Farewell to the Keys

On Sunday the 13th we unhooked from mooring ball E-4 and headed out of Boot Key Harbor for the second time. The last time we were here we were on the end of Q Row – Q-10, so E-4 was a whole lot closer to the dinghy dock which made Em very happy (and that’s important!)

We fueled up at Pancho’s again, this time diesel was $4.45/gal (it was $4.08 a couple of weeks ago). This is the most we’ve ever paid for diesel, the good thing was we only needed 11 gallons.

We headed out into Hawk Channel which runs between the barrier reef and the islands but we’re technically in the Atlantic Ocean. We saw one depth of 34 ft. but average depth was around 20 ft; the water’s a gorgeous turquoise color. Winds were very light so we motored with the main up; the genoa (the foresail) was in and out. We had a very close encounter with dolphins; two of them were swimming right at our bow just below the surface. It would have been a very cool picture but by the time I got the camera out, they were gone!

We listened to the Brewers beat the NY Mets on XM Radio on the way. Since we were listening to baseball when we began this trip in September, it seems funny that now it’s baseball season again and we’re still out here cruising.

Here’s the view at sunset from our anchorage at Rodriquez Key off Key Largo. It was a spot recommended to us but it was wide open (not very protected) and no chance to go to shore; just two other sailboats anchored there overnight.

Of course the winds really piped up by the time we anchored. We set the Fortress anchor but when we noticed it was dragging we put out the Bruce which did a fine job for us. Paul decided to sleep in the cockpit and keep one ear alerted to the depth alarm anyway. I slept okay until 3:30am when the rocking got to be a bit too much to be comfortable. The “cold” front they’d been forecasting for days arrived during the night.

On Tuesday we were able to sail quite a bit of the way to Key Biscayne heading northeast in gusty winds. That’s the good news; the bad news is that the wind ripped the genoa along the leach side. We knew that these sails were nearing their end so we weren’t that surprised. After that we motor-sailed with just the main. We got a kick out of seeing three of these yachts towing their “little boats” – kind of like the big RVs towing their cars on the highways!

This was a strange sight to see out in the middle of the water. There are 7 of these homes left in "Stiltsville". They were built one mile offshore as gambling wasn't allowed any closer to shore. Before Hurricane Andrew in 1993, there were over 20 structures still standing and were under private lease until 1999. The Biscayne National Park Service has established a "Stiltsville Trust" to try and restore the structures and eventually open them for park use. Now that would be a water view!

We’d planned to anchor in No Name Harbor off Bill Baggs State Park but it was pretty crowded; about a dozen boats were in a very small space. We were unsuccessful getting the anchor to grab because we couldn’t let out much line so we headed to the second choice, Hurricane Harbor. This is actually more like a canal with a basin that’s available for public anchoring but no shore access as there are private homes all along the wall. The Bruce held well in the brisk winds but the Captain had another night of sleeping with “one ear open” for any changes.

Here’s a view of the Miami skyline from Biscayne Bay. It reminded me of being on Lake Michigan and seeing the skyline of Chicago in the distance.

Here’s the view from where we anchored in Hurricane Harbor.

On Tuesday we headed over to Dinner Key Marina on the mainland, a huge place with room for 582 boats. We hadn’t planned to spend any time in Miami but the ripped sail changed that plan. We arranged for the sail repair place to pick the sail up at our dock; they said it would be $300 and done in a couple of days. The marina was around $100 for one night; April is getting to be an expensive month!

The “cold front” felt great! The high temp of 69 degrees actually broke a record: the lowest high temp for April 15th since they’ve kept records! It got down to the 50s at night; good sleeping weather.

We’ve now moved over to the mooring field at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club – adjacent to the Dinner Key Marina. It’s a very short dinghy ride to their dinghy dock. They charge $25/day with use of their facilities so we’ll hang out here until the sail is repaired. The boats are really close together but I guess that’s not a problem. No one uses a dinghy; the sailing club provides transportation to and from your boat. What may be a problem is there’s a crocodile on the loose. They’re protected (alligators are not) so they’re working on getting him moved out of the area. We’ll keep an extra close eye on Ginger! Speaking of, here she is in her new cooler “do”:

Since we’re now out of the Keys, here are some factoids on the Keys:

The Keys are called “the islands you can drive to”
42 bridges connect 126 miles of the Keys
The longest island is Key Largo at 30 miles long
Key is derived from Cayo, the Spanish word for island
The highest point in the Keys is in Islamorada at 18 feet above sea level

That’s all for now - I'm all blogged out! I thought I'd better take this chance to give an update since we're right across the street from the library.