We departed Lauderdale Wednesday Feb. 24th and headed south towards Miami. We decided to stop off at University Cove, just across from Baker’s Haulover Inlet. It’s a location that cruising acquaintances have mentioned, so we thought it would be worth a look. It’s a delightful spot situated between Florida International University and Oleta State Park. The anchorage is a popular weekend spot as is the park, with good depths, plenty of room, and well-protected from all directions. The approach is via an unmarked channel, but charts are accurate and we had plenty of depth. The park is large, a popular kayaking spot, and has many hiking and biking trails. Dinghy access is limited to a few spots where you’re able to land at breaks in the mangroves, but accessible. We ended up staying for 5 days, enjoying the serene surroundings tucked in amongst the high-rise condos to the north and south. We headed back to Lauderdale on the 29th to pick up a watermaker membrane, since watermaker production continued to be an issue we wanted to resolve before crossing to the Bahamas. Intending to stay just long enough to pick up the parts, we extended another day to take care of an unexpected hearing aid issue. We were fortunate to locate an audiologist who had the repair part needed, and happily, it was still in warranty. We’re very fortunate to have friends Chris and Joyce who’ve been very gracious in allowing us unfettered access to a vehicle!
With all parts issues taken care of, we again departed Lauderdale on Wednesday and headed back to University Cove, anticipating a crossing the following Thursday morning. Our weather window was open!
