Off we go to the upper most key, Virginia (most people believe it Key Largo). There is still some threat of some thunder storms and crazy weather, but we want to move on. The weather is still not conducive to run on the outside, so we are resolved to trek through the bridges. It is about a 40 mile trip to Marine Park Stadium from Pompano Beach. Our journey begins with Beth commandeering a gentleman on the dock to help us get out of the slip. The dock master said he couldn’t leave until his help showed up at 10:30 (at least the price was right for this marina). Beth noted that he looked like a deer in the headlights when she asked him to help. I told him the plan, that I was going to move forward and then turn back into the runway. We had a south wind and current that I worried would be a problem getting around a boat docked in the runway. We got out of the marina and after a pump out and some fuel, we were on our way south again.
We negotiate the first 5 bridges without any problem; one of the bridge tenders opens the bridge a little later so that we can get through. And then we hit the outgoing tide and no longer can get to the next bridge in time. When we go through the first bridge with the tide, we are doing 3 knots at max throttle. We fight the tide through the next 3 bridges missing 2 of the 3 times. Once the tide subsides, we are able to get from bridge to bridge with the exception of 1. During this trip, we get a couple of downpours and lightning and thunder in the distance. The wind gauge hit 25+ knots and there is 2 – 3 foot chop in the intracostal. Once we hit Miami, we lose some of the wind for a while, until we make the turn for Marine Park Stadium, when we again have the gusty winds. We find a place to drop the hook, with some gusts still hitting 20+ knots. It is supposed to calm down tonight, but pick up again tomorrow from the north / northeast.
We shower the sun lotion away and have another spinach salad dinner and watch a beautiful sunset.
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