Starting the Shake-Down cruise

We left Marathon and sailed the outside route (Hawk Channel) to Caloosa Cove Marina in Lower Matecumbe Key. With 10-11 knots of wind from the southeast, Deeper Season sailed beautifully at up to 9 knots. At the resort, we tied up on the seawall, had help from some really nice boaters with suggestions for other places to stop, and checked out the fishing gear on sale. The next morning, ready for an early departure, we found we were aground, so we waited until noon and a higher tide, then were on our way.

Exploring Marathon

We spent just about a week in Marathon Marina taking care of things, like washing all the sheets and dishes, cleaning, getting carpets so our dog, Mindy, could navigate the decks and steps, and provisioning. Our first journey wasn't far - just to a mooring in Boot Key Harbor (still in Marathon), but we were able to:

1. Try actually running the boat (actually, Bill had done a little of this in February to move the boat from Marathon Boatyard to Marathon Marina, but that was all)


2. Figure out how to properly moor a catamaran (which, it turns out, is a little different from a monohull).

Both worked fine, and we spent another 3 days or so in Marathon, this time enjoying a few of the great restaurants, trying out our internet connections, trying the stove, and using our wonder-dinghy!

Why the name Deeper Season?

Back when we were dating, I (Beth) was dabbling in calligraphy, and printed out one of my favorite poems by e.e. cummings. I framed it and gave it to Bill, and it hung in our bedroom for 25 years. We always said that if we got a boat, we would borrow the name from that poem. Here it is:

yes is a pleasant country:

if's wintry

(my lovely?)
let's open the year

both is the very weather

(not either)

my treasure,

when violets appear

love is a deeper season

than reason;

my sweet one

(and april's where we're)

(taken from 100 selected poems by e. e. cummings)

Meet Deeper Season

Welcome to our Deeper Season site. We (Bill and Beth Adams) will be spending a lot of time aboard, and will do our best to keep a log of our journey, with pictures whenever we remember to take them!

After closing on the boat in January, and after Bill spent most of February on board in the Marathon Boatyard taking care of myriad items (while the boatyard took care of corrosion on our mast), we both drove down to Marathon (in the Florida Keys) to start our initial 'shake-down cruise.'

Here is Bill on Deeper Season, a 40' Manta sail catamaran, with three of the umpty-ump boxes of stuff we brought down. Fortunately, Bill had spent much of the time in February relocating things to make more storage!