Ahead of the storm

On Sunday, July 2nd, we had an adult sailing school lesson scheduled from 1 PM to 4 PM. There were three students plus yours truly aboard our 23’ Sonar (powered by sail only). The weather forecast called for shifty winds around 5-10 Kts with a chance of thunderstorms. Our float plan was to stay close to home, beam-reaching back and forth between the Rickenbacher Causeway and the entrance of the Dinner Key Channel. During our last lap, the wind dropped, so we headed up slightly to gain speed, then gybed in order to have a better angle sailing home through the Seaplane channel. Sadly, the wind shifted and dropped in strength. All along, we monitored the Channel 6 Weather App and the Spark Lightning App. We were only about one mile away from home when the nearest lightning occurred two miles away from us. The wind faded, and our progression toward shore drastically slowed down. I made the decision to turn around and sail back out towards Key Biscayne, where the sun was shining. As the storm approached, the wind picked up from the West, enabling us to reach Key Biscayne.

Safe Harbor

Key Biscayne offers a few locations for mariners when weather conditions become severe. We needed a safe harbor to ride out the storm. Our options based on the wind and point of sail were either Hurricane Harbor or Key Biscayne Yacht Club (KBYC). KBYC became our obvious choice. I called to give them heads-up on our situation, but all I got was answering machines:

At 3.23 PM, 3.24 PM, and 3.26 PM, I called 305-361-9171 and was given options, but nobody to talk to.
At 3.26 PM, I called 305-361-8229 only to receive a message from KBYC Marina and fuel dock, stating the opening hours for Thanksgiving!?

Picture taken towards WSW at 3.18 PM. The highrise building in Coconut Grove are in the middle of the picture.

Key Biscayne Yacht Club

As we sailed along toward KBYC, I told my students, “This will be great! We can tie up the boat and have a burger and a beer, and if the weather doesn’t clear or becomes calm, Susan will come and pick us up. We can sail or tow the boat back tomorrow, but I want to give you heads-up on what might happen… I had a very bad experience with KBYC back in April, and if history repeats itself, I’m not sure how I will respond, so please accept my apologies in advance. After all, I am a sailor!”

We were about 1/3 through the Biscayne Bay Channel when one of my students said she would need a bathroom visit within the next 45 minutes. My reply was no problem, let’s continue towards Cape Florida and then head to KBYC.”
We made it to KBYC, but we were greeted by the fuel-dock attendant who came running down toward the courtesy dock, waving his arms and saying, “NO SAILBOATS HERE! YOU CAN’T COME IN HERE!” On my question as to why that is, he replied: ”SAILORS CREATE HAVOC HERE. THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. THEY DRIFT INTO OTHER BOATS AND CAUSE DAMAGE.
Eventually, he would allow my student, an executive assistant from Trinidad, to visit the ladies’ room while we were holding onto the dock with the sails up.

Picture taken towards NNW at 3.27 PM. Grove Isle Condominiums are pictured along the shoreline towards the left. Downtown Miami and Brickell are still in the clear. Our home base is located about 1/4 mile to the left of Grove Isle.

Entering the KBYC Marina

In short, history was repeated! The same man, the same courtesy dock, but a different wind direction. We stopped short of the dock as he repeated himself from my previous encounter: however, this time, he added, “You can tie up here,” pointing at the narrow end of the dock by the ramp. It was a bad offer, given that there were so many better options! The westerly breeze would push us into the dock, and with the current, tying up would have been challenging. We were exhausted! Instead, we turned around, sailed to a much better spot, tied up to a piling, and lowered our sail. The same man came running towards us. We had some heated exchange of words. Suddenly, a club member popped out of a motor yacht and offered advice. He said, “I’m watching a movie but looked at my radar, and there is no more lightning. You should leave if you know how to sail.” I gave him my name, and suddenly he offered us a spot and pointed toward the seawall. When I asked which slip, he provided no answer and walked away. We felt rejected and extremely disappointed to say the least.

Screen print at 3.47 PM indicating the latest lighting strike was only 3 miles away. FYI, we the distance between KBYC and CRYC is approximately 5 miles!

Our sails were hoisted, and we sailed away. We didn’t get very far before it was dead calm, and we drifted around for about an hour. It was scorching hot! Luckily, Susan ran into a fellow club member at CRYC, who raced across the bay and towed us back to the US Sailing Center. Thank You!

Lesson Learned

If you are on a sailboat, stay away. You are not welcome! KBYC has apparently turned into a “Wine & Dine Boating Club.” There are only a few sailboats in the harbor, which is sad. The “dockmaster” may serve a purpose at their fuel dock but has no competency as a dockmaster and no knowledge of sailing. Too bad!

Florida Yacht Club Association

Both KBYC and Coral Reef Yacht Club (CRYC) are members of the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs (FCYC). Among the benefits offered by FCYC is reciprocity among membership clubs. No special invitation is needed, but reservations must be made in advance.