February 17, 2013

Our first week here at Coral Lagoon has gone quickly, with a few minor projects completed along with our usual routine jobs of groceries, laundry etc.  The temperatures have been very warm and our afternoons have been spent cooling off at their pool.  

We decided to rent a car on Tuesday and drive down to Key West and see what it was like.  We were glad that we decided to drive, rather than sail the boat down.  There did not appear to be any facilities nearby such as grocery stores, that would be convenient for boaters.  The Fleming Key anchorage, that had been recommended to us, had been turned into a mooring field and the docks in Key West were very expensive.  There wasn’t many of either, docks or mooring balls available.  

The trip down, U.S. #1, the Overseas Highway was long, flat, straight and runs parallel to the remnants of the old railway line, that originally joined the Keys.  Large stretches of this highway are made up of  causeways, one of the longest being Seven Mile Bridge.  

We drove just to the edge of the new part of Key West, parked the car and boarded a Trolley Tour.  The tour guides were great for giving you some of the local history and trivia of the area and letting you know things to see and do.  One of the facts they shared was when the original railroad was built in the early 1900’s, Mr. Flagler spent $69 million of his own money to build it, this would be the equivalent to somebody privately financing the Alaska Pipeline today!  The Trolley Tours allow you to get off and on at all their stops around the Key, as often as you want.  Our first stop was the obligatory picture at the southern most point in the U.S.  Ernest Hemingway’s house was only a few blocks away so we decided to walk, rather than get back on the trolley.  We toured his home and saw descendants of the 6 toed cats that lived there prior to Ernest Hemingway.  The sea captain that originally built the home, believed 6 toed cats would bring good luck.  The grounds and swimming pool were beautifully landscaped.   We got back on the trolley and went to Mallory Square.  Mallory Square is an area of gift shops and eateries where we hoped to take care of two more obligatory things we had to do in Key West.  Conch fritters for lunch and Key lime pie for dessert, both were delicious and now ticked off the list!  We found out here why there were so many line ups everywhere, there was a large cruise ship tied up here for the day.  After touring some of the shops, we hopped back on the trolley and finished the tour and headed back to Marathon.  

The rest of our week ended the same as it started, more routine jobs and the afternoons spent at the pool.  Not much stress happening here this week.

Obligatory picture at the southern most point in the U.S.A.

Six toed cat in Hemingway's living room.

The room over Hemingway's garage where he would go to write.

Statues in front of theater in Mallory Square.

The reason for the large line ups in Key West.

Our afternoon delight!

      

February 10, 2013

We left Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Monday morning.  The ICW heads south between Florida’s mainland and the Keys, but is so shallow, it is not recommended for any boat that draws more than 4 feet.  The alternative route is called Hawk Channel, not really part of the ICW but the only option for deeper draft vessels, such as ours.  It runs south on the east side of the Keys, between the Keys and the barrier reef.  This is our first time back on the Atlantic since we went down the coast of New Jersey and probably the most we’ve used the sails since our time on the Chesapeake Bay.  It was a beautiful day and we had great sailing.  The water is different here from what we’ve seen - it has beautiful shades of aqua  and is very clear.  Forty-nine statute miles later we dropped the anchor on the north side of Rodriguez Key.  This is the closest we’ve been able to get to any of the Keys as the water in and around the Keys and harbours is too shallow for our 5 and a half foot draft.  When people with boats like ours head south, they can only use this anchorage and just pick the side of the Key that gives you the best protection from the wind.

Tuesday morning started out as another good sailing day with 10 knot winds pushing us farther south.  However, around 12:00 noon the winds died and we started seeing more crab pots.  The afternoon was spent dodging crab pots, while trying to maintain our course to Boot Key, Marathon.  Our goal had been to pick up a mooring ball in Boot Key, Marathon, but when we arrived, there was a waiting list, so we anchored near the mooring field.  People we had spoken to in Coconut Grove mentioned that they got a really good deal on a dock at the Coral Lagoon Resort The Boat House Marina.  So Dave contacted them and the price was about the same as the mooring field at Boot Key Harbor.  The Marina sounded good but due to shoaling, the channel would require local knowledge to get us into it so the harbor master put us in touch with the only other sailboater in the marina.  

