June 3, 2004
Miami Beach

In Miami we spent few days in the very familiar anchorage off Venetian Causeway, near Miami Beach. But first we called US Customs. After they found out we were arriving from Cuba they sent six man in black into the marina from which we called. I am kidding you not: They were on our boat before Tobi hang up the phone. They turn out to be very friendly chaps pointing their fingers on my 8 horse power motor, with disbelief assessing the size of my boat and the outboard engine, asking if we really made this trip on this boat. I even got a pad on the back from the guy who was inspecting the boat for any Cuban produce. After they left, carrying with them paperwork, a mango, tomato and accounts of some of our adventures, Tobi and I went ashore to be dazzled with abundance and prosperity of Miami, getting another doze of culture shock. How different this posh Miami waterfront was from simplicity and poverty of Cuba.

Next couple of days we spent going to the library, catching up on our emails and walking around the town. We were also inquiring about possibility of selling our boat. Yes I admit, I was considering getting rid of my precious AfterBlue. The best part of the trip was over and Tobi was very anxious to get back to Canada, visit her family in BC and see her friends in Toronto. Trip back to Toronto on the sailboat would be good 6 extra weeks and we were ready to head back home. Sale off or sail on? - was the question of the day. Well, nothing came off these traitorous attempts. There isn't a big market for small boats and brokers were not overly enthusiastic and truth be told we didn't tried that hard. I also found out that trucking this boat back to Canada was impossibly expensive, so we would sail back. God bless Tobi. She said she would stick around for bit longer. In Miami we also connected with Kim who for some reason believed for a moment that we arrived from Cuba in our human powered dinghy.

After enjoying Miami beaches, galleries and night life we went back to Key Largo to spend couple of days with Nancy and Randy. It was great to see them again. We just love these guys. We stocked up on water and supplies and decided to do sailing marathon from Key Largo all the way up to Beaufort, North Carolina, cutting across with extra speed from the Gulf Stream. We estimated it would be some 4 days of nonstop sailing with no land in sight. It was 6 days but more about this in our next update. Good night!

(M)