"Skip Gundlach" wrote in message
...
Lydia and I checked out early the next day, in building seas and
winds. Once again it was a very uncomfortable ride south, but we
arrived back on our mooring in due course. On the way in, the
cruise ships had not yet left, and, as the rules are that if there are
two or more cruise ships in Government Cut, one may not transit that
zone.

Skippy, don't you have any charts of the area? If so you need to take a look
at them. Any yacht that uses Government Cut has an ignorant captain at the
helm. Yachts are way better off taking the Yacht Channel just south of Cape
Florida. Cape Florida is where the lighthouse is located BTW. The yacht
channel has plenty of water even for a six foot draft boat. The only shallow
part is just to the north of the dogleg where shoal water exists but that is
shown clearly on the charts.

We had both gotten caught in the cruise ship rules, and had to
wend our way through the narrow channel which goes on the
southern route up to where we'd go under the bridge to the Miami
Yacht Club. As that's also a channel that leads to where they
wanted to go, having scheduled to meet some friends close to
Miami Beach, but they'd navigated the twists south of the bridge
before, we followed them through that unfamiliar area up to the
bridge.

Idiot. You should have just proceeded south in the Intracoastal Waterway and
anchored in Hurricane Harbor or No Name Harbor or off Key Biscayne just to
the north of the entrance to Hurricane Harbor. You aren't driving some big
cruise ship so stay out of the shipping lanes for everybody's safety.


Once aboard, we elected to go out to Fisher's Island, a staging
point mentioned by several of those we've met going to the
Bahamas from this area. That entailed a trip through the winding
channel of the south side of the Port of Miami, the cruise ships
having not departed before we left. After making that passage, we
turned into the harbor after the channel jetty, and set about
anchoring for the night. Oops.

A very stupid place to wait for a crossing. No Name Harbor and the other
anchorages mentioned above are way way better. Again, get your head out of
your arse, Skippy! You aren't driving some big ship. And, six foot draft is
not all that much unless you are too stupid to read a chart and work the
tides. Any REAL sailor does both.

They were headed to the Bahamas (sob! - we'll not get to go for
close to a year), and were using this as a staging point before
moving a bit further south on the next day's forecasted East
wind. Because it was a north wind when we arrived, we had a lumpy
anchorage, but it wasn't difficult in any way, and we had a
lovely dinner.

Look at your charts again. I detect yet another lie, Skippy. The anchorage
at Rodriguez Key is called Mandalay and it is sheltered from the north. You
either have problems with your directions of problems telling the truth.

Stay Tuned.

Please spare us the boredom for once!


Wilbur Hubbard