January 15th- Coconut Grove to Black Water Sound, Key Largo, FL
It was time to get out of the Miami area. City life was fun but I enjoy being “out there”. We stocked up with food, water, and ice over the past couple of days. We didn’t fill up on diesel but I feel we have enough. Time to go.
Lynne with morning coffee.
We had a weather window for moving south. We have approximately three days till an approaching front will bring winds gusting to 30 knots. It’s been windy around here lately. Maybe it’s part of Florida’s winter weather pattern. Just like Massachusetts, only 80 degrees instead of 20.
Plan A was to go around the outside of the Keys via the Hawk Channel. This channel is bordered by the Keys on one side and a giant reef that separates it from the rest of the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream. The waves are less due to the reef. Plans change. The problem was an East wind. Good for pushing us along but our evening anchorage was open to an East wind. There are limited anchorages on the outside route and most are exposed to ocean breezes. Plan B, the inside ICW route has more anchoring choices BUT it gets very shallow. The navigation is more difficult. The charts get worse further south. The company that produces my electronic charts actually removed the Magenta Line which is the recommended ICW route. Meaning: It’s not recommended. Choices. I don’t like the idea of being in an open anchorage. Plan B it is. Inside route. Hopefully I don’t get stuck.
After making the actual decision I felt better. I’d been thinking about it for a day. This day actually turned out to be one of the best sailing days of our trip. We had a great breeze. Both sails up. Catalpa moving along at 5 to 6+ knots. We flew down Biscayne Bay. We probably burned a gallon of diesel all day. Days like these are why I sail.
Good bye Miami. You can barely see it on the horizon.
We had a few different anchorages to pick from after exiting Jewfish Creek. We chose to anchor off of a big park (in Key Largo) so Ollie could get a workout.
Sunset at Key Largo.
January 16th- Key Largo to Barley Basin, Islamorada, FL
Four months. We’ve been living on a boat for four months. I’m starting to feel like I’m on a whaling voyage. Today was challenging. It was very scenic. It also got very shallow. Today also introduced us to extremely clear water. It’s amazing.
We navigated some narrow cuts through the mangroves. I felt like I was piloting the African Queen on the Ulanga River (I’ve never stepped foot in Africa).
Before we hit the section that I was really unsure about I almost grounded Catalpa. With the clear water I could see the bottom easily but I just couldn’t find the deeper water. I pushed on. We left a lot of mud in our wake. We then hit the spot that was notoriously shallow but it went well. I could see the sand and rocks so I just kept to the deeper water. I don’t think a keel depth over 5 feet would have made it. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. My electronic chart has me crossing over land but an internet search says there is a dredged channel, Steamboat channel. There is another spot called Bowleggys Cut that looks bad but I’m getting used to it by now.
Clear water.
The end of the day had us at Islamorada. We had plans to have a late lunch at Lorelei’s but the dinghy motor had problems. After a long row back to the ship I fixed the motor and we stayed onboard. We were serenaded with music coming from the restaurant. Maybe we’ll eat there another time. I heard they have a good conch chowder.