Tuesday, February 30, 2018 -  Miami (Venetian Causeway) Layover

I'm making my way south - knowing that the weather forecast is looking good for a Friday crossing of the Gulf Stream.   I'm assuming things are backed up further south since it has been a while since there was a good opportunity to go.  I figure there is no point in me getting to the staging area too soon only to find there are no good anchorages left. 

I did a lot of research on this center of Miami area.  I wanted to do my last provisioning before leaving for the Bahamas.  There are two Publix grocery stores on the West side of Miami Beach.  There are several anchorages in the area but things are changing in the area and some of the Active Captain comments are a little out dated and contradictory of one another.  My first move was to check out the anchorage most accessible to the store.  It is near a public boat ramp/marine police headquarters.  The area was way too congested for me and was loaded with unattended (some derelict) boats.  Some were at anchor and some at moorings.  There was a good amount of current.  That didn't look like my kind of spot.  Plan B was to anchor in Sunset Lake (about 1/4 mile away) and dinghy through the canals to some areas that MIGHT have shore access.  I dinghied around for an hour and gave up on that approach.  Then I called the marine Police.  They told me anchoring where I was is now prohibited overnight.  He also told me the boat ramp had a 20 minute limit (it DID have free water and trash receptacles).  OK - back to plan A.  So I went back to the boat ramp and carved out a small space to anchor.  It was pretty choppy with a west wind but I got in the dink and motored to the ramp.  When I got there, I spoke with an officer standing outside and asked if it would be OK for me to make a quick trip to Publix.  Thankfully, he said "no problem" as long as I promised to return.  So I locked up the dink and hustled to the grocery store two blocks away.  I got some weird looks from other shoppers as I scurried through the isles.  About $80 later, I was back in the dink with no trash and two good size jugs of water.  Thank You Miami Marine Police.

It didn't take long to pack the cold items in the fridge and I had that anchor up and was out of there.  I was interested in a very peaceful night at anchor so I went to an AC anchorage between the two islands (Hibiscus and Palm).  They are both man made islands that are part of the Venetian Causeway (between Miami and Miami Beach).  I was lucky to make the only draw bridge between the north and south side of the causeway with perfect timing (without really trying).  I motored around the south side of the causeway a little before making my way to the anchorage.  I later found out that my friend Bruce and his wife had anchored in the same spot before. 

Moonset over Miami

West Venetian Causeway Bridge between
Miami and Miami Beach

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Miami - where the "cruisers" hang out!