Peck Lake, our first stop after leaving Manatee Pocket, is a large bay just off the ICW. A thin strip of sand separates Peck Lake and the ICW from the Atlantic Ocean. This area is a park. A short dinghy ride to shore provides miles of beach to walk upon.
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| Ocean View from Peck Lake Trails |
Then on to West Palm Beach – the exact opposite of Peck Lake. The city of West Palm Beach has built 3 long docks for anyone to tie to during the day to explore the city.
Here we are tied up to the dock with our friend Bob tied behind in his sailboat.
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| Docks at West Palm |
Each night we moved just off the dock and anchored.
The marina just north of the city docks caters to large yachts.
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| Looking north from West Palm Docks |
West Palm is packed with fancy restaurants, designer shops, and art. I took pictures of the murals painted on the sides of buildings throughout the city.
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| Psst... Brother Brian? You see the car on the right? |
The library is a short walk from the city docks or you can take the free trolley.
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| Library at West Palm on Clematis Street |
We left West Palm Beach at 6:25 in the morning intending to spend the next night somewhere between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. This part of the ICW can be rough from boat traffic. The sides of the ICW have concrete bulkheads on both sides causing boat wakes to ricochet back and forth. On a little boat it can be a very rolly trip. Luckily, traveling on Monday seemed to be a good choice. Not as many boats flying past us today. There are oodles of bridges to go under as well. The bridges have between 12 and 25 feet clearance to pass under. We only need 9 feet; most boats have to wait at each bridge for the opening as they can’t fit under.
I looked back to take this picture of an opening bridge.
The boats coming through started with us at West Palm and traveled with us all morning. They would pass us and hurry on their way to the next bridge where they’d have to wait for the opening. We’d pass them and scurry under, no opening needed, and soon they would catch up again.
Lots of marinas in Fort Lauderdale with yachts.
We liked this boat.
You can see the opening. There is a door that closes when the yacht is underway. A lift picks it up and puts it in the water when the owners want to “play”.
Here’s Miami………
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| Miami in the distance |
The weather forecast called for building winds overnight moving from a north easterly direction to east. We decided, although we’ve been underway all day, to continue motoring south in order to cross the open waters of Biscayne Bay between Miami and Keys under the 15-20 knots on our stern quarter.
Here’s the sunset as we rolled our way south. Miami smog maybe or smoke hazes the view.
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| Sunset over south of Miami |
Under a near-to-full moon we anchored in 4 ft. of water behind Elliott Key with some protection from the waves at 9:00 pm after 14.5 hours of motoring.
The next day the winds came from the east at 20-25 as promised and we rolled our way down the sounds to Key Largo and Jewfish Creek.
Many yachts and luxury trawlers have a feature called active stabilization. Fins sticking out on the bottom of the boat or other devices that move in accordance with the seas to keep the yacht stable at sea. They never roll from side to side. As we motored south we employed our version of active stabilization to keep “mouse” from rolling from gunnel to gunnel and to keep books and dishes from flying around. This involves a keen sense of the boat’s motion and a tossing of body weight from side to side. Standing with feet spread apart in the cockpit, just as the port side starts to roll up we suddenly shift our weight to that side of the boat while the autopilot steers. The sudden shift in weight to that side of the boat pushes the port side down and it really makes a big difference in this light boat. It’s a great way to exercise onboard as well. I tried to take a video but we look ridiculous.
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| Jewfish Creek - Key Largo |
Here we are at Jewfish Creek near the mangroves, away from the 30 knot gusts. I try making bread in the dutch oven for the first time when our friend Dale comes for dinner. No-bake cookies, bread, and dinner in the pot.
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| Bread, cookies, dinner in the Dutch Oven used to bake the bread. |
Next stop on Key Largo ended up being a dock again. We’ve never spent this many days/nights at docks before! Our friends Bill and Nita from Isle of Palms, SC were staying in their camper near mile marker 102. They arranged a dock at the campground’s marina of small boats. We were able to put the bikes onshore for travel or walk to their campsite and spend the days with Bill and Nita. Here’s a typical afternoon –
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| Jerry, Bill, Nita, Carol and the back of Chuck's head (from a nearby camper) |
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| Bill and Jerry solving the world's problems |
Our next journey was a whopping 10 miles to Community Harbor on Tavernier to visit with Dennis from Kingston, NY who now lives aboard his boat here in the Keys. Here are some of the boats/homes anchored in the harbor. People live aboard year round.
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| A houseboat with add-ons but no engine. |
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| All you need is a dinghy and a dream |
We are currently anchored off Upper Matecumbe Key near Islamorada. The anchorage here is a bit exposed to the wind so we opted to go into Little Basin – a mangrove enclosed basin with 3 feet of water. The bottom is full of weeds so we have to set the anchor manually.
Here I am jumping up and down on the anchor to make sure it is set into the muck under the weeds.
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| Setting the anchor (water temp about 75 degrees) |
This is our most southerly point for cruising this winter. From here we'll head toward East Cape at the south west point of Florida in the Everglades and head up the west coast back towards Tampa where the truck and trailer are stored. (Thanks Barry! Thanks Patti)
I’m sure the alligators and mosquitoes don’t have a plethora of internet options so, more news/pictures when we return to a more populous place. Until Then,
Happy First Day of Spring Next Week!
(Although I hear you haven't had much of a winter up north.)
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