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It’s Saturday morning and we are anchored in a mangrove creek off of Boot Key Harbor, Marathon, in the Florida Keys.  The weather for the last few weeks has been pretty crazy, like the weather up north, but in a Florida Keys sort of way.

That is to say that it’s been unseasonably cold, try 40s in the morning and 60s during the day.  However, before you start yelling “Bob, you are such a weenie, try Zero degrees and see how you like it.”, remember that while we are blessed with heat aboard Pandora, we are really exposed to the weather and….well, just trust me, it’s pretty cold out on the water and way colder than we were expecting.

Anyway, think what you will, but to be less than 100 miles from Cuba and feeling the 40s is not typical.  Regrettably, it’s just not tropical at all.

Our two day run down here from Miami was quite a snorter.    The wind was on the beam and solidly in the 20s with gusts into the low 30s.   Yes, that’s a lot of wind but Pandora handled it pretty well with just the jib.  For much of the time we were booking along at 7-8 knots, a pretty respectable speed with just a small jib up.   Our route took us down the Hawk Channel , which runs down the ocean side of the keys and is protected by a long barrier reef to keep out the ocean swells.   I can’t say that I enjoyed sailing hard for two days but we got here and to wait for more settled weather would have kept us in Miami for another week, which we didn’t want to do.

Marathon is the best harbor in the Keys (actually, it’s the only protected one) and it’s the spot where many cruisers spend their winters and some wait for a “weather window” to head out to the Bahamas.  The city has put in about 250 moorings so the harbor is completely full with very little anchoring room available.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy to pay the $20 per day fee, less if you book for a week or month, but EVERY mooring is occupied and there’s a waiting list with 30 ahead of us so our only option was to head into the mangroves and anchor there along with others in the same predicament until a mooring spot opens up for us.   And, I have heard from some folks who spent two weeks here and only a dozen boats left during that time. I have to say that’s not encouraging.

As an interesting aside, Marathon is the home to “radio Cuba” that has been operated by the Uncle Sam since the 60s, broadcasting “news” to Cuba.  There are three enormous radio antennas nearby blasting their signal to Cuba only to be “jammed” by our buddy Fidel.  We broadcast, they jam and that’s the way it’s been for some 50 years.  Such is the subtle thinking of government. The signal is so strong that the LED lights in our cabin have been flickering, even if they are turned off, and our inverter has even been turning itself on all by itself because of the strong radio signals.  I have also noticed that my SSB long range radio has terrible reception as the signal from the antennas just overwhelms it.  There is so much power from the station that the signal bleeds over onto the SSB frequencies and I can hear the station itself on Pandora.   Bummer that I don’t speak Spanish.

This is an interesting place, that’s for sure.  They even have a Home Depot.

And being in the mangroves is fine, while there is wind.  The mangroves are very pretty but when the wind drops, watch out, as the no-see-ums come out for blood.  Fortunately, or not, the wind has been honking so bugs haven’t been a problem.  Oddly, while the moorings are only $20 a day, you actually have to pay $22 a day to dock your dink at the city marina if you don’t take a mooring.  I guess that’s to keep out the derelict boats that hang around in the few anchoring spots and mess up the harbor.

While it’s been pretty cold for the last week, it looks like we are heading into a warm spell which will be great as our son Rob is going to visit us for a few days on Tuesday.   We are also going to visit our friends Port and Cathy at their home nearby.  That will be fun.

With more moderate weather forecast for the coming week, it’s quite possible that many folks will clear out of the harbor and make a run for the Bahamas which will free up some moorings, 31 I hope.

The creek that we are anchored in is used by local fishing boats that take it out to the ocean to fish so we have to be sure and stay out of the channel.   This means that we dropped our anchor and run lines and tie them to the mangrove trunks.  This is actually easier than it sounds and once we are firmly tied to the mangrove trees and anchored, we just winch ourselves into position.  It’s pretty neat and allows for many boats to be tied up along the mangroves in a tidy row.  Here’s what Pandora looks like in her spot.  As you can see, it’s not a long trip for the bugs to visit Pandora for a snack. Wind or not, as I write this  I can’t help feeling like I am being bitten.  As it’s still windy and the boat is all closed up, it must be my imagination.  Itch, itch, scratch…  I won’t think about that for now.

