Oh no!!!!!!!

[hard aground]

Did they really put moorings in Marathon? I was there in ī99 before heading to Cuba and beyond. I would assume that there is room in the back to anchor, or do they force you to get a mooring?

[todd v acceptance]

Last year I anchored on the bay side of the island and was a hundred yards from any one. In a norther you do have to move, but hey.

[stationr]

When we were last in Marathon there was still a little room to anchor near the inside of the bridge, but the majority of the old anchoring field was moorings. I've heard that the entire harbor may be moorings now.

I have mixed feelings about the moorings. Anchoring for us in "high season" (Dec 2006) had been an anxious experience--too many boats jammed in there, some of them sailboats without masts anchored with four rodes out so they never moved. If you're only going to be there for a few days, the mooring fees are tolerable, but obviously people who live there for months or years at a time are looking at a major expense.

On the positive side, the efficiency of the moorings plus the law of supply and demand says that there should usually be moorings available, even in high season. So perhaps you simply have to steel yourself for paying a fee rather than hunting for a spot.