M/V MAERIN

FINALLY!!

The wind piped down! Temps climbed into the 70’s, and we had bright sunshine! Real Florida weather! The wind stopped howling sometime Friday night, and we awoke to bright sunshine and relative calm! We had been growing accustomed to having the constant motion of wind-induced waves rocking us about, not enough motion to make life aboard unpleasant, just constant motion. We learn to accommodate it to the point that we’re not even aware of it after a while, like the sounds of the dirt home in the winter as the heating system makes its nearly imperceptible changes, or the snow slides off the roof… (all things we miss desperately). But when it stops, it’s one of those aaahhhh!! things.

We decided to take a longer walk this afternoon, and headed out as soon as our new anchored neighbors relocated. If I may digress a moment here….. A 50 ft. Benneteau (Been a Toad as our sailing cruiser friends describe them) slid in next to us this morning, much too close for the way the currents make the boats dance in this anchorage. They dropped the hook and were close enough to converse with and hear my warning that I thought they were too close given a) the current, and b) the tendency for Maerin to dance to a different tune than a sailboat. However being 1) Sailboaters, and 2) Brits, and me being UGGH! a powerboater and not nearly as erudite as either 1) or 2), they opted to stay put and prove to me how un-erudite I am. They subsequently dinghied over and spoke to our back door neighbors (sailboaters, of course) and since they are sailboaters, they are more erudite than I am and their opinion therefore has validity. So shortly thereafter Been-a-toad moved, but not, of course because of anything they heard from me. “Cheer-i-o, mates!!”

Their relocation allowed us to finally leave the boat and head for shore, to enjoy one of our first really nice days in a long time. We have been averaging a single day of good weather at every stop we make, so about one in six. As we’re into March already, the fronts will begin to moderate, and our good weather day ratio will begin to improve.

We headed to SoBe, and walked down Collins Ave. to the beach park. We stopped along the way for lunch at Medi Bar & Grille. Expensive, service was OK, and food OK, but not somewhere we’ll return. Most of the places in SoBe are very dog-friendly, so Molly sprawled out under the table, and Sammy stood vigil tableside. He rarely sits down when he’s on a leash. But both were a picture of the well-behaved dog. We were able to take our 2nd “two-fer-one” beer “to go” and head for a bench along the promenade where we sat and soaked up some much-welcome sun! Temps were just hitting the 70 mark, but shorts and tee’s were comfortable. We saw lots of characters along the way, also visited with Molly’s buddy Collette from the park by the anchorage. The area is a sea of bright art-deco color, the hotels providing an interesting backdrop for the stream of people out enjoying the day. An almost party atmosphere prevails, lots of tourists, many from overseas. English is definitely spoken as a second language here!

Sunday we’ll return for some more time in the sun, as the Miami Beach 13.1 Marathon is being staged, and SoBe is the finish line, with lots of music, food, and activities going on, all with a Latin flavor. No desire to participate in the run here, but we’ll watch the party and perhaps sample some of the goodies that will no doubt be in abundance! The weather promises to be spectacular, so it will be a great day to get out in the sun!

Tags: South Beach