Right Hand Life: Water Colors

Our trip from Peck Lake to Miami was akin to ‘Running the Gauntlet’. We planned the trip in two legs, which contained a total of 33 bridges that would need to open for us to pass through. These two days were our least favorite since our adventure began in July.

The first day wasn’t too bad, as we only had to contend with 13 bridges that day and the wind and tides were favorable. Luckily the tidal range is very small here (1-2 ft compared to 12-14 ft in Maine).

This was the second page of bridges on the second day of this tip, where we had to transit 20 bridges. We quickly realized that seeing our status in writing was the only way to keep up with the demands of this transit. Some bridges open on the hour and half hour, while others open on the quarter hour and three quarter hour. One would think it should be easy to cover 3.5 miles in 25 minutes in order to make the next opening, but not if the speed limit is 5 mph for 2 miles. The bigger problem is just missing the bridge opening. You definitely DO NOT want to have to hold station for 20 minutes. On the second day the wind and tide made remaining stationary very difficult!! Both were working together to push us into the bridge...not fun! Getting your timing down can be tricky when you take into consideration the numerous manatee zones along this route. I don’t want to sound judgmental, but the manatee seem to be very elitist! Apparently, they much prefer to hang out in the canals surrounded by mansions, as opposed to the canals with all other types of residences...at least that’s what the manatee speed zone postings would lead you to believe.

I was also surprised to learn that I needed to take the location of the President into consideration when planning this transit!

If you are in the market for a new waterfront home, this happens to be available😉

Yikes, six years in jail for speeding?? Luckily, our boat can’t speed😁

Fort Lauderdale is where the magic happened. There was a clear transition to amazing water colors!

You can see the actual line from dark water to bright aqua blue.

You take a picture of me...I take a picture of you.

A few minutes after the helicopter passed this seaplane landed. Very busy airspace!

This is not the way anyone wants to arrive in Miami! Thank goodness for Sea Tow!

Finally, we are anchored behind Virginia Key with good protection from the northerly winds and a great view of Miami. We are exhausted from the ‘run of the gauntlet’, and we both agree that we will never take that route again. The next time we need to transit this area it will be in the ocean! Tomorrow we plan to Uber (for the first time ever) into Miami to pick up the new life raft we ordered at the Annapolis Sailboat show.

Miami art...nice!

We arrived at Datrex to pick up our life raft, and they gave us a tour of the operation. It was wonderful to see the care they put into packing each raft. Life rafts must be certified every 3 years, and we were able to see the process of testing and repacking.

After our second Uber ride ever...we are back at Dinner Key Marina where they graciously allowed us to use their dinghy dock, even though we were anchored out! Our mission was a success!

Dinner in the pilot house provided a beautiful skyline view of Miami.

Sunrise in Miami. We want to get an early start on our trip to Key Largo.

I have never seen stilt houses in the middle of the water, until now. This is Stiltsville, where there are 7 houses perched on sand flats a mile off the Florida coast, in Biscayne Bay. There were 27 structures in the 1960’s, but that number has been whittled down due to fires and hurricanes. The beginning of these structures can be dated back to the end of the prohibition era, allegedly to facilitate gambling which was not allowed within a mile of the coast. In 1985, this area was declared part of Biscayne National Park which required the houses to be moved, but the park service agreed to let them stay until the lease was up in 1999. After a lengthy legal battle the park service decided not to destroy the structures, but to preserve them. Today, a non-profit organization called the Stiltsville trust looks after the remaining seven buildings.