A Stop in Miami Beach

The view from our boat

As I write this latest addition to the blog, we are anchored off Belle Isle by South Beach, Miami

Beach, a spot we've visited several times previously. Miami Beach is such a different city from others we've visited. As has been noted by many, it is almost like being in a foreign city, since such a large segment of the population doesn't typically use English as their conversational language. Many speak Spanish, of course, but we find a good number of European tourists here speaking French, German or some other language. Then there are others who do speak English.

The lush tropical trees and flowers together with the parakeets and the brightly colored building accents just added to the unusual "foreign" image of the place.

We spent last Sunday (Oct 19) traveling here from West Palm Beach (Lake Worth for you fellow cruisers). It was a long day for a slow boat – about 80 miles along the coast. We managed to get a boost from what many cruisers call the counter current to the Gulf Stream. It runs south just of the beach a bit. We got a boost some of the time and appeared to loose it at other times. On the whole, it helped us get down to the inlet into Miami in a couple of hours less than without the boost.

These blackbirds visited us each day to
say "good morning."

We managed to arrive at Government Cut just as two cruise ships were leaving port. Needless to say, we delayed getting into the channel until they had safely passed us. We still had to keep alert, since this is a busy area with tugs pushing barges, lots of pleasure craft including those jet skis that buzz around everywhere here. But all went well, and we got the anchor down and were settled well before sunset.

As I reflect back on our travels and delays of the past couple of weeks, I am reminded that my evaluation of our situation ought to be made with the perspective of time. As a problem arose, my first thoughts
were pretty negative, but I soon focused on the challenge of solving the problem. One issue – the water pump, that delayed our travels by more than a week – was initially evaluated as a bad thing. However, given the perspective of time, I now see that it was in our best interest. The Keys

Although busy with boat-related projects, Sandra managed to
 complete another basket.

have been getting dumped on with rain and wind for several days, leading to localized flooding. Only getting to Miami Beach in time for the rain, we've found ourselves in a better spot. The rain hasn't been anywhere near as bad as further south, and we've been able to get off the boat for several hours during most of the days of our stay here. The rain is supposed to end in the region tonight, so I had initial thoughts of scooting down to Marathon over the weekend. But the winds have already picked up, and there's talk of small craft advisories during the upcoming days. Once we're along the Keys in Hawk Channel, there are no places for us to hide overnight from a NE wind, so we'd be miserable. We are taking our time once again. We'll spend two to three days in Biscayne Bay and benefit from its protection and lighter winds. Then when the weather calms down a bit, we'll continue our travels to Marathon. Who knows...we might actually get there in the next week!

Captain Bob

Carpe Diem