1/7/15
Miami Beach FL
Posted by Bill
Last night the low was in the lower 70s and when the sun comes up it gets warm pretty fast. Around 10 AM I needed to take a swim in Biscayne Bay. The water temp is in the mid seventies and it kind of grabs you when you first get in, but also was very refreshing. Afterwards, a fresh water rinse and a shower in the cockpit. When at anchor, we have to shower in the boat (which actually has 2 bathrooms with showerheads), or if it is warm enough we have a fresh water hose in the cockpit that can be used as a make-shift shower. It is preferable to shower in the cockpit. There is no separate shower in the bathrooms (called heads), and although a shower curtain is used to protect the other components of the bathroom, it kind of makes a mess. The water drains in to a separate sump in the bilge and is pumped out. The sump pump filter has to be maintained which is a pain in the ass, and if any water sits in the sump for a longer period of time, you start to get odors. All of that adds up to – shower in the cockpit when you can.
Then we took the dinghy ashore to explore the area closer to where we tie up in Collins Canal. We had to pick up our mail, which we haven’t gotten for over 2 months, and we needed gas for the dinghy and generator. We found a gas station, 2 liquor stores, the post office, a hardware store, a Fresh Market and another Publix grocery store, all with a 10 minute walk…jackpot!!! We also found a location to tie up that didn’t require circus feats to board the dinghy.
Back at the boat, we went through our mail. First, thanks to all of the folks that sent Christmas Cards. We really enjoyed looking at the pictures. We also had a couple of Christmas presents…thanks kids! There was a lot of mail to go through. Administrative type work, especially paperwork, is not easy on the boat. There is not a lot of storage for paperwork and the humidity is not favorable. Plus, who wants to deal with administrative crap when you can go to the beach, or swim, or dinghy around…no one. But we were rewarded with a visit from a large pod of dolphins in our cove. Tricia says “look, the Miami dolphins”…lol. She took over 100 pictures and here are a few of the better ones:
They were very playful, jumping out of the water, and the water here is pretty clear so you could see them well. They swam around the boats in the cove for 40 minutes or so and then left. That led up to charging the batteries while having sundowners (a daily routine, if you haven’t figured that out yet).
Tricia cooked a fabulous dinner while I prepared for the big blow that is coming tonight through tomorrow night. Winds are predicted to be 15-20 knots with gusts to 30 knots. 30 knots is just under 35 MPH, so you have to make sure you have enough scope on your anchor (scope is the amount of chain or rope you put out to get an optimum angle of pull on the anchor). When we first anchored I had 30 feet of chain out, so I let out another 60 feet, reset the anchor snubber and chain stopper. We usually try to get a mooring ball or a dock/slip for wind like this because I don’t sleep at all when the wind is howling, always checking to make sure we are not dragging anchor. Plus there are accounts of other people’s boats dragging into you, and we don’t want to deal with any of that crap. Bad thing is…most of the marinas and mooring fields are full in the Miami area. We have heard that the weather has been pretty rough in the Bahamas this season and lots of people are waiting for it to improve before they leave Miami, so the only places to get a slip are $4-7 per foot! For that price, I’ll forgo a night’s sleep and take anchor watch. I’d rather be at anchor anyway, and we really love this anchorage.
Some sunset pics from tonight, and I got a better shot of the skyline at night:
