Front Row Center Seat

Biscayne Bay
25 41.63 N 080 10.76 W

We continued to get a fine free ride from the wind all night long. Around 0700 this morning though, it abruptly stopped, like someone turned off the light switch. When the wind stopped, we were directly in front of Miami Beach's South Beach. Not a bad place to be. Oh well, we turned on the engine and motored two hours to this anchorage.

We passed by the cruiser's favorite place, No Name Harbor, and chose to anchor to the west of Key Biscayne. There will be almost no wind tonight so we don't need shelter. More important, here we have a front row center seat to admire the beauty of Miami's night skyline. Downtown Miami is only four miles away and there are no obstructions between it and us. Actually, this exact spot is a favorite for shooting scenic pictures of Miami. I've seen this view in the opening scenes of Miami Vice,
and also the opening scenes of CSI Miami. We'll have dinner tonight out on deck to enjoy the view and the nice weather.

As we came south last night from Palm Beach, three changes were noticeable. First, the continental shelf that we've seen all the way from Massachusetts south, seems to disappear here. Typically, the shelf keeps the water depth as little as 80 feet deep up to 40 miles off shore. Last night though although we were only 3 miles from the beach, the water was as much as 500 feet deep. Second, the weather became noticeably warmer. Even at 4AM, it was comfortable out on deck wearing only a tee
shirt and shorts. Libby reported getting splashed by a rogue wave and she said the water was very warm. Third, after dawn we started seeing flying fish and Portuguese Man O Wars.

To the east were the ever present clouds that mark the Gulf Stream. To the north was a massive dark cloud that looked very threatening. For a moment I was alarmed that a storm was approaching. Then I noticed that the cloud was moving north -- away from us. The reality was that we sailed under that cloud most of the night and emerged into sunlight only after dawn. Cool.

After posting this blog, I think I may go for a swim. I may even get Libby to swim too -- that's a challenge because she is very chicken about swimming in water that isn't really warm. The outside air temperature is 85F(30C) I don't know the actual water temperature -- I should buy an immersible thermometer.