Miami Beach Marina

Thursday March 18th Nandad made several calls before being able to secure a slip for the night. After five nights on anchor it is time to head in and do some provisioning, cleaning, water fill, pump out, laundry etc. Nana was very excited that she might finally get to stroll on the beach. Our cruise along the Keys was filled with Mangrove views and low rise buildings now we will be surrounded by concrete! However the Miami Beach Marina is right smack in the middle of South Beach. If you look at the chart at the bottom you will see Dodge Island Port of Miami. Directly opposite is the USCG and right there is the Marina.

Now before we arrived into the Marina NH took a tour of Stiltsville. Our good friends Peter and Jane were here a few years back and mentioned that we might not miss this experience. It was well worth the tour. For many years it would seem like a lot of gambling, and perhaps some other illegal activity went on here! 

Now after the peace of anchoring and the slow pace of the Keys , Nana found entering Miami to be quite stressful. As NH approached the Port there was a radio call that announced a sailboat on fire! So as you can imagine this activated the USCG, the Fire Boat and the Police - so lots of alarms! Then NH was proceeding down the port side , where the cruise ships are docked , but the Pilot Police were on guard there so we had to turn around. When approaching Fisher Island - which you can see on the chart - more horns blowing , as there is a car ferry that goes back and forth. Way too much stimuli for Nana. The Marina has 400 slips with accommodations to 250 feet so you can just imagine. Nandad did an amazing job for taking NH into her slip B4 which was stern in and of course those dreaded pylons!! Thank goodness for good dockhands. Finally NH was secured and after a good scrub Nana and Nandad were rewarded with an incredible lunch at Texas de Brazil. Nandad took his bike to Ace Hardware to fix the anchor roller system and pick up some supplies at Publix while Nana did the laundry and took a long walk to the Beach.

This area has the most beautiful park surrounded by high rise buildings with lots of security in place. Smith & Wollensky have a beautiful restaurant right on the waters edge. If you are so inclined you can buy their famous dry-aged steak and cook on your boat. After well earned showers Nana and Nandad took a late stroll to the beach. The park is well lit up at night and so fun to see all kinds of different activities - couples doing yoga, groups doing meditation, couples and families picnicking.