“Houston, we have a problem.”

These are not the first words you want to hear when you’re just waking up in an idyllic  anchorage. We had had a perfect sail from Dinner Key to No Name Harbour on Key Biscayne the day before. That evening we had celebrated our anniversary with a dinner of grilled snapper, a pitcher of sangria and Key Lime pie (not as great as Joan’s, but it did in a pinch).

We sat on the balcony of the Cuban restaurant overlooking the anchorage and, as the sun set into the midnight blue water, we kept an eye on our boat and listened for sounds from Angus and Charles who were babysitting themselves that evening. All was quiet and still. I took advantage of the Wifi to have a brief Facebook catch up with my sister, Elena.

We chuckled as we recalled the antics of Angus or “Houdini dog” during our stop here two years ago. We had gone to the same restaurant for supper. Just as we were getting into the dinghy to motor back to our boat, Bob looked over at Windsong and saw something white and fuzzy sticking out of the top of the boat. “Is that Angus?”

And indeed it was. We couldn’t believe it. He had somehow managed to jump into the V berth, crawl on top of whatever was in there and pop his head out the hatch to look for us. Of course, he was younger then.

We have many fond memories of this anchorage, which is an easy walk to a beautiful beach and the Cape Florida lighthouse I so enjoy photographing.  We were hoping to stay a few days this time. But it was not to be.

Bob had woken up before me and was checking the voltage of our batteries, which had been fine during the day, but low before we went to sleep.

Dead as doornails. Which meant no power to keep the fridge and freezer cold, no VHF radio and no juice to start the engine. There was no wind, so we could not sail anywhere. We were stuck. Not Gilligan’s Island stuck, but stuck.

We needed a boost or a tow, depending on the state of our batteries. This was a job for Boat U.S.! Figuring we should be prepared for such eventualities, we had purchased Boat U.S. insurance (CAA for boats) before we left Canada. Tows can be very expensive ($600 is not uncommon) so being insured is a no-brainer.

We didn’t hesitate to call Boat U.S., and, within 45 minutes, Matt showed up with his tow boat to rescue us. You could tell that he had done this many many times before and his professionalism certainly inspired confidence. First, we tried booster cables, but the batteries were totally fried. A tow it was to  be. Matt tied us on to his boat with a line and proceeded to lead us back to Dinner Key.

We had called ahead for a slip and for docking assistance, and since we were familiar with the marina, we knew where to find Slip 46 on Pier 2.  Entering the channel was not a problem. The tricky part was docking with no power. Once we got into the fairway, Matt moved from in front of us to beside us and pushed us into the slip from the starboard side.

Bob steered the boat and I threw lines to our helper on the dock and fended off the sailboat to our starboard side as the bow of Windsong II veered in that direction.  It was a bit hairy, but everyone pulled together and we docked without incident.

When we bought the boat, we knew the batteries were old, but we hoped they would last at least for this cruise, so we could replace them all next fall. And we had been using shore power to keep all our systems powered up. As it turns out, the batteries had nothing left to give, so we are now in the process of replacing them with fresh new batteries.

We’ve decided to go from three batteries to four batteries, which requires some additional wiring. So, all together the installation takes about a day and a half, and then we’ll be on our way again. Take 2!

We haven’t had easy access to the Internet lately so I haven’t put up as many posts as I was hoping to…Stay tuned for more on what we’re up to.

It’s time for a few pics of Biscayne Bay…We adore this body of water, with its shallow depths and beautiful colours.

In one direction, you can see Miami, in another Key Biscayne, and of course, Coconut Grove.

A sailor is an artist whose medium is the wind.  Webb Chiles

I grabbed this shot of the Canadian team as they whooshed by our sailboat in the Dinner Key mooring field. It was taken two years ago on our last cruise from Stuart to the Florida Keys.

It was early and I had just woken up. I emerged bleary-eyed and caffeine-deprived from the cabin to the cockpit, thinking about pancakes. Its a good thing I was fully clothed though, because all of a sudden scores of racing dinghies surrounded us, and they were very, very close.

These skilled sailors — artists of the wind — sliced their way through the corridors between the moored sailboats at top speed without hitting anybody. They were heading out into Biscayne Bay to compete in the Star Class race of the Bacardi Cup during Miami Sailing Week, an annual event.

As they flew by, many called out good morning. I managed to regain my senses quickly enough to pick up my camera and get some shots while calling out to wish them good luck in the race (especially the Canadians!).

Memories of that day came flooding back when we heard that several of the tanned and strapping men that have been staying here at the Commodore Inn had won places in the Star Class race in this year’s cup.

Here’s one of the winners Mateusz Kusznierewicz of Poland posing with Maggie, manager of the inn. She is a real sailing nut and a sponsor of most of the sailing regattas that occur every year from November through May. She maintains a hall of fame in her office with pictures of regatta participants and their trophies.

Here are winners Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki of Poland in action taken by sailing photographer Onne van der Wal. What a shot!