So Long Boot Key Harbor, Post 26-09
- sondrawinter
- Mar 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 3
Since setting anchor in Boot Key Harbor last Thursday (Feb. 19), we have spent our time picking up the last of our packages, troubleshooting the refrigerator, visiting with other cruisers, and preparing to leave the States which included watching both the weather and the news, then making several changes in plans.
Projects & Packages
As refrigerator parts arrived Jimmy would continue his troubleshooting. Eventually we only had a few drinks and condiments left in the fridge. Since we have stopped purchasing cool groceries, and routinely added ice to the fridge, and haven’t had to toss out too much food.
Other items, like the multiple alternator belts and the air conditioner pump have been stowed away for future use.
Boot Key Harbor City Marina
We ended up signing up to use the marina’s facilities which cost $100 for a week, plus tax and credit card fees.
Dinghy Docks – The City Marina dinghy dock is a 1.3-mile walk to groceries and the UPS Store. The only free place to access land is at Sombrero Beach, a 2-mile walk. Restaurants like Burdines (2.5 miles) and Dockside (0.7 mile) will allow people to leave their dinghies as long as they make a purchase at the restaurant.
Bathhouse & Laundry Facility – The bathhouse has restrooms and showers with hot water and good pressure. Just don’t expect it to look like a fancy marina shower. Laundry costs $6 for a wash and dry load. We have learned that Dockside restaurant has a small laundry facility available to cruisers.
Free Pump Out – One free pump out a week is included.
Bicycles – There are free loaner bikes as long as you supply your own chain and lock.
Mail – Cruisers can send their packages to the City Marina. Had we known this, we may have taken advantage of it since the UPS Store charges $5 per day for each package received.
Garbage & Recycling – No more worrying about sneaking around to find a proper place to deposit our garbage.
Other Facilities – There is a large indoor gathering area. In addtion, I believe there is also access to a workshop and tools since there is always a boat project underway on every boat.
These amentites are only available to boats at anchor or on a mooring ball and not to those staying at another marina since they technically already have land access.
Chatting with Other Cruisers
On Friday, we attended the happy hour at the city marina tiki. A couple that we meet during last week’s happy hour (Evergreen) was there, so it was nice to see them again. They introduced us to a few other cruisers.
The following morning there was a nautical flea market at the tiki where we perused the gear and chatted to others about various boat projects.
We also had a virtual happy hour with the crew of Quest II. It was nice to check in on their projects and sailing plans.
During the passage between Daytona and the Keys we crossed paths with Hemlock whom we had met in Brunswick in the autumn of 2024. After enjoying a few days in the upper keys, they have made it to Marathon in time for us to get together a couple of times before we head off in opposite directions.
Departure Preparation
Other than the typical departure tasks like last-minute garbage disposals and grocery runs, or getting the boat offshore ready, we have a few other tasks to complete.
Reviewing Weather
The general plan has been to use the Dry Tortugas as a place to stage for a good weather window to jump down to Mexico on a three day passage. To get to the Dry Tortugas we need a window for a single overnight from Marathon. We have been closely monitoring various weather reports and passage routing data.
Gathering Documentation
Most Caribbean countries will request paper documents from the country of the last port visited, called a zarpe (the Bahamas did not require this). Part of the reason is to ensure that you have departed the last country legally. The USA does not typically issue paper documents but showing up on your vessel in other countries without the documentation, may lead to large fees or simply being denied entry.
The U.S. form that is equivalent to a zarpe is the CBP Form 1300 - Vessel Entrance or Clearance Statement, and we scheduled an appointment with the US Customs and Border Protection office at the airport in Marathon Thursday morning to get the form officially completed. The process was rather easy and we thought we would be pulling up anchor earlier than anticipated (more on that below).
In addition, we have been making photocopies of various important documents to give to customs agents each time we check into a new country. These include the vessel ownership documents, vessel registrations, vessel insurance statements, and our passports.
Following the News
As with any travel, whether domestic or international, it is wise to be aware of events occurring in the destination area, or to know places are best to avoid. Over the past several months we have monitored which parts of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala for potential concerns. For instance, we studied the CDC site and discussed certain medical issues with our primary physician and came up with a plan of attack.
Until just a few days ago, the parts of Mexico we plan to visit were considered to be very safe for travel. However, when the Mexican government recently took down a key member of the Mexican Cartel, a zone we planned to travel to by land become one recommended to avoid.
This event has had us really looking hard at how we want to approach the Western Caribbean. There is always the chance that things will be back to normal by the time we arrive. Then, another big factor that we are taking into consideration is that it is much easier to visit Isla Mujeres on a northbound passage due to the strong Yucatán current which eventually becomes the Gulf Stream. For this reason, a lot of cruisers choose to jump from Florida to Belize or head straight to Guatemala, then visit Mexico on the trip back.
So, with the recent news and the ease of travel combined, we have decided to jump from the Dry Tortugas to Belize, where we will probably linger through the end of May.
Marathon Departure Stop and Go and Stop and Go
The plan was to leave Marathon mid-day Thursday after we received the zarpe. Before heading to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol office, we had the boat ready for an overnight passage to the Dry Tortugas. Once we had our papers in hand, we took a rideshare back to the City Marina, dinghied back to Utopia and cranked up the engine. Unfortually the alternator belt immediatley began to ride off of the crank pulley.
Belt riding up crank pulley | Loosening the belt | Removing the idle pulley
We spent 4.5 hours messing around with it, looking things up online, and talking to two diesel mechanics. Eventually we managed to align the belt system by adding washers behind two of the four pulleys. A fifteen-minute run of the engine did not display any obvious wandering of the alternator belt. It was now too late to make it through a crab pot zone before dark, we decided to wait one more day.
After successful two engine run tests in the morning we pulled up anchor and began to head out of the harbor, only to find the belt moving off the pulley again. We dropped anchor outside of the harbor to make more pulley adjustments. Kevin from Hemlock who was anchored nearby, stopped by to try to troubleshoot the system and to bounce ideas off of. About an hour later, the belt appeared to be stable, so we decided to go for it again.
Stay tuned for next week's blog post to hear how things turned out (or go peek at our Garmin tracker).
Post 26-09
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