No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL

We left Lake Worth at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, December 19th and had a great overnight sail to No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne.  The wind was 10-15 knots all night so the sailing was perfect.  The only problem was we were sailing so fast we would be arriving in the dark so we had to shorten sail  during the night to slow down.  This is not our usual problem with speed! 

During my 9:00 to midnight watch a pod of dolphins swam alongside for about 20 minutes and kept me company.  On the shore side of the boat there was so much light pollution from the cities that even a couple of miles offshore I could see the dolphins in the dark.  On the seaward side of the boat it was darker and I could hear them breathing and see the sparkles from the phosphorerescence in the water as they surfaced.

No Name Harbor is a pretty little protected harbor in the Bill Baggs State Park.  We spent Christmas here with many other boats who were also waiting for a weather window to cross over to the Bahamas.  We have made new friends and had a great time visiting with the other cruisers and had a potluck on shore for Christmas.

One of the attractions at the park is a lighthouse with 109 steps to the top.  The view from the lighthouse varies from a long sand beach, clear blue water, reefs, stilt houses, kite boarders, sailboats, mangrove swamps, to the Miami skyline.

On Christmas Eve day we went for a sail up to Crandon Park Marina for fuel and water then sailed around in Biscayne Bay.  Sailing on Christmas was a great gift!

We spent hours every day walking. There is a grocery store 1 1/2 miles away.  The walk to the store is easy. Walking back carrying all of our groceries makes the return trip seem longer.  Besides walking for errands we have been going for long walks on the nature trails and to the beach.  There are many birds, butterflies and lizards along with the occasional raccoon. 

Tuesday morning, December 27th was very social as there were dinghies constantly coming and going from boat to boat discussing the weather window and who was planning on going where to clear through customs in the Bahamas.  Most of the boats are heading out either late in the evening, or at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday to cross over to the Bahamas.  Our plan is to leave at 3:00 a.m. and clear in at Bimini and then either to go to New Providence Island or Great Harbor Cay, depending on the weather.  We will be crossing with OUR DIAMOND and SEA JULES.

Unstuck from Velcro Beach

While the boat was in Vero Beach I flew home to Maine for a  week and Bill stayed on the boat .  I had a great time at home and had fun volunteering at the Grange Fair,  going to the Gardens a Glow at the Botanical Garden in Boothbay, the Christmas concert at the Knox Mansion, seeing friends and family, spending time with my mother, and playing with Bailey.  It snowed a couple of times while I was home so I had a taste of winter to make me appreciate the warm Florida weather.  David and Liz picked up and dropped me off at the airport in Portland. David was a good sport about eating at an Indian restaurant and browsing a yarn store.  My carry on bag when I returned to Florida was loaded down with molasses cookies from my mother and cheesecake from Liz. Bill appreciated the deserts from home!

While I was home Bill was very productive (as usual) and fixed the windlass, painted depth markers on the new anchor chain, loaded the anchor chain, changed the oil, refilled the propane, and did various and sundry other boat tasks.

Vero Beach lived up to its nickname of “Velcro Beach”.  We reserved a mooring on November 20^th for a week and finally unstuck ourselves from the Velcro with a loud ripping sound on December 13^th.

Tuesday we went to Manatee Pocket where our friends Russ and Pat met us in their powerboat and led us to a friend’s dock. They then gave us a boat tour of Manatee Pocket and drove us around beautiful downtown Stuart in their truck. We then had dinner on their balcony overlooking the water.  It was a treat to see them and to have a chance to tour this beautiful area of Florida. 

Wednesday we went offshore to Lake Worth.  The weather was quite calm so it was a motor sail all day.  Really, it was a motor boat ride and the sail was for decorative and shade purposes, but we like to pretend!

The anchorage in Lake Worth is a popular place to wait for a weather window to either go to the Bahamas or Miami.  Publix, West Marine, and a fantastic Italian bakery are within walking distance. Unfortunately, West Palm Beach is not particularly welcoming to cheap cruisers, so the only place to land the dinghy is a small beach under a bridge in a high theft area.  Unless your dinghy is locked to the metal fence it may not be there when you return.  

Saturday night the wind was gusting well over 20 knots, and it is still 15 - 20 with higher gusts so we are waiting for the weather to clear before heading to Miami.  There are so many bridges between here and there and the anchoring is very limited in Ft. Lauderdale so we will be going outside when the wind dies down.