Departure morning from Ft. Lauderdale was a bit scary. We were docked inbetween two mega yachts (one reportedly worth $50 million), in a slip that was twice the appropriate size for our boat. Our stern lines didn't even reach the aft pilings. We had visions of leaving a gel coat trail alongside the lovely 100’ motor yacht, Miss Breanne. Just in case, we snuck out of our slip very early so that there would be no witnesses. Phew! The wind was light and there was no contact made between LaLeLu and any other boats. 
We headed out to the main channel in anticipation of the next bridge opening. While circling and conducting our other water ballet maneuvers, we spotted another ECSA boat, Soggy Paws. They were getting ready to make the opening with us. Very cool how many people we saw along the way that we knew or had some sort of connection to.
Under the bridge, another rodeo ride out the inlet, and we were off. We sailed fairly close to shore, at about 60’ depth. The ride was a bit rough, but not too bad. The girls were able to handle it fine – completely un-medicated. Soggy Paws, who was right behind us, hailed to see where we headed. Our initial plan was to go in at Biscayne Channel. Friends of ours told us that the cut was fairly well marked and had only a few spots you had to watch for coral. When we got down a bit past Government Cut, we decided that these were not the kind of conditions that one should be forging into unknown territory, and we turned around to follow Soggy Paws into Govt. Cut. We were glad that we were following because the route has changed since the last time we went through. You no longer have to go by the cruise ships.
It was really odd to see the buildings of Miami right up to the water’s edge. It felt like we were driving the boat along the streets of downtown. We zigged and we zagged through town, girls on the bow, and following Soggy Paws under the Rickenbacher bridge into Biscayne Bay. The sail from there was very nice; although the persistent 20 – 25 knot east wind got fluky at times so we decided to reduce sail for a flatter ride. We arrived at Elliott Key early afternoon. Yippeeee! We were in the Keys.
We headed out to the main channel in anticipation of the next bridge opening. While circling and conducting our other water ballet maneuvers, we spotted another ECSA boat, Soggy Paws. They were getting ready to make the opening with us. Very cool how many people we saw along the way that we knew or had some sort of connection to.
Under the bridge, another rodeo ride out the inlet, and we were off. We sailed fairly close to shore, at about 60’ depth. The ride was a bit rough, but not too bad. The girls were able to handle it fine – completely un-medicated. Soggy Paws, who was right behind us, hailed to see where we headed. Our initial plan was to go in at Biscayne Channel. Friends of ours told us that the cut was fairly well marked and had only a few spots you had to watch for coral. When we got down a bit past Government Cut, we decided that these were not the kind of conditions that one should be forging into unknown territory, and we turned around to follow Soggy Paws into Govt. Cut. We were glad that we were following because the route has changed since the last time we went through. You no longer have to go by the cruise ships.
It was really odd to see the buildings of Miami right up to the water’s edge. It felt like we were driving the boat along the streets of downtown. We zigged and we zagged through town, girls on the bow, and following Soggy Paws under the Rickenbacher bridge into Biscayne Bay. The sail from there was very nice; although the persistent 20 – 25 knot east wind got fluky at times so we decided to reduce sail for a flatter ride. We arrived at Elliott Key early afternoon. Yippeeee! We were in the Keys.
1 comment:
Great job with the Blog! Looks like you had fun even if you didn't make it to the Bahamas.
(On wifi from Belize)
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