Staging at Biscayne
Dec 19, 2023
Recently, Julia convinced me to start doing yoga. I was hesitant at first, but it has really been helping my neck and shoulders. I guess you can’t knock it until you try it right? My new complication is finding somewhere on the boat to do it: the living room doesn’t have space for me to fully extend my arms above my head, the bow has a weird curvature and receives all of the wind, and my stateroom only has room for the bed.
My parents stateroom has slightly more room than mine
The weather was beautiful today though. Again, we paddle boarded with the manatees in Hurricane Harbor. The calf sunned itself between its parents while two other adults casually floated nearby. We made sure to give them plenty of space. There were dozens of pipe fish darting around just under the surface, and on our way back a small eagle ray came flying out of the water, twice, right in front of us! Similar to humpback whales, the reason for their jumping remains a mystery; speculation ranges from escaping predators to enjoying themselves. I think he may have just been saying hello.
An eagle ray leaping out of the water; photo by the Sarasota Dolphin Research Project, FL Keys News
Jules, my mom, and I finished our second puzzle today. It is the first wooden puzzle any of us have ever done; the first one we did was a joke in comparison. Not only was the second one twice as many pieces, but the colors were so similar that they printed letters on the back to help confirm where they fit. At first, it kind of felt like cheating to use the letters, but it became rapidly clear that their help was necessary.
Note the blurry background, we were swinging violently in the gale
Dec 20, 2023
Finally, the piece to our microwave has arrived! The postal service is located just past the Winn Dixie on Key Biscayne. Might as well stop at the grocery again and keep us stocked up right? We headed back to No Name Harbor, again brandishing our many tote bags and a small rolling cooler. The sky wore an all-too familiar shade of gray today, luckily the island shielded the brunt of the easterly wind. We parked and began our trek to town through Bill Baggs State Park.
A small island with a big history
I feel as though Key Biscayne is a very unique place to live, work, or own a business. The distribution of wealth here astonishes me. There is a very clear line between the wealthy homeowners and the multitude of construction workers, restaurant employees, and grocery store clerks. The street is filled with lavish cars, there are tons of pricey restaurants, and don’t get me started on the crazy houses and boats again.
A fraction of the highrises on Key Biscayne
Next, we proceeded to carry our haul two and a half miles back through the state park which included: a case of ginger beer, lots of cheese, milk, juice, and a Christmas dinner prime rib. I think it’s safe to say we all got our exercise for the day. We swapped heavy bags of food from one hand to the other and frequently traded throughout the group to lessen the load. At least the path is a nice nature walk, there are so many more types of trees in Florida than in Colorado.
A well-established Banyan tree
The skiff was stuffed when we departed the shelter of No Name Harbor. The four of us remained mostly dry until we saw our old friend: the sand bar. This time we were more respectful of the shallow water as we didn’t want any repeats from our first time getting stuck. That meant that we had to go further away from the cover of land before making our way back into Hurricane Harbor. The spray generated from the skiff colliding with the oncoming waves was relentless, over and over it lashed across the bow. We got soaked! Well mostly our front halves but you get the point. Coupled with the cool wind it had me howling in objection, we couldn’t wait for dry clothes.
Little did we know we were about to be punished on our ride home
Dec 21, 2023
I think there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. A promising weather window has finally appeared for us to make the jump to Bimini. We intend to vacate Hurricane Harbor tomorrow morning, thank God. It was starting to feel like we might never escape. A change of scenery will do us all some good.
The construction going on around us is absurd, at least five houses are in progress. Monstrous three-story concrete palaces, each one complete with a pool and parking for a yacht. Jules found one listed on Zillow for a cool $30 million. We are so excited to create some distance between us and the noise.
Jules and I went to see the manatees for the final time, sadly the calf and parents were nowhere to be seen. The surface of the water was more disturbed by the wind than our previous visits which made it more difficult to see as well. Luckily, manatees are pretty hard to miss.
That gray blob is not a rock
We paddled around to the back and let the wind push us toward the mouth of the cove. Jules and I drifted directly over the top of a huge manatee who wasn’t phased by our presence in the slightest. As we passed, a continuous stream of bubbles emanated from its tail area. Manatees use flatulence to regulate their buoyancy; they store gas to help them float and fart when they need to descend. Apparently he was trying to get away from us, sorry dude.
Dec 22, 2023
After being confined to Hurricane Harbor for nearly two weeks, the four of us are eager to explore new territory. Just the thought has me grinning ear to ear. Elliot Key is our newest destination and should provide good protection from the east winds that are predicted.
