Miami
18 December 2008 | Miami, Florida
Mike and Kathy-warm and sunny
December 18th... Lake Worth to Miami, FL
Ah yes... on the go again. I was up this morning at 3:56 am. "Night Hawk" was gone so we called Barry to check the conditions on the Ocean. Barry's report was positive, and Mike from "Valkyrie" chimed in to chide us for staying in bed way too long. (3:56... I don't think so) Anyway, we hauled the anchor and were out of there by about 4:30 am.
In the ocean we found some swells that were falling apart and winds that really couldn't make up their mind.... 8 knots to 18 but not consistant. We stayed close to shore and tried to find the Gulf Stream counter current. We weren't entirely successful, but did at times find a fair current in excess of 1 knot. We would catch a push and ride it for a few miles and then alter our depth to try to find another one.
We sailed all day on a beam reach that was rolly but reasonably fast ... most of the time above 6 knots. We caught one king mackerel, but threw him back. We had some mackerel one day that we didn't enjoy. We have since learned that they can be good if done correctly. We also had some dolphins playing around us for a short time.
In the afternoon we rolled up or head sail to allow "Perseverance 2" to catch up. But when they did, an hour or so later, our good wind had died and they passed us going away. We sail well between 15 and 20 knots, which we had been running with during the mid-day hours, but in the afternoon the wind went variable, down at times to about 7 knots, we slowed and eventually started the engine to protect against anchoring at dark.
The wind picked up again and we sailed into Miami with out any serious problems. The hot water heater seems to have another leak but that's a job for tomorrow.
We motored into the harbor and anchored in an area called the Venetian Causeway. There are several man-made islands here with very special older homes. There are boats everywhere. We need to replenish our the fuel that has been expended in the last three days and Kathy wants one more stop at the grocery store before we leave on Saturday morning..... hopefully.
The highlight of our day however, was a VHF call from "Cielo." We met Kevin and Lizz last year in Cape May, NJ and have attempted to keep up with their travels during the last year.... it will be fun to touch base with them tomorrow and get a first hand story of their travels...