does not want suggestions.  She wants to come up with her own concept for what to do with this piece of nature.

For something even more formidable, read about Felix Baumgartner.

The world’s most daring skydiver is preparing to jump out of a balloon on the edge of space. Felix Baumgartner, 42, hopes to break an altitude record which has lasted more than 50 years. He plans to dive 120,000ft – nearly 23 miles – from the adapted weather balloon full of helium. It should take 35 seconds to break the sound barrier and ten minutes in all, reaching more than 690mph. Baumgartner will not deploy his parachute until he is less than 5,000ft from the ground and he must rely on an astronaut suit and oxygen tanks to keep him alive.