The sun rises at around 6:45 a.m. in this part of the world, and you can't miss it. The pale night sky changes gradually through purple and pink to the deepest blue, and that's it for the day. So, when the last to get out of bed asks, "What kind of day is it?", the answer is invariably, "Just another sunny day with palm trees". This is how the day begins aboard 'Southern Vectis' in the Keys.
But to backtrack a little, we enjoyed our stay at Dinner Key in Biscayne Bay. After six days at a dock we moved out to a mooring in the the large mooring area which stretches out into the bay from the marina's barrier islets. It is very exposed if the wind is blowing from the north and east, and this can mean a very wet dinghy ride to and from the boat. This year we were lucky with the weather!
We also spent an anxious morning at Rickenbacker Marina nearby, watching nervously as our electrician was hauled up the mast, not once, but twice. This was not to install any particularly critical piece of equipment, but to change our TV receiver to a digital one! Bill thinks this was critical and I am reserving my judgement, particularly as, at our present location half way down the Keys, we can find only two channels! (So sad, as I was desperate to see Oscar Night - or to be truthful - to see Colin Firth receive his awards for 'The King's Speech'!)
While in Miami we also met up with our RCYC friends, Bob & Carole, who were now in Miami. We had two good days together, firstly taking in the action at South Beach, where they were staying in a most interesting loft, and secondly experiencing the delights of Biscayne Bay from the land and the water.
RCYC has reciprocal provileges at Key Biscayne Yacht Club, so we met Carole and Bob there for the most delicious brunch I've had for years! (Or maybe it just tasted delicious after days of 'boat cooking'!) Then we dinghied out to 'Southern Vectis', which we'd brought over to the nearby anchorage, and had a good sail on the turquoise waters of the bay. It was a perfect day and lovely to get together with them.
That weekend we also took in the 'Coconut Grove Art Festival' - very busy!
We set off from Miami for the two day run south to the Keys on Tuesday 22 February. From before dawn the purring of engines and half whispers and shouts of crews could be heard as the exodus occasioned by a 'weather window' got going. Most boats were heading for the Bahamas, and we spoke on the radio to Marnie and Doug as they set off for Bimini.
We had 50 miles to travel each day to reach our destination of Marathon. Our overnight, after nine hours mostly motoring, was spent in the lee of Rodriguez Key with other boats going or coming from the Keys. It was a perfectly still night and, because the stars had no competition, the sky looked like a pin cushion of dark velvet studded with gold.
The next day we arrived in Boot Harbour, Marathon, the halfway point between Key Largo and Key West. We had hoped to get a mooring in the 250 boat mooring area run by the Boot Harbour City Marina but we were out of luck, so spent the first two nights tied up to the wall at the Marina. This had advantages and disadvantages: we did get to meet a lot people as they wandered by, or at the two parties that took place the first two days - a 'Welcome Party' and a 'Wine Knot' party. The disadvantage was that it was as busy as Union Station at rush hour, and that we were docked behind the pump-out boats! Anyway, now we are happily on our mooring. It's hard to believe that boats leave so infrequently that, although we were second on the waiting list, we were lucky only to wait two days! Most cruisers we have spoken to have been here since Christmas!
We have bought ourselves two ancient bikes and are fast turning ourselves into 'Boot Harbour Bums'. The weather is perfectly perfect, and there is a musical evening at the dockside Tiki Hut tonight. So all is well in paradise.
