Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2019

Our trip from Key Largo’s Pilot House Marina back to the mainland of Florida was a little rocky but not too bad. We had good weather for the trip on Hawk Channel, along the south side of the Keys. We saw lots of sport fishing boats in the distance working their way along the deeper water south of the channel. 

Along the way we had a little group of 3 dolphins ride our wake long enough for us to get video! One was young so we are assuming (after learning about this at the Dolphin Research Center) that one of the adults was the mother and the other was the nanny. . 

We intercepted the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) at Biscayne Bay, south of Miami. Noticing several small buildings on stilts in the bay, we learned that they are what is called Stiltsville! They were originally built on sand flats (only 1-3 feet deep at low tide) in Biscayne Bay a mile south of the Cape Florida Lighthouse at the southern end of Biscayne Key. It’s said that the first structure was built in 1933 by “Crawfish” Eddie Walker as a way to gamble, which was allowed at least one mile offshore, though he also sold beer and bait. Over the years, the buildings were used as fishing, gambling, social, and gentlemen’s clubs, some of them by invitation only to the rich and famous, and most were known to be hard-partying places through the 1940s and 50s. By the 1960s there were 27 of these wooden shacks, but many have since succumbed to fires and hurricanes leaving the seven that still exist. They are finally being preserved after many years of legal battles and are now within the boundries of Biscayne National Park.

As we approached Miami, the boating traffic became more and more congested even though it was a weekday. Large cruise ships were tied along the terminal, freighters were unloading cargo, and pleasure craft were moving in every direction and speed. (In the US, all you need to drive a boat is $$ to buy or rent it and the ability to turn the key to start it. SCARY!) A medium size freighter and tug crossed our intended path giving us an opportunity to visit some shallow water just off the channel. We stirred up a little silt with the props, but no harm done. We follow the maritime rule of the road: “The Tonnage Rule” - the vessel with the most tonnage rules!

Being back on the ICW, we are again encountering bridges like we’d seen on the rivers, though fortunately no locks! We went past four bridges and only one had to be lifted. After 7 hours on the water, we arrived at Miami’s Pelican Marina, which is run by the Park District. 

There is a bird sanctuary there that we unfortunately could not visit because we only stayed one night … arriving after it closed for the day and leaving before it opened the next.

Though showers had been forecast throughout the day, we didn’t get the downpour until after we were tied up, Bo was walked and we were signed in. Whew! Two boats over from us was a guy flying a little drone. He let it hover while he was surreptitiously talking on his cell phone, then suddenly he sent it skyward, nearly out of sight while watching a screen of some sort, then it can back down, landed on his deck, and he put it away. (Is he spying on Miami traffic at rush hour???) Well, I guess maybe we were the surreptitious ones trying to watch him while not being noticed! 😊

Fortunately, the rain let up at the perfect time to grill a few hot dogs and call it an early night so we could get moving early the next morning.