Biscayne National Park, near Miami, Florida, is nearly all water just off of Florida's east coast. It includes just a little bit of the coast and some islands, so if you want to see anything besides the visitor center, you need a boat!
So, here we are on board a sailboat on a tour of the park. I have no knowledge of experience with anything nautical so I enjoyed the experience of sailing! I had worked for a few months on a cruise liner so I had been out at sea, but I had never been on a vessel propelled by wind. Our captain was a gentleman named Hans, and this trip was through Island Dreamer Sailing. We cruised out through the narrow, shallow channel with the motor, but then our captain put up the sails and we were blown to Boca Chita Key by wind power alone. Above, you can see that the boat is leaning due to the force of the wind coming from the side. I'd be interested to know more about the science of sailing - the wind was coming from the side, but Captain Hans adjust the sails to get it to propel us in the direction we needed to go. He even explained that, while you can not sail directly into the wind, you can still travel that direction by zig-zagging back and forth at right angles. Birds on a channel marker:
Me on the deck of the ship, with sail:
When am I going to learn not to trust disposable cameras? This one was a name brand camera, too, and still stunk. I bought waterproof cameras for this trip, but they didn't work as well as I would have liked. Anyway, the sails, full of wind:
If it seems like the boat is leaning over in these pictures, it is! Because the wind was coming from the side, it pushed he boat over at an angle. I suppose anyone knowledgeable about sailing would not be surprised. The ship was not rocking - the water was quite smooth - it was just leaning over. After a trip of perhaps an hour and a half, we arrived at our destination, a tiny island called Boca Chita Key, located within the park:
The island had been owned by a rich socialite named Mark Honeywell, and he entertained friends on the island. You can see why. The place is beautiful, cozy, isolated, but not far from the big city of Miami. Though I don't think I captured it in any photos, you can in fact see Miami's skyline from the island.
We had a picnic lunch at this lovely, isolated beach facing away from the coast into the sea:
Another view from the beach, showing a small island in the background:
The captain had some kayaks on board the boat for our use, so I borrowed one and rowed around the outside of the island to get to the beach. I don't mind telling you that paddling, alone, out of a harbor into the sea - even if I was always just yards from the wall or shore of the key - is a little worrisome! Ginger and I took the kayak out for a short paddle:
We rowed out to these posts and spotted a sunken barge-like platform where they used to have wild parties. I think they partied out here during prohibition since there weren't any cops!
It isn't easy to see in the photo below, but these are "walking trees", whose branches drop down roots of their own:
Here I am in the kayak, rowing it back around the outside of the island to our ship:
Look at that beautiful water and sky! The water around the keys is quite shallow, and so has all these neat varying shades. From the kayak, I got this photo of the lighthouse that Mr. Honeywell built:
Funny, though: this lighthouse is purely ornamental and has no capability to actually shine a light on the sea! It was built just for looks and to have a nice observation deck on the top. You can see that better from closer up:
A cannon by the lighthouse. Was this ornamental also? I don't trust this island!
Boca Chita Key has a short nature trail which, like the rest of the island, is full of serene tropical beauty. The path is white sand. Along the way, you can get a close look at this raft, which someone rowed here all the way from Cuba:
Can you imagine being dozens of miles away from land in that thing? A nice view from the trail:
A hidden beach along the path:
After a few hours to explore Boca Chita Key, we were back on the sailing ship and headed back to the visitor center. While Biscayne is not a park for adventurous hikes, it is relaxing and quite beautiful.