However, the planning was excellent except for the water conditions which were exceedingly unpleasant. The Atlantic Ocean was choppy with 3-4 foot waves on our nose...where else would they be in a sailboat? We were able to motorsail for about half the trip with a close-hauled jib until the wind moved further south and headed us. At least the ocean was a lovely shade of green typical of South Florida waters.
For the first half of the trip, the sail helped stabilize the boat and gave us about a one-knot lift. We kept within a mile of shore to try to find some southward-bound current to further boost us. But by the time we hauled the headsail down, the combination of wind and sea from the southeast made up for a most unpleasant and bouncy ride to Miami. Even Windreka's fuel tanks weren't happy and all the accumulated sludge and dead bugs from more than 20 years decided to rise from the bottom and appear in the fuel pickup. The Racor filters that Joe changed yesterday in Lake Worth clogged and...once again...Joe had to crawl into the engine room, get personal with a hot engine and...this time...change both Racors to keep the engine working.
What made this memorable is that Joe changed both filters while the boat was bouncing and moving and while the engine was running...makes one want to say without the engine skipping a beat, but the reason the filters had to be changed was that the engine was skipping beats! Once the clogged filters were replaced, the engine purred all the way to Miami.
After what seemed like two days of travel, we entered Government Cut as a cruise ship was heading out in a northerly direction. We made our way past the containerships, the harbor tugs crossing back and forth, a good portion of the Miami cigarette boat fleet...or was it just the noise that made it seem like there were a hundred of them? It was not a pleasant way to end the ordeal of being abused by the ocean, but we made our way past the commercial section of the waterfront and back to the ICW and Rickenbacker Bridge. We turned left just in front of the bridge with several emergency vehicles on it and two water rescue vessels in the water near the bridge. After another few minutes we were at anchor near the Miami Marine Stadium which was the setting for water shows until 2005 when it was severely damaged by a hurricane. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about this Miami-style venue:
"The Stadium was host for many world class powerboat events including Unlimited Hydroplane, Inboard, Outboard, Performance Craft, Stock, Modified, Grand National divisions as well as other special event races...The last major race in the Stadium was the 1987 Inboard Hydroplane national Championship."The Stadium utilized a floating stage in front of the grandstand for diverse activities such as classical concerts, Rock and Roll shows and the annual Easter Sunrise Service.
Due to restrictions in use, political pressures from within the City of Miami, and the lack of proper promotion the Stadium saw a gradual decline in events...By the early 1990s powerboat racing in the Stadium was in reality only a memory.
"In 1992 Hurricane Andrew struck the Miami/Dade County area. Engineers for the City condemned the structure...Since that time the Stadium has been allowed to sit with no attempt at maintenance..."
Read the full story at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Marine_Stadium
Whatever it's history, the anchorage was a tranquil end to a decidely "untranquil" day with the skyline of Miami in the background. Now if only the airplanes taking off from Miami Internationaly had a different flight path...
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