A month and a half in the Keys
Biscayne Bay stretches along and south of Miami for hours of sailing distance. The clarity of water with white sand makes it look like a paradise. We planned a short trip for the first day out of Miami. That helped us get into the mood of being alone with the weather and ocean again, after the safety of the city anchorage. That day we spent a late afternoon and one night at probably the dreamiest place so far. There was a small island, Elliot Key, close by. Nobody around us, just a couple of small boats near the island shore. Utter bliss! Anchorages like these make up for all the troubles and are a refreshing contrast with busy marinas.
How is the water so clear? It must be the first time I saw our chain and anchor through the water all the way down at 8 feet. Brian took the opportunity to swim around the boat to see what the hulls looked like after months of sitting in Virginia water. Sea Biscuit was a dirty girl and needed a thorough scrub. We planned on getting the boat cleaned once we got to warm waters in the Keys.
I really like traveling half a day at a time and dropping the anchor early in the afternoon. The days were getting longer and we could be done with dinner and clean up before the sunset.
Luckily, the next day was just like that – short and easy, until we got to Key Largo, anchored a bit too close to a small monohull covered with birds, re-anchored further away from it …It looks like death lives there! Should we call the Coast Guard?, and then took the dinghy to the shore. Suddenly it seemed like summer. Early April and it is hot, orchids entwine palm trees and feral chickens strut around the restaurant grounds.
It always messes with my mind, such a dive into tropical climate in spring. Did we skip the whole season of spring and are in the middle of summer? The Keys must be the place to be any winter and spring. The rest of our stay confirmed that.
That afternoon we sat at the restaurant on the shore and watched Sea Biscuit looking massive next to several smaller boats. Mission nearly accomplished. The only question is why it took us so long to get here?
Another day of scooting along the chain of Keys and Route 1, the same road that starts in Maine! We spent another night at Marathon Key on a mooring ball and got to Boca Chica Naval base marina. It was another first for us there – we had to dock at the marina wall, take our dinghy to the designated mooring ball to set up mooring lines, then back to the boat to finally go to our mooring with Sea Biscuit. Weird, but it worked. Now what?
Since we had many weeks at our disposal, we thought we’d explore Key West, local parks and attractions. But staying right there at Boca Chica also offered lots of fun things to do: a small beach with beautiful turquoise water and a shallow lagoon where we can paddle board. A resident iguana was inconvenienced by my attention, otherwise he walked on the marina grounds like he founded the place. Dolphins and tarpons showed off splashing just to get the attention and reef sharks lurked low at the bottom.
Oh and the boat work. A new windlass that we waited for a few weeks to get delivered to a local UPS was a bit tricky to install, but we are in love with this shining beauty.
Looking back, we managed to see quite a lot around the Keys: Key West proper, its butterfly nature garden, the dolphin research center, the turtle hospital and a couple of beaches. Ukrainian flags were flying on many homes, which was heart-warming as we were still reeling from the horrific daily news of the war. We made friends with other boaters on Boca Chica at pot luck dinners. People have amazing stories, especially former military who are sailors. We think we’ll return here next winter.
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