WE LEAVE FOR OUR SAILING CLASS TODAY!!!

I slept til almost 7:00 this morning, which was nice… Then coffee, breakfast, and a whole lot of not much. Figuring out what else we needed to pack, how else we could stuff things in our bags… 

Then it was time to leave. That was the most random trip to the airport we have ever taken. We drove to the car return place, then wandered around to where the Ubers picked up so we could catch a ride to the marina… It was highly entertaining. 

We found the marina (Fun in the Sun), and found a guy who told us which boat was ours. Upon first sight, I was scared kinda shitless. It seemed huge and tiny all at the same time. Our instructor, Pierre, wasn’t there yet, so we stowed our stuff on board and plopped down under a palm tree to wait. 

Eventually, everyone showed up. It’s me and the guys. Although I hadn’t thought about it, it’s probably the best case I could have asked for – I’m always more comfortable around the guys. 

The first thing we did was to make a grocery list. That was surprisingly easy, given that one of the guys was self-proclaimed picky. We went over navigation basics on a chart and plotted our course for tomorrow. Then Pierre went to Publix and the rest of us started the scavenger hunt of finding all the things on the list that Pierre left us. 

Eventually Pierre came back, and we (okay, I) managed to square it all away in a mini fridge. The rest of the stuff also got put away, and then we went to dinner. 

Can’t argue with sushi and beer.  After dinner, we came back on the boat and went over a few more things – most importantly, how to make coffee in the morning.

We hung out for a while longer, eventually making our bed, and now we’re hanging out in our cabin, which is not nearly as small and claustrophobic as I’d feared… Tomorrow, we actually sail!

I actually slept okay last night, which was kinda amazing considering I had no idea how that would go and I was sorta iffy when I first saw the cabin we were in….

We woke up, had coffee and breakfast, watched the sun come up, and were on our way. We pulled into the Intracoastal and headed south. Pierre called the bridges and we managed to make both of them at the appointed times, even though both of them were a few minutes behind schedule… 

Eventually, we made it to the inlet by Port Canaveral and went out offshore. Tooling by those giant cruise ships in our little 37 footer was entertaining. Matt and I were laughing about the last time we made that trek aboard the Celebrity Equinox, the houses looked much smaller… We put up the sails, and we were SAILING!!!!  

We had about a six hour sail down to No Name Harbour, our first anchorage. I made the mistake of concentrating on tying knots for a bit, and suddenly my belly got decidedly unhappy… I managed not to get sick, but I spent the next two hours trying really hard to just sit still and stare at the horizon. 

Magically, after about two hours, I realized I felt way better. Thank god. At this point, we were almost to Miami, and the decision was made to head in and finish our sail in the bay. 

When we entered the bay, we went right past the Port of Miami, where there were giant carrier ships with all the containers… It was disconcerting to pass underneath the big cranes that load and unload those vessels. 

At some point, Pierre realized we didn’t buy any beer, which apparently had never happened before, so we took a slight detour to the marina at Crandon Park and bought super overpriced beer.  We got back on course then sailed right into No Name Harbor. 

We managed to get really lucky there. A boat right where we wanted to anchor was just pulling away and we were able to get the spot. 

Then a swim, some awesome grilled salmon for dinner, and bedtime. Awesome. 

I must’ve been tired. I slept pretty well again. I could get used to this boat life thing. 

We got a lesson in pulling up the anchor over coffee and a beautiful sunrise, then pulled over to the dock and went for a walk around the little park where we were, Bill Braggs SP. 

It was a lovely walk, and there were bathrooms! Anything to not have to use the head on the boat!

We had some breakfast on the boat, then had a bit of a lecture about how to find our position on the chart using landmarks and a compass. SO cool. When we were finished with that, we headed out of the harbor and back into the bay. 

In the bay, we started practicing drills. Tacking and jibing at first, and we each got to drive the boat. I felt I got the hang of it fairly quickly, which was cool. Eventually, it was time for the MOB drills, which Pierre made me go first for since I’d done so well on the driving earlier. Laughing and joking about losing grandma and grabbing her back on board was really really fun. 

At lunch time, we heaved to and just set ourselves adrift so we could all eat. Floating along like that in the middle of Biscayne Bay was pretty damned cool. 

After lunch, we continued on to our spot for the night, along the dock at Boca Chita in Biacayne National Park where we will practice docking tomorrow. 

We went for a snorkel. The amount of fish was amazing! All kinds of stuff. Matt even saw a lobster and a shark! We were fighting the current pretty good, so we didn’t last that long. 

Then it was fresh water rinses, beers, and dinner. Tonight was steak and grilled zucchini. YUM! A bit of studying for our first test tomorrow, and then bed time. 

I got up and made coffee this morning, and we drank it on the beach as the sun came up – as in, the clouds got brighter, anyway. The ocean is always awesome to look at for a bit, at least. 

First thing after that, we took our Cruising 101 test. We all pretty much passed with flying colors – I got a 98%! Truth be told, I hadn’t been that nervous taking a test in a LONG time. Guess it’s also been a long time since I’ve taken a test at all…

Afterwards, we had some avocado toast for breakfast and then practiced docking. I went first, and Pierre told me that driving comes naturally for me, which was a cool compliment. I dunno, it just kinda made sense to me once I figured out how the engines worked and at what point they started grabbing. 

We did donuts in the parking lot for a while, everyone got a turn or three, and then we stopped to enjoy the park. Matt went for a swim, I went for a walk with the other two guys, everyone had a nice time. 

When we were all back, it was time to set sail for tonight’s anchorage. We got out of the channel, put up the sails, and were on our way. 

Conditions, according to Pierre, were perfect. We had about 15 knots of wind right on the beam, and we were sailing at almost 7 knots of speed. It felt amazing! Just as I was wondering how my belly would react, I realized I was FINE, hungry in fact. I was even able to make a sandwich and sit inside and eat it without feeling sick in the slightest! I’m not sure who was happier about that, Matt or me. 

We pulled into tonight’s spot at a mooring ball at Coconut Grove. I guess Pierre is a member at this marina, and they have a free shuttle to and from the shore, showers, and all kinds of stuff! 

We decided to go into Miami and tooled around Coconut Grove for a bit, stopping for coffee and more bread and more beer. Wandering around was fun!

Then back to the boat for some studying and chilling out. Eventually we made dinner – Taco Tuesday! After dinner, we went back to the marina for showers – GLORIOUS!!! 

We chilled and chatted with everyone a bit longer back on the boat and now, it’s time for bed!

Just a quick observation – I’m so glad we have Pierre and he’s giving us the “true” cruiser experience – getting to our next anchorage, exploring the place, having amazing dinners on the boat… I’m truly grateful for that!

Here’s the video for more of the story: