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| Card Sound |
As I proceeded north from Key Largo the Keys closed with the mainland, squeezing Florida Bay into a series of giant circular sounds each one seemingly vying to top its predecessor. They billow outward like a stream of ever expanding bubbles from the neck of the bay as one sojourns northward. Thus it was that four-mile wide Blackwater Sound emptied into six miles of Barnes Sound which flowed into eight miles of Card Sound which gave way to the vast thirty-mile expanse of Biscayne Bay. It was another ideal day for voyaging, a mild easterly wind, warm temperature, a slight chop with puffy cumulus clouds punctuating the blue above. The miles slipped by effortlessly, the autopilot doing the steering far better than any mortal.
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| Biscayne Bay |
As I traveled, I began to pick up VHF radio conversation concerning dockage at Boca Chita. The boaters were discussing the merits and the more that they talked and the more questions that I asked of them, the more I became interested in stopping there myself. Anything would be easier than trying to find anchorage in downtown Miami. About the midpoint of Biscayne Bay, I left the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), rounded Featherbed Bank and followed a well marked channel out to Boca Chita Key, its welcoming lighthouse clearly visible for miles.
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| Harbor Entrance |
As I entered the teardrop harbor I was overwhelmed with its beauty and sanctuary. To top it off, the boaters with whom I had conversed were there to take my lines and secure me to the seawall. It was then that we discovered that we knew each other having all attended the same chart review lecture in Marathon a week ago. It was a pleasant surprise and I instantly found myself surrounded by fellow loopers.
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| Honeywell (on right) atop Rosey the elephant |
The island has an interesting history. It was purchased by Mark Honeywell, founder of Honeywell, Inc. in 1937 to provide a place to entertain his wealthy friends. He was a member and president of the Committee of 100, a group of influential and wealthy investors, the captains of industry. With great imagination, he set about converting a tiny key into an island retreat. He excavated a well protected harbor, planted palm trees and erected a house, barn, chapel, wishing bridge, fences and pavilion from coral stone blocks. He held lavish parties and even went so far on one occasion as to bring an elephant out to entertain his guests. Before he could complete his project, his wife Olive took an untimely fall that let to her death a short time thereafter. Without her at his side, Mark lost all interest in his island paradise and in 1945 sold it to the National Park Service. Today it is one of the crown jewels of Biscayne National Park. Remnants of its affluent past is still very much in evidence.
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| Happy Hour for the Loopers |
At 5:00 pm all the boaters gathered under Honeywell’s old pavilion for happy hour. Each came bearing a drink and hors d’oeuvre and the camaraderie poured forth like the incoming tide while the sun set over the bay. They were surprised to find that this was a first for me but actually I’ve had very little social interaction with other groups of boaters on this voyage and it felt good to be included. The light here is just extraordinary and with the setting sun the skyline put on an amazing display of light and color. What an absolute gem I’ve stumbled into here on Boca Chita Key. It’s one of the great rewards of unstructured travel.
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| The Great Loopers |
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| Sunset on Boca Chita |
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| Night sky aglow with the lights of Miami |
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