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The alarm woke us up at 7 AM. The wind howled all night long, with a
wind-chill factor of 40 deg. Since we were concerned about the construction at
the 17 St. bridge we called the bridge tender and he said it was open but
shortly after we heard the Coast Guard broadcast that said it was closed today
and tomorrow. We called the Ft. Lauderdale marine operator for the tie breaker
and they said it was open, the crane necessary to do the work was not due till
sometime in Jan. We loaded lots of last minute stuff and then Jim arrived at
about 8:30 and helps load the icebox and turn the boat. Jill gets the ice. Just
before leaving we hear that some bridge is inoperative, the electrician has been
called. I think it is Andrews but it turns out to be Davie as we listen to
boaters asking when the bridge will be fixed as we sail away. We left the dock
at 9:30 and hope as always that we have not forgotten something significant.
The traffic is light going down the river. Andrews does not answer our call
but opens anyway. We listen to someone call Andrews dozens of times to open just
after we went thru. Luck is with us and we get to 17 St. just as it opens. It is
very windy from the WNW, probably 20 Kt. We try the outside and it is flat. With
just the new jib up we make very good time to Government Cut, 5.5-6.5 Kt all the
way. I decided to motor thru Gov. Cut because Stiltsville would be very rough in
this wind. As we cut into the channel S of Dodge Island, 2 tugs were helping a
large container ship undock. We did not realize they were going to turn the ship
completely around and one of the tugs came close to us as we hugged the shore.
We also dodged the Fisher Island Ferry which ran over a boat and killed someone
a week ago. The buoys at the ICW did not match our charts but we circled around
for a bit and then followed another boat thru. A dredge was working just N of
the intersection. Just before the Key Biscayne bridge we saw a sailboat aground
off the channel and a power boat pulling him off and towing him. Possibly his
steering broke because he has trouble controlling the sailboat and almost runs
into us a couple of times. When we entered Biscayne Bay I noticed that the ends
of the new jib sheets had come undone after I spliced them so carefully. They
looked like pompoms. It must be that the small amount of flogging in the high
winds undid them since even the one that was never under tension came apart. We
sail 220 deg from the bridge and then motor to just off Matheson Hammock and
anchor for the night. The wind drops like magic when we anchor. Why couldn’t it
drop while we were fighting our way thru Miami? We suck down the first rum and
cokes of the voyage and then realize that we forgot the bag with all our cheese
in the fridge at home. We will survive. We also forgot the can opener. 36.6 NM
today. I changed the jib sheets back to the original ones and will re-splice the
ends and then sew all the splices to lock them in place. Something is rattling
in the mast as we bob around at anchor. The riggers say they lost a chain in the
mast while they were re-rigging the main halyard. I hope I can fix the problem,
it is an awful clanging sound at night. The boat was always so quiet when it
rolled before.
I woke at 7 AM and checked the engine and found the same coolant hose pushed out. I decided to leave it alone and monitor it closely. Although the engine appeared to be running fine we decided to limit the RPMs to 1800 until we could get someone to look at it. We sailed out of the anchorage with a NW wind of 10-15 Kt. and ran the engine to charge the icebox and batteries. No problem with engine. We sailed all day with the jib and main as the wind swung from NW to W to WSW. The air was very cool but the sun shone hot. We got some sunburn without realizing it then but on suntan lotion after the fact. We motored from Jewfish Creek to Tarpon Basin and anchored with another sailboat. A 35’ cruiser joined us later and a few other boats anchored after dark.
We pulled up the anchor at 7AM today with a N wind of 5-10 Kt. The weather was cold and overcast all day long as we motor sailed at 1500 RPM doing 3.3 Kt when there was no wind and 4.5-5 with the jib when we could. Only a few other boats out, not much of a surprise on a cold day like this. We could not make it to Faro Blanco so we anchored off Grassy key and had hot apple juice and rum, yum-yum. 34.2 NM today. We played RummyCub and turned in. It was windy and our anchorage was not well protected from the N so we rolled a lot during the night and the mast clanged.
