Ah me! Ah my! What a difference a day makes!

Only last night I was worrying about being able to clear the Julia Tuttle Bridge this morning and loosing sleep et al and here this evening I am back into cruising mode and a much more laid back attitude. We timed out departure for low tide to try to get whatever extra little bit of clearance we could and ended up leaving at 0600 in the mor ing. It was still dark and we nearly went aground when I tried to cut a corner coming out of the anchorage but then off we went. There were two bridges prior to arriving at Julia Tuttle and we watched to storyboards like Ospreys looking for minnows to see how much water we were going to gain. Initially it looked like it could be almost as much as two feet but when we got to the bridge I question its storyboard was exactly what it was supposed to show at mean high water, 56 feet! Suffice to say I was really sweaty palmed as we went through. Did I measure our height correctly? Was their storyboard measurement accurate? Any number of things could have spelt disaster but through we went. Although looking up I have never felt that the masthead and the electronics have come so close before.

Then we came through Miami proper, past Government Cut and into Key Biscayne. What a fascinating body of water. Miles of open area that is really a bay only that a big slice of it is actually a shoal that extends parallel to the coast and gives the appearance of open water but is actually one side of the bay.

Dinner Key Marina is a wonderful spot to stop. We are on a $20/night mooring ball which includes showers, a water taxi, pump outs and a dingy dock. The city has an really enlightened attitude towards cruisers. You can rent a slip, or a mooring or you can anchor and even with the anchorage clients there is a dingy dock for them too. They seem to have gotten the message that all cruisers bring $$ to the community.

We have found a vet for Peri and a Fresh Market for really top quality produce. There is even a move theatre close by so we might take that it while we are here.

Ah well. I sit in the cockpit and look at the Miami skyline and plot for our next step over to the Bahamas.