Lake Sylvia ended up being a semi-restful, very productive stay. We finally pulled out the Honda generator to use for the first time, and ironed out some wrinkles on our new charger by calling the manufacturer who was very helpful. John also did some work on our propane system after speaking to many people on the phone and it all worked out great. As you know, the first time you try to do anything new, it takes 10-20 times longer than it would if and when you have to do it again. Of course, there was the inevitable laundry and grocery shopping, too. It wasn't all work, though, as we also met with our good friends, Irene and Gary, who drove over from Naples to see us. We had a great visit with them, and had a great lunch at a creperie on Las Olas Blvd. Thanks!

Due to a 57 foot clearance on one fixed bridge between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, when we raised the anchor in Lake Sylvia, we had to take Sunkissed out into the ocean and off the ICW for the first time in a long time. It was a nice sunny day with SE 20 knots winds and 4-6 foot seas. We put up the mainsail and motor sailed. Not too bad of a ride until we came to the Miami inlet with a strong outgoing tide with an opposing E wind. The water was very messy and it was difficult to keep steering control. It felt like we were in a big bathtub being sloshed around. In the narrowest part of the entrance channel, our speed slowed to 2 knots with the RPMs at 2900. And then we were in!

All was good as we made our way down to Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove, on the west side of Biscayne Bay south of downtown Miami. We wanted to fill up our water tank before moving onto a mooring ball, and who should appear to help us dock than Allure and Silver Fox II from QCYC! Allure served a beautiful dinner (Thanks Deanna and Ken!) and we stayed up far too late. Back to the mooring field we went, getting soaked along the way. We also pitched and bounced in bed for most of the night with the still-strong winds. Next day we did the obligatory West Marine/Home Depot visits to pick up last minute items. We also did a bit of planning for our Gulf Stream crossing with Deanna and Ken, who are headed in the same direction. Now we will move over to the east side of the bay to position ourselves for a quick exit as we wait for the right conditions to cross. We hope they will exist for us by mid-week.