Key Biscayne — Cupcake Afloat

This will be the last post from the United States until April or May. Think about that! We have sailed just about the entire east coast in Cupcake. Today we passed south of Miami (by a tiny bit) and are anchored at Key Biscayne for the evening.

In addition to putting the docking equipment into deep storage, we have retired the ICW guides. Our daily companions for the past three months can take a break. We are done with the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway for five months.

It’s bit of what my mother calls a “zoo parade” down here right now as all the weekend boaters are making their way home. We get to experience their wakes, but are optimistic that things will settle down soon. There is an anchorage here called No Name Harbor but we decided to anchor outside so our departure tomorrow morning for Bimini is simpler. (Also we didn’t realize where No Name was until the anchor was set. Too lazy to haul it and move at this point.)

Tomorrow we intend to have the anchor up and the boat underway by 4am so we can cross, more or less, in daylight. If all goes according to plan we should have the anchor down in a different country by 2pm tomorrow.

The route planning is pretty interesting for tomorrow. Because the Gulf Stream is about 45 miles wide down here, and because it has a current flowing northward at an average of 2 - 3 knots, we can’t just set our course straight across it. If we do that we would expect to find ourselves about 18 miles north of Bimini by the time we got to the Bahamas. If we compensated for the current by sailing south just a little bit into the current all day, we would find ourselves, by the time we got to the east edge of the Stream, pointing essentially south into the current making limited way towards our destination.

The better solution is to head on a deep southerly course right after getting clear of Florida’s shallow water but before we get into the heaviest current, then sail a slightly less deep southerly course the rest of the way. The idea is that by the time we are mostly out of the current and across the Stream, we will be right on target for Bimini but will not have had to crab our way sideways on an increasingly southerly route. It’s called sailing an S-course and we’ve plotted ours based on some prior experience, some courses we found that other sailors on similar boats have sailed, and flat out guesswork and optimism. Despite the course, if it works the way it is supposed to, our track will be much closer to straight across once we get the first 1/3 of the way across.

This morning we sailed out of Fort Lauderdale, timing our departure to avoid the craziness of cruise ships but catching the 7am opening of the 17th Street drawbridge. We motor sailed in light winds down the coast, passing Hollywood Beach where Moss’ grandparents Pinky and Bob went out on the balcony of their apartment to snap our picture as we passed about half a mile offshore. We took their picture too.

The Miami inlet and general metropolitan area were not nearly as crazy as we thought they might be, and the water was cleaner than expected. We saw two sea turtles on our way down to Key Biscayne. As soon as the anchor hit the sand, I was in the water with my mask, ostensibly to check out the set, but really to start the swimming. The current here was ripping past the boat as the tide went out. Water was murky here but plenty warm and refreshing. We all had a nice swim.

Key Biscayne lighthouse. Here’s the thing: lighthouses are picturesque on shore, but from the sea they generally indicate there are dangerous shallows around. Still, lovely.

Early to bed tonight. We think we have an excellent weather window for our crossing tomorrow: light winds from the west (maybe, MAYBE we will be able to fly the spinnaker), seas of 2’ or less, temperatures in the 70s and 80s, no rain in the forecast. We may even try to catch a fish.

Tonight we turn our cell phones off for the next five months. Think about that! If we can get a SIM card or some wifi, we will update things tomorrow with our new Bahamian identities. But if you don’t hear from us and haven’t seen anything about Cupcake on the evening news, don’t panic. That just means we aren’t connected yet.

Cruising tip of the day: Biscayne is a tricky word to spell.

South Florida has lots of trains to transport the containers that come in from the enormous ships that berth in the enormous ports all down the coast.

Phoenix (on the left) with a huge, shiny (classy?) figurehead/hood ornament. — *Phoenix* (on the left) with a huge, shiny (classy?) figurehead/hood ornament.