Living on a mooring ball, 1 mile from land out in Biscayne Bay requires some strategy and forward thinking when making trips to land. Like checking the weather. I live “in the moment”. A newbie at living at anchor, and commuting to land.

So, as we rode the dinghy to shore early Saturday morning – for an all-day Endorphin Rendezvous with family in Boca Raton – weather and state of the seas later in the evening, did not enter into my brain. La la la la la, life is good, getting endorphins, hangin’ with ‘fam….la la la la la.

Some 12+ hours later, as we drove our itsy-bitsy compact rental car thru 2 thunderstorms, and crosswinds which caused lane changes without notice….I started to wonder what the “BB” (Biscayne Bay) might be like for our dinghy ride back to Cat Maudy.

Quik observation: The palm trees along the shoreline were bent over, and flags were flapping wildly. Yes, we have wind. A LOT of wind. Plus, it was a headwind. Waves will be crashing into us.

Anticipating a dunking, I bundled our laundry, and backpacks into plastic trash bags and tied them securely. We piled 3 huge plastic bags into the front of the dinghy.

As we rounded the barrier island (which protects the docked boats at the Dinner Key Marina) , we were met with a WALL of waves. Woa. Big ones when you are in a dinghy. It was dark. The winds were blowing 25 knots from the east. And, I sat, holding on to 3 bags of belongings, and holding up a mini flashlight as our Nav light.

As the waves came crashing over the dinghy, and hitting me in the face, the flashlight seemed no longer important. It was time to hold tight to the dinghy. Wave after wave crashed over the dinghy and into my face. I can assure you that the water IS very salty. I drank a lot of it. Captain Pat was driving, and groaning and moaning with each soaking. We were dripping wet, and I focused on anticipating the waves, and getting to Cat Maudy someway somehow.

Naturally, Cat Maudy is moored (anchored) furthest from shore. This helps ensure that the dinghy turned into a swimming pool, and we were completely drenched. Because the waves were so large, we had to go slow….

Finally, we made it to Cat Maudy….and dragged our water logged bodies on deck. And, sat for a moment, recovering, staring at the Miami skyline….and thinking. Next time….we’ll check the weather…