Days 29 to 31 27/06 to 29/06

Hi once again to all and we hope this finds you all in the pink!!
Yesterday we had a bit of an adventure. Perry had suggested that we might like to take the 2 jetskis down to Key Biscayne. 10-12 miles away. Tracie was at work and Rosa had as usual taken the children out for the day, so it was just the 3 of us. We loaded water, sun screen, towels etc. into the lockers on the skis and Perry instructed Jim in the finer points of operation. Soon got the hang of it and then we were off down the canal at 0930 (low tide at 1030) - Perry and Jean on one and Jim on the other. Soon we were into the main canal and we turned south. The weather was mostly fine but we had a small shower soon after we started heading south. Just as well Jim had bought some new sunglasses (Jean had broken his other ones!) because at 20+ knots the rain was hitting with some force. We first went under the N 79th. St. bridge. There are speed restrictions as you go under the bridges which are actively enforced by the water police so you have to be careful.
Then under the I95, the N 15th. St., and the MacArthur Causeway bridges and we were speeding across Biscayne Bay with spectacular views of downtown Miami with its skyscrapers and Miami Port on Dodge Island with a long row of container cranes - all currently unused. Jim felt it was all quite bizaare for a while as he had never been on a jetski before (and indeed had always regarded them with some suspicion), but here he was in Biscayne Bay, Miami speeding along at up to 30 knots! Mostly around 20-25 though as that seemed to be a comfortable speed. Perry and Jean always seemed to be well ahead though and had to wait for the old mariner to catch up. Then we were past Fisher Island (only accessible by vehicular ferry) and under the I93 bridge in the Intra Coastal Waterway (ICW). It had long been a bucket list desire of Jim's to travel the ICW from Florida to the Chesapeake but due to the onset of age and healthcare unaffordability, it is unlikely to be achieved in this lifetime. Still it is an amazing engineering feat, offering as it does an almost unbroken length of inland waterway navigable by reasonably sized yachts for all of its distance. However, he has now travelled a very short distance of the ICW, albeit on a jetski.
We were headed for a sandbar - the Nixon Beach Sandbar which lies off the inland (west) coast of Key Biscayne. There, you can stop in less than 12 inches of water and have a swim right out in the middle of the Bay. And with the distant views of downtown Miami. Quite surreal. After a short stop there we continued south for a short distance and saw Stiltsville - a collection of houses on stilts right out in the Bay which you can rent for the weekend. So, you'd leave your canal side home and come down in your 30 knot plus fizzboat and stay there with the boat moored alongside!! We then entered No Name Harbour which would be a great hurricane hole and moored alongside a wall just below the Boaters Grill which is a seafood restaurant offering reasonable promise. However, as so often it disappointed. It was only moderately good and Jean had snapper, whereas Perry and Jim had Mahimahi. Disappointing inasmuch as the fish had been frozen and each dish was USD19.99! After 4 beers the whole lot came to USD89 and then when you added a tip, was an even USD100 for an average lunch for 3 ! That's 400 Malaysian ringgits and would keep us fed at Wonderland in Kuah for a couple of weeks at least! Interesting to experience, but as we've said before, we could never afford to live here. But such an experience to travel by jetski along the waterways of the rich and famous - especially never having been on the infernal machines before!! We had travelled at least 10 miles from home to here and it seemed like nothing, whereas on TT3 it would have taken at least 2 hours and probably even longer due to the necessity to stay in deep water.
We finished our lunch and left in extreme heat as the harbour was bereft of any cooling wind. Couldn't even put one's feet on the jetskis' footrests as they are black and were scorching until we managed to get some water over them. We headed north again under the I93 and then went out to sea in the Atlantic Ocean through Bear Cut. The sea was a little lumpy which poses a problem when you're trying to travel at 30 knots as the water seems like concrete! However, it was only a mile or so and then we re-entered the ICW through Government Cut where ships enter the Port of Miami. A ship entered before us and then we followed it in. Jim managed to steer through a strong tidal race and big tidal upwellings which actually didn't faze the jetski much at all as there isn't much in the water. On Tiare we encountered similar conditions several times in Indonesia and always we were knocked off course, sometimes by as much as 90 degrees. Soon back in sheltered water though and we continued north under the MacArthur Causeway again, past Belle Isle and the Venetian Way. under the I95 and JFK Causeway. And home back up the canal that bisects Normandy Island. We had travelled at least 20 miles, stopped for an hour or so at the Nixon Sandbar and had a leisurely lunch, all in 5 hours.
It was a thrill to be riding a powerful jetski, having never done it before, but the constant up and down movement and the necessity to hold the handlebars to avoid being thrown off, together with the need to continue to squeeze the throttle lever, meant that fatigue was setting into this old 69 yr old body, to say nothing of the beginnings of arthritis in the fingers. Great to have experienced, but nothing is like the gentle motion of our old girl, even in rough conditions. It takes another experience to appreciate what you have.
Today (29/06) Jean and Jim biked down to the famous Miami Beach and rode north for a mile or so until we ran out of concrete path. It's a great beach but Pakiri would leave it for dead, except for the temperatures!! Had an icecream at an Italian icecream parlour, bought a dozen beer and biked slowly home.
Then a siesta and a lovely salmon meal cooked by Jean. Managed to get the children fed in time so didn't have too much angst about eating dinner!! Makes one's own eating experience a bit more relaxed!!
More to come as always.
Cheers and love from us........
Jim and Jean
Miami
Florida

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