MARATHON - VACA KEY - BOOT KEY HARBOR

Have you ever seen a sea turtle?  Most of us have seen turtles, but have you ever seen a sea turtle?  Did you know they are actually air breathing reptiles?  Did  you know they can hold their breath for almost an hour and reach swimming speeds of nearly 25 knots?  They eat jelly fish and grass, shelled invertebrates, shrimp, crab, and sponges.  There are actually quite a number of species of sea turtle. Some are small and some get quite large.  Some are green.  Some are almost black.  And, some have wonderful tortoise designs and colors. 

Their shells are not solid.  They are made of essentially the same substance as our finger and toe nails.  Many sea turtles have a beak which is quite powerful, and strong enough to crack a conch shell.  Most sea turtles live in the shallower water and marine estuaries.  Some of them are pelagic.  In both cases they drift along in the currents and end up often many thousands of miles from where they were born.  Did you know that it takes a sea turtle 20 years to mature?  And, when they are ready to bear their own young, they return to the same beach where they themselves hatched.  Amazing, aren’t they?  Pure instinct. 

They don’t really have much of a brain that would allow them the ability to be contemplative.  It is hardly likely that they have the capacity of self awareness.  Yet, twenty years on the ocean, drifting along in currents looking for food and warmer water, and they manage to find their way back to their birthplace.  I find it quite astounding.  Certainly, there are other species that do this, such as the majestic salmon.  But who really cares about sea turtles?  Unfortunately, these gentle creatures succumb to a variety of conditions just because they are there. As a likely result of pollution in the water over the last 100 years or so, quite a few sea turtles have been witnessed with a condition known as fibrilopapilloma.  It is a condition characterized by horrendous wart-like growths that invade their eyes making it impossible for them to see; it invades their nostrils and throat, making it impossible for them to breath; it invades their ears so they can’t hear; it grows on their fins making swimming difficult; and, if untreated, will kill them. 

I think we can all agree that sea turtles are not on or near the top of the list of intelligent creatures on this planet.  As a result, a piece of plastic floating in the water column looks to a sea turtle like a jelly fish, or a drifting piece of vegetation.  Cigarette butts might tend to look like shrimp.  Plastic baits left in the water with long strands of abandoned fishing line looks like food.  Sea turtles ingest this stuff and it causes them to become impacted.  When this happens, air gets trapped in their intestines and they cannot pass it.  As a result, they float, usually butt up, and can die because they cannot eat, and when they get so weak that they can no longer lift their heads out of the water, they die because they cannot breath. 

Fish hooks really do a number on sea turtles.  They get caught in baited long lines as well as gill nets.  They are usually unable to get to the surface, so they die because they cannot breath.  I understand that they cannot experience what we know as “fear”, but even so, it must be an awful way to die.  Alone, trapped on a hook, the surface just in sight, but unable to reach it.  Sea turtles often get hit by fast moving boats.  Remember, their shells are not hard, but rather feel like really thick fingernails.  They certainly provide no protection against a propeller strike.  When this happens, they can develop a condition known as “bubble butt”.  Air is trapped beneath the injured shell and the turtles float.  Again, when they float they cannot eat.  They die of starvation.  Or, as a result of the tearing injury to their shell, they die of infection. 

Take a look at the damage to this turtle's shell from a prop strike.

Both mortalities take a long, arduous, and arguably painful and horrible time.  These gentle, beautiful creatures have really only one natural predator enemy, and that is sharks.  Sharks will kill them for food and the turtle dies quickly becoming just another link in the food chain.  Their unnatural predators, fish hooks, plastics, pollution, and man generally, kill much more slowly; much more painfully, and much needlessly.

Here in Marathon, there is a specialized hospital for sea turtles, unlike any other animal rescue facility in the world.  A biologist, back in the late 80’s decided he had seen enough and decided to devote his life to the cause of sea turtles.  He obtained the requisite permits and opened the first of its kind – a Sea Turtle Hospital.  Early on, he bought a motel property that was right on the gulf side of Vaca Key  There was a natural pool formed by rock and mangrove that flushes itself constantly.  The motel also had a pool and more than 20 room. On this property he built his hospital.  He rented out rooms in the hotel to fund the project.  Today, however, the property sits on several acres; has an emergency room, a sophisticated x-ray room, an operating room, and numerous pools where turtles may recover after being treated for injuries.  This effort also helped sea turtles get onto the endangered species list and enabled the passage of legislation in this country helping to control the habitat of sea turtles.  For instance, sea turtles come to the beach every year to lay their eggs.

With population development, many beaches have been lost in Florida to “condo hell”.  As a result, places for turtles to go lay eggs have diminished in number and size.  Remember what I said earlier, about how they take 20 years to mature before returning to the same beach they were born on to lay their eggs?  Imagine leaving home 20 years ago only to return to find that the place you were born, the beautiful mangrove covered island with the white sandy beach had been turned into Miami.  Rather disorienting, isn’t it?  The mothers carrying eggs don’t know where to go or what to do, so the eggs come out in the water and die.  Not cool.  There are rules if you live on the sand in just about any place in Florida or on the Gulf where sea turtles are known to make their nests.  For instance, you have to turn your lights off at night. 

