Sailing Away

A happy couple, surfing the silver sea.

Five million people live in Miami, viewed from Boca Chita Key at Biscayne National Park.

We are sailors at heart. That was re-enforced this weekend when we boarded Surprise, a rocket ship of a catamaran, owned by our friends Corky and Susan Clark. Corky and Sue charter the 48-foot long, 25-feet-wide sailboat and they took us aboard as guests at Miami’s Dinner Key Marina. The wind was howling across Biscayne Bay, so much so that the launch at the marina refused to take us out to their mooring. So Corky launched his inflatable dinghy and scooted in to the shore, handing us foul weather gear to keep the spray at bay while he crabbed back out to Surprise.

We were lucky enough to catch them between charters and they invited us aboard for a weekend of sailing around Biscayne Bay, one of our old sailing grounds while we lived in Coral Gables in the 1970s while I worked as graphic arts director of The Miami Herald.

After a delightful lunch, we slipped the mooring and Corky raised the mainsail and released the jib. Like a stallion that had been housed in its paddock for too long, Surprise unleashed her power and we lifted off across the bay, leaving two respectable rooster tails off the pontoons as the boat’s speed climbed steadily to 9.5 knots. Jo and I are used to sailing at 5 knots. So the sensation of almost double that speed leaves a permanent smile on our faces.

We scooted across the bay, heading for Boca Chita Key, an entrance to Biscayne National Park. The park is 95 per cent under water. But Boca Chita offers a place to anchor and then wander around the land once owned by the fellow who created Honeywell back in the early 20th century.

A clutch of power boats were tied up to the piers at the key. We parked outside, hanging on the anchor while the wind whistled through our main hatches.

We dinghied ashore and listened to the visitors chatter away almost exclusively in Spanish. Miami, of course, is a Latin American city. Even when we lived there, the population was 47 per cent Hispanic. There were 11 per cent black and the remaining minority was white folks. 

As of 2000, in terms of national origin and/or ethnic origin, 34.1% of the populace was Cuban, while 5.6% of the city's population was Nicaraguan, 5.5% of the population was Haitian, 3.3% of the population was Honduran, 1.7% of all residents were Dominican, and 1.6% of the population was Colombian. It’s a rich and colorful tapestry that adds to its international flavor. It gets a little overwhelming, however, when you find it impossible to speak English with city workers, for example, because they only speak Spanish.

We returned to Surprise and a dinner feast by Susan. We sat below, after dinner, playing board games and talk, talk, talking into the night. Before turning in, we took a stroll on deck and eagle-eyed Jo noticed the boat was lying at right angles to the anchor chain – always a bad sign. Sure enough, we were dragging across the grassy bottom of the bay and we were dragging into pretty thin water. We had about four or five inches under the boat. All hands on deck now! We had to haul in the anchor and steam back to deeper water. We got the anchor reset and we watched as the boat rode easily to the chain.

We turned in and awoke to a peaceful morning, full sun, and no dragging. We sat around, solving the problems of the world before hoisting sail after lunch and scooting across the bay once more to the mooring at Dinner Key Marina. What a joy to sail. But it was made more special by being with dear friends we have known for 30 years.

If you’d like to know more about Surprise and maybe how to charter her, go to: www.Sailsurprise.com where you can learn about the boat, the different cruises that are possible, rates, as well as their blog.

Jo and I had left Ian and Fiona aboard our motor home for the two days. They had the air conditioning running, and two big bowls of cat food and multiple bowls of water. When we arrived home we found they barely eaten any of the food. Presumably they had gone into rationing mode for fear that we wouldn’t come back. They greeted us, climbing over us endlessly, marking us and nuzzling up against each of us. So a little absence did make the heart grow fonder.

The captain of this ship has passed out for siesta time on the foredeck.

Corky Clark at the helm, right, with Sue and Jo as we sailed across Biscayne Bay.

The lighthouse at Boca Chita Key, with fishermen and kids silhouetted.