Over the last year, we traveled an average of 91 nautical miles each week. This past week, however, we only made two jumps totalling 28 nautical miles, and that is because we’re slowing down as much as possible before our inevitable wake crossing. 

From Key Biscayne, we made our way up to Oleta River State Park, where we anchored for three nights. The cruise there took us through downtown Miami, so we made plans to lift anchor early to avoid as much boat traffic as possible. Luckily, it was as calm as I’d imagine a winter Tuesday morning could be in Miami, aside from some law enforcement, early-rising fishermen and even a cruise ship leaving the Port of Miami. 

Oleta River State Park was a perfect anchorage tucked away from the intracoastal traffic, but the shore access was a bit tricky. The anchorage sits between the state park and the Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus, but the state park doesn’t allow motor vessels to pull up to the beach. We saw some dinghies row in, but we opted to pull up to a small beach section on campus that may have been a little questionable…

With no exact plans on where we’d move next, we grabbed dinner with a fellow Looper, and he let us know about a brand-new mooring field in Hollywood, Florida. Loggerhead Park & Mooring Field recently opened its mooring field in October 2025, so it’s not well-known just yet and, selfishly, we were glad. Dockage in South Florida this time of year is either expensive or already reserved, so we definitely got lucky finding this spot! 

For only $30 a night, we have access to a private dinghy dock (another thing that is hard to come by in South Florida), brand-new bathroom and laundry facilities, and even a mailing address, which Evan utilized right away. Both our shower sump pump and our freshwater pump have been acting up, so it was finally time we kicked those issues aside. Saturday morning, Evan replaced both, and (knock on wood) they are both working just as they should be! 

We rewarded ourselves with a beach day at the Hollywood Dog Beach so Ripley could join us, and we couldn’t have asked for a better, more beautiful day. The temperature was just warm enough that a dip in the ocean would cool you off, but not too warm that you felt yourself overheating. Some might find it surprising that this was only our second proper beach day along the Loop because it’s rare that you find yourself within walking distance to the ocean, or with a free day that doesn’t require movement or boat projects. 

This upcoming week, we will be attending the Fort Lauderdale Trawlerfest and making our second-to-last move before we return to Stuart, Florida. Wish us luck as we navigate these ever-so-bittersweet next few weeks. Cheers to continuing the adventure!