Tarpin Basin to No Name Harbor

Another gloomy rainy day.  No sign of the sun.  As we crossed a very choppy Biscayne Bay we could barely see Miami in the distance because of the haze. That was a little disapointing but maybe it would clear later. We were excited about getting to No Name Harbor as it is one of the jumping off points to the Bahamas. We were hoping to meet at least one other boat to buddy up with for the crossing.  When we arrived there were two other boats anchored, both sail. We found a spot, anchored then took a very excited dog to shore. It had been two days since Peanut had her paws on land and she could not wait to get there. She and I took a long walk through the state park to the light house and beach a walk we both benefited from.  By early evening the harbor was full of boats. We talked with a few of them but no one was going to the Bahamas.  We decided to dink over to the next little harbor that is also a staging area for the crossing. The entrance to Hurricane Harbor was shallow so we were glad we had not tried to get in there.  Hurricane harbor had one occupant, a sailboat that was going South.  Back on the boat we talked and decided to head further North to Port Everglades in the morning. It was a better jumping off point for our needs and hopefully we would meet someone there.  We did make one more trip to shore after dark in hopes of seeing the city of Miami all lit up. You can guess our disapointment when we found we could not see the city from the edge of the park.

                                            lighthouse at No Name Harbor also nice beach

                                              Miami when the haze improved in the evening
 

Marathon to Tarpon Basin

It's midnight and I should be asleep resting for a long day on the waterway tomorrow  but I find myself sitting on the bow pads enjoying the silence of the night. The water is like glass tonight, the wind nonexistent. A welcome break from the past several days. The night is filled with the twinkle of white anchor lights on the water. An occasional ripple changes the shape of the lights, stretching them like fingers reaching out to beckon a passerby. The red lights of four nearby towers flash adding color to this beautiful painting on the water.

Up and at um early. What a stark difference from the prior evening. Overcast, windy and gloomy.  Storm clouds and rain could be seen out on the Atlantic as we left the harbor. That made me a little nervous. We wanted to run the the Atlantic side up to Penni camp State Park but because of the weather the ICW would be a better route.  The storms seemed to follow us the entire day but luckily never really caught us.  We had showers now and then and wind but no storms. I was thankful for that.  We arrived at Tarpon Basin our anchorage destination about 3:30. I was bringing us in. The charts, chart plotter and depth finder all seemed to agree on the depth. I kept a close eye on the chart plotter while maneuvering but failed to monitor the depth finder. Big mistake. The chart plotter indicated five foot of water when the alarm went off indicating we were in TWO feet of water. We need almost four.  So much for those silent little thoughts that occasionally crept into my head "I won"t touch bottom because I pay very close attention to what I am doing" I was furious with myself and the chart plotter. While we waited to float into deeper water I checked the charts against the chart plotter. Both indicated five to seven feet of water in this area. Ugh!  So much for my clean record. Once back in seven foot of water we anchored and threw a line in before dinner. Tonight a New moon appeared through the clouds. Pretty

                                                         New moon at Tarpon Basin

                                           Skies over seven mile bridge as we left Marathon

                                            The dark skies made the water look really greeen

                                                Not an inviting sky as a backdrop for boating