Dinner Key new video sailing

We headed south for Dinner Key Moorings, about an hour south of Miami Beach into Biscayne Bay under Rickenbacker Bridge and had a short lovely sail.  It was difficult to find an opening since the Miami Boat Show and Strictly Sail Show are Feb. 13-17.

We had to check the zincs on the boat.  I donned my wet suit and had my first swim in the warm Florida waters.  I dove under the boat a few times with goggles.  I always have a rope in the water for safety, plus the current was about 1 knot or so there.  It appears the propeller zinc has fallen off and needs to be replaced.  We'll have to hire a diver to do the work under the boat.  I also took a brush and washed the water line around the boat.  It gets green growth and slime over time especially in warmer waters.  A little maintenance every day.  : )

Mazu standing in the lines on the bow;  anchor chain, dock lines, light blue jack lines, mooring lines.

  Today a friend stopped in from Marathon Key to say hi and urge us to come down.  We are aiming to do that in March.







Out for a splurge dinner Drew with a giant burger and me with a mudslide and fries - a night off from nutrition.

The usual evening entertainment with the sun setting over Miami.

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   The next day we found out on Cruisers Net, VHF channel 69, there would be an Island Packet party on a boat nearby Friday evening and a potluck picnic for all cruisers on Dinner Key Saturday at 1.  We dinghyed over to the nearby Island Packet yacht.  It was great to run into Hayden and Radeen of Island Spirit at the Island Packet party where people from about 6 or 7 boats showed up.  The host boat was Grand Cru from Michigan, an IP 440.  Great to meet up and share stories, fixes, and fun places to go.  Since it's our first time doing this we are really learning as we go, and it's so important to find out from others information about the ICW and various places to stay.
  Tomorrow Drew will be working on the continuing holding tank replacement.  We talked with Hayden who has replaced 3 holding tanks doing most of the work himself.  On his boat the holding tank is underneath the salon seat.  Unfortunately for us ours is right under the floor and it is about 4'x2'x18".  The old aluminum one will be removed and replaced with a custom made polypropylene tank.  He has to figure out how to hold it in place since most glues don't hold that material very well.  They have to cut a hole in the floor, take out the glued in old and put in the new.  We want to keep the same floor so there is a lot of carpentry involved to cut and lift the floor intact, keeping  the same wood without damaging it.  We don't want the wood to be a different color from the aged floor that's there, right next to the part that's being removed.  It will be quite a job.