Embracing our inner day-hoppers (in Miami, FL)

“You know, we don’t have to do an overnighter. We could just do a day-hop?”

Craig Key "Anchorage", Florida Keys

I don’t know why it took us so long to get to this point. We’d been stalling in Marathon all week, neither of us feeling particularly pumped to pack up the boat and make our first jump along the Florida coast… until suddenly it dawned: we didn’t have to do an overnight trip if we didn’t want to — we could just do a little day-trip.

This, dear friends, is an extremely novel concept. We’ve now done 3 single day-hops in a row, and it. is. awesome.

We wake up early to a boat that’s already ready to go, ghost along flat waters with 10-15 knots of breeze, read, install more fans, work on our tans, dodge thunderstorms, play with the GoPro kite… and then, around 4:00 or 5:00 pm, we drop the anchor. Turn the engine off. Sleep in the same bed. Marvel at the fact that we’re not moving.

Why did we ever think we’d rather do overnights?!?

Craig Key Anchorage, Florida Keys

Some of our anchorages haven’t been anchorages per se — more like convenient little divots in the mangroves that give some protection from the small amount of wind and chop. Kind of like pulling over on a particularly wide shoulder on the edge of a highway… not always glamorous, but it gets the job done 🙂

Old Rhode Key - Not an anchorage but a spot for the night!

Happily day tripping!

Sailing along Hawk Channel in the Florida Keys

A super fun bonus of all this flat-water sailing (and “I’ve-had-a-full-night’s-sleep-so-I’m-willing-to-play-with-kites-ness”) is that we’ve finally been able to get the much-desired GoPro footage we’ve been dreaming about for years…

Let's go fly a kite! A GoPro kite on a sailboat!

That schmancy contraption that Jon is flying is a sled kite with a GoPro camera attached to a picavet (to keep it stable). One of these days I’ll write more about picavets than you ever wanted to know, but for now let’s just focus on what that magical contraption can capture, shall we?

Behold, the wonder of Kite Aerial Photography (KAP for short), from a sailboat:
Flying a GoPro on a kite on a sailboat - Florida Key cruising - KAP on a sailboat

Okay I’m being a little dramatic, but this is like the equivalent of discovering the selfie… Brio can now take some pretty sweet selfies. She’s happy. We’re happy. And the pictures are awesome!

Flying a GoPro further out on a kite on a sailboat - Florida Key cruising - KAP on a sailboat

(Oh and actually these are just screenshots from the video — the live footage is even cooler 😀 )

Anyways, I did manage to take some other pictures today too — this is the approach to Miami, with the skyline in the background…

First glimpse of Miami from the water

I don’t know what’s up with these houses, but there were 5-6 of them, all abandoned, all along the channel on the way in. Jon and I decided they must’ve been nightclubs gone bust 😉 . Also, do you like that thunderstorm waiting to rush in? Cuz we didn’t!!

Very strange abandoned houses outside Miami

Sailing into MiamiWe did however manage to have a beautiful sail right into Miami’s inner harbour…

Sailing into MiamiSo perfect, in fact, that we had to get the GoPro kite camera rig out again, for just one more shot…

GoPro camera from a sailboat with Miami skyline in the background

Miami skyline in the background

And now we’re happily anchored (who knew you could anchor in Miami?!?) just a couple of miles away from city centre, with this for an evening view…

Miami skyline from Marine Stadium anchorage

Yep, I’d say day-hoppin’ is for us!

– LMK


Comments

Embracing our inner day-hoppers (in Miami, FL) — 9 Comments

  1. Leah & Jon,
    You are costing us money. Gina now wants a GoPro sled thingy! Now just have to figure how to get it here to Panama without paying 2-3 x what cost is in USA.
    Those houses in Biscayne Bay near Miami are what is left of Stiltsville. Stiltsville’s frontier era ended with Hurricane Betsy in 1965. Beginning in August, 1965, the state of Florida required the 14 building owners to pay $100 annually to lease their quarter-acre circular “campsites.” No permits for new construction were issued, and structures that sustained more than 50% damage could not be rebuilt. Building codes were implemented and the state banned commercial operations after 1969. More rules, increased fees and Hurricane Andrew lowered the number to 7.

    • Hahaha oh that’s funny Bruce!! It does provide hours of endless entertainment (and occasional frustration)!
      And thank you SO much for the Stiltsville info — we were so curious about what the story might be there! Kind of sad given how much effort obviously went into the construction.

  2. haha, we called it gunk-holing and we did it practically the entire time in Mexico. I’m not a fan of the overnights, so it worked for us. Also a really good way to see little towns. I’m assuming there will be yacht clubs and marinas all up the eastern seaboard. If you don’t have a timeline, then why not explore? 🙂

  3. Leah, Jon,

    Love the goPro shots of you guys on Brio and that wide fish eye horizonline. brio looks so pretty!

    Lots of love from Bryan and Carey
    (Overeating in Vancouver!)

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