Where Did My Boat Go?!?!

 I arrived back in Miami on Friday from spending a week in the Keys. The view coming in from Biscayne Bay is amazing. This picture doesn't do it justice. 

I cruised into town just before dusk and tried to find a good anchorage. Everything was full that was in a location that was close to where I wanted to be, so needing to find something before dark, I anchored next to a 90+ foot mega yacht near the channel. I jumped in my dinghy and went to meet my friend Skye who happened to be in town. When I came back to my boat, the mega yacht was gone. I was a little concerned that I was anchored in a spot where you are not allowed to anchor, but I needed to wait til the morning to move.

I woke up and the generator wouldn't start...again! I have to raise the anchor by hand without the generator, and that is very difficult. I also cannot use the lift to get my dinghy out of the water without it. After spending all morning troubleshooting, I finally figured out that it was just a bad connection on the starter. Skye came out for a ride while I found a new spot to anchor.

My new anchorage was in a great location and easy to get to a dock to go anywhere on South Beach. I went back with Skye to her hotel to borrow her shower to get ready to meet a new friend I met the day before in Miami. Showers on shore are way better than showers on the boat! 

After a really fun night at the underground bar in the Gale Hotel, I was headed back to get my little boat, but I forgot my credit card and had to walk back. Luckily, they had my card, but my phone had died, and I had no idea how to get back to the little boat to get back to the big boat. After asking several locals who, it turns out, kept sending me the wrong way, I finally found some police officers who pointed me in the right direction. I made it back to the little boat and cruised along the canal back to the anchorage. When I arrived, my boat was GONE!!!! I drove around looking in case I got confused about where I anchored, but this was definitely the spot and my boat wasn't there!

I cruised back to a dinghy dock and began looking for a place to charge my phone to call the police. I went into one club and they said it was $20 to come in and they didn't have a charger! So much for helping neighbors in need! I then walked outside and found a nice couple who let me call the police from their phone. The police arrived right away and began writing the stolen boat report. He asked me if I had a GPS on the boat, which I do. I couldn't believe I didn't think of that, but my phone was still dead and would have had to borrow a phone to check. The officer checked and it was in the bay, not too far from the original spot, but still far enough that I couldn't find it. 

The boat had lost its anchor hold and was drifting. Some good Samaritan must have seen it because it was re-anchored in the new spot and my fenders had been deployed to help protect my boat and others that I might have drifted into. I secured the boat and finally went to bed at 3:30am. What a crazy night!