No Name Harbor in Key Biscayne

On our way back to Key West, we stop at Key Biscayne just south of Miami. This time around, we have time to walk to the lighthouse and explore the park. We only spend one night and then set sail straight for Key West, courtesy of an electrical mystery which causes our battery to fail to recharge normally despite wind generator, solar panels, and the efforts of the engine.



After an exhausting 20 hours, during which Rick had a smile pasted on his face and kept saying, "Hellava sail!", as I clutched the sides of the boat to keep from sliding off the seat, and we screamed down the Hawk Channel in the dark, close hauled, at 7.5 knots, we arrived at 8 am in Key West. Happy to be back!

10 Reasons Why We Love Fort Lauderdale

10. It's a great full service place to wait out bad weather for a jump to the Bahamas or the Keys.
9. There are interesting museums here.
8. We were able to catch up with Cookie's brother Bill, Jill, and the La Points, who were on their own cruise.
7. They have mooring balls here for $30 a night at the city marina.
6. There are 6 washers and dryers and a TV lounge at the marina.
5. The beach is 2 blocks away.
4. There are cool restaurants within walking/dinghy distance.
3. They have a weekend trolley (free on Fridays) that goes to a shopping center with a grocery store, hardware store, and boating store.
2. We love the concept. There may be more canals and rivers here than in Venice and when the bells ring and the bridges raise, all the cars stop, because this is a town for BOATS.
And number 1. It's 82 degrees in November!

Rough Passage from ST. Augustine to Fort Lauderdale

The weather was forecast to be winds of 10 to 15, with deteriorating conditions, but was already above 15 when we left the harbor. By dark we had gusts to 27 and were surrounded by a boiling sea where waves collided in every direstion, eventually settling for 4 to 6 feet waves that rocketed into us from the north. Imagine black night, running downwind with the jib all unfurled, the howl of the wind in the stays, the seethe and bubble of the passing waves, and the creak and groan of the wood interior as it responded to the stress of wave and wind. Could it get worse? Did I mention the pouring rain at midnight? or the Bahama bound cruise liner that was following a path directly behind us at 4 am, at the exact same time that a fishing trawler pulled up on our right about a mile away? On the radar, I watched as the cruise liner closed in, 6 miles, 5 miles, 4, 3. I could see the lights and the enormous bulk of her getting closer and closer! Finally, I turned to starboard, directly into the path of the fishing boat, preferring to take my chances with a boat twice my size rather than a 500 foot cruise ship! As soon as I turned toward the trawler, he sped up and passed us in 5 minutes. On Thursday, we fought through 6 to 8 foot waves and gusts to 30 as we pounded our way to Fort Lauderdale. We are happy to be snug in Fort Lauderdale now as conditions outside have worsened and the wind now howls at gusts up to 40 with 7 to 9 foot seas.