We chose to go too far north and then go south again until it was light enough to enter Biscayne Bay just south of Miami. The water in the bay is very shallow with many sand banks and the entrance channel is not lit. When it got light we entered the bay, past many small buildings on stilts that were extremely confusing from a distance. Turns out this isthe once famous Stiltsville. Built around 1930, these wood shacks were the place to see and be seen.  The social clubs here provided illegal gambling and alcohol for those visiting Miami Beach. Now, the few that remain are preserved as part of the Biscayne Bay National Park.

Once in the bay we headed south along this part of the Intra Coastal until we reached Ocean Reef on the north end of Key Largo.  We tried to contact David and Lindsey who live here, whom we met in Chesapeake last summer. Unfortunately they are on holiday in Orlando with their boys and told us that there is no place to get ashore as it is a private community that doesn't even use money! They all have an Ocean Reef credit card.

We can’t go further south to where you can get ashore on Key Largo as a 65ft bridge is in our way so we decided to stay here for Christmas. It is very pretty and we thought we may see manatee. It turns out that the water is too cold for them and they mostly migrate to the gulf coast for the winter.