The Keys
03 February 2015
February 1
Slept in a little later this morning. The Yanmar engine acted like it didn't want to start yesterday, so Carl decided to check it first thing. It wouldn't start. It's definitely a good thing to be a jack of all trades when you're living on a boat. Don came over and he and Carl put their heads together to diagnose the problem. Still no go. We wanted to go in to shore anyway, so we got in our dinghy and Don and Judy in theirs and off we go. Left the dinghys on the beach and walked to the Stadium marina to look for a diesel mechanic. Judy and I have a new interest in bait and tackle. We bought our saltwater fishing and lobstering license before we left Ft. Pierce. Judy and I went in to the ship's store to get ice and ended up looking at lures and getting a lesson on kite fishing. With a mechanics card in hand we head back to the boats. It's Sunday, so Carl leaves a message with the mechanic. Our boat speed seemed a little slow coming here so Don offered to go under and take a look at the prop. He came over later in the day to trouble shoot the engine again. They tried a few more things and got it started. While we let the engine run a while, Don put on his scuba gear and dropped over the side of the dink. He put the new zincs on and said the prop looked o.k. He noted some barnacles along the bottom of the keel. I guess I will go in when we're in a little warmer and clearer water and get a lesson in cleaning the bottom. The boat is probably slower because it's heavier with all of the provisions on board! We were entertained all afternoon with row clubs practicing and many small sailboats around us. I was mesmirized by the little ultralight boats that hop up 3 or so feet out of the water and skim the top with the tips of their boards....practically flying! They looked like mosquitos hovering over the water. There Nacra World Cup was here and we watched as the wrapped the boats up and put them in containers with a crane to be shipped back to Europe. This has been a very busy place! We were happy to sit back and enjoy a quiet evening.
February 2
We decided another lay day was in order. Everyone was so busy with projects the day before. Carl ran around exploring in the dinghy. It was partly cloudy and we had a few showers come and go. Carl brought Cuban sandwiches back for lunch. I decided to go with him to take our trash in to shore, get some water and take a walk. Before you know it, the day is gone. Judy made veggie nachos and invited us over to eat and play mexican train. We played in the cockpit and enjoyed the Miami lights.
February 3
At 7:30 a.m. we started the engine early. At 9:00a.m we left our anchorage at Miami marine stadium. Just a short ride and we were in No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne by 10:30 a.m. This is another popular crossover point to Bimini. It is also a great place to spend the day. We rafted up with Nemo and Judy joined us on our dink to head to shore. We left Don behind to fine tune his dinghy motor. We walked the trail around Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park to the lighthouse. We saw iguanas along the way. There were some people fishing, but no one catching anything. There is a beautiful beach here that was quite busy. We worked up an appetite and decided to try the Boaters Grill. Don was satisfied with his engine work and decided to meet us for lunch. We enjoyed cheeseburgers with a nice view of the harbor. Back aboard our boats, we sat around talking and watching as the anchorage filled up. At sunset we gathered to finish our game of mexican train from the day before. We plan to head to Key Largo tomorrow and have an 8:00 a.m. departure time set.