Stuart, FL - Key Biscayne, FL

Ship’s Log – December 16 – Stuart, FL to December 30, Miami, FL

12/16 – 18, Our three days in Stuart were marked with much rain and wind. Mark struggled with the mooring ball and our lines. We got ashore inbetween showers and explored the downtown area and walked out to the shopping mall area to get a few things.

Finally on the Saturday the 19th, though it was windy it was finally sunny, we headed to the dock to do pumpout, get water and hit the road, turned right back onto the Magenta line and headed south. There were several bridges, most of which we were able to “skinny” under. The scenery ran from wildlife areas to modest homes on the water to very grand homes with even larger boats.

We did a 35 mile day and pulled into Lake Worth at about 1:30. LW is a nice body of water just off the ICW surrounded by homes, high rises and mongo boats and regular cruising boats at anchor. I spent the afternoon finally redoing the food inventory so we might have a clue as to what we have and where it is. Mark chilled with a cigar and book. The wind finally abated at about 4pm but came up again during the night so the night was a bit noisy but not too bad.

The next day also was a straight forward day – ditch, bridges, some wild areas, lots of homes and then dropped a hook in “Lake Boca Raton”. We were treated to a highly decorated catamaran for hire driving around with a party onboard.

Monday the 21st – Halleluiah, I took a few minutes to work out the bridge schedule and figured that we needed to be at the first bridge – about 3 minutes away – for the 8:40 opening. I knew I got it right when a 100 footer jumped out of his slip in front of us and then another behind us. Eight bridges and very little waiting time at any. Actually we did skinny under the last two and then we went into Sylvia Lake a Fort Lauderdale, a lake-like body of water off the ICW, again surrounded by million dollar homes. Dropped the hook at about noon.

One of the BIG guys!

We were right by a 7 foot bridge (more like 5) that when the tide was low we could get under with the dingy which cut the trip across the waterway to town quite a bit. Other times we had to go around the island. The first trip was around and then to a dingy dock in town; $10 unless you dined so we had lunch and then Bluewater Books – the mecca of boating information.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Bridge and Pelicans

Since it appeared that our weather window that we had hoped for would not appear we decided to stay put for the next couple of days. Local rules have us in question as to whether or not we will be harassed by the authorities, but most of the other boats seem to be staying put too. The anchoring laws just changed down here to the benefit (amazingly) of cruisers and according to our literature was not yet being routinely applied. Since publication was awhile ago, the authorities seem to have worked it out as it has not been an issue. Again a morning catching up on paperwork while Mark cleaned the hull which was still sporting its brown mustache from all the brown water of the Carolinas and Georgia. After lunch we took the dingy and headed up the

New River to explore the downtown area. Wednesday we spent some time revamping our thought process as it appears we may be “here” awhile before being able to cross. Went back up the river and had a beer intown and explored the riverfront. All lined with interesting homes, some pricy, others not. Very Venice like.

Sylvia Lake

New River Decorations

The Little Bridge!

Thursday the 24th we decided to head to Miami. Nice day –10 bridges and about 22 miles, made mental and paper notes of the other anchorages on the way. We pulled into our chosen anchorage area at about noon which is just north of the Venetian Causeway right by the island of Miami Beach. It was a bit exposed but fine for the night. We headed ashore at a nearby boat ramp / dock and walked around a bit. Stopped into the Publix which was jammed with people and food, being the day before Christmas. Picked up only a few things as we did not bring the back packs. Then we discovered a canal across the street that lead back to where we were anchored. After getting back to the dingy we went and checked it out to discover that it followed Dade Ave. almost the whole way across the island and went right by the Publix. Next trip to the store will be that way.

Back at the boat we had we sung in the current and were really close to shore and some apartments so we moved out more into the middle and reset. Then we continued with our Christmas Eve dinner of grilled pork chops and black beans and rice with a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.

It did end up being a noisy night with the wind and some noise from the apartments and I did not sleep well. The anchorage is a bit open. In the morning we took the dingy and checked out a more protected area that I had seen on the chart. We went back and got the big boat and moved into the new area called Sunset Lake. It was again amongst lovely homes (just discovered that one sold for $9.75 million!), is back behind some islands, and is more protected from the predicted north wind. Then having earlier done some restaurant research we dingied back to the dock, called a cab, waited through a rain shower and headed to Miami South Beach to a Cuban Restaurant – Puerto Sauga for our Christmas dinner. It was very full of people – always a good sign – in a family like atmosphere with every ethnic group represented and the food was very good. We were very pleased with our choice. After dinner we walked out to the main drag on Ocean Ave. The street was jammed as far as one could see with people dining in street cafes, strolling playing volleyball (in bikinis of course) and lounging all over the huge beach. The weather had cleared up and it was now in the 80s. We joined the strolling out onto the beach and then worked our way back up Ocean Ave, Collins Ave, to Espanola Ave and the Lincoln Street Mall. Quite a sight! Back at the boat we crashed from our long walk and full bellies, resting for awhile before calling friends and family to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Sunset Lake

We are now pretty much on hold looking for the correct set of wind direction and speed and a 3 day opening with that to make our crossing to the Bahamas. Hopefully we’ll get something close to that. In the meantime (Saturday) Mark worked on reapplying a coat of varnish to the cap rail, I dubbed on log / blog. After lunch we headed back to town to check out the Lincoln Rd. area. It is a 5 block section that has been turned into a pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants all with outdoor seating. Glad we had eaten as the food looked great but it was very pricy. Finally some restaurants as good as Portland. A big sight is an area of palm trees that had a large population of parakeets. Maybe Portland should enclose Congress Street and turn it into a covered promenade (skip the parakeets).

Sunday – Looks like the window of opportunity for crossing is close but not quite. Thought we might hit one on Wednesday. Good weather direction, long enough window – too much wind. May be another one in a few more days. So what to do now? Mark is doing the 2nd coat of varnish. I researched the area for another anchorage. Looks like it is more of the same, but before moving we did head ashore this time taking the bus south and walking back. Monday the 28th we did move to another area and we are now at Crandon Marina on Key Biscayne – a Miami Dade Municipal Marina. We did fuel up and pumpout and got to our slip. No cable and no wifi. A great disappointment – (spoiled?). The docks were new and good. The slip was tight and we are on top of the sport fisher next to us – didn’t seem to bother him when he showed up the next day. Also – very Spanish here – may need that Spanish for Cruisers that Mark got at the Annapolis Boat show. The bathroom and laundry are a bit of a hike – I’ll get my exercise. The upside was that the commercial boats at the back side of the marina are selling fresh fish off the backs of their boats. They have cutting tables all set up and Mark picked up some mahi-mahi. Wow – a bit different right off the boat – it was yummy. Tuesday we spent the day prepping the boat (cleaning inside and out, figuring out the bus schedule for last run to the store, etc.) in order to be able to go as soon as the window appears. Could be Friday now or maybe not until next week. It is not a great passage mileage wise, but can be the nastiest if not done carefully. So we wait – at least we are not having a nor’easter!!!!

South Beach!