Marathon to Islamorada, ball

Just off of Shell Island are 5 mooring balls. And we took one.

Shorter day today so we didn't leave at the crack of dawn. We didn't dawdle too much either. This is our first trip to the keys and the wind was our of the south around 15 MPH. We wanted to get underway before it could get beamy, which it never did. 

As we left we noted that Marathon was our southest-most point we every reached as boaters. Yay, us!

There is a valuable upside to winds, especially in a place like the keys. Airflow! Despite the warmth (mid-80s) we haven't had to run the AC at all due to the breeze.

Russ trying not to get his feet wet.
This is the secret dinghy spot.

We grabbed a ball, took a quick nap, then dinghy-ed into town. Rumor had it there was a notch just west of Lorelei Restaurant. Not a dinghy dock, as we found out, but a sandy boat ramp that a number of dinghys use to get to shore. Most of them tied to mangrove plants. Just like we did.

That gave us a 10 minute walk to the Islamorada Brewing Company where we had lunch and drank some brewskies. I had the blueberry ale, which was very good.

On the ball at Shell Island

The tender ride itself was longer than most. Surrounding the island are lots and lots of shoals, all marked with "No Combustible Engine Vehicles Allowed" signs. We made a circle, going the most direct way in (but farther out in the gulf), then toddling through more islands on the way back.

When we returned, after all the salt water spray, I needed a quick shower! But it was a lovely trip.

We went to the island by the green track, then 
returned by the red one.