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Arriving at Biscayne National Park, southwest of Miami, Florida. Amie's under-powered auto has no problem pulling the light Hobie Cat down the freeway. The park is a little over an hour's drive away from our house.
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There's something about getting out on the water, a warm tropical breeze, freedom... Makes me smile.
P1010087
You can't tell, but Amie's smiling too. Looking off the stern of the boat, over her feet. When we get going fast, water tends to find its way onto the trampoline with us.
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"Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind that our forefathers harnessed before us..." Looking up the sail, singing Jimmy Buffett's "Son Of A Sailor".
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Looking back the way we came. A pretty calm day in Biscayne Bay. Somewhere in that distant land is where we launched from.
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The contagion has gotten to Amie, you can tell by her smile. (It's at least 80 degrees out there, so don't ask me to explain the scarf. And she used to call me a cold weather wimp...)
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That's where we're headed: furthur [sic]. (The red ribbon helps us find the wind...)
P1010096
That's south Miami in the distance, viewed under the boom, over the trampoline.
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Bird's eye view of Amie at the tiller. Making good speed, but the Cat's small floats still don't leave much of a wake.
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Standing on the Hobie, dreaming of the horizon.
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A look at the simple hardware letting us blaze across Biscayne Bay.
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Cutting a smooth trail over the clear green water. Amie was convinced the many dark shapes speeding past were exotic fish. Next time we're bringing snorkeling gear to find out for sure.
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There wasn't enough wind to grab the sail, but by pushing on the boom we were able to easily sail right up the 3/4 mile channel to the ramp.
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I'm smiling because we had to row to get out of this channel. Coming back has proven to be effortless.
P1010114
We sailed right up to the ramp, then used the winch to pull the boat up onto the trailer. We had an audience, all of whom seemed quite amused at our learn-as-you-go approach. From there we moved to a special sail boat staging area, lowered the mast, tied everything down, and headed home.