We enjoyed another cracking sail down from Fort Lauderdale to Miami yesterday. 20 knots from the north, and we just powered down past Miami Beach with a full genoa. Arriving at Miami was pretty cool. It has quite an iconic seafront and there is a lot of buzz about the place - think Miami Vice.

We were quite keen to get ashore and enjoy the area, as we were pretty sure we would be here for a few days. K had researched the various marina options and we were balking at the $5 per foot per night plus taxes for the boat (at 42’ long – you do the maths). We will never complain about UK marina prices ever again. And anchoring in Miami is quite restricted. However, as luck would have it, G remembered he had been to a hip and trendy place just to the south of Miami called Coconut Grove when he was on a course with BP; in fact he had gone sailing there about 14 years ago. It has a great little sailing club, and a quick call secured us a mooring at the club for a few days – and it’s fab. So we have been out enjoying city life and all it has to offer.

The Miami and Biscayne Bays (where we are now) are separated by one final bridge, the last of the ICW. So that’s us at the end of the Atlantic ICW, and at the very top of the Florida Keys. Rather satisfying to have made it all the way down here to Mile 1090 – a total of about 1,150 statute miles since leaving Virginia.

Cool things about this bay: it has a resident crocodile called Grover, blue herons, green herons, manatees and occasional bull sharks (amongst other things). Note to self – don’t fall over the side. The weather is still gusting from the north, but our mooring is tucked in behind some mangrove islands, and is really sheltered and comfortable. The forecasts are looking good for a crossing to Alice Town in Bimini on Saturday.

ICW Mile 1090– 34 statute miles progress.