On Thursday, July 15th, we bid farewell to our dockmates and took Hawks Channel northeast. We were going to run to Government Cut at Miami Beach, but the seas kept getting sloppier. So we headed west to Angel Fish Creek and took that across to Biscayne Bay. We took the ICW north to Dodge Island and ran east along the south side of the island toward Government Cut and Miami Beach Marina.
Soon we were in our slip. Michele promptly left the marina and jumped aboard the local bus to purchase supplies for when we would be on the hook at the regatta. I cannot say enough about Miami Beach Marina. The location is unbeatable. It is located at the southernmost point of Miami Beach, right at the mouth of Government Cut. Upon leaving the marina you can be on the Atlantic Ocean beginning your crossing of the Gulf Stream to Bimini and the Bahamas. South Beach is a short walk from the marina. Ocean Drive with the restaurants, clubs, and fun nightlife are a good walk or a short taxi ride. At the Marina, the restroom and laundry facilities are clean and well-maintained. There is a gourmet market, a ship’s store, a dive shop, and a restaurant and tiki bar with a pool. It doesn’t get much better than this for a cosmopolitan marina.
Now the negatives. It is VERY expensive. It is $3.50 a foot plus electricity. If they put you in a slip south of the dockmaster’s office, your boat gets rocked all night by the surge from cruise ships and freighters entering and leaving the harbor. Most transients get put on these docks. Sometimes you can beg for a slip north of the dockmaster’s office.
Jeff and Michele Prahm