Ok - here is the Day 1 summary.
Originally, we were planning on leaving last night, but a cold front ripped through with winds and rain that would have generally made for a miserable night at anchor in Lake Sylvia. We may have had the anchorage to ourselves, but whats the point if you're hemmed in down below...vs having one more night playing with the dogs and sleeping in your own bed. The decision was made...we would leave before dawn.
A few short hours later, the alarm clock was buzzing at 5 am and we made our way to the boat...not hard, its in our back yard
We pushed off the dock by 6 am and made our way up river. Surprisingly busy at that time in the morning - as soon as we hailed Davie Blvd bridge, we were hailed by at least 2 fellow sailboats from our club. Turns out, there was a regional race up in Hillsboro and a few boats were making their way up for that race.
In any case, we made our way up river towards the inlet. All the while, the winds were rising...uncomfortably. Upon crossing 17th Street Causeway bridge, we made ready to sail, just as 3 separate frieghters decided to either enter port, leave port, or leave dock. *ugh*. Just as well, we crossed into the main channel and clocked winds of over 25 knots sustained. Doable, but just no fun for our boat. So, we turned around made our way south down the ditch.
It should be noted, I hate taking ICW down to Miami...bridge after bridge, crazy currents that can stall you at full throttle (around the bridges in Hollywood I noticed), and just a lot of traffic which really didn't fit in the theme/mood for this trip we wanted to take. But what was one to do. We made great time, nailing nearly every bridge per schedule. Wife has worked out a system to chart out opening times, tides, and our hull speed to near perfection. We were in Miami in less around noontime.
Soon, we were through the City entirely and on the open Bay. *FINALLY* we sailed. Winds were still in the 17-20 knot range, but with none of the nastiness of open ocean swells and breaking waves. Just a lot of 3-4 foot, short period waves that the Bay is known for. So we deployed a reefed genoa and double reefed main...and we *STILL* made 6.5 knots pretty good for a Winnebago with kayaks, dinks, and jerry cans strapped to the topsides! Soon the city was just a hazy figment in the distance.
We realized something as we enjoyed the sail...the Bay was practically ours alone! The small craft advisory was still in effect and all the boats were gone...we were alone for *MILES* around for much of the day. Just some other sailboats, and even those thinned out as we neared the Featherbeds.
We sailed with no concern of powerboat traffic...even sailed *THROUGH* the Featherbeds channel!
But then we made our course to Black Point. This was the most nerve wracking moment of the trip. As we neared the channel, neither the chartplotter, the depth sounder, nor the handheld sounder could agree on depts. We saw depts as low as 5.5 feet (and this was near high tide) go by on the depth sounder while the handheld stated 7 or 8 as we came close to the channel entrance. Nevertheless, we made it in...tide was pretty high, even the jetty was covered by water. I am concerned about getting out in the morning as high tide is at 4:30 AM and we plan on leaving at 6. Will figure it out then!
Soon, we were in the marina basin, and after a bit of docking drama (current was stronger than expected), we were safely tied off and cleaned up. We grabbed our clothes and awaited the lift the family party that night at my wife's aunt's home. Just returned to the dock from the shindig and getting ready to go to bed....what a day. One of our best with the boat ever.
Till the next update! May be some time as we'll be at anchor with limited net connectivity
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