No-Name Harbor to Ft. Lauderdale

Early 1 Feb, we pulled up the anchor at No-name Harbor. It was windy, and with the previously mentioned sailboat being so close to us, we (or I should say the co-captain) was more than a little concerned that we might run over the sailboat’s anchor or hit the boat trying to get out of there. But, once again, we got out without any problem, but not without some white knuckles (belonging to the co-captain). Bottom line, the guy who drives the boat in these tight situations is pretty darn good.

To add to our suspense, as we were preparing to leave we discovered that the chart plotter we use heavily for navigation would not come on. The captain checked a couple of things that he thought could be the problem, but was not successful. So, we traveled from No Name to Ft Lauderdale using our charts and compass only. All along, we have used the charts in addition to the chart plotter, but not having the chart plotter just made navigating more of a challenge. This was not a problem for the captain, but the co-captain, once again, was a little uncomfortable. However, with good charts, a compass, and a competent captain, the co-captain settled down and became comfortable with her skills, as well, at navigating with charts only.

The trip from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale was a pleasurable cruise. There was not much boat traffic and conditions for cruising were in our favor. Once we got to the Miami Shipping Channel, we saw many large cruise ships and container ships docked along the way. It’s always high adventure when you are so small in relation to the big container ships and cruise ships. Their idle speed is faster than our cruising speed, so we keep a sharp eye out for them. They could run us over and probably not even know it.

Once in Fort Lauderdale, we rediscovered that traveling the New River to get to Marina Bay is challenging. Mike likes it and thinks it’s a hoot to be in the middle of Fort Lauderdale City in this very narrow river, dodging 100+ foot Mega-yachts, tour boats, and dozens of other smaller vessels. Pat, on the other hand, doesn’t think it’s all that much fun. The river is narrow and there are boats competing for space coming and going all over the place. We also had to go under the I-95 bridge, and immediately beyond this overpass is a railroad bridge. There is not much room for maneuvering when you have to wait for a train to pass. We know from experience. We had a good cruise though, and arrived at our slip in Marina Bay in Ft. Lauderdale around 1300 on 1 Feb.

On Friday, 2 Feb, the chart plotter was disassembled and mailed back to the manufacturer with a guarantee that we would have it back before we are due to leave Ft. Lauderdale on 1 March. While we are in Ft. Lauderdale for this month, we are going to get some boat work done, such as fiberglass work on a couple of dings, new canvas, and things such as that, that you can’t get done in Knoxville. While here, we will get to use the beautiful pool and clubhouse facilities. Not bad!

We also took a side trip to Naples, FL, to see our friends, Steve and Carolyn Slatas, who are taking a long trip in their motor home. You may recall they visited with us in Key West for a few days. We spent the night with them in their beautiful motor home, and had a great time. We will also see Jim and Jaye Hallihan while we are here. They are friends from Knoxville whom we also knew for many years in the Army. Great friends and it will be special to see them again.

That’s it for now, so stay tuned. Next stop may just be the Bahamas !!

Boca Chita Harbor to No Name Harbor (Key Biscayne)

We dropped the dock lines at 0845 on 31 Jan headed to No Name Harbor, only about nine miles from Boca Chita. No Name Harbor is located inside the boundaries of Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, which is on the southern end of Key Biscayne, about 10 miles south of downtown Miami. We stayed here on our way to Key West and liked what we saw, so we decided to return for a night before heading to Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday.

We tied to the sea wall and then decided to walk the island this time as opposed to riding our bikes. The land and water here is beautiful. There are biking and hiking trails that are well maintained. There is a boardwalk, bicycles available for rent to tour the island, a beach area for swimming, a sea wall along the Biscayne Bay side for fishing, and the Cape Florida lighthouse that overlooks the park. There is also public transportation available just outside the park entrance that will get you to anywhere in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. There’s also a restaurant that’s open until 8:30pm.

