Approach to Marvin Key from Gulfside aboard M/V Creative Touch,
May 2005
This Key has a beach/sandbar that rivals anything in the Bahamas. (except size)
One boat sized little Island - this is in the channel behind
the larger key just West of Marvin Key. If you anchor offshore you have to
dinghy past here to get to Marvin Key. Locals come in
from the backside.
The boats here are anchored up on the sand bar at Marvin Key.
It's at high tide so it's all underwater a foot or so. At mid and lower tide
it's an expansive beach - about the only place I know in the Keys
(undeveloped) where you don't have to wear water shoes. Locals keep it
clean. You're looking North at the small channel between Marvin Key (right)
and the larger Key to its West (left). This channel carries 7-10 feet of
water but does not go through out to the Gulf - so you can't come in on it.
Here we're coming from behind the larger Key, turning left into this
channel, and preparing to anchor on Marvin Key Beach.
On the sandbar looking back Southeast.
As we prepare to anchor on the beach, you can see the "spec"
of "Creative Touch" on the horizon, anchored in the Gulf in a nice, large
sandy spot in about 10' of water.
When you anchor your boat on this beach - don't forget to
keep watching the tide. If the tide goes out and you're way up on the beach
you're high and dry. At low tide only the deeper channel remains and you can
put your bow on the beach and your stern is in 7' of water.
Cassie dog pulls Jessica around on her wake board by her
tail.
Local airplanes from Sugarloaf Airport even have to check out
this beach/sandbar with low passes.
Creative Touch at Anchor
The North side of the Key is flooded during high tide, but at
lower tide it exposes more beach, and flats that go out a couple hundred
yards. Here the dog is going exploring for dry land to run.
North shore of Marvin Key at high tide.
Nice little private beach on the East side of Marvin Key.
Jessica scared away all the birds - and later you'll see where they ended up
landing!
This is on the Island's East side, just south of the small
beach. We'll cut through to follow trails back to the other side.
Ah - finally - out the other side of the Island to the
sandbar where our small boat is anchored.
Back to Creative Touch - NOW you can see where all those
birds went to that Jessica scared off the small beach!
Looking back at Marvin Key from offshore. Marvin Key on the
left, the larger Key on the right (West) and the channel with the
sandbar/beach in between them.
Time to get the deck-wash hose out!
Boot Key Harbor website created and maintained by Capt. Gregory
T. Absten, Marathon. - A Boater's Guide to the Florida Keys & Cuba
Copyright 2000-2008 Gregory T. Absten
