Dursmirg sails on Biscayne Bay

Travels of Dursmirg Vol. 3
Chapters 10-11

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CHAPTER 10                                             MIAMI/BISCAYNE BAY

Stiltsville; this was one of the most unusual places to find homes I have ever encountered. Situated just south of
Key Biscayne in the shallows separating Biscayne Bay from the Atlantic Ocean was a small community of homes on
pilings built up above the water and only accessible by boat. This was not a no-mans land because it wasn’t even
land and therefore somehow escaped the taxing and regulation department of the local government. We thought
this was a great concept but some of the locals were driven to distraction with someone actually escaping the
bureaucrats and made an all out effort to have these enterprising stilt-house homeowners evicted.
The boat channel went right through this little community on its way from the bay to the ocean and the homes made
for wonderful navigational aids. It was like wondering down a winding main street.
These homes were there for many a year and every time we passed and I saw them, I silently congratulated the
enterprising souls that made this place home. Lamentably the bureaucrats finally won out and the little community
was taken away…so much for freethinking.

With metropolitan Miami 17 miles away, a sailing trip down Biscayne Bay to the remote and isolated barrier islands of
Sand, Elliot and Rhodes Keys, part of the Biscayne National Monument, was akin to visiting some remote South Sea
Islands back in the 1970s with the Arab oil embargoes curtailing all motorboat travel.
We lucky sailors had a very unique opportunity to have a treasure that comes by once in a lifetime, this lovely bay
with its tropical islands nearly to ourselves. Miami was close enough to see its brilliant lights send up a glow of
luminescence into the nighttime sky visible far off to the north and only the radio signals that came in gave some
reality to the closeness of that big city with its one million population.
The remoteness and solitude down in these keys was uniquely special to this time in history when the quiet world of
sail power prevailed. Jane and I didn’t know at the time just how wonderful it was for us to be in this unusual situation
when we had the time and resources plus the sailboat as our home to take full advantage of this fuel shortage that
caused a worldwide recession while we escaped to live a utopian lifestyle.
We would frugally provision in Miami and then set sail down the bay for a two or three week sojourn.
On our first sailing trip down we took two days from Dinner Key at Miami because of a lack of wind and also a
shortage of diesel fuel due to the Arab oil embargo.
Well, for us that embargo turned out to be somewhat of a blessing because we had virtually no competition for these
out lying places and the tranquility of sailing was what we had gone to great lengths to achieve with the construction
of our sailboat Dursmirg. For all of the privacy we were able to get this close to a major city like Miami, this had to be
a once in a lifetime occurrence like that oil embargo. Little did we know that two years later with another oil embargo
we would again have the great advantage of having a boat that would move without burning any fossil fuel.
We sometimes took our dinghy, lead line, and charts to pick our way then went back to Dursmirg and sailed it
through the zigzag maze of shoals to a protected anchorage.
We would occasionally feel the slight bump of our keel and then look back astern in those crystal clear waters to see
the puff of sand turned up off the bottom by our boat’s contact. Our persistence paid off and we always managed to
get to many places to anchor where our nautical charts didn’t show enough water. As we sailed in we would always
have our anchor rigged with just the proper amount of anchor rode laid out on deck, belayed and ready to just kick
overboard. We found this a fun and interesting sport with the clear waters and very little current to contend with.
One time I had painted the boat and had inadvertently forgotten to reconnect the anchor to the anchor line and
Jane dropped the anchor overboard…surprise! No line attached! Luck was definitely with us this time because Jane
instinctively dropped the second anchor and the most amazing thing happened, the second anchor dragged into the
first anchor and all I had to do was swim down and connect a lifting line to retrieve my mistake.
Biscayne Bay contained vast expanses with 12-feet of clear water depth so anchoring and sailing was as good as it
gets. Jane and I always considered our sailing experiences in the Florida Keys our very best.