After walking the island, we then walked to downtown which is about 1.2 miles from where our boat is docked. We had lunch, got a few grocery items and headed back to the boat. We then moved the boat from the sea wall and found a spot in an already packed harbor to drop the anchor for the night. Getting the boat off the seawall was tricky. The wind was strong and the water was at low tide, so we stirred up the bottom as we tried to pull away from the wall. Fortunately, a fellow boater was walking by who helped push our 40,000 pound boat away from the wall; otherwise, we may have stayed against the wall until the winds calmed.

When we say this anchorage was packed, we mean there was no room for even one more boat. That is, except for the sailboat that came into the harbor about 8:30pm, and then spent the next hour and a half trying to squeeze a 50 foot sailboat into the mix of mostly sailboats and a few powerboats. Unfortunately for us, he chose to drop his anchor about 25 feet from us, which is too close. It is actually not a serious problem unless the wind shifts overnight. A brief lesson in anchoring (for those who haven’t done this), I will explain why.

Anchoring is an art that no one really masters. Ever. This art consists of dropping a huge hunk of steel, of varying shapes and sizes, into the water that varies in depth. One attaches either a line (rope) or chain to this huge hunk of steel, drops the whole mess into the water, and then does their family ritual to get the anchor to go to the bottom and bury itself in the mud, sand, grass, gravel, rocks, or whatever the bottom consists of. How much line or chain (called rode by the salty ones) goes into the water with the anchor depends on how deep the water is and how strong you expect the winds to be that night. Then the fun begins. I think every boater has their own way of burying their anchor into the bottom, from putting the boat into reverse and digging in the anchor, to crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. Some are very good at this, and some are not. Some are much more experienced than others. The problem is, you can’t tell how good, or experienced, or dumb, the boater is by looking at their boat, their ground tackle (anchor and rode), or at them. One sign though, is when someone comes into an anchorage late and drops their anchor way too close to another boat, or some other stupid anchoring technique that could result in a midnight collision if the wind shifts. The prudent captain will check the wind direction before going to bed. The reason for that is that when the wind blows, the pointy end of the boat always points into the wind, (unless one has put out more than one anchor, but that’s another lesson).

Anyway, this 50 foot sailboat that came into the anchorage late and dropped his anchor next to us was among the latter kind of boater, the dumb kind. Why you ask? Well, as predicted, the wind shifted from the NE to the South during the night, and I knew that was going to happen, so I didn’t sleep well that night because I was up every hour watching to see how close our two boats would be as the wind shifted. Needless to say, our boats were so close in the morning that we were very uncomfortable, so we pulled in our anchor earlier than intended, and got out of Dodge, heading for Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

Homestead, FL to Boca Chita (State Park)

We left Black Point Marina at 0810 on Tuesday, 30 Jan, destination Boca Chita Harbor located about 20 miles south of Miami on Biscayne Bay. The day was perfect for cruising. Boca Chita is only about 10 miles north of Black Point Marina, but because our reservations didn’t begin until 1 February in Ft. Lauderdale, we wanted to stay here for a night at the recommendation of fellow boaters who have stayed here before. We were not disappointed. It is a lovely island, once owned by the Honeywell family in the late 1930’s.


The island is not very large – you could walk all the way around it in 30 minutes - but there is a pavilion, lighthouse, grills, a boat ramp, restrooms, and a few vacant small buildings spread over the island. There is no water or power there, but the view is absolutely beautiful. When it was originally developed by the Honeywells, it was a private place where they could take their big yachts and their friends and party for the weekend in privacy. Guess that’s how the rich folks live. The island is well maintained and patrolled by the Florida National Park Service law enforcement.

Upon entering the Harbor, there were two other boats tied to the sea wall. Not long after our arrival, there were 12 boats in the Harbor. We got there just in time!! A couple of them left before nightfall, but the others remained there for the night. After we got tied to the wall and settled in, we took off to explore the island which did not take long since it is such a small island, but it was enjoyable and provided for a little exercise. The day was windy, and the temperature was cool enough to require a light jacket. We spent the late afternoon reading, having dinner, playing "Rummikub," (the Captain won and has been challenged to another round!!), and then called it a night.