Canterbury Sails by Chasseur: Island Life

February- March, 2013

We have been here in Boot Key Harbor, Marathon for 10-11 weeks now and have settled into island life. The weather has been perfect. The cold fronts that affect the rest of the country do not make it down this far - so 75-80 degrees and sunny is our normal winter weather.
We are learning how to live on an island. As we mentioned before, bikes are a necessity. We added crates to the back of our bikes for shopping trips. There are $5.00 taxis to anywhere on the island. Buses are available from Fort Lauderdale to Key West for just a couple of dollars.
Our first bus trip was to Key West where we visited with our friends Ladd and Denise Caine on SV "Blue". Our return trip was most interesting. The bus driver was driving a bit faster than he should have, so he made a "get on schedule" stop. When Terry jumped off to see what was going on, in the corner of the lot was the bus driver and his girlfriend making "kissie" face. He made another unscheduled stop for what we are not sure. Then, in the middle of the 7 mile bridge, the bus ran out of fuel, stranding us! Terry had to request that the bus driver seek out the Sheriff to get behind us on the 2 lane Highway 1 in the dark of the night with some flashers. A tow truck showed up later with diesel fuel, but for some reason there was a problem priming and starting the engine. Finally another bus showed up and took us the rest of the way. It was midnight before we got back to "Chasseur". There were several "colorful" characters on the bus... Life in the Keys.......
See photos for more island color, our own Harbor Viking.
There is much to do in Boot Key Harbor. The Harbor is very organized with activities, seminars, and entertainment. We have only scratched the surface of things to do here. Suzanne joined the harbor softball group, also known as the "Ibuprofen" League, also known as the "Oldstars". The group is mostly men and many have knee, leg and back braces. Suzanne understands the "Ibuprofen" label intimately now having suffered 3 injuries in three games, she has decided to leave the team with a strong sense of self preservation!
Terry attends a men's skippers breakfast every Monday morning at the 7 mile Grill. There is , they say, over 700 years of mariner experience between them. Terry enjoys the collegiality and camaraderie, and returns with lots of information.
The boat bottom diver brought to our attention a 6-7 foot bull shark swimming past the bow of our boat. It was a "critter" active day at the docks with manatees and giant tarpons, as well. Hopefully we won't encounter the sharks while we kayak.
We have purchased 2 kayaks and looking forward to starting our kayaking adventures. A dinghy flotilla with Harv and Anne Cross on SV "Camelot" and new friend Diane Vanderlaan (from Grand Rapids, Michigan) took us to Sisters Creek and estuaries with a Sombrero Beach landing for lunch. We combined this trip with a "recon" for future kayak destinations.
Terry has been working with dock friend Dave Lazarus on our air conditioning. Dave had installed air conditioning units several times previously, and offered to do the install. "Chasseur" was "torn apart", the work started and finished in a little more than a week.
The last week in February and the first week in March brought visits from many friends, land lubbers and cruisers alike. We have enjoyed their company.

Island life pictorial follows (for those of you that just like to look at the photos)........