Hi John,

Welcome back, really nice to see you posting here again...

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've lingered in Florida before crossing to the Bahamas far longer this winter than I usually do... All the anchorages in places like N Lake Worth, Lake Sylvia/Lauderdale, Miami Beach, and throughout the Keys as far as Bahia Honda, I had the feeling I could have stayed as long as I wanted, with no hassle whatsoever...

Only place that didn't appeal to me was Marathon, but that's just me... Obviously, the few hundred paying for a mooring there would disagree, they all appeared pretty happy with the deal there, I can only assume... The whole scene just has way too much of the aspect of an KOA Kampground, to me - with more than a slight whiff of the sort of "Independent/Assisted Living Facility" my mom wound up in towards the end of her life...

However, I still really enjoyed my time in Marathon, wound up moving into Marathon Marina for a few days to spend more time ashore... That's the major problem there, there really are so few places where one can go ashore by dinghy, without somehow paying for the privilege... Hell, even Lauderdale is more cruiser-friendly in that regard, there's a public launch ramp right next to the police dock just a short dinghy ride from Lake Sylvia, for example...

But, to hear some folks talk, you'd think the sky was truly falling... The letter Roger posted in one of his blog entries, from some guy who'd brought guests to Marathon, and said he'd never do it again... Apparently, they were shocked to see homeless people walking around town, imagine the Horror! (grin) Geez, this is America in 2012, for chrissakes, what the hell do they expect?

One thing that definitely appears to be alive and well today, however, is the Herd Mentality among cruisers... Throughout the Keys, I don't believe I ever saw another boat anchored in isolation or solitude... There's certainly no shortage of spots to do that, however, and I managed to sneak on off into the edge of the backcountry in Florida Bay for a couple of days, I may as well have been on the back side of the moon... Other than a few passing bone fishermen during the day, there was NOBODY else out there, the sense of isolation was incredible...

More than anything else, I think reliable, unsecured wifi signals are largely dictating where people are choosing to anchor these days in places like the Keys, and the Bahamas... Whenever you see a cluster of boats, you're pretty much guaranteed that's what's going on, there... (grin)

best regards,

Jon