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.
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