Yeah, We Are in the Keys

Weather luck was with us today!!  We got a very early start (for us) and we were free from the New River wall by 7:15.  This timing had to do with the river current and the tide coming in.  Tides are now a factor that we have to consider when planning our anchorages and the timing of arrivals and departures.

We had light wind from the north so we opted to go through this inlet straight out into the Atlantic for the first time on our adventure.  We had calm seas for the first 2 hours with the wind at our backs gently pushing us along. Then the wind and waves picked up for about an hour sending me to sit in the doorway on the Starboard (right) side so I could sit low, close to the water and keep my sights on the land.  Wish I had my phone or IPad with me because I saw dolphins along our side and flying fish hopping across the water.  But my stomach said no to getting up and climbing up to the bridge to get them!

When the chop calmed down, I ventured back up and managed to take this picture of Miami from the Atlantic.  Not a pretty sight!  

And this shot of the Port of Miami inlet where all the cruise ships and freighters enter the harbor.

Once we passed Miami the Atlantic became as flat as a lake and the rest of our 78 mile trip today was smooth sailing (except for the occasional gigantic wake from a speeding megayacht!!).

So here we sit looking out at the flat Atlantic Ocean barely discerning where the sky stops and the water starts in complete quiet and calm. We are anchored behind a small key next to Key Largo.

And this is taken from  the other side of our boat looking at Key Largo and our traveling buddies on Sandrobber. Beautiful evening but dissapointing sunset so no picture!  The end to a surprising day allowing us to travel way past our planned anchorage since the sea was so calm.  People ask what we do all the time and I would guess we spent 6 hours each studying charts and anchorage information to plan out this part of our trip and then lo and behold, we ended up in a spot we only picked after lunch today!  And the added plus is that I used some of the boring but calm time today when we only had ocean and trees on keys, to see to prepare some things for dinner so that makes for a relaxing night! Only 47 miles to get to our destination in Marathon Key to visit with lots of looper friends!