Florida Keys 1974
Jane learns to swim;
For Christmas this year, I bought Jane snorkel equipment that included, snorkel, mask and flippers.
In the crystal clear waters of southern Biscayne Bay about seventeen miles south of the city of Miami is located
Biscayne National Monument which is made up of several barrier islands or Keys and the one we visited first was
Elliot Key which had a small harbor and ranger station.
Biscayne Bay is Jane’s favorite place to sail because it is about twelve feet deep almost everywhere and we could
sail it at ease and anchor where we pleased. We soon became so well acquainted with the bay that we were able to
navigate it without looking at our chart using landmarks like radio towers and distant buildings at Key Biscayne,
Dinner Key and Old Cutler Ridge.
We would set our anchor and also sailed it up using only sail power and found that we were easily able to perform
these maneuvers with just the two of us as long as our procedure was well thought out and prepared for in advance.
When we dropped anchor we would know in advance the water depth we would be anchoring in. We would have the
anchor rode paid out on deck and belayed at the proper length in advance so all that Jane would have to do when
we approached our intended anchor spot was to kick the anchor over. At that same moment, I would round up the
bow of the boat into the wind and while I was waiting for the anchor to snatch the boat to a halt, I would be busy
dropping the sails.
As we sailed up to a place on Elliot Key, the largest island in the Biscayne National park, named University Dock we
merely sailed toward the shore until we began to feel our boat bumping bottom and then came about and dropped
anchor. That was as close as our vessel was going to get to shore.
It turned out that we were half a mile from shore but that was the best we could do. This was when I began to think of
a boat that had zero draft and would sail directly to windward instead of tacking. A 100% efficient boat would only
exist in my dreams but looking back I surely would have preferred a boat with a lot less draft than we had. Back on
Lake Superior where we built the boat and started our journey from, depth of draft was never a problem and so we
hadn’t considered that aspect of cruising when we were building our boat.
With our outboard motor we could be to shore in a minute or two but this situation was different. Gasoline and diesel
fuel were more than just scarce this year with the Arab oil embargo so we quickly reverted to sailing and rowing our
dinghy everywhere we went.
Another thing that I soon took into consideration was that on occasion I would spend a considerable amount of time
doing motor repair and maintenance on our outboard motor. This quickly led me to the conclusion that the time I had
spent working on the motor if put toward sailing or even rowing would be time to the good and without the fuel bill.
Well, back to my story of “Jane learns to swim”;
As a child Jane had been frightened to death of water because several times she had been pitched into deep water
by one of her relatives who thought that was a humorous prank. To Jane it was a very deep emotional scar that
resulted in nightmares and strong phobias so this was not going to be an easy fear to overcome.
We went to the beach and even the thought of covering her nose with a diving mask at first was claustrophobic to
her so this was going to be a slow process.
We first sat down in the warm clear water a few inches deep and relaxed. After some time I got Jane accustomed to
putting the diving mask on her face, she would now have to breathe through her mouth. Slowly and reluctantly Jane
was coaxed into putting her facemask down to the water so that she could still breathe through her mouth. Wow!
This was a totally new world to her and before long she was totally taken up with the beauty and fascinating things to
see in this new world and this took her a long way toward overcoming her mortal fear.
Next was the snorkel. Jane would have to become accustomed to breathing through it but these lessons had to be
done out of the water and without her diving mask on. Every chance I had I would sit with her calmly and as time
went by this apparatus became natural to her.
Back to the beach for the next step in the process; Now sitting in water only inches deep she could put on her
snorkel and breath, then came her diving mask and slowly but surely she again put her face down to the water and
this time breathing through the snorkel. After hours of this procedure she became relaxed and soon was beginning
to explore the area on her hands and knees with her mind distracted from her fear. Now she was having fun and
beginning to frolic in the water.

.

            Bingy Dinghy sailing in shallow crystal clear water close to the beach.

1974 February 4th
A letter Jane wrote to her parents:
I haven’t heard from you since I wrote my last letter to you as we left Miami again last Thursday. So we haven’
t picked up our mail lately. Norm and Allene McFarland are sailing down to see us, (we are at Sand Key),
tomorrow and I will send my letter with them to be mailed.
The weather finally warmed up for a few days. Bing and I went looking for shells at low tide 2 days in a row.
We got so many that it seems all I’ve been doing is cleaning them ever since.
We sold our oldest encyclopedia set, (we had 3), and on that shelf I’m going to make a display of all my shells.
We were going beachcombing today but it is raining. Bing is busy working on the new water fill pipe so we
can run filtered rainwater directly into our main water supply tank.
We left Miami last Thursday. We were supposed to meet friends here but they couldn’t make it. We went
aground trying to get through a narrow channel and had to wait 8 hours until the tide got high enough to
float us and luckily it was a moonlit night so we could find our way to anchor near Sand Key. We found our
refrigerator defrosts when we are aground and leaning to one side too long.
I went to the doctor for a check-up last week. My blood pressure is too high so once again I’m on a diet trying
to loose 15 pounds. I think that I’m losing but with no scale it’s only guesswork.
I’m still eating the Christmas cookies but only one a day. I’m also using no salt. The doctor said she could
give me pills for the high blood pressure or try a diet and no salt. The diet worked last time I tried, hope it
does again.
When are you coming down?
Bing wrote to Jon Moin. He may call you to find out so you don’t come at the same time. We should be back
in Miami in 2 or 3 weeks.
Write soon.
Love Jane and Bing


