GLORY DAYS ON THE GREAT LOOP: THREE IN A ROW

DAY 254 WED. MARCH 28, 2012

DEP. BOCA CHITA (mm 1105) 09:40 ARR. DINNER KEY (mm1095) 12:25

D. 33 sm / 3836.1

WIND ENE 15K-18K

In spite of the stiff breeze the trip across Biscayne Bay was not rough. The waves were mostly less than 2’ with an occasional 3 footer just to keep things interesting. When we got to the mooring field things got very interesting. The line to pick up the mooring was only about 6’ long and the wind kept blowing the bow sideways making it very difficult for Pat to pick it up. After 4 tries, our fortune changed. A sailor from the SV Essa Jane came over in his dinghy and put our line thru the eye of the pennant and we were finally secure. Thank you Essa Jane! The next good fortune we had was when we decided to take the launch ashore instead of the dinghy. We were discussing our shopping strategy when another launch passenger offered us a ride to the market. His name is Jofera Rosero, he is a video director, and his native country was Columbia. We got on so well he offered to give us a personal tour of Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and Miami Beach. He also told us where to find the best Cuban food in Miami, La Rosa. We thanked him for the tour, swapped email addresses, and invited him for a tour of our boat the next morning. He was grateful as he was very impressed with our Loop travels. The third good thing that happened at Dinner Key was the arrival of Barbara & Tom Petersen on Encore. We met them in Marathon and spent 3 weeks just 2 slips away. They joined us for dinner at La Rosa and we had a great meal and a good time. If you ask any Looper what the best thing about the trip is, they will always tell you it’s the people you meet. We agree!