Heading South Past Miami

Day 13: April 7, 2014

Leaving our quiet anchorage

We awoke early after another wonderful, cool night’s sleep.  Once all of the revelers left No Name bay, it was an ideal overnight anchorage.  We had pancakes with blueberries along with our Ready (essence of) Bacon. 

We received an email suggesting that some ugly weather that was coming across the southern portion of the US.  We had checked the wind forecasts and noticed that they were

Here Comes Miami

predicting some winds into the high 20’s coming through over the next few days. So, I called him and we, together, got on an accuweather website and discussed what was coming through.  After that call, Janine debated whether we should stay put or head for another really good, bad weather hiding place on Key Biscayne.  The winds today were predicted to be in the 15 to 20 mph range and the trip was mostly in the enclosed waters of the ICW so we decided to continue on south.



Cruise Ship Line-up in the Government Cut



What a difference a day makes!  The ICW had very few boats cruising along and those that were there were courteous and respectful.  The bridge tenders seemed to be more tolerant, making the trip much more enjoyable even though the wind was blowing quite hard.

We passed through the port of Miami where a bunch of cruise ships was sitting in the Government Cut.  Except for the fact that it was a busy place and the signage was a bit confusing, it was just another day on the ICW. 

Our Son's Appartment House in Miami -

The center one 36 floors up.

About half way down through the city, the ICW turns southeast and heads out into the Bay of Biscayne.  From that point we could see the apartment high rise in which our son and his family spent a year.    

Heading out into the Bay of Biscayne, the wind was again blowing directly on our nose so we continued to motor.  This area was now wide open with the waves building over many miles causing significant waves; however, the boat has high freeboard (sides) and, although bumpy, it performed well.  Also, on this trip, we finally figured out the glitches in our auto pilot. 

We have equipped the boat with a sophisticated GPS (chart plotter) that communicates with a depth sounder, wind speed and direction indicator, and compass built into an auto pilot (tiller pilot).  One of the key functions is the ability to, on the chart plotter, pick a point (waypoint) somewhere in the distance and slave the tiller pilot to take the boat to that point.  Until today, I couldn’t make it do that.  I would tell it to go and it would immediately make a 90 degree turn toward to some unknown point.  So today, I finally figured out the sequence of events required to make it work successfully.  On a long trip, say to the Bahamas, this is really invaluable.  I could pick a point 50 miles away, tell the plotter to take me there, and it will do so.  It is a relief to know that it works as designed.  Part of this trip was to iron out these bugs and learn what the boat and its gear would do.  

Our destination is No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne.  As we pulled into this fully-enclosed bay, we were greeted by about 12 boats, all of which had more length and taller masts than we.  We searched around for a place to drop our hook and finally found the perfect place, however, the fellow behind us was uneasy about us being a bit too close so we moved 20 yards ahead to the more nearly perfect spot.  Obviously all of the boat owners were concerned about the upcoming weather. 

the Boaters Grill on No Name Harbor

Once the boat was settled down, we climbed into Damn Dink, and went to shore where we put $40.00 in an envelope and dropped it in a box, to cover our mooring for 2 days.  We then went to the little restaurant for a beer and were enticed to order dinner even though it was only 3:30 in the afternoon.  I had a split Florida lobster with Cajun spice shrimp, black beans and rice and a salad and Janine had Mahi Mahi. 

While there, we struck up a conversation with a guy who had brought his dog with him for an afternoon snack.  He was an interesting fellow from Canada who commented on adopting his dog while on a trip to Cuba.  Later, the conversation lead to his occupation

One of our neighbors

and he said that he was a writer for Sail Magazine.  He travels all around on an old 30 foot long boat that is jammed with stuff. He discussed some of the articles that had been recently been published in Sail, one of which I recall having read.  Back at the boat, we checked out his credentials on line and came up with the following link.  Check it out.  He is a really interesting guy.  His name is Wally Moran and the link is http://www.sailmagazine.com/wally-moran-cruises-icw&cat=3&name=CRUISING

Later, we decided to head to the shower house and cleanse the salt grime from

Red sky in the morning .....

our bodies and little did we know that the shower was a pipe with a sprinkler head on it located outside of the restroom facility and in full view of the world.  We were not dressed for that kind of shower, but, not to be deprived of a shower , I stripped down to my tightie-whiteys and was clean in 3 ½ minutes, before anyone came by.  Janine took her shower almost dressed.  I am not sure how she did it, but knowing her, she made it work.  It really felt good to be clean again. 

It was getting dark and bed came easily at about 9:00.