After the PITCHY-EST night ever! We had arrived at the North Rock
and must have picked the best point for bobbling on the waves! Up very
early for our next big sailing day. Sadly, we cruised out of Bimini,
Bahamas, for the Gulf Stream crossing.
The weather was great for a crossing, east winds and not a hint of north in
them. If the wind is blowing from the north against a north flowing Gulf
Stream, huge waves can form Ð something we prefer to avoid. It was a good,
if slow crossing.
Surprise, surprise, we're still learning! And this crossing taught us all
about the power of the 2-3 knot Gulf Stream. Guess what happens when you
put a boat travelling at 4 knots against a Gulf Stream travelling 2-3, you
make incredibly slow progress! If you want to go to Biscayne Bay, you need
to go north to go south (it took us until 4:00 to really figure this out).
Travel across the Gulf Stream at 6-7 knots going northish and then turn
south and have a rollicking sail down the coast using the east wind.
And we do still need to keep in mind, if the wind isn't right to sail where
you want to go, sail someplace else!
We arrived tired, but happy at Key Biscayne for 8:30 after 60 plus miles -
another long day. We anchored in mostly dark, but with a bit of light from
Miami across the bay. Anchoring here in the dark was a bit less
nerve-wracking than at North Rock because we'd been here before.
And tired or not, it was time for a celebration! We made it -
wooooohoooooo!!!
Our view, one of our favourites, the nightime skyline of Miami, it must be
one of the prettiest city skylines in the world. Since we had a bit of fish
to hand (!), Steve grilled fish and wings which we had with the last of our
fresh veg, coleslaw (cabbage lasts at least a month, if not more) and a
bottle of our favourite wine which we had stashed away for just this
occasion. A very long, but satisfying day!
(Digital photo taken by Marc Averette)
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