 |
| Entering Boot Key... |
Boot Key is a 1100 acre island in the middle of Marathon. This area offers a large number of boats to moor for the winter or year round. This is another option to those that prefer to be at anchor and not spend the money to stay in a marina. Hundreds of boats are moored (tied to a fixed floating ball that is attached permanently to the bottom) in Boot Key. You come up to the mooring ball and loop a line through to attach your boat to it. It looks a bit frightening to me, to see all these boats so close together and not one of them swinging into each other. It is first come, they take no reservations. When you arrive you call the number listed on the bridge and you are assigned a mooring ball number. This is your location for the duration of your stay. It is much less expensive to stay here, and you better have a dinghy so you can get around.
I was fascinated by all the amenities Boot Key offers. They have their own community center with a library (take a book, leave a book), dog walking area with doggy poop bags, workshop with tools ($5/day to use), TV room with lounge chairs, Bathhouse, laundry facilities, a water taxi, a small restaurant/bar, weekly pump-outs (they have their own boat that comes around whether you are on board or not) AND best of all every day at 9:00am they have their daily VHF radio updates. It is called the Cruisers Net (Channel 68). They give out information about activities offered, like yoga on Wednesdays. They have a buy/sell/swap segment to the radio show. Anyone can listen in and offer up advice if you have the knowledge someone may need. They complete the hour-long radio show with a trivia question, of course Ben mostly knows the answers!!! Last we tuned in someone was selling a ukulele, too bad they wanted too much money! We enjoy listening in!
I love the community they have formed here. Although, I prefer to stay in marinas for the convenience of letting our dog, Crocket, off the boat without a dinghy, I can walk to the restroom right from my boat, and if we are lucky there may be a pool at our marina, which is not offered on Boot Key. My husband spoils me and I am fine with that!
Anyone staying on Boot Key has to travel everywhere by dinghy. Essentially, it is your car. There is no power so no AC and no TV unless you run your generator. We see lots of boats in here with solar panels and small wind turbines that supply power from the wind.
What a great option if you are not looking to stay in a marina. The community is important for those that stay lengthy periods of time. And the views are to die for!!
 |
| Look close you can see the information for obtaining your mooring location. |
 |
| Hundreds of boats moor here...it is awesome to dinghy through here and check out all the boats. Some are permanent residences while others are here just for the winter months. |
 |
| Boats as far as the eye can see. |
 |
| This is the dinghy dock for the community center. |
 |
| Community Center |
 |
| Close up of the community center, each of these doors offers a different room for the cruisers. |
 |
| The bathhouse/laundry room |
 |
| I loved this sign! We would go left! |
No comments:
Post a Comment