Trouble in Miami and Holiday Isle
05 February 2011 | Closing in on Key West now
D&B
With all the ice and snow in St. Louis over the last few days, we completely forgot to update the blog. That's our excuse and we're sticking to it!
We had a couple of surprises when we got to Miami. First, they wanted us to dock in such a way that we couldn't get off the boat: Either bow to the dock, with our 4-foot tubular bowsprit preventing an easy step off (more like walking the plank!) or stern to the dock with our stern steps at water level looking up at a 4-6 ft. high dock! We discussed the problem and worked out a plan where we would dock in a temporary available mega-ship slip. Docking was very tricky due to the proximity of other boats and pilings that had to be avoided. The huge ship in front of us helped by blaring loud obnoxious music to make the pilot (that would be David) relax and, all the really drunk 20 somethings were very encouraging. Once securely tied up, the huge ship continued to blast us with their music while they partied down.
We were planning to walk down to South Beach, but when David checked in over the phone with U.S. Customs, we found out the rules of the game had changed: We now had to go in person to clear U.S. Immigration on the cruise ship island. An hour and $46 in taxi fares later, we were walking down South Beach and taking in the ambiance: Lots of nice restaurants facing the ocean with dining right on the sidewalk and often hotel rooms up above. We found an OK restaurant that had some specials, including a free glass of wine per person. We ended up sitting right next to the two-person band. The singer/drummer was from Australia and the guitarist was from Venezuela. They were good and performed mostly original tunes.
Back to the boat, we found we were locked out of the boatyard! When we had changed slips, they had neglected to give us a remote control to open the special gate to the dock of the rich and famous. The marina office was closed but we eventually hooked up with a security guard who let us in.
With another long day of sailing on Thursday, we were up and under way before dawn. After motoring out of Miami harbor against a 3-knot current, we motored south past Key Biscayne until the wind piped up. As is typical, the wind was significantly more than forecast which was good luck for us. We were able to make some good speed with one engine supplemented by the main and jib sails. It was another beautiful day of sailing�"pleasant temperatures and wind and mostly sunny.
When we reached Holiday Isle, we found it was low low tide: We have been there before but have never seen the flats so extensively above water level! That's what a new moon will do. They have a nice deep channel going into the harbor, so no worries there. However, the approach to the dock was scary for David: Only one foot of grace on either side of the narrow slip with a 10-12 knot breeze from the side. With help from Julie and Brooke fending off the pilings on either side of the boat, we were able to slide right in with no damage.
After extensive research, Brooke found a nice restaurant that was 2.2 miles away�"a good chance for exercise on the way to dinner and the option of a taxi ride back. By the time we left for dinner, it was pitch black outside. We had to walk along the main highway. With no street lights, we could not see what was in front of us unless cars were going by. Not surprisingly, we wound up stopping at the first restaurant we came to. Luckily they had lobster!
David and Brooke
P.S. The photo is of Key Biscayne in the foreground and downtown Miami in the background in the early morning hours of Thursday as we headed south for Holiday Isle