Miami and Biscayne Bay

After the big Florida cold spell the pendulum has swung, and its been generally hot and humid for the past several days, with daytime highs about 80 and nighttime lows about 70. I don't even like to look at my beloved sleeping bag now.

Last Tuesday we left our anchorage up the Middle River in Fort Lauderdale (ICW mile 1063) and continued south. One weird thing about the Middle River: the cold period had caused a major die-off of iguanas, and there were several dead ones bobbing around in the water, and several more on the ground at a park we went to. Iguanas are not native here and these are the descendants of released pets, and are (were?) an unchecked invasive species, so everyone considers the die-off a good thing, but it was kind of creepy. Some of them were 4 feet long!

Anyhow, on Tuesday we cruised through very built-up Hollywood and Hallandale, dealing with several drawbridges, and reached North Miami, turning off the ICW at mile 1080 to enter the large anchorage at University Cove, which has a big Florida International University (FIU) campus on one side, and a day-use park on the other. This was a great anchorage, well protected and an oasis in the concrete jungle.

On Wednesday we cruised down the ICW with downtown Miami on our starboard (see photo above), and Miami Beach to port, passing Miami Government Cut, where the cruise ships dock, then entering wide Biscayne Bay. Our goal for the night was 'No Name Harbor' (mile 1096), which is part of Bill Baggs State Park on the south end of Key Biscayne. On the way in we passed Bebe Rebozo's old house (there's some trivia for ya). Anyhow, No Name Harbor was just great, small and protected, with a white sand bottom yielding turquoise water (see photo below), and a huge park for Riggs and I to explore. We anchored with maybe a dozen other boats and stayed 2 nights.

Friday we had a date to keep, so we cruised straight across to the west side of Biscayne Bay, to Dinner Key, which is in the Coconut Grove section of Miami. This is a busy place with several Marinas, all expensive, so we snuck in and anchored in a little pocket among some of the local boat bums. Like the boat bums we tied our dinghy to a railing in front of the fancy Chart House restaurant and climbed up and over the rail. It must be interesting for the diners there enjoying the expensive view, when a small dog is tossed over the rail to be followed by a grizzled vagabond.

Our date was to meet friends Karen and Jay, who I first met at new-years 2000 on a little island named Lulu off SW FLA near Port Everglades. They both teach at a fancy private high school in Coconut Grove. Riggs and I walked towards their school and met Jay half-way there. After a campus tour (we had to sneak Riggs in as a potential student), we went to a waterfront bar/restaurant named Scotties (who amazingly allowed Riggs in) and had a few beers with Spray bobbing 100 yards away. Then we went to K&J's lovely house for a great feast of a dinner, including probably the best and biggest BBQ shrimp I've ever had, and I met their 12 year old son (and trumpet player) Daniel. I also did a couple of loads of laundry there. Riggs loved their lush yard and pool and 3 cats, and we were so stuffed and mellow that when they offered us a bed for the night, we had no argument. A real bed for the first time in 3 1/2 months! Thank you Karen and Jay for the great hospitality!

Late yesterday morning Riggs and I were back aboard Spray and hung out. We did go ashore to walk down to the local dog park, which Riggs enjoyed. Its still warm, but some fronts are passing through, so its somewhat cloudy and windy.

Today we have another big date, as Castine friend Bev Bishop flies in to join us for a week+ cruising down the Keys. She'll arrive about 4 pm so I've got some boat cleaning to do today (we've been living like bachelors), plus I'll move Spray to one of Dinner Key Marina's rental moorings, which will allow us to use their showers, and fill the water tank and pump-out the holding tank. Tomorrow, if its not too windy, the 3 of us will head down the Keys. I'm thinking of following Jay's advice and heading for Boca Chita Key for the first night.