How about a panorama in the early morning light?  Anyway, there is also a very healthy local manatee population.  This fellow had to have been a good ten feet long going nowhere in a hurry. So, for now, here we are snuggled against the mangroves thinking about the no-see-ums while they wait for a lull in the wind to come over to Pandora for dinner.

Let’s hope that lots of boats head over to the Bahamas soon as I know that’s where they wannabee. 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Thursday morning and it’s blowing like stink here in Key Largo.   The GRIB files that we download each day that provide predictions on wind were right on when they said that it would be fairly peaceful overnight but that the wind would abruptly pipe up to the high 20s around 04:00 today.  It did.  Long term forecasts of wind aren’t of much value but when you get within 24-48 hours they are pretty accurate. 

We have decided to stick here for a few more hours and see if things moderate a bit but as we’d like to be in Marathon by Friday evening as the wind will then clock to the east which will make it quite uncomfortable for any areas exposed from that direction, which this entire area is.

Yesterday we had a very nice run down from No Name harbor near Miami as the wind was quite variable going from the high teens to the mid 20s but as it was never forward of the beam, we were able to make good time under jib or genoa alone.

Today we are hoping that things will calm down a bit mid morning so we can head out for the 40 mile run to Marathon.  Having said that, we really don’t particularly want to sail in winds piping up to the low 30s.  That would be annoying.

When we were leaving Miami a few days ago, Brenda snapped some great photos of the skyline as we motored away.  It’s amazing to see this many buildings crammed into such a small space and that there is enough money in the world to pay for them.  Pretty dramatic view.In lower Biscayne Bay there are still a few homes in what is known as “stiltsville”, a collection of rough homes, some from the 1930s, on, no surprise “stilts”.   There used to be many more but only those “grandfathered” are there now.  It seems that if they are badly damaged in a storm, they can’t be rebuilt.  They look so remote out on the horizon.  They have an interesting and very colorful history as described here. As we made our way the 45 miles to Key Largo we were passed by a number of large motoryachts, probably on their way Key West.  One in particular was a standout, this lovely old Trumpy.  Very elegant.I have to say that it was pretty tough to get our anchor to hold yesterday when we arrived here in Key Largo.  Our plan was to anchor just outside of the harbor entrance in the lee of the island.  As the bottom here is all covered with grass, we had a tough time getting our Rockna anchor to penetrate the bottom and hold well. 

After a few tries, we found a sand patch and dropped the hook there.  While we were able to get the anchor to stick the first time, it wasn’t in enough to make me confortable knowing that the wind was going to pipe up today.  The last thing I wanted to have happen would be to drag in the middle of the night.  Well, it did get plenty windy and it held.  It just shows that properly backing down on the anchor to be sure that it’s secure is a good habit to get into.

After anchoring we decided to head ashore for dinner and on the way we spied non-other than the African Queen, the boat from the movie of the same name.  She was out on an evening tour with some paying passengers.  I had heard that she was in Key Largo but wasn’t expecting to see her first hand.  She looks as shabby now as she did in the movie.  Pretty neat, never the less.Well, it’s about time to get going on our way to Marathon.   If it proves to be too annoying with the wind we will stop part way and continue the rest of the way on Saturday.   I have heard that the mooring field in Marathon has been very busy so it’s possible that with this nasty wind that we won’t be able to get a spot and will have to anchor nearby.  I guess we will have to see.

Wind or not, I am pleased to have too much wind and temperatures in the 50s instead of single digit temperatures and snow.  Besides, cold or not, there are palm trees to remind me that this is supposed to be tropical even if it isn’t right now.

It’s Wednesday morning and we are anchored in No Name harbor, less than ten miles south of Miami.  This little harbor gives new meaning to “tight” anchoring.   The harbor is bordered on the south by bulkheads and on the north by mangroves but at only 1000’ long by 500’ wide, the harbor is a very small space to fit into.  And, imagine 25 boats, some 65’ long anchored “cheek to jowl” in that small a place. 

Yesterday when we arrived there was BARELY enough space for us to drop the hook and when we settled in we were less than a boat length from boats on either side.  We were particularly close to a large motor yacht and when we shifted to port and he to starboard in the wind, we could have passed a bit of Grey Poupon between the boats on a boat hook.  That’s pretty close and a bit too tight for us.   So, we moved, but only about 15’ and reset our hook.   A little better but not great.

