February 10-12 Boca Chita to Marathon

We made a leisurely exit from Sunset Lake in the morning.  I was going to go through the East Venetian Bridge to avoid having to wait for the West Venetian Causeway bridge opening which is on a 30 minute schedule and can be crowded with boats waiting to go through.  It's a busy waterway.  By using the East Venetian Bridge, which opens on demand,  we could avoid that wait.

Well, surprise, surprise.  The  East Venetian Bridge bridge was closed for repairs and the when we came up to the West  East Venetian Bridge, it was being held in the open position for repairs.  So we sailed right through.

Dave, relaxed, nonchalant navigation

We meandered down Biscayne Bay towards Boca Chita Key.   Boca Chita is very near Miami.  On nice clear days the Miami skyline is a marvel.   Of course I don't have any pictures.. ugh

It was an easy journey even though the Bay is shallow.  But there was very little boat traffic.

Boca Chita entrance channel

The entrance to Boca Chita was well marked and easy.  Its a little harbor actually and is immensely popular on weekends as hordes of boats descend to the place and party hearty all weekend.  Last time we came through Biscayne Bay it was a weekend and we could hear the music from a few miles away.  But its a weekday today so no worries.  We pulled in, and there were a few sailboats and one or two power boats.  Plenty of room on the almost circular dock which is actually a sea wall with cleats!  

And no dock hands which means the deck crew will have to snag a cleat without help.  And they did without a problem!

Deck gang getting ready for Boca Chita where there are no dock hands

We chose to tie up on the east side near a tree for shade, forgetting that Boca Chita has a reputation for harboring a population of voracious bugs.  They reside in tree's and brush.  We later pulled the boat up away from the tree to gain a little bit of wind to help stem the bug hordes.

We used either Dave's or my National Park pass to discount the docking fee.  Sometimes it pays to be old(er).  

Tied up on the eastern sea wall

I wandered around and talked with a few of the boaters.  Talked with a nice couple on Tucan, a 30 foot  Hatteras fore runner from the early 1970's.  Nice boat!   Also met a couple from Wisconsin on a small sailboat.  He runs a excursion boats on Lake Baraboo (I think, or maybe it was the Dells).  

We peeked at the impressive light house and walked around the shore.  There are a few beaches too.

Never have there been better collectors of beach "stuff" than these two.

Meanwhile Kathy and Mary discovered dead things.  Beach dead things.  Sponges to be specific.  Lots of sponges.  Kathy accumulated an impressive collection in record time.  Mary was not far behind.  I began repeating my, "no dead things in the boat", mantra.   Sponges can be, ah noticeably odoriferous if you know what I mean.   Very noticeably.  

We ended resembling an odd commercial sponging boat with sponges up on the deck drying in the sun.

Looking out Boca Chita entrance and the lighthouse

We had a relaxing evening.  The sponges, up on the bow and leaving an impressive aromatic cloud, help dissuade some of bug hordes heading our way.  Well, that's my guess anyway.  It wasn't too bad bug-wise, but bug spray is a necessity.

Heading through Jewfish Creek into Blackwater Sound

Next morning we left on a rising tide and went through a little channel in the shallow water, the East Featherbed Bank channel.  We were headed down the Bay towards Tarpon Basin where we were going to try and anchor for the night.

It was a blustery day though and Tarpon Basin, which is at Key Largo, is not known for its holding.  Basically anchors drag here, especially in the north end which is where one finds wind protection from northerlies. 

We entered the Basin and anchored but dragged almost right away.  I was reluctant to try the north end where there were several sailboats because of the potential for dragging.  So went to the next alternative outside of Tarpon basin near Grouper Creek,  Grouper Creek is the exit channel from Tarpon and on the east side of it there is 8 feet of water over what appears to be hard sand.  The anchor caught right away.  

So that's where we stayed.  It was out of the heavy wind but alas, I was hoping to have some of these huge, 10 feet or more, Tarpon swim by for everyone to see.  

Next morning we timed our departure with the tides so we would traverse some of the very shallow trouble spots at or near high tide.  These troublesome areas are further down in Florida Bay, maybe a hour or two away. 

And we did pretty good since we didn't go aground.  But the water depths through here can be less than 5 feet in some spots.

We couldn't make it all the way to Marathon in one day and arrive in daylight, so we chose to anchor near Lower Matecumbe Key, which is adjacent to the Channel 5 inlet.  

Channel 5 is the main navigable inlet between from Florida Bay and the ocean.  And we were going to take the ocean into Marathon.  It was forecast to be relatively calm and the ocean route is 5 miles shorter than going down Florida Bay.  And its deeper!  

We rocked a bit here at anchor since the winds were still blustery from the north.  But not too bad.

Near dusk a couple of kids in a rented boat stopped by and wanted to know about gas for their outboard.  I did have any on board so directed them to a marina near Channel 5 bridge.  It was getting dark so I hope they made it.  

The batteries seem to be worsening.  I hope they can last at least a few more weeks so I can get new ones ordered.  

Tomorrow we head into Marathon and Boot Key Harbor.  We'll have to anchor since there are no vacancies at the marina's there.  And the north winds are not letting up.  Boot Key can get very crowded with many anchored boats so I hope we can find a little spot to settle into for a while.  From notes I've been getting from a few friends already there, prospects aren't looking to good.  But it wouldn't be an adventure if everything always worked out smoothly.