coconut grove, FL.

upon leaving our mooring in the morning, we proceeded to the T-head dock at the las olas municipal marina to pump out and fill the water tanks.  while we were at it, i hosed down the boat as well.  it was a gorgeous day and our plan was to head out into the ocean and bypass the ICW, go back in at government cut/port of miami inlet and anchor at marine stadium.  the plans kept changing for reasons i won't get into here.

in the meantime, it was a spectacular day to be outside.  the water was a beautiful turquoise and clear down to the bottom at 30 feet - just amazing.  we got to see the coastal skyline instead of in-your-face mansions and it was just so nice to have SPACE - elbow room.  it was very exciting and at the same time, relaxing.  well, every day, something different.  i can't stress enough how happy we felt.  and coming into the port of miami, it was like the city was this sparkling jewel in the sun reflected in that gorgeous blue water.  it was pretty breathtaking!

leaving fort lauderdale

the color of the water, clear down to 30 feet

florida coastline as seen from the ocean

the ocean is one big playground

entering government cut

the port of miami

in any case, as i mentioned earlier, the plans kept changing - first, the marine stadium anchorage, then a mooring ball at dinner key marina which is a huge facility, once described by a friend as miles and miles of docks.  the place has 225 mooring balls good grief!  but in the end, we wound up taking a slip for the duration of our stay and this will mark the end of the SAIL rally.  on sunday, december 21, 2014, we will be on our own - AT LAST.

in any case, we knew we were assigned mooring 202 but there were a zillion mooring balls out in biscayne bay so tom called in to dinner key marina's office to find out where the heck 202 was, plus we also wanted to get a pumpout.  first, the mooring - it was way out there and bringing consuelo in was going to be a pain especially late at night and early in the morning.  there are spoil islands that you pass on the way in to the marina and they would have worked so we kept that in mind.  next, the pumpout.  apparently, the marina and the moorings are separate offices and the mooring office has pier 7/slip 18 assigned to boats from the moorings if they want to come in instead of having the pumpout boat go out to them so we got into that slip and did what we had to do and then tom went off to the mooring office.  when he finally came back, he said we had a slip for our stay in coconut grove.  merry christmas, he said.  i wasn't going to complain even though i knew it was going to be expensive.  it just made things so much easier but the thing was, it was a lucky thing because this time of year, there is never any room at the inn, and mark had gone ahead of everyone and was buying up moorings as they became available for the members of the fleet.  those that had opted for slips had made reservations in advance so they were covered.

we stayed four days at dinner key marina, got the boat cleaned up, went for dinghy rides, went biking, walked around town, etc.  all this time, we were thinking, on the 21st, we are FREE and we turn back and head north and tom said, it's tempting to go to the keys.  i said, why don't we then?  we're already here, we might as well.  tom thought that since we were already a month late for sanford, that we had to hightail it over there.  nope.  we have charts, we have guide books, we have the ICW under our belts, let's just do it - it's christmas, right?  so just like that, we are going to cruise the keys for a little while before we head north.  well, that decision wasn't too hard to make, was it?

in the meantime, the grand finale for the SAIL rally was held at the coconut grove sailing center.  speeches were made and awards were given out and there was food and there were drinks.  it was nice that everyone showed their appreciation for the leaders.  i don't think it's a biased opinion on my part that tom was the most appreciated :)  folks were being sentimental and i must admit, we did make friends with some very nice people in this fleet along the way, but my true feeling is simply relief that it is OVER and that once again, we are traveling by ourselves, on our own schedule, cruising in our own style.  for me, it's not the end of something but, rather, the REAL beginning of OUR cruising/snowbird life.  i wouldn't have chosen to do it this way - with a group - and i would prefer not to do it this way again.  i guess i just don't like being regimented or having to watch out for someone else, let alone a bunch of other people with varying skills and varying states of boat maintenance.  tom and i learned a lot along the way but now, we'd like to slow down the pace a bit.  tomorrow, we head across biscayne bay to key biscayne to fuel up and then probably to the marine stadium anchorage that we missed out on.  then on to the florida keys!