Tim Visits Dinner Key, Florida

When Kim went to see her family in January, Mike asked his friend Tim to come and visit with him on the boat. It was a great relief to have Tim come visit, the winds had picked up the night Kim left and were blowing 26-30 knots. Mike had a long sleepless night with the winds that high, because the anchorage had very poor holding. We were also testing a brand new anchor, a 55 pound Delta that we had just bought. Mike also had witnessed a 44 foot Trawler dragging anchor earlier in the evening. If the anchor had given way, it would have been very hard for one person to retrieve and reset the anchor in a very crowded anchorage. After Tim arrived the weather calmed. It was a great to see him and a relief in case the winds picked up again.

Tim had been to Miami and Dinner Key before with Mike back in the 80's when Mike had his 30' Hunter sailboat that he lived on. Tim stayed on the boat with Mike for about 6 months and they both worked at the Miami Beach Charthouse. After they earned some money they took off to the Bahama's to cruise the Berry Islands. Mike welcomes Tim aboard at the Dinner Key anchorage.



Mike and Tim enjoyed seeing the changes as they walked around Coconut Grove, Dinner Key Marina and Miami. They spotted a manatee around the docks at Dinner Key Marina. To the right is a picture of a Portuguese Man-O-War they spotted by the Dinghy Dock. The Man-O-War was wetting down its sail.

Mike and Tim took a trip down to Miami Beach. The dock at the left is where they lived when they worked at the Chart House. The only thing that looked the same here was the pier where Mike's boat was docked. Everything else was so developed you couldn't even get to beach anymore, without paying for a parking spot. It was sad to see most of the beach was fenced off and private. They have lots of restaurants in Miami Beach and we enjoyed a great lunch.

Mike taught Tim how to play Mexican Train Dominoes a game we learned while cruising in the Caribbean, it's very popular among cruisers. Tim loved this game and couldn't get enough of it. They played almost every evening. Here's Tim kicking Mike's ass in the game.

They weather finally cleared up enough that they could leave Ka'imi and Tim rented a car. They went down to check the mooring balls out at Marathon in the Florida Keys. Marathon is just north of Key West and south of Key Largo. This is where Mike and I are now. The left is a picture of the dinghy dock and the right is the old seven mile bridge.

Tim took the picture on the left of a local Iguana, he has a great camera. The picture at the right is the Dinner Key anchorage.








After a week it was time for Tim to leave. It's another beautiful sunset in Dinner Key. Thanks for coming Tim, and come back again soon it was great to see you.

As soon as Tim left, the winds starting picking up again to 20-30 knots. Wouldn't you know it, Kim got a phone call every day - "WHERE ARE YOU!" Thank god the anchor held!



Cheers for now, Mike and Kim on Ka'imi