After speaking to Jay (the other sailboater) the following morning, we decided to wait until high tide at 5 pm, before trying to enter the channel to the harbour.  We left Boot Key Harbor around 2:30 pm to give us enough time to cover the 5 miles (wind right on the nose and dodging crab pots all the way) back north to the channel.  When we arrived, we contacted Jay and he guided us in by driving to different points in his truck, where he could watch us as we followed the channel in.  He was a great help, we couldn’t have got in without his help. 

We have spent the rest of this week trying to get oriented to the area.  Shopping and laundromat are a taxi ride away... Key West does not look like it would be worth 2 days sailing to go to and back.  Our plan is to stay here and use this marina as a base to site see up and down the Keys.  

Lighthouse at Bill Baggs State Park

Houses built on stilts near No Name Harbor known as Stiltsville
No longer allowed to build like this in the Keys

Sunset at Rodriguez Key

Boot Key Harbor Mooring Field and anchorage.
Busy spot!

Our dock at Coral Lagoon Resort Boat House Marina.
Quiet spot!

February 3, 2013

Due to high winds we decided to stay at Lake Sylvia another day.  We were able to catch up on chores that we weren’t able to do while the crowds were here on the weekend.  We met a Ukrainian captain, anchored near us, who had just purchased a U.S. boat.  He came over for a visit, which made for an interesting evening.  

We left Tuesday morning and headed south again down the ICW, 7 bridges later we stopped at Haulover Beach Park Marina in North Miami.  When we made the reservation, the dock master said there was fuel, pump-out, shopping nearby, and newly installed WiFi.  When we arrived, we found the fuel and pump-out were located next door to the marina, our slip was located in the farthest back corner, the nearby shopping was a short bus ride away, but the WiFi did work well ( first WiFi since Vero Beach!).   Bakers Haulover Inlet located near the marina, has a fixed height bridge of 32 feet, which explains why we were the only sailboat in this marina.  Most of the boats were large sport fishermen and 100 plus foot yachts.  The parking lot was also interesting, having a selection of Audis, Mercedes, Porches, Jags, and one Rolls Royce.  We didn’t feel like we fit in.  

Dave had heard there was going to be a space launch from the Kennedy Space Centre, so we had booked a second night with the hope of watching it from the nearby beach.  It turned out to be a night launch, after the beach had closed.  We used the day to catch up on laundry and lay on the beach and read.  We didn’t go in the water because the lifeguard stations had flags out warning of ‘rip currents’ and ‘dangerous marine life’.  We asked a lifeguard about the ‘dangerous marine life’ and he said it was for Portuguese Man-of-War and jellyfish.  

The Bakers Haulover Inlet is one of those locations that is known to have a serious shoaling problem.  We spoke to a boat owner and captain from the marina Thursday morning and we were advised to wait until high tide to try passing through.  So we took a bus ride and got some groceries while we waited.  It was about an hour after high tide by the time we left the harbour.  The shoaling was so bad that 3 green markers were almost in line with the reds on the other side and there was a tow boat who was lounging near the markers waiting for people to go aground.  We didn’t disappoint him, we went aground, but we were able to wiggle our way off into deeper water.  He advised us that as the current was going out we were drifting out of the channel towards the greens.  We thanked him and tipped him for his advice, thankful that we didn’t have to pay $450.00 for his executive special.  Seven bridges later we finally left Miami and entered Biscayne Bay.  We headed for the Dinner Key Channel to pick up a mooring ball at the Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove.  

Friday we were able to get a water taxi to shore and went for lunch and toured around some of the shops and boutiques in Coconut Grove.  

We headed east to the south end of Key Biscayne to No Name Harbor, located in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.  This is a popular anchorage for people heading to the Bahamas, or in our case, going south via the Hawk Channel on the Atlantic side of the Keys.   The trip over only took us about an hour Saturday morning, which was good as it allowed us to find a spot to anchor before the party boats all showed up in the afternoon.  Huge yachts with huge stereos, all trying to play their favourite Spanish tunes louder than the other boats.  

We stayed here again on Sunday due to forecasted high winds and waves on the Atlantic.  In the afternoon, the party boats started to arrive again, so we decided to walk to the beach.  This is another big beautiful beach with crystal clear water.  Dave saw a manta ray swim by in front of him, as he was wading in the water.  

Bill Bird Marina also called Haulover Beach Park Marina

The beach at Bakers Haulover  Beach Park

The typical scenery along the Miami section of the ICW

No Name Harbor, Bill Baggs State Park, Key Biscayne, Florida

Some of the residents of Bill Baggs State Park, Key Biscayne, Florida