What A Beautiful Day!

Riviera Beach to Key Biscayne  |  9.7 Hours  |  73 Miles 

Our anchor was up at first light and we circled around Peanut Island while the sun was still rising. We met a large cargo ship in the middle of Lake Worth Inlet and slowed to give it plenty of room. Once clear of its prop wash, we were flushed out into the Atlantic on a strong ebb tide with another great sunrise continuing before us in the high clouds.

Crossroads was south-bound with the state-side finish line in sight at ICW mile 1095. The miles went by quickly under blue sky and bright sunshine. The Breakers Palm Beach is always easily identified. We paralleled the 131-foot schooner Harvey Gamage for several miles. It is an "ocean classroom" out of Portland, ME, that we had recently seen in St. Augustine. We had perfect weather and sea conditions with a 10 knot northerly breeze and a following sea. We were surfing and making great time. For several hours we were running a weather-aided 9.5 knots. Conditions for northerly travel was a bit dicier and we watched several large motor yachts and sport fishers crash and bang through the oncoming waves. The Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse marked the northern limits of Fort Lauderdale. Parked cargo ships, tankers and a cruise ship were anchored off the mouth of Port Everglades. We counted 21 bridges that would have had to open for us we had done this leg on the ICW. We were definitely loving life in the ocean's fast lane.

Soon Fort Lauderdale morphed into Miami. Oceanfront skyscrapers lined the beach. The water then began to change to the color blue I have missed so much. For the first time all trip, we had both pilothouse doors open. The view was magnificent. We rounded the Cape Florida Lighthouse on the southern tip of Key Biscayne at 4:00.

A dozen or more boats were already anchored outside of No Name Harbor, but there was plenty of room for us. Oh, what a pleasure it was to see the anchor settle on the bottom. We quickly dropped the dinghy and took it for a spin around the anchorage as the sun dropped to the horizon. Start to finish, what a beautiful day it was.

Tomorrow we'll go ashore and stretch our legs with a walk through Bill Baggs State Park. Our Covid tests are scheduled for Saturday and then we'll leave in the wee hours of Sunday morning to take advantage of a small weather window to Bimini.