Quote:
Originally Posted by MC  Just looking at this thread yesterday and was wondering how it was going.
Were our time frames somewhat accurate? Can you give us details? |
It was your suggestion to take three days to get to Miami that influenced me to do just that.
Day one was very long in that I left Columbus at 6:05am to fly to Atlanta then Jax. It was near noon by the time I left Palm Cove Marina where the boat was stored. I headed south down the ICW from there with a reservation at the New Smyrna Beach City Marina. It was a very nice facility, and was a block away from their uptown area - Canal Street. The Christmas tree lighting ceremony was that night, and Canal Street was decked out, too. I ate dinner at Jason's, and went back to my boat and crashed.
Day two was on the ICW as well, another very nice day. The temps were pretty cool, but the sun was nice, and so was the water. I was pretty focused on making sure I stayed in the channel. I stayed at Sailfish marina. Their tournament was starting the following monday and I was surrounded by some beautiful sportfishing boats. Most of the trip I ran about 25mph, but it sure seemed like I got to Stuart sooner than I should have. There's nothing really close to that marina so I bought some sandwhiches there and relaxed on board. Sailfish marina had a very good wifi signal, as did most of the marinas, so I was able to use my laptop to watch my home Directv via Slingbox.
Day three I'd planned on going offshore, and for the first hour or so I did. Maybe longer I don't remember. I know that it really wasn't that fun as my boat neither has the weight nor the deadrise to flatten or cut through 3-5's comfortably. Heck they might have 2-4's, but they were windblown and mixed up....like someone here said...a washing machine. So I came back in and rode the ICW the rest of the way to Miami. Very very nice.
I didn't have reservations anywhere in Miami, and the place I had contacted in Key Largo blew me off completely by never calling or returning my email. It was getting late and I passed on Miamarina as it was a huge party. I like to party...but I like to go to the party, not live at it. So I motored on. The beautiful skyline and waterfront were soon replaced by Biscayne Bay, and I had no clue where I was going to dock.
In the distance on the ocean side of the bay I saw some boats making their way into a marked channel, and I could see some masts in a harbor. It was getting dark so I got to the channel as quickly as I safely could and followed the boats in. What I didn't know at the time was this was a private gated marina. I found what appeared to be an unused slip, tied up, hooked up the shore power, and cleaned the boat. By that time it was dark, I'd seen people leave through the locked gates, and realized I wsn't going anywhere on land or I'd be locked out.
But I also realized I was hungry. With nothing but 4 beers on board, that wasn't going to cut it. Yet I didn't see anything nearby, didn't really know where I was, and therefore had no idea who to call. So I turned on the phone I keep strictly for the internet, and went to Google Maps. I asked it to plot my location, zoomed in and saw I was on the north end of Key Biscayne at Crandon Park Marina. I searched for Dominos pizza and there was one about three miles down the road. So less than thirty minutes later, the driver was handing me a pizza and two liter over the fence!
Day four was straight through the bay and on into the Keys via the ICW. Navigation required the use of the plotter, the paper charts, and the binoculars. The paper charts confirmed what the plotter was saying when the markers were so far apart. And the binoculars confirmed what the plotter and charts were telling me. The water was beautiful. It was warm and calm. When I pulled into Boot Key harbor I could smell fried seafood from the Seven Mile Grille across the street, so that's where I ate.
Day five was perfect. Followed my waypoints all the way to Marco and then I'm familiar with the water there so on up to Doctor's Pass and home. That day was awesome in particular because it's the route I'll bring my kids on when we're down for visits...and it was very easy. The only real challenge is picking the efficient lanes to run through the crab pots without ending up weaving the whole way. Two of my waypoints were navpoints only so it became a matter of trusting the GPS for location and verifying it on the paper charts.
So yes, taking three days to get to Miami was the way to go. I never had to push it, except that third day but that was my fault. It was a great, great trip. Slept on the boat every night. Saw a lot of beautiful boats and homes. And met some really nice dockmasters. Funny....every one of them was from the northeast. I can only remember one person that was a born local.
But....if I'm blessed with calm water on day 2, it's Smyrna to Miami.
