It will be a 90 mile haul, so we got an early start with a first stop at a nearby diesel fuel spot (note to boaters: never, ever get fuel from the Shell dealer in Dinner Key – more later). Cliff and Ann were a bit nervous about the trip into the Keys’ shallow waters — but that was the reason we bought a Bluewater in the first place; it draws just 3 feet. A beautiful day across Biscayne Bay and into Florida Bay at Card Sound. Mostly open waters of 7+ feet, with occasional cuts across shallows and mangrove islands that were well marked. Gary and Cliff spotted three dolphin in one of the cuts, the first seen since before Ft. Lauderdale. Lots of egrets along the mangroves and unbelievably crystal clear, turquoise colored water. A slight glitch as we were about an hour away from Marathon — the engine alarm went off. The reason: water in the fuel. Fortunately, we’d had the problem in Knoxville and Cliff knew just what to do. We anchored and he hoisted the bed to get access to the fuel filters, drained off a LOT of water and we were good to go. The real nervousness of the trip involved docking for the first time in our canal. There is a rocky ledge about half-way across the canal and Cliff needed to spin Dot.Calm around in what looked (to me!) like a mighty narrow piece of water. Mission accomplished. We are safely and securely docked at home. A jungle of orchids awaited us in Ann’s “orchid hospital” and the pool was a perfect temperature for a cooling swim. Glad to be here and thrilled to have completed our ICW dream. I think the cruising life is a bit addictive — I’m already looking forward to our next adventure.
Carolyn captured this early morning shot on day of departure. Crescent moon (an Ann’s moon) for good luck….but the flag shows we will deal with a stiff wind off the dock. Happily, winds died down considerably before we headed to the fuel dock.Miami is just a small bit of skyline as we take off across Biscayne Bay. And Carolyn enjoys a bit of sun.I don’t think there is any where else in the U.S. where the waters are as turquoise and Caribbean-like as the Keys. It’s just beee-you-ti-ful!We saw lots of white egrets as we cruised through many canals cut through mangrove islands in Florida Bay.Navigating through shallow waters — even when well marked — takes a lot of concentration. Two heads and two sets of eyes are better than one.Ann takes a turn at the helm as Cliff scans horizon with binoculars for next day mark. Gary is on the look out as well!Cliff grabs his lunch at the wheel. Ann must have not done a very good job 🙂A crew must be nourished. Here’s our lunch buffet — fruit salad, artichoke salad, egg salad with salmon and chicken salad on croissants. All of it from “leftovers” on board.The brown cloudy water on the right is evidence of the bottom being scraped by a boat that was heading north in the same channel as we were heading south. Dot.Calm’s wake was clear as could be.Still using paper charts as the electronic systems remain kaput. Cliff also downloaded a software chart for $9.95…that gives us an ICW line to follow. Hmmmm…$9.95 vs. $$$ for Garmin that doesn’t work!Green and red markers show the way across the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay. Cliff is checking their numbers so we can match them up to our paper chart and know exactly where we are.This photo shows how shallow the water can be. We are in a “deep” channel (i.e., more than 3 feet) with barely covered sea grass next to us and a sand bar close by.Birds take roost on a larger sandbar. In the distance, you see a cut through a mangrove island.And this sailboat shows how difficult it can be to navigate through all the shallows. This boat looks like it’s been here a while — completely stripped of sails and gear.Dot.Calm moored at HOME!I realize (again) that I have no visual aptitude about space. I was worried about how much room Dot.Calm would take on the dock. We can’t even see it from the lanai.Look at the abundance or orchid blooms that greeted us in Marathon. Proves that benign neglect must be the best orchid cultivation technique.
3 thoughts on “Wed., April 15 — Headed Home!”
Congratulations to both you and Cliff!!! The yacht looks wonderful at its new location. You’re right, there seems to be much more space than I thought for it. What wonderful memories you now have and I am so glad that we were a part of it.
Congratulations to both you and Cliff!!! The yacht looks wonderful at its new location. You’re right, there seems to be much more space than I thought for it. What wonderful memories you now have and I am so glad that we were a part of it.
Agree with Roger that DotCalm is looking perfectly at home! Congrats on your safe expedition! All your planning and careful execution paid off!
Yup! Looks great and takes up waaaaaay less space than I thought it would. My spatial sense is pretty lame. No, make that VERY LAME.