I started the engine and pulled up the anchor at dawn. The wind was 15 Kt.
from the N. We rolled out a little jib and motor sailed back to the ICW and then
on a broad reach, rolled out the rest of the jib and turned the motor off. The
wind decreased and shifted NE during the day and we anchored at Water Key in the
Big Spanish Channel at 1 PM to relax and prepare for the long overnight sail to
Boca Grand. We had been watching the weather closely and earlier in the week a
front was expected to come thru on Saturday in which case I would have turned
back to Faro Blanco but the weather report kept putting the front back until now
it was not expected till Tuesday so I felt safe in making the overnight sail. We
cooked the steaks on the grill. The coals came out better than ever before even
though it was windy. I managed to call my parents in Punta Gorda and Jim in Ft.
Lauderdale from way out here in nowhere. Today was cool but in the sun it was
almost warm. We could sit in the cockpit and read and relax.
We spent a very peaceful night at anchor here and woke at 7 AM again. We motored out of Spanish Channel at low tide. The markers were recently changed in this area with a lot of new ones added but we got thru with no problems except that the water N of the little island was 6-7 instead of 9-10 as marked on the chart. As the tide came in it went N, pushing us along. I would have thought it went the other way but am happy because we can’t motor very fast at 1500 RPM. One school of porpoise follows us for 5-10 minutes and Jill takes a bunch of pictures. The wind is 15 Kt from the NE and once we get out of the channel, we put up all sail and close reach at 6+ Kt. The wind moderates during the day and by 4 PM it was 7-10 Kt from the E. and we are doing 3.7-3.9 Kt on a course of 335. We see several other groups of porpoise, a good sign. There are lots of flying fish everywhere until about 3 PM and lots of crab traps everywhere until dark. I think I see a few in the night but we will just have to take our chances. The traps are everywhere, even 40 miles from land. They sure are thick in places and almost continuously at least 1 in sight but by 4 PM we seem to have left most behind.
It was a little chilly at dawn but the sun was hot again. By noon the temperature was pleasant and got warmer as the wind dropped and moved E. At 5:30 PM a sailboat behind us calls on the VHF. ‘Lohito’ is going to Cuba, they have been there many times. We talk about the weather a little. Soon after I realize that our bow light is not functioning. I try to unscrew the lens to change the bulb but I can’t loosen the screws so I turn on the anchor light and hope nobody runs into us. The wind holds all thru the night and we make good time on an easy reach. We try 3 hour watches on Jill’s recommendation that we need our REM sleep. This worked for Jill.3 hours is a long time but I could get used to it. We see a few shrimpers and a few other boats but it is not too congested. During Jill’s watch she sees 4 flares and we call the Coast Guard. They send a helicopter to investigate but we don’t hear anything more about the incident.
The night got very chilly and the sky was overcast. We sighted land at dawn
and Boca Grand at 9 AM. The sun poked thru a few times to try to warm us up. The
current was flowing out very fast and it took till 1 PM to anchor at Useppa. The
cell phone would not work at Useppa, it kept saying ‘We can not complete your
call as dialed’ no mater how we punched in the numbers. We had sandwiches and
chips for lunch and the first beers of the voyage. It was very pleasant weather
at a familiar anchorage. I rowed us in to Cabbage Key for a great dinner and
drinks. I had garlic shrimp which was very garlicky. I brought my own tape and
marker and put a dollar on the rafter above the table. The waitress was
surprised that I brought my own tape but I told here that last time they did not
have any tape. There were many hungry mosquitoes on the island as we walked
around but none bothered us at anchor. A couple from the other sailboat in the
anchorage offered to pull us back with their motorized dingy but we said that I
had rowed in and it was only fair that Jill rows us back.
We had a quick and pleasant sail to PGI. The wind was S and we went part of
the way wing on wing. The sky was partly cloudy and it was warm. We tied up to
the dock and I had to ring the doorbell to get mother away from the computer.
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