A short but exciting trip

A short but exciting trip

Thursday January 7, 2021

In terms of distance we didn’t go very far but it had its moments.  We set off from the anchorage at Fisher Island and retraced our path toward the main channel—Government Cut.  We got about halfway along Government Cut from east to west when we heard port security on the radio.  Apparently Government Cut is closed to mere recreational boaters and only open to ferries and cruise liners.  (There were plenty of the latter tied up along the side of the cut.) We had to turn around and retrace our route continuing past the turning for yesterday’s anchorage and on along the south side of Dodge Island and the Port of Miami.  Then some confusing navigation put us in the ICW headed north.  A set of three bridges, one railroad bridge, one defunct road bridge and one high bridge got us to the western end of the Government Cut.  Unfortunately, the timing was no longer so great for the opening of the western Venetian Causeway Bridge.  While we were “cooling our heels” a tug and barge came up behind us.  We also heard a trimaran request an opening but were unsure to which bridge he was speaking.  Once the bascule opened we motored through to find the trimaran on the other side raring to go.  Apparently he charged through without waiting for the barge/tug combo.  We heard an angry exchange on the radio.

Then we were into the lagoon between Miami and Miami Beach called Biscayne Bay.  We turned right shortly after the bridge and made our way east along the north side of a series of islands connected by the Venetian Causeway. While it wasn’t a long distance, a certain amount of excitement was added by the shallow water.  According to the chart, the whole area is between 7 and 9 feet and dotted with “obstructions” and “submerged pilings” At the gap between the fifth and sixth island was another bascule bridge that gave access to the area south of the islands.  We are anchored in a small area between San Marco and San Marino Islands to the north and Hibiscus Island to the southeast.  Once we were anchored we saw a turtle.  It wasn’t close enough to determine the species.

In the afternoon we took the dinghy along to the east and back under the bascule bridge.  We found the dinghy dock at a town park and filled our water jugs, dumped trash and went for a walk.  We found the Trader Joe’s and the Publix.  It was great to be on land again although the stability of the ground wasn’t as we remembered it...   

Gloria

25 47.347 N, 80 09.929 W

Note: Have you ever wished you hadn’t read something? We get a lot of anchoring information form “Active Captain” and boats recommend our current location – the water is deep and it’s quiet apart from passing boats. Then a few moments ago I read the updated “Skipper Bob” review on line and realized we are probably anchored in an illegal spot … no wonder it’s quiet. I think we will have to move in the morning … assuming we aren’t rudely awakened during the night. In some ways this is an interesting area to visit but it is distinctly unfriendly towards boaters. Not a great feeling and almost nowhere that you can tie up your dinghy and go to shore for more than 20 minutes. (Mike)

Miami skyline at night - with boat motion!

Miami docks at night - today we motored down a deep channel parallel to these docks. The corresponding channel to the north of the docks is where the cruise liners dock and it's now closed to recreational traffic

Tanzanite - abstract

Fishers Island anchorage at sunrise. It looks wide open but most of the water you see is extremely shallow