So, after that was done I jumped in the dink and introduced myself to a family on a nearby sailboat from Germany.  No, they didn’t sail from there but they do spend the winters here aboard with their three kids.  Nice group and their English was quite good.  Much better than my German as the only German that I know is what I heard on “Hogan’s Hero’s” when I was a kid, which is to say nothing at all.

Anyway, we had a nice talk and in particular we compared notes on the weather, which was going to be very different today than yesterday as the wind was forecasted to shift from the south to the NW and get quite strong.    Their plans were to take them to Ft Lauderdale, about 40 miles north of here.

As luck would have it, after we talked, they decided that they would leave the harbor and sail north immediately to avoid being stuck here for days till the wind shifted to the south again.

Voila, I had more room to anchor so even before they cleared the harbor we upped our anchor again and moved into their spot.   There you go, enough room to spread out and all it took was “convincing” a boat with five Germans aboard to leave so I could move into their spot.

Well, that’s not exactly how I had planned it but it worked out.

So, now it’s early morning and the wind has indeed shifted from the south to the north but it’s still very light.  Later this morning it’s supposed to increase to the teens and then on Thursday into the high 20s so we had better get going.  I’d prefer not to sail in wind in the high 20s but that’s what we’ll do as the next shift will be to the south and going against that will be really unpleasant.

Besides, we really want to get to Marathon and spend some time relaxing so off we go.

I understand that this harbor tends to get really packed with boats waiting for favorable winds to head out to the Bahamas which is what seems to be the case right now.  I expect that most folks will stay here till the wind shifts back to the south and then there will be a mass exodus as opportunities to cross the Gulf Stream easily are not all that common.

I was particularly struck by one little oyster boat that is anchored near us.  Interestingly, she’s from Mystic CT.   Actually, Anne looks pretty familiar and I expect that I have seen her in the Mystic area in the past.  I’d love to learn more about her history.Of course, we had a lovely sunset but then you’ve probably seen a few of those posted here.  Too many?  Oh well, I like them so you’ll see many more I in coming posts. Well, it’s time to make the coffee and get going before the wind picks up too much.  Off we go to Key Largo and Marathon.  Wish us a good passage. 

It’s Tuesday morning and we are thinking hard about leaving Miami after a week. We went to the Miami Boat Show a few times and have walked and walked, all over South Beach.  We’ve done plenty here, had a great time and are now looking forward to heading south to the Keys.

Even though we are in the heart of Miami, each sunrise is a treat.  Here’s the “sunrise of the day” for today.Nice spot.

Actually, there are lots of nice spots here in Florida and as some prefer the views from land and some from on the water, there has been considerable debate over the last few years regarding anchoring rights in Florida waters.   Or, to put it another way, “I have paid millions for my home and I don’t want to look at your pathetic little boat anchored out in front of my home.”

Cruisers, like us, value the ability to put down the hook and spend time in an area without having to go into an expensive marina, where even a single night can cost upwards of $100 to $150 for a boat the size of Pandora.  And, it’s pretty clear that the towns and cities feel the same way as there is almost always good access and docks provided by the city for boaters to use to get ashore.

There are generally many spots available to anchor and cruisers value the ability to pick a spot, drop the hook and enjoy some shore time.   However, in some areas owners, particularly those who’s homes are valued in the many millions, are pretty sensitive about anyone marring their “multi-million dollar view”.

It isn’t surprising that folks that have that much money are used to getting their way and where you can and can’t anchor has become a very sensitive topic over the last few years.

Well, it seems that we have anchored, here in Sunset Lake, at what some might describe as“ground zero” in the ongoing debate on anchoring rights.  The current rules, well there aren’t many rules, is that we can anchor anywhere we want provided we don’t damage property.

However, as I mentioned in my last post, there are several property owners in this particular harbor that have decided to make their own rules.  I have already mentioned the guy that anchored 25 little boats in front of his home.   It seems that this guy has a friend that feels as strongly as he does about keeping the “riffraff “ out of his line of sight.

