Hello!! We're still hanging out here in the Keys. We had to replace our DC driven refrigerator so we went dockside at a private residence. There is an apartment for us to use that has a refrigerator so we stored all our cold stuff in that while we replaced the unit.
We left off at West Palm Beach click here for the old post. We left West Palm Beach on Saturday January 3, 2009 at 3:57 PM. We were treated to a beautiful sunset at sea and better yet, calm seas. The passage was uneventful except for the fact that we were only three miles offshore. We couldn't go out any 
further or we would be facing the opposing current of the gulf stream.Michael enjoys his burrito dinner before he goes down for his three hour nap. We take shifts of three hours on and three hours off when we sail at night.
We arrived at Government Cut, Miami before dawn and circled outside waiting for light. We then got in line behind 7-8 cruise ships because we did not want to share the channel with them! There were also a few tankers coming, going and anchored - what a morning that was. We didn't get a picture of
this because we were too busy freaking out, but just as we were finally going in the Cut, the biggest tanker we EVER saw was on it's way out. He called on the radio announcing his departure and we see him coming straight at us. So out of the channel we go into some BIG seas, caused by the wind in the 
channel, and circle until he is gone- pheewww. We call the Coast Guard to make sure which channel we can take
because some channels are closed to recreation boats (Homeland Security issues). We get on the right route and head past Miami Marina where Mike used to live on his boat 20 years ago. We then head to Dinner Key where Mike also lived on his boat and worked. Everything is looking the same according the Mike and the weather is good and water is clear according to Kim.
We arrived in Dinner Key, Miami at 12:00 noon on January 4, 2009. We had a hard time getting the anchor to hold but finally we get it set and took a well earned rest! We stayed in Dinner Key for about 5 days then headed down the ICW to Marathon. We had planned to stop at Boca Chita, for a night and check it out, then do day trips all the way down dot Boot Key Harbour, Marathon. It didn't quite work out that way, but we did make it to Boca Chita. Click here for the previous details, and I'll add some pics of the adventures.
Off we go to Boca Chita, this was Mike's favorite place to relax at when he lived here before. We couldn't take Ka'imi in because we draft too much. But we did anchor outside by Sand Key and dinghied in. It is a very beautiful place. The lighthouse in the pictures has an interesting story. The guy who bought and lived on the island built the lighthouse. Now the Coast Guard 
comes along and tells the guy he can't turn the light on because it shines on the Bay side of the Key. The Coast Guard wins and the guy cannot light the light!
Off we go to Boca Chita, this was Mike's favorite place to relax at when he lived here before. We couldn't take Ka'imi in because we draft too much. But we did anchor outside by Sand Key and dinghied in. It is a very beautiful place. The lighthouse in the pictures has an interesting story. The guy who bought and lived on the island built the lighthouse. Now the Coast Guard 
comes along and tells the guy he can't turn the light on because it shines on the Bay side of the Key. The Coast Guard wins and the guy cannot light the light!
To the left is a beach on Boca Chita and to the right is one of the original buildings.
We also took the dinghy over to Sand Key to explore. We took this trail and there were a million spiders! They had webs crossing the path and they were hanging right above your head. Kim wouldn't go until brave Mike cleared the path :)
Mike the brave spider hunter. Here is the cove inside the Key where we landed the dinghy.
The weather was good so we decided to get on our way. Kim was going to visit family and she had a flight out of Key West in a couple of weeks. After leaving Sand Key we headed down the ICW until we hit Buttonwood Sound. We started bumping the bottom pretty bad and even went hard aground once. We had to have a boat turn us around and tow us off. We found out that we could not make it to Marathon via the ICW because our draft was to much. We turned around and headed back to Dinner Key where we could go on the outside and get to Marathon. Once in Dinner Key the weather kept us there longer than expected so Kim had to rent a car to get to Key West and catch her flight. While Kim was away, Mike's friend Tim came to visit. We'll share that visit in the next update.
Cheers and hope everyone is enjoying warmer weather....Mike and Kim
