I have to admit I was pretty shocked to hear such glowing praise of Marathon.
Glad to hear things have changed for the better.... but I'd give it more than a
week to make such glowing comments. I left almost 2 years ago, after living
there 5+ years & it had became progressively less boater friendly throughout
that time. Also good to hear the municipal marina is finally providing
adequate services to boaters. There was a real hole to fill after Dockside
changed hands a few years ago & the new regime wanted nothing to do with the
lowly boaters in the harbor. The marina I was in (CPBYC) did away with their
facilities (showers & laundry) & have not replaced them to date. There were no
decent laundromats in Marathon to use either.
Apparently the local businesses are being "friendlier" to transients out of
necessity. Snow birds & retirees sold out in droves due to the high property
taxes & insurance a couple of years ago. Now that real estate has tanked & the
tourists tide has ebbed due to $3+/gal gas.... they probably would welcome
transient boaters, providing they have plenty of money to spend. I would
expect they still just grudgingly tolerate long term liveaboards, despite the
fact that is where a lot of the local work force comes from. Are they still
bussing people in from South Miami to work at Publix, Walgreens & Home Depot?
Didn't find West any better than most others I have been to. Slim pickings for
shipyards or medical/dental care in Marathon as well. On the positive side,
taxis are cheap & there are 2 good vets in Marathon.
----- Original Message -----
From: Philip R. McGovern
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 5:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] liveaboard communities
Norm, Janet and others:
We have been moored at Boot Key Harbor for the past week and I can testify that
Marathon is a great success story for "liveaboards" or, as I prefer, full time
cruisers. We heard about all of the earlier problems here, but the mooring
field and anchorage, which is managed by the City of Marathon, could not be
more helpful and welcoming now. The staff is extremely knowledgeable, helpful
and friendly. The facilities are amazing and include a huge dinghy dock, a
large work room and TV rooms, laundromat, showers, etc. The "Smorgasboat"
brings you coffee, newspapers, etc. and there is a free pumpout boat. There is
also a beautiful park next door to the harbormaster's building and they are
now in the process of building a Tiki Hut for the cruisers to use as a meeting
place.
There are nearly 300 boats here and lots of them have been here for months some
have been here for years. Most of us are on mooring balls, but there are 50 or
so good anchorages as well. People come to Boot Key Harbor for a couple of
days and end up staying for a couple of weeks or longer. We have patronized a
lot of the local business already and they are all super friendly and seem very
grateful for our business. This may be in part because the local economy is
not in very good shape, but it still gives us a good feeling about being here.
I don't know the details of the earlier problems, but there is no hint of bad
feelings or anti-cruiser attitudes now. They seem to love us.
The harbor community does a very good job of policing itself. There are no
noise issues, no jet skis and no derelicts and, best of all, no week-enders.
It's far enough up a creek from the deep water that there's no reason for the
week-enders to come back here. There's a daily cruiser net on channel 68 that
is a model for other cruiser nets. The local WM (the best one I've seen) is a
short dinghy ride in one direction and a Publix and Home Depot are an equally
short ride in the other direction. There are more great waterfront bars and
restaurants than you can possibly visit. If you do manage to get bored here,
Key West is a $2.00 (round trip) bus ride away. We spent the day there
yesterday and I can tell you that Key West is a whole 'nother story.
We just returned from a cruiser's pitch-in on nearby Sombrero beach which was
organized by a bartender from one of the local waterfront pubs. His
contribution to the pitch-in was a huge cooler full of Tequila Sunrises since
today is Easter Sunday. No one went home thirsty or hungry.
In short, if you want to be treated like royalty despite being a liveaboard,
come to Marathon. You may never leave. Don't tell anyone though....we don't
want it to get overcrowded.
Phil McGovern
s/v Sunshine
On Fri, Mar 21, 2008 at 11:55 AM, Norm of Bandersnatch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
Janet,
There was a big problem with livaboards in Marathon, in the Florida Keys, but
it was eventually, mostly, solved. I don't know who to contact but a good
start would be SouthWinds magazine.
Norm
S/V Bandersnatch
Lying Julington Creek FL
30 07.72N 081 38.4W
----- Original Message -----
From: J Hartman
To: [email protected]
Sent: 3/20/2008 3:52:37 PM
Subject: [Liveaboard] liveaboard communities
I am a former liveaboard who has been asked to write an article about
liveaboard communities that organized to protect their rights and perhaps
gained the support of the community. The article must have an overall positive
tone, so battles fought and lost are not appropriate.
If you are or were part of a liveaboard community that survived a threat,
please e-mail me information about what the problem was and how people dealt
with it. What worked? What did not?
In return, I would share successful strategies with others still struggling
to survive. A community near me in North Carolina was torn apart when the big
developers moved in. They formed a nonprofit corporation, got support of local
businesses, and hired an attorney, but the politicos were not convinced.
Although they are now scattered, they hope to return one day.
If you prefer, you can reply to me off list with "liveaboard" in the
subject.
Janet
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