Sailing Our Seawind 1600 Catamaran from Ft. Lauderdale to Biscayne Bay | Harbors Unknown Ep. 6
Sailing Our #Seawind1600Catamaran from Ft. Lauderdale to Biscayne Bay | #HarborsUnknown Ep. 6
This week we sail from Ft. Lauderdale to Biscayne Bay, spend some time exploring Key Biscayne, Biscayne Bay and Elliott Key, then sail back to Ft. Lauderdale.
We departed later than we had intended and with winds forecast at 20 knots we knew it was going to be an interesting sail. It was going to be our longest sail to date on our new #Seawind1600 #catamaran, Wanderlust. It was a great opportunity to assess her performance.
We stopped for fuel at the Ft. Lauderdale Marina since we hadn’t fueled up since we received the boat and we were going to be away for a week. There are two 100 gallon tanks on board so we filled each to about 70 gallons.
Once we were out of the Port Everglades channel, we pulled up the sails and were off on a beautiful sunset sail. The wind was about 20 knots from the north, just about straight behind us. This caused some pretty rolly seas as the wind hit the current of the Gulf Stream. We decided to put a reef in the mainsail from the start to be safe. The boat speed was a comfortable 10 knots.
As day faded into night the winds picked up, gusting to 28 knots. We had put a second reef in the main and our speed slowed a bit. It wasn’t long before the multicolored lights of the Miami skyline greeted us and we were able to anchor just outside of No Name Harbor.
The next morning, the first order of business was to take Yoda to shore so she could stretch her legs and go potty. Later that day we had a few friends on board to celebrate my birthday. It had been a while since we’d seen them all due to quarantine so It was so especially nice to see everyone. We are so lucky to live in a place where you can create your own oasis with people you trust. We went for a beautiful day sail on Biscayne Bay. The winds reached 20 knots even in the bay and we cruised at 10 knots.
With the #Miami skyline in the distance, aquamarine water, wind and sun we were in paradise.
With the daggerboards and rudders up the Seawind 1600 draws just 2’1” but there are quite a few shallow spots so Fabio kept a close eye on the charts and the water.
The next morning we dinghied into Bill Baggs State Park to take Yoda for a walk and I went for a run. The anchorage inside is called No Name Harbor and offers a bit more protection but we prefer to have more space and privacy outside. We pulled up to the sea wall beside The Grill restaurant and hopped out of the dinghy. The park was a hub of outdoor activity, with people walking, jogging, biking, and fishing. All at a safe distance.
While on my run I came across the Cape Florida Lighthouse. Constructed in 1825, at 65 feet high, it guided mariners off the Florida Reef, which starts near Key Biscayne and extends southward a few miles offshore of the Keys. In 1836 during the Second Seminole War it was badly damaged but was rebuilt in 1846 and now stands at 95 feet.
Our friends Ashley and Steve arrived so we sailed over to Elliott Key and hopped into the dinghy in search of snorkeling spots. We should have done our homework because we couldn’t find anything except for grass. A few years back we went to Elliott Key with a friend who knows the area and there were a ton of coral heads and on a separate occasion caught a whole mess of lobster. Not this time.
The sunset on our last night was absolutely spectacular. The perfect finish to a wonderful week.
In the morning we hoisted the main while still on anchor and set off towards Ft. Lauderdale. We motor sailed past the Cape Florida Lighthouse and Stiltsville. Once out of the channel we unfurled the gennaker and turned off the engine. Unfortunately squalls and unpredictable winds in the high twenties kept us busy so we didn’t film the rest of the sail.
Thanks for joining us this week, give the video a thumbs up, subscribe, ding the bell for notifications and if you have a friend who might enjoy it, we’d love it if you’d share it with them.
Special thanks to Mark McGreevy for capturing some awesome footage of us!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:41 Episode starts
2:20 We're sailing
05:21 Biscayne Bay
07:55 Key Biscayne
11:32 Elliott Key
12:22 Back to FTL
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