You have to remove personal items from the sand.  You must take those actions necessary so as not to impede or interfere with the movement of sea turtles in their effort to bear young.  So many eggs are lost to natural predators.  So many more are lost to unnatural conditions.  The species is dwindling.  It’s likely that in a short enough period of time, seeing a sea turtle in the wild will become next to impossible. 

My point in all of this is that the Sea Turtle Hospital in Marathon is something to see.  I learned a lot visiting there and it made me appreciate even more what mother ocean has to offer us.  So, to my boating friends:  slow down, make sure you are using your holding tanks and emptying them properly (legally), don’t get rid of monofilament line in a way other than that which keeps it out of the ocean, don’t allow trash to go overboard, fish responsibly, and have respect for the medium that brings you so much joy.  Pay it forward it little and you will get it back a lot. 

There is not too much going on here in Marathon.  This is truly a cruiser’s haven.  We are anchored in Boot Key Harbor which is all but controlled by the City of Marathon.  It costs nothing to anchor.  If you feel the need to be in a marina, there are several.  They city also controls 260 mooring balls which are relatively inexpensive.  However, here is a place where you seemingly get a lot more than you pay for.  If you are on a city mooring, you get to use the great facilities they have set up for long term and long range cruisers.  There is a warehouse where you can use tools to do boat projects.  You get pumped out weekly whether you are on the boat or not.  There is free wifi.  There is a great cruisers lounge where you can watch movies, or trade books from the library.  The dinghy docks are great and well protected.  There are bike racks, and parking places.  The marina is right next to an unbelievable park which has basketball courts, tennis courts, in-line hockey, bocce ball, baseball fields, a batting cage, etc.  It is well located and very well thought out.  Folks are regularly friendly.  There is an exceptional marina staff.  There is a daily cruisers net. You have all access to these amenities for an even lower price should you chose to anchor out.  And, if you are a burned out drunk collecting disability and living aboard a derelict boat, there is the “Tree of Wisdom” where you may gather every morning to drink beer and wile away the days in the shade.  There is just about every service a boater could need, be it stainless steel repair, fiberglass repair, diesel engine service, or whatever else, from ac to heat.

Our market list.

The town itself is also very convenient with markets, bars, restaurants, a theater, convenience stores, etc., all within easy reach by bike or walking.  There is an airport here as well.  I have been somewhat less than impressed, however, with the keys as the “island paradise” it is marketed to be.  Perhaps if you come here and spend a week or two in a beautiful five star resort with a man made white sandy beach and a tiki bar, the Keys measure up.  In my own humble opinion, however, coastal Mexico is more beautiful and more mystical and wild.  Really, the only difference is that here, you have a lot of rocks covered with mangrove, as opposed to desert.  Once you get behind the mangroves, however, there is a busy highway, and all the comforts of home.  If you want to go fishing or diving, you can, but without local knowledge, you are probably wasting your time and risking your keel.  I really do like the climate, however.  The days are warm and balmy. 

The infamous Lobster Ruben

I’ve heard that summers here are disgustingly hot and humid and buggy.  Nevertheless, we are here and we will continue on our voyage because it is there.  There will be some things to experience when we get down to Key West, from what I have heard.  For me, standing on the spot marked as the southernmost point of the continental USA will be a cool thing and I am looking forward to that. I can live without the expensive marinas and high priced food and drink. 

The wind has finally let up.  For the most part, it has been blowing 25-30 all day and all night.  The water is flat in Boot Key Harbor, however, so other than a minor soaking in the dinghy, it is still completely possible to do whatever you want to do.  Unfortunately, when the wind stops, and the temperatures rise, the bugs come out – “noseeums” are a regular pest.  We have these clip on things we call “buggies”.  They run on a couple AAA batteries and have a little fan inside that blows over a membrane filled with “Off” bug repellant.  All you do is click it on and set it on the table next to you and it creates its own little bug free zone all around you.  These were Brenda’s idea, and I have to say, they work quite well.  While they may not have done much to impress the hornets on Matagorda Island, they seem to work well on the mosquitoes and noseeums here.

We’ll be here for a few more days.  Our supplies have dwindled to the point that major market trips are in order.  Doing it on a bike with a couple handle bar baskets and backpacks, however, takes several trips.  We also have a couple more things we want to visit while we are here.  There are always more spectacular sunsets to enjoy.  There is a very cool place we learned about and found called the Keys Fishery and Fish Market.  It’s almost across the street from the dinghy docks.  They make the world famous Lobster Ruben sandwich.  I had it, and was literally in sandwich nirvana.  They also do $1.25 stone crab legs in the afternoon.  I had a dozen the other day and really enjoyed them.  They are locally caught.  They also do a really cool thing every day at sunset.  The waitress comes around and deliveres a shot to every patron – some kind of fruity rum concoction – and then the bar tender leads the toast, “We have tall ships, and we have small ships, we have ships that fish the sea, but the best ships are friend ships, and we toast this sunset to all of thee.” 

These are our friends Bill and Carol whom we met in New Orleans and whom we haven't seen since then.  It was great to see them again.

So, with all that being said, here’s to you my friends.  Enjoy the sunset, enjoy the sunrise.  Be nice to the ocean.  Think about turtles.

Talk to you later.