Giving Thanks

We are currently anchored in South Basin at Key Biscayne.  It is a wonderful place to be!  This location can best be described as the ‘three Ms’…mangroves, manatees, and multi-million dollar mansions (or 5 Ms).  This is a very well protected cove, which has a shoreline of 1/3 mangroves and 2/3 mansions….and manatees everywhere in between.

This was our view during dinner, one night last week.  How could I not be thankful?

Our trip to this location has been great, with only a few ‘bumps’ along the way.

The first bump/thump happened a few days out of Fernandina Beach.  Keith was at the helm when we both heard and felt a thump.  My first thought was that we touch the bottom, but a quick glance at the depth finder showed us in 12 feet of water.  I went up to the bridge to check with Keith, but he didn’t know what the sound was either.  He thought (or was hoping) I had dropped something or slammed a door.  He put the boat in neutral while we conducted a visual inspection, but we couldn’t see anything in the water.  As soon as we were back in gear he could feel a vibration. Oh no…something must be wrapped around a prop.  Keith put both engines in reverse, which could unwrap a line from the shaft and prop.  However, when he did that hundreds of leaves came out from under the boat.  Yikes…I thought we must be dragging a tree, or at least a branch. Time to find a place to anchor!

It is really nice to have a personal diver onboard (have I mentioned that previously😉).  It turned out to be a large sheet of black plastic wrapped around the prop, shaft, and strut.  It was thicker than normal trash bag material, but at some point it must have been filled with leaves.  Luckily, a razor knife made quick work of it, and within a few minutes we were underway again.

We were treated to an elaborate air show as we passed Stuart, FL

We met up with our good friends Eddie and Gail in Peck Lake.  We are planning to travel together for the next few months, with Turks & Caicos being our winter destination.  It is very excited to have such a wonderful couple to buddy boat with, through the Bahamas…and beyond!  We braved the dreaded bridge gauntlet together, and after both boats lowered masts and light posts we were able to slip under a few of the bridges.

We are happy to report that the cruise industry does test the lifeboats.  This ship was lowering each lifeboat into the water.

The dolphin activity during this leg of the journey has been phenomenal, and I’m certain they are looking right at me!

Clearly this dolphin is intrigued.  I’m not sure what they are looking at, but at that moment my heart is convinced that we are connecting on a soulful level. He/she is probably just trying to figure out what all this crap is hanging from the side of our boat. Hey, don’t judge!

Christmas decorating is well underway in Miami.

The evening sky and cloud formations have been incredible.

Key Biscayne has an amazing park with walking trails, beaches, a lighthouse, protected harbor, and dock.  Eddie and Gail picked us up in there dinghy, and the four of us enjoyed a nice long walk and a 109 step climb to the top of the lighthouse.

The weather has been beautiful, and the lighthouse provided spectacular views!

Not to worry…you too could enjoy this amazing location, even if you don’t have a boat…

We are currently anchored at the red dot, but you could buy or rent this beautiful home on the point.  At $120,000 per month, we have already enjoyed $30,000 worth of location without spending a dime.

This manatee was our Thanksgiving day ‘float’.  He/she provided us with a great parade!

Enjoying a spectacular Thanksgiving dinner aboard Seaquel…a beautiful setting with great food and wonderful people.

Sometimes the easterly view during sunset is more spectacular than the actually sunset in the western sky. I’ll bet the view was really amazing from the plane.  Do you see it toward the left of the picture, in front of the cloud?

We have been anchored in this amazing location for one week, waiting for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas.  Finally, our waiting is over!  We plan to leave Biscayne Bay at 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning and travel 17 hours straight through to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands.  

In order to enter the Bahamas we must have a negative Covid test within 5 days of arrival.  We were able to find a traveling testing company that sets up a tent at a park on Key Biscayne.  Wow…that was easy!

We are LOVING our bikes! All four of us have the same bike (we copied off them😁).  They enable us to cover so much more ground, and to carry so much more food and supplies than we could previously backpack. We spent our last day completing last minute errands like prescription and package pick up, as well as, hardware store and grocery final items.  Tomorrow we plan to rest, stow, and make final preparations for our crossing.  The next blog post will be coming to you from the Bahamas!

We are very thankful for our healthy and happy family, and for this amazing life we are living…with a new adventure beginning tomorrow! We sincerely hope each of you enjoyed the holiday, and have an abundance of things to be thankful for, as well!