The other night we were anchored, as we are now, in the middle of the harbor and a boat from Canada came in and anchored between us and shore.  A short time later the home owner that was nearest the Canadian boat came out and started screaming obscenities that if he didn’t pick up his anchor and move that he would “sink your F*&^%$G boat”.  This went on for several minutes until the boat picked up anchor and moved away.

The fact is that it is legal for us to anchor here but there seems to be a few bad apple home owners that don’t want the law to stand in their way of making a scene.  It was very unfortunate to have a nice evening violated by screaming.   I guess if you are paying more than $80,000 a year in property taxes and that’s what it is, I looked it up, you feel like you own the world.

For the record, I called the police and reported what happened.   They were sympathetic, indicated that I wasn’t the first to call and promised to send out an officer to check in on the homeowner.

Anyway, it’s going to be interesting to see how things develop over the next few years and I am hopeful that anchoring rights won’t be eroded too much.

So, for now, we are enjoying time in this lovely little harbor, nasty neighbors or not.

It seems that other locals enjoy this spot too as there is a constant parade of boats cruising through to enjoy the sights.   This Trumpy came in yesterday, circled the harbor, and headed back out.  She was a real head turner.   Keeping something like this in good shape is a major commitment.So, our plan is to leave here later today and head down to a little harbor appropriately named “no name harbor”, just south of Miami.  Then, on Wednesday we’ll make the two day run to Marathon, in the Keys, where we plan on spending a week or so.

Our son Rob has business in Miami next week and will be visiting us while he’s here, which will be fun.

It’s going to be very windy over the next week so hopefully we will have an easy run south.  The nasty weather that has been slamming the Northeast this winter translates into very windy conditions down here.  They say that when the northern states have tough winter it blows hard down here.   So far, that’s what’s happening.

Yes, we feel like we have “done Miami Beach” and are ready to move on and are looking forward to exploring the Keys.

It’s Friday morning the 13th of February.  I have never been much for superstition but perhaps it would be best if I avoid walking under ladders, spooking black cats or whatever the “fear du jour” of the day might be.   Actually, I feel pretty lucky, the 13th or not, as I look out at the scene surrounding us in this lovely little harbor.  Yes, it’s plenty populated, with homes in every direction but the view of the city skyline in the distance is amazing.  This was the view that we enjoyed to the west as the sun set last evening.  Yesterday we walked a long way, exploring the area, about 6 miles according to Brenda’s pedometer. By the time we got back to Pandora, I have to say that our “dogs” were barking.  Today, perhaps a few less steps.

Our goal yesterday was to explore the South Beach historic district with it’s distinctive Art Deco architecture.  Even the local Gap store has to comply.  You won’t see another store from this chain housed in this style elsewhere.It’s pretty clear that if you want to live in South Beach, you have to do whatever you need to do to fit in.  And, that probably means not wearing much clothing.  Here, if you want to look the part, you might want to consider a string thong bikini and stiletto high heals.  For the guys, body building or “surfing” around on a long skate board is a must.  We enjoyed watching some of the local color on the beach, that’s for sure.  Love those well formed “pecks”.  It was pretty easy to identify the locals from the, well, folks like us.   However, I think we look pretty good for a couple of “older” folks taking time to soak in the scene.  Right?The view from our perch was perfect for surveying the local scene.  And speaking of locals, how about a Lemur from Madascar?  Now, that’s not something you see every day.   Not to worry, he wears a diaper.  No Lemur Poo on you.   And, for a modest “donation” you can even get up close and personal. Real close. There was a terrific brick path that ran for several miles along the beach.With great views of the open air sidewalk restaurants.  The subtropical climate of Miami makes for some really interesting plants and flowers.  This one looks like it’s growing out of a palm tree but these 4″ flowers haug down from a tree over a sidewalk. There are also orchids growing on trees.  After years of growing them in a greenhouse, seeing them in outdoors is a real treat.  And, even in the middle of the city, the herons feel right at home poaching a snack out of the Koi pond. We capped off our day with a late snack at a very fancy hotel.  This was the view from our table of the pool area.  Pretty swank. Forgive me but I must share a photo of the lovely dish we ordered, beautifully presented. Yum…  Low carb of course.All and all, a lovely day.  Actually, some might agree that “lucky” would be pretty descriptive.

So, today?  Off to the boat show.  Yes, I am feeling pretty lucky these days, Friday the 13th and all.