22/1/2016 No Name Harbour, Biscayne Key

Everything changes at short notice - we were intending to sail straight down to Key West yesterday, but then we were contacted by our friends Jackie and Dan who were asking where we were, and telling us that they were in a secluded little harbour and were going to be there for a few days while the bad weather passed through.  We got out the charts and realised that if we were careful, we could navigate our way through the shallow approaches and join them, and here we are. The sailing in 2016 so far has been far better than in almost the whole of 2015. We have actually been able to sail instead of motoring a lot of the time. Long may it continue!

The harbour we are in is actually called "No Name" and is a natural bowl 3 metres deep and can accommodate a few sailing boats in cosy proximity  (no wriggle room) with protection almost all round. We are nestled in a corner close to the shore and the mangroves. Incidentally, there is an enormous orange coloured iguana close by in the trees that sits on a branch with its tail hanging down into the water, and last night as we were walking along the harbour wall we were entertained by a raccoon foraging in the rubbish bins for tasty morsels.

We have decided to stay tucked up here for a few days too while the winds and rain blow themselves out, then we will navigate our way out of here and back to the Atlantic to continue  down to Key West.