Captain's Choice blog: Goodbye Key Life and February stats

When we left Faro Blanco on Tuesday the 21st we decided the wind forecast would be our determining factor as to which way we would travel, the gulf or the ocean. They were calling for SE winds and we could clearly see they were NE but we decided to head to the intercostal in the gulf hopeful the weather forecast was correct. As predicted the winds changed to the SE about 2 hours in to our 37 mile voyage to Islamorada. The ICW sure has some skinny water and it is advised if you draft 5 feet or more to stay clear. We draft 4 and there were times the depths were only 5.5 feet, little room for error. Crab pots abound here and we thought being in the ICW they wouldn't be as plentiful but they were. We edged over to the boundary of the Everglades National Park which is protected water and that kept us just out of the crab pot quagmire. So this begs the question, if you want to navigate at night and you are traveling the ICW how do you do it safely with all these crab pots?

We got to our anchorage in Florida Bay early afternoon, just north of Lorelei Resort in Islamorada and set up in about 7 feet of water. There are several boats anchored out by us and a lot of boats (that looked like they haven't moved in a long time) anchored just south of us. One of the things the captain always observes when anchoring is the boats around us. There were high winds and rain forecasted for Wednesday and we wanted to make sure we were not in a path of a boat that might get loose from it's mooring. Once we secured we launched the dinghy and headed into town, did a little exploring and then had stone crabs at Lorelei Restaurant as we listened to music during their happy hour. Which begs the 2nd question, why is it happy hour and not happy hours? Or how about just happy day? why limit it to an hour?

The forecast was for 2 inches of rain Wednesday and winds about 15 knots from the south changing to the west. We ended up with sprinkles and winds 25 knots, which kept us at the boat for the day. A little excitement later in the afternoon when Mark noticed a sailboat anchored not too far from us and asked me if I noticed where it came from. All of a sudden we realized it had broke from it's mooring and there was a dinghy chasing it down. The anchor line got caught up with another sailboat anchored out a little ways and they finally got that untangled and the sailboat re-anchored. One of the other boats by us got in their dinghy (more like a small boat) and went to help but were waved off. We saw the person on the original dinghy go back to a powerboat and that was that, they just left the sailboat anchored where it had drifted to. Until...a few hours later we see the same sailboat moving quickly in the winds...anchor dragged again...it made it's way quite a distance before the dinghy appeared again and finally got it secured. When we got up Thursday morning it was in the same spot as the night before...not sure if it has a motor, looks like one of the boats that never moves with all the barnacles on the sides and bottom. Thank goodness the captain is aware when we set up!

We wished we could have explored Islamorada a little more, it is a cute area but the winds were forecasted to increase and would continue to be from the west, (which is not a good wind for this anchorage). We picked up anchor and set out for Key Largo on Thursday. Although a little windy the water was beautiful. I wish I could describe all the shades of green/turquoise/blue, it felt like we were in the Caribbean. We also had 4 dolphins running beside us - we hadn't seen any in a few days, so it was fun to see them again. We anchored in Tarpon Basin in Key Largo. They have a dinghy dock at the municipal building so we headed over there early afternoon to walk the town. The Publix grocery store is less than a mile and several restaurants are near by. On the way to the dinghy dock we saw the speed boats in the ICW with a helicopter filming them. We knew they were headed for Faro Blanco as their club had reservations there for the weekend. There had to be at least 25-30 boats storming through the water with the rooster tails going - they are loud but fun to watch. Which begs another question...at the speed they are going how do they miss the crab pots? Another blogger spoke to the captains about this issue and we found out they normally travel about 70 mph (many can go up to 200 mph) and their propellers are very sharp and between the speed and the sharpness it just cuts the lines.

We stayed 3 nights in Tarpon Basin exploring the area by dinghy and also by foot and swimming in the clear 72 degree water. We walked to Pennekamp State Park which is where many loopers go if they are on the Atlantic side. There are reefs about 3-8 miles out in the Atlantic and from the number of cars at the park a lot of people must take the snorkel boats out to the reef. There are also several beaches/camping/small marina and mooring balls.
We still were just far enough away from the main land of Florida that the stars at night were magnificent and although we didn't see any dolphins during the daylight we could hear them at night swimming near the boat. A little known fact about Key Largo is that it is also home to the endangered Key Largo Woodrat. This species of unique animals is only found in the wild on North Key Largo. Their population is facing problems from introduced predators such as the invasive Burmese python and feral or outdoor cats.

When we woke Sunday the winds were pretty strong which we were concerned about because we had to cross Biscayne Bay for 25 of our 47 mile trek. We experienced 2-3 foot waves but they are unlike 2-3 footers on Lake Erie in that there is more distance between them making the travel more comfortable. Then another WOW moment when we could start to see the Miami skyline. Seeing the big cities always reminds me of the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy sees the Land of Oz, the big difference here is that the water was emerald green and not the city! Plan A was to anchor in No Name Harbor at Key Biscayne...when we got there it was jammed packed so we anchored just outside the bay and waited for the crowds to leave. We tried hard to count the boats making their way in and out but it was just a steady stream, it reminded me of a bee hive with all the boats buzzing around waiting to get in. Finally around 5:30 p.m. we decided we had to get a secured spot before it got dark so we ventured into the bay. Holy cow, we couldn't believe the boats, they were everywhere and nowhere else to anchor unless you wanted to be in your neighbors back pocket. Plan B was Hurricane Harbor which is not really a harbor, but a protected bay surrounded by $$$ houses. It's just around the corner so we headed over there to see if anything was available. Wow, wow, wow...yes we are in Miami because as we turned the corner there were over 100 boats/yachts anchored and partying in the area just outside the bay. I can actually say that in the 30 minutes it took to get through the maze we saw more yachts/boats with bronzed beauties in bikinis than I have ever seen. Most boats were overloaded with people and all I can say is they were having "yachts of fun". Luckily the captain was able to keep his eyes on the chart plotter well enough to navigate through the narrow channel back into the bay where we were able to snag a spot and anchored among beautiful homes. By 7:30 p.m. the crowds dissipated and a police boat came by to usher the last 2 party boats out of the bay. This left us and one sailboat peacefully anchored for the night.

More strong east winds on Monday as we traveled 25 miles in the ICW past downtown Miami. It was a very peaceful ride as we looked at the homes/condos/motels/marinas along with having very little boat traffic. We were thinking that most people were back to work or recovering from the weekend. We made our way to the Hollywood Key Hole to anchor for the evening in 10 feet of water. This is another residential area and there was a gold looper that came in to anchor also.

The east winds have not let up, so our decision to remain in the ICW has been the right one! It's a slow go, not covering much ground because of the bridges and speed limits, which is fine with us, we love gawking at the yachts and homes. I thought there were yachts in Miami...Ft. Lauderdale is NO comparison. There was a sign that read "Welcome to Fort Lauderdale...Yachting Capital of the World". Our 40' boat looks like a minnow compared to all the boats/yachts we are seeing and although it is Tuesday, there is a lot of boat traffic! I can only imagine how crazy it gets on the weekend here. The homes are spectacular, the boating industry and economy seems to be doing just fine in Ft. Lauderdale! We headed to a marina just north of Ft. Lauderdale at Lighthouse Point, as Captain's Choice has a heck of a salty crust on her after 7 nights at anchor and she needs a good cleaning!
                            February Stats   Loop to Date
Days looping                   28                  291
Travel days                       7                  133
Miles traveled               261               5,350