After the challenging sailing through the Bahamas, we were glad to be back on the mainland in Florida. We found an anchorage in Lake Sylvia, situated amidst the canals of Fort Lauderdale, where the very rich americans have their summer residences. During our dinghy ride to a restaurant with a dinghy dock, we could truly witness the wealth accumulated in this area. There was huge mansions with private docks for sailingboats and megayachts.
During our stay in Florida, we visited Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Key West. We wanted to make it a short stay to get our generator fixed and then be on our way to Cuba, but we ended up spending 3 weeks in Florida.
While at anchor in Fort Lauderdale, we experienced several days of thunderstorms right above us. Though we weren’t struck by lightning directly, there must have been so much electricity in the air that it affected our instruments. Several things broke down: the wind gauge, AIS, and even the Starlink, which had been working well during the rough weather in the Bahamas, stopped functioning. Martin managed to get the AIS working again by reinstalling its software, while the other items were added to our infamous to-do list.
The generator was first priority, and the mechanic at Mase was quick to send someone to replace the stator coil and rotor. While in the engine room, they discovered that this wasn’t our only problem. The generator was in such poor condition that they believed it wouldn’t last another year. Eventually, they disassembled it into several parts and took it with them for a full repair and rebuilt. They offered to bring it back the following week in Miami, so we wouldn’t fall too far behind schedule.
In the meantime, we used the opportunities of online shopping and fast deliveries to purchase many of the things that we weren’t able to find in the Caribbean Islands. And we have to admit, indulging in delicious burgers and great food at restaurants was also great. One day, we took a walk on Las Olas Boulevard, a bustling street with cafés, galleries and very expensive cars on the road. We wanted to try something very american, and got cheesecakes at The Cheesecake Factory. We left feeling quite full!
After spending nearly two weeks in Fort Lauderdale, we sailed to Miami in the rain and some distant thunder, and found an anchor spot with a view of Miamis skyline from our boat, very different from what we have become accustomed to in the Caribbean.
We took the bus into the city and further to Little Havana to purchase Cuban visas for our upcoming trip to Cuba. Miami has a wide network of free trolleys and metromover, which made it easy for us to get around the city.
In Miami we also welcomed our two new crew members; Dave and Marilee from the cold Colorado mountains, who dream of buying a boat one day and sailing off on an adventure of their own.
When the mechanics finally arrived with the generator, they worked on it all day and finished at sunset. We then moved to an anchorage just south of the marina. Over the next few days, we sailed a couple of quiet and steady day trips to reach Key West, where we spent 4 days. Key West was very different from rest of the USA we have seen. There were many bicycles, scooters and pedestrians. All in all with a bit more bohemian vibe to it. We went for a walk up the small streets by the marina, and up Duvall street with a lot of small shops and cafes, and tried the famous and really delicious Key Lime Pie, which originates from here. It was fun to see all sorts of quirky shops like the Funky Rooster cafe, where we had coffee one day. They had gone all-in for rooster decor.
Moving on from Key West, we stopped once at a mooring buoy to snorkel at a reef with many beautiful fish, but also a barracuda, which guarded our boat the whole time we were there.
The next day there was a good weather window for Cuba, and we set sail in the morning to get some of the last wind before it completely disappeared and thunderstorms evolved.
