President's Day Zaf (2008) - Part 3

I started things off well...making daily entries into the blog for the first two days of our excursion to Marathon Key. Then it ended. Perhaps I succumbed to the libations of the event and lost my focus. Maybe I was just too relaxed to care. I suspect it was somewhere in between. In any case, I wanted to return to the blog and complete the weekend before the memories fade into the din of winter memories.

The blessings of a large boat: We were all warmed up and, through the use of strategically placed name tags, refreshed on each others names. The Marathon brothers had an afternoon picnic planned for Saturday afternoon. With the exception of some of the host Table's brothers, transportation was to be by water. There was a slight problem: the Zaf was so well attended that the local brothers didn't have the necessary capacity to transport everyone. Fortunately, Orza, the exceptional power cat from the Chesapeake Table was known to be cruising in the south Florida area and had been confirmed for the weekend. With a small amount of arm twisting - and, I suspect, some libations - the Marathon brothers persuaded Cruz to press his vessel into service for the afternoon. Cruz and Ann were the perfect hosts and everyone enjoyed the ride.

An afternoon picnic (with no beer): With the majority of brothers and captives on Orza three vessels, including Golden I and Tee Time left Marathon headed southwestward to Bahia Honda State Park. When Orza gets weighted down, she can't always get up on a plane. This slows things down considerably. Golden I got out in front of everyone at +30 knots. Tee Time wasn't far behind but Orza was. The smaller boats got to the park's boat basin well ahead of Orza. It was probably better timed that way as they were able to disembark their crews who were able to explore and help set up the reserved pavilions.

Ever the reliable boat, Orza arrived about an hour later. Golden I was pressed into ferry service as the meat hit the grill. The zaf participants gathered lined up for food. Snapper King had a hard time keeping up with demand but, eventually, everyone was fed. Because of park regulations, no beer or alcoholic beverages were allowed in the park. Those of us that arrived on the smaller boats suspected that Orza's late arrival may have been planned to allow everyone aboard to get their fill before arriving. It remains a controversy.

The restriction on alcoholic beverages was about the only negative aspect of the afternoon. Those of us from the northern latitudes were thankful for the breezy summer afternoon. The water was warm and clear; and everyone took some time to enjoy doing nothing but communing with one another. Eventually, we had to leave as there was a dinner event planned for the evening.

Some of the crews changed for the return voyage. Golden I and Tee Time departed on the Gulf side of the Keys. Tee Time made and effort to outpace Golden I but as soon as Sparky caught on to Brillo's strategy, Golden I was given the spurs and cruised on by. Meanwhile, out on the Ocean side, Orza was miraculously able to plane up for the return voyage (remember that controversy I spoke of?). It was mid-Zaf and the brethren were at peace.

[To be continued and improved...]