Morning at Sea off Marathon Key

On New Year’s Day, we woke up early and stopped in at McDonald’s for a quick breakfast before hopping on a charter boat for a half day on the open seas. Yes, that loose end of spreading Dad’s ashes had finally come and I’ll have to say I was a mess while eating breakfast.

We arrived at the marina a little before 8 am and Captain Dave was busy rinsing off the deck of the boat. When he was done, we discussed plans for the morning. I made sure he was aware that the main purpose of the trip was to spread my dad’s ashes. I didn’t have a specific location so we just asked him to take us to a good spot. Our plans after that were for him to show us around from the water for a short time and then snorkel for the remaining period.

Captain Dave brought us out about 30 minutes to East Sister’s Creek Wreck, where I first spread some of Dad’s ashes. Then, I let the kids and Rob spread some as well. There was more left so I spread the last amount, while shedding lots of tears. Watching the dark gray ashes sink out of sight was really surreal.

You can watch the video and read more about the spreading of my dad ashes here.

Captain Dave showed us different spots on Marathon Key as well as a couple other nearby keys.

Coordinates where we spread my Dad’s ashes: 24°40’56.6″N 81°04’59.5″W

Private island that you can rent

Here we are after spreading Dad’s ashes

Then, we anchored at Sombrero Reef, where all of us except Rob enjoyed snorkeling in the beautiful blue waters. Rob’s stomach was upset, from what we believe was the Chinese food we had eaten the night before. He never even got in the water that day. The rest of us swam and explored. I adore snorkeling.

Snorkeling was so fun. I don’t have a picture of it, but when I was swimming back to the boat I saw a Nurse Shark. That got me a little frightened at first, but she was probably 10-15 feet down on the bottom of the ocean swimming through the corral.

We probably snorkeled for about an hour and half before it was time to get back to the marina. I highly recommend Lady Catherine Charters if you’re ever down in Marathon. We chartered this boat complete with boat gears like marine engine mounts for about $300 for half a day, and that included rental of snorkeling equipment that we picked up from a dive shop the day before. Those who would like to purchase new duffy boats may contact yacht management services. In addition, if you are looking for an exceptional boat storage facility, then you might want to consider contacting Shadow Storage. And if you are looking for excellent protection for your boats, then you might consider these wrapping solutions from professional shrink wrap services.