We left Ft Lauderdale this morning, behind schedule but well rested, showered and excited to be moving on. The winds were howling pretty good when Jess untied us from the mooring ball and we motored into the channel. The diesel engine fired right up and ran like a top with a healthy clack, clack, it's almost as if it was as happy to leave as we were. Ft Lauderdale was not a stop we would make again if we had any choice, it just felt very not inviting.
We began navigating Port Everglades and passed several cruise ships waiting to go out and off to distant lands, ones we will hopefully be going to soon. The only downside to going down via the inside route is the amount of drawbridges we have to wait on. Now the ones that open on request are fine, you see them coming and you ask for an opening, works well. The ones that really put a damper on your trip are the ones that only open up at certain times, which for us normally means an extra half hour wait since we can't hit 6 to 6.5 kts against a current.
We went through Ft Lauderdale and Hollywood Florida and enjoyed the houses, condos and extravagance. Thinking about how much we have right with us, right on the boat, everything we need is here. I have my home, my family, what few possessions I have, all with me and ready to go anywhere we desire. That moment I realized, I'm just as rich, or more so, than everyone of those people that own the huge house with a Lamborghini parked in the drive. (by the way we saw tons of those)
Just north of Miami while we were trying to stall for 30 minutes as we waited for a drawbridge in 15kt winds, with no real room outside the narrow channel. The water just off the channel was around 3.9ft deep and we need 4.6ft to safely navigate, without much room for error or playing around.
I was hove to via the motor and sitting at about 40˚ off and helm hard to wind, when the motor chugged a couple times and just died. Jessica sprang into action and got to the bow, unclipped the 35lb Delta anchor and dropped and 50ft of chain. As we drifted back into the shoal waters we felt the boat tug as the anchor bit firmly into the sand. Safely secured I went below and opened the toolbox, pulled off my shirt (sorry for the visual) and got to work. Within about 5 minutes I had bled the entire system, restarted the engine and were ready to go! The only problem was, we missed the bridge opening and had another 30 minutes before we could go again!
The rest of the afternoon was peaceful, though Government Cut (Port of Miami) does get a little confusing while navigating. We anchored in Key Biscayne in Key Biscayne Bight alongside several other sailboats, motor yachts etc. The weather is beautiful tonight and the anchorage is calm, though there are a few people having a great time in the distance. Dinner tonight consisted of Rice a roni and bratwurst covered in left over chili and mustard. Yeah I know healthy eh? Well it was 2 nights worth of left overs mixed together and it all goes to the same place right?
So another day done, more miles covered and more lessons learned. I am still in amazement when I look out the port windows and I'm staring at Miami. Not on vacation, but because as of this moment, tonight this is where I live. Wow..........
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