No Name Harbor to Rodriguez Key Anchorage

We made a smooth passage through the Cape Florida Channel and entered Hawk Channel with winds building as the day progressed.  Once again, the winds were in our face and we had to motor much of the way.  The waves were about 2 feet in height and we averaged less than 6 knots in speed.

We could see several of the buildings in Stiltsville while negotiating the Cape Florida Channel.  Stiltville dates back to the 1930s and is no longer inhabited.  The buildings are now held in trust and are part of Biscayne Bay National Park.

Cape Florida Light

We arrived at Rodriguez Key and cautiously worked ourselves into position with 3 other boats at anchor on the north side of the key with the winds being from the south in the high teens.  We let out a lot of chain in anticipation of strong winds throughout the night.  Dwayne checked the weather forecast and discovered Predict Wind was forecasting a 180 degree shift in the winds from south to north and winds increasing in velocity to the low 20s.  As a result, we decided to move to the key's southern shore and anchor there while the winds were less strong early in the evening and allow the island to protect us from the heaviest winds from the north after midnight.  We did not want to find ourselves dragging anchor in the middle of the night and drifting toward a lee shore.  We discovered we were the only boat anchored south of the key and let out all our chain.  The wind was already starting to clock around to the north by the time we went to bed.  So, we felt we had made the right decision to re-position to the south side of Rodriguez Key.

Stiltsville