MIAMI RIVER - Dec 4-5, 2012

While waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream to Bimini, Bahamas, we discovered a small fuel leak on top of our diesel fuel pump at the high-pressure line connection . . . definitely not a good thing to ignore on a boat. Fortunately, in fact freaking AMAZINGLY considering Miami's reputation, we lucked onto a professional & honest marine mechanic at Anchor Marine on the Miami River. The biggest issue was the fact that Anchor Marine is about a mile & a half UP the Miami River which meanders through downtown Miami, and it is a scarey gauntlet of seven drawbridges & six fixed bridges; as soon as you clear one, the next one is right in front of you. The Miami River is a flowing freshwater river coming down from the Everglades and the official commercial waterway for cargo & container ships up to 400 ft long . . . not to mention the fact that their width can fill the channel from one side to the other. The thought of going up the river to Anchor Marine was almost intimidating enough to make us consider heading back north to Fort Lauderdale. But we decided that we should write this off as an "adventure" and go for it! We did just that. I'm happy to say that the experience was actually kinda exciting and not near as bad as we were anticipating. The following pics start at the mouth of the Miami River at the Brickell Avenue Bridge. We ended up spending two nights (free!) tied sideways to the covered docks at Anchor Marine, paralleling the channel as huge ships were towed within feet of us as entertainment. The onshore human traffic was also just as entertaining since the Haitian and Jamaican mail boats were constantly loading & unloading within a hundred yards of us. Anyway, two days later we had a totally rebuilt & tested fuel pump, a few other odds & ends we've been hoping to get fixed as well, only got charged for 4 hours of total labor (our great mechanic actually spent at least 12 hours working on the boat), and we headed back down the river ecstatic feeling that we now have some new friends and a dependable "guy" in Miami. We'll look back on this blog with fondness for years to come. Enjoy. The tension on Summer Breeze was palpable as we approached the mouth of the river and hailed the first drawbridge.

"Geocerdo"/"Tiger Shark" - propels itself at 65mph with three natural gas jet engines; how would you like to pay for a 5000 gal gas fill-up in this boytoy?

Scottish Rite Temple - not quite sure what to think about this ???

PHEW! We're out!