Reunion Voyage: Seeing Miami from the ICW

Sculpture Native American and Conch Shell

We traveled only a short way today, through the Intra Coastal Waterway at Miami. The skyline is beautiful, so many glistening white buildings that look great in this bright sunshine. We went through several bridges, and past the cruise ship piers. There were three mega ships in port today – between their own great sailing destinations.

Cruise Boats close to the ICW

Coming up the ICW it was well marked, but we also encountered a shoaling operation. There are dredges parked in the middle of the channel trying to move a sandbar that has built up, out of the channel. So we crossed through water that our depth gauge read as 2 feet deep. We managed to slide through – we have a keel along the whole length of our boat that protects our propeller. But the two boats following us both ran aground temporarily – we think they all have the same depth below the water but they may have gone slightly to the left or right of our path. In any case they were able to get loose and come into this harbor where the water is 16 feet deep and we will be very comfortable.

We are anchored in a very unusual spot. It is the Oleta State Park and it feels like a beautiful rural lagoon except for the surrounding skyscrapers in the near distance. It is adjacent to Florida International University and we could hear the sounds of a crowd cheering at a game this afternoon. When we arrived there were a dozen kayakers and several paddle boarders, but now as the sun sets we have the company of half a dozen sailboats and a few trawlers so it should be a quiet evening.