Back to the Upper Keys and Trying the new dinghy motor March28-30, 2021

 Sunday, March 28, 2021. Day 112. Our Extra Day in Luxury.

I swam laps for 45 minutes; and I loved this pool. We spent most of the day getting the boat up to speed and doing errands.

I had planned a real treat: dinner at Billy's Stone Crabs in Hollywood. We had hoped to get there before 4 o’clock and sit outside, but the task became a little bit overwhelming and we didn’t get there until later. We took a Lyft both ways but, even though it was Sunday, the place was mobbed. The wait staff and bar tenders were not prepared for the crowds (and neither was I). They assumed that because South Beach was closed (spring breakers had wrecked havoc and the mayor took action), the tourists had flocked north. We did find two seats at the end of the bar sitting near no one. The stone crabs were delicious, the food was abundant, and the bartender was very accommodating. Towards the end of the meal several people crowded into the bar without masks and were unacceptably close to us. I was anxious to leave.

We wanted to walk on the beach boardwalk in Hollywood but it was packed with people; again without masks and nobody was socially distancing. We called our Lyft and went back to the boat. Unfortunately, it was a stressful experience, overall; I was not happy....but, the crabs were delish. Worth a revisit when, if ever, I feel safe again, dining inside.

Monday, March 29, 2021. Day 113.

I was up early and again, got to swim laps. I will miss this pool for sure. Even Roland took a quick swim and then we got the boat ready and left the dock saying goodbye to Williams Island at 10:20am, with the high tide. Again we went to Lake Maule, to stow the lines and the fenders. We went south the way we had arrived, through Sunny Isles, and prepared to go through the many bridges that required opening for Magic Moments.

I steered quite a bit, as we went south.

Again it was fun going south passed the area I had lived in for eight years, and I even knew the names of the bridges, which gave us a jump on calling the tenders on the radio (local knowledge is always helpful,,,,,lol).

The traffic was fairly heavy, and there were times when waiting for a bridge opening was tight; I’m happy that we avoided collisions.

Near Miami we passed the Gene Machine, an amazing 55 meter yacht owned by Jonathan Rothberg (high speed gene sequencing scientist and entrepreneur, hence the name of the vessel). The tender and the toy barge made an incredible vision. Google “Gene Machine “ and read the article: 14 passengers and 16 crew, and a newly installed lab for his daughter's research. It was breathtaking.

At 3:30 we approached Elliot Key, where we had been anchored when the water tank failed. Our plan was to test our new dinghy motor and maybe, if the wind lets up a bit, try our paddle boards.

The water was incredibly clear, the anchor grabbed nicely, and the wind was only 4-8 knots. We got the dinghy down (our fifth try), and, it went pretty well, especially considering that we had a 60 pound engine attached for the first time.

It was a new engine and required some patience and some care to get it started (also about 12 pulls on the cord). We hope that after a couple of uses, it would get easier.

We took the dinghy engine for its initial exercise in accordance with the detailed manual instructions as to the speed, to break it in. We dinghied to the Biscayne National Park on Elliott Key. I’m not sure there was anybody else there. We took a short walk around and I steered and ran the engine on the way back to the boat.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Day 114.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning, but way windier than we had hoped. As a result, the paddle boards were out; very disappointing. The day was spent working out the new dinghy engine which meant we got to scoot around the Upper Keys. We moved Magic Moments from Elliot Key to Key Biscayne in the afternoon.

The dinghy ride around the smaller coves off of Key Biscayne was fun. The boats and homes that are not visible even from the bay, were charming, and it was fun to zip around with our new, speedy by comparison to the electric engine, gas motor.

We raised the dinghy with the motor attached for the first time; and it went rather well. Not with standing what we were told, it’s highly unlikely we will ever be able to raise and lower the dinghy in 15 minutes, or with just one person. Maybe if we had a hydraulic hoist......

Key Biscayne is beautiful and the views of Miami and “the Beach”, are spectacular. But, we were ready to start the return trip North.