We dragged up the anchor in Faber Cove, Ft. Pierce and got underway in nice conditions. Fort Pierce Inlet was slow due to the incoming current but the ocean was calm with a long, slow swell. Comfortable. An easy day ended anchored in Lake Worth, Palm Beach, FL.
In order to get to the Miami area in daylight we got up at 0400 to head back out to sea. Lake Worth Inlet is an all-weather, all hour waterway. Wide and well lit. And we've been in and out in the dark here several times. Heading out was easy and the sea was mostly calm. Started out with seas of 4 to 6. Inches, that is. Then they went down to ripples from there. The only issue was in calm conditions powerboat wakes can travel for miles. Wind driven waves knock down wakes but we got quite a few big ones from boats that had long passed out of sight. We ended up in No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne. It's Baggs State Park and where Carol went for the first swim of the 'season'. A tiring 11 hour day but it got us past Fort Lauderdale and the boat show congestion (FLIBS).
When we get to Key Biscayne we feel that we are finally in the 'Keys' even though Key Biscayne is really Miami. The park is 'the Keys', the rest is Miami. When we leave there to head south in Biscayne Bay we are 'in the Keys'. Clear water. A clean scent in the air. Feels like home. The passage is a bit tiring as it is a long day to Upper Matecumbe Key (Islamorada) where we anchor for our last night southbound. The gap between good anchoring spots for us make it a short day or a long day and we choose to go further and end our day between 3 and 4 o'clock. About 8 hours. Not too bad. A cleansing swim in clear, shallow, almost warm water let me find and cut some fishing line caught in a saildrive zinc. We may have a hull/saildrive rubber seal issue to deal with in Marathon. Nothing crucial, just an annoyance. Another one. Our night at anchor got a little rough as the winds got up near 20kts. Made for 1ft. waves and noise. There were also professional fireworks on shore for some reason. And after 10 o'clock, too. Kinda late. Oh, well. The winds eased about 0400 as forecast and we got underway at our usual time. The water in Hawk Channel was calmer than forecast. Lighter winds. Nice 1-2ft seas on the stern. Not a bad last day. Warm. Sunny. NE breeze. Would be a nice all-winter forecast. Not likely.
We arrived at the Boot Key Harbor City Marina in Marathon, FL. about noon. Our earliest arrival day by a few days and we got the smallest number mooring ball we ever had, too. C-1. Probably the closest we've ever been to the dinghy docks.
Because we arrived earlier than usual it seemed a little quiet. It will get busy in the next few weeks. Activities will ramp up.
Let's sum up this year's cruise south: It went fairly well. Fairly easy. Our first couple of days in Long Island Sound were mostly rough. Then our passages off New Jersey were nice and smooth. So were our days in the Chesapeake Bay before our haul-out. Our time in Annapolis was nasty due to the remnants of hurricane Ian but once we started south again it was nice. We had one extra day in Oriental for rain and thunderstorms but even that was brief and we still got some walks and shopping in. Dining out, too. That was it for lay days until Ft. Pierce where we stopped for an extra night to visit friends. Our offshore passage off South Carolina and Georgia was a snap as were our hops off the coast of Florida. All that added up to no delays and our early arrival to Marathon. Now we have to hope no late season tropical weather gets us.
Autographing my Points East article. Not quite sure if they were yanking my chain in requesting the autograph. 2nd time ever for a request. Weird.
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