Originally we planned to depart for Bimini from Hurricane Harbor, but surprise surprise, the plan has changed again. We now intend to reach the ocean via Angelfish Cut, and we’ll make our way south to stage at Pumpkin Key. Miami is still looming on the horizon behind us, but thankfully it’s getting smaller.
Finally getting out of the city
I am so ready to see the clean water of the Bahamas, the water surrounding the city is so polluted. We pulled up our anchor in the ICW and multiple times it had trash wrapped around it, waste of all kinds floats by us, it is really sad to see.
The true casualty here is Biscayne National Park. Over ninety percent of the park is underwater, and what little land it contains is covered in trash. Sitting on anchor offshore I watch all manner of waste float by. The third largest coral reef in the world is located here and is no doubt struggling to adapt to the polluted environment.
There is a tiny hermit crab living inside there
This park also contains massive seagrass beds; similar to mangroves, they play a crucial role as a nursery. Over six hundred species of fish call the seagrass home for at least one part of their lives. Manatees congregate here to breed and raise their calves in the nutrient-rich protected waters alongside my personal favorite, turtles.
The Hawksbill, Green, and Loggerhead turtles are common sightings in the park, and if you’re really lucky, and I mean REALLY LUCKY, Leatherback turtles can be seen as well. They are the largest turtle in the world and recently their population has bounced back tremendously, as many as forty thousand breeding pairs exist today. They can be six feet long and weigh over 2000 lbs.
Looking for sea turtles
On the other end of the spectrum three species of seahorse call the national park home. The largest of the three, the Lined Seahorse, reaches 19 cm tall; while the Dwarf Seahorse boasts a 2.5 cm maximum height. They cling to the seagrass beds for stability and safety as they are actually terrible swimmers.
Seagrass beds also play a vital role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The national park describes them as the lungs of the ocean because they provide huge amounts of oxygen for the water and atmosphere. The ecosystems harbored within Biscayne National Park are essential to Florida’s commercial and tourist industries. Hopefully, something can be done to help preserve this habitat before it disappears.
Check out the park here: Key Biscayne National Park
Birds are the permanent residents inside the park
Dec 23, 2023
I regret to inform you that the bugs have found us once again. Elliot Key is in Biscayne National Park and is part of the longest continuous mangrove forest left in Florida. The mangroves aid in beach building and maintenance, they form a natural breakwater for Florida and provide the insects with an ideal environment to thrive. After arriving on the beach yesterday, it was only seconds before we were swarmed. Needless to say we vacated the beach immediately, but the damage was already done. The no-see-ums don’t bother my dad, Jules is lucky enough that her bites don’t swell or itch, but my mom and I aren’t as fortunate.
Exploring Elliot Key Beach, Biscayne National Park
Only the female no-see-ums (or biting-midges) bite humans, or any animals for that matter. The male is fully content consuming flower nectar. The female has very specialized mouthparts that easily pierce animal skin and she consumes the blood to get protein for egg laying. There are over five thousand species of biting-midges and they occur everywhere except the Arctic and Antarctic.
It wasn’t until this morning that the itch truly set in, immediately I went back to taking benadryl. Overnight, the bites swelled and the irritation reached a boiling point. I am a conservation biologist but I firmly believe that biting-midges need to go. “But don’t they play a vital role in ecosystems?” I don’t care, they can all burn!
We spent the whole day on anchor quite a ways from Elliot Key and somehow they still found us. They attacked in much smaller numbers but the outcome remained the same. Once again, my mom and I became part of the food chain.
We did finally get some sun today, even if it was accompanied by the wind. The cockpit is a great place to enjoy the warmth and be shielded from the gusts. Throughout the afternoon we all soaked up some much needed rays. Jules and I eventually got hot enough to take the plunge, I think her exact words were, “YEP, IT’S REALLY REFRESHING!” as she scrambled her way back onto the boat.
Graceful isn’t in our vocabulary
The afternoon then treated us with some surprise showers. We could see the storm as it cloaked Miami on the horizon. The black clouds completely enveloped the city before setting course for us. Initially the rain teased us, spitting for a minute here or there and stopping. We could see multiple veils of rain in the distance wandering along above the ocean. Suddenly, I noticed that the surface of the water near Elliot Key had changed color. It was almost white against the dark green of the trees behind it, and created a stark line between it and the light blue water. The boiling white surface raced toward the boat and enveloped us.
Brace for impact!
Immediately there was an audible difference in the storm’s intensity and the small sailboat anchored near us disappeared into the mist. The wind followed suit, but not one of us batted an eye. After we endured what was essentially half of a hurricane it takes more than a little gust to phase us.