The rewards of Sand, Elliot and Rhodes Keys were many back in the 1970s. We always had an abundance of fresh
seafood. Conch and lobster were hunted with our sailing dinghy with one of us sailing the dinghy and the other
being towed along using mask, snorkel and flippers viewing the sea floor below. Each time a lobster was spotted a
quick trip to the bottom to retrieve the lobster with a small landing net was great sport and good exercise. We would
use a stick in one hand to prod the lobster out and the other hand the little landing net with which to catch him. The
stick was used with prudence; we learned early on never to stick your hand into a hole where a lobster lived. Moray
eels many times occupied the same holes as the lobster and they strike like a rattlesnake and hang on like a
bulldog…only thing is that the morays are equipped with a set of teeth that are designed to remove flesh.
(Some years later our Mexican son-in-law Luis, a diving guide showed deep grotesque scars to make my case.)
I discovered that the only way to capture lobsters, these rapid swimming speedy creatures, once they had a chance
to exit their hiding places was to swim out directly over them and then descend down directly from above…cornering
them against the bottom…it worked, but required a determined effort and plenty of lung capacity.
When we first started hunting lobster we had a hard time spotting them but then we discovered their favorite hiding
places and what to look for. We soon discovered that the lobster were rarely out in the open and visible but that
they invariably would be tucked tail first under a large sponge or coral head and their long and continuously moving
antenna protruding out and visibly moving. So, as soon as we discovered what to look for they were everywhere.
We didn’t have to chase the conch but with conch extracting the meat from the shell and cleaning it was the trick.
We soon became expert at that procedure.

Jane fed us well with a hand fishing line using a dough ball or a small piece of cheese and fishing off the stern of
Dursmirg catching blue runners and croakers that she would keep alive in a five gallon bucket of seawater until
dinnertime.
When we wanted lots of fish I would take our gill-net and set it along the mangroves, watch with binoculars until I saw
the first floats bobbing and then I would retrieve the net. If I waited any longer we would have too many fish.
Beach combing was another fabulous feature of the park. Because of the many freighters that called on the south
Florida ports, dunnage, (crate and packing lumber) would be pitched overboard from the freighters preparing to off-
load their freight.
Just before the cruise ships pulled into Miami or Fort Lauderdale to pick up their new guests the ship would be
hastily cleaned. Every bit of their garbage went directly overboard into the sea.
As a net result the seaside of these Keys were unquestionably a garbage dump strewn with an incredible hodge-
podge of seemingly unrelated objects.

The reason that I didn’t say beaches is because that implies sand. With the exception of one beach at Marathon and
another at Key West where the sand had been shipped in by the train car load by Henry Flagler, (the man that
brought the bridges and first opened the Florida Keys to development back in the early 1900s with his Florida East
Coast Railroad line). All of the Keys are composed of coral rock.
The beachcombing experience was beyond our wildest belief. There was such a stack of beautiful tropical lumber
that I actually just brought my tape measure and shopping list so that I could select the size and colors for my next
woodworking and carving project.

We could pack a light lunch because the abundance of coconuts on the Keys would provide us with our water and
we also ate the meat. The young coconuts had soft creamy meat that you could eat with a spoon. The mature
coconuts had solid meat that we would eat raw and Jane also shredded and roasted all we could use mixed with
almonds also from the beach to make her own granola. Many a coconut pie made with key limes were consumed in
those days aboard Dursmirg thanks to Jane’s creative and resourceful baking skills.
On the subject of things that we picked up on the beach I have to mention that in the haste to clean out the cruise
ship cabins in order to make a quick dockside turnaround at Miami or Fort Lauderdale everything was jettisoned
overboard from the rooms as well as the bars. Only full sealed bottles of wine and booze were permitted upon
entering the port. So, our selection of booze was the best and we even found lots of canned beer that went down
well as we combed the rocky beach on hot mornings.
Walking along this heap of regurgitation from the sea yielded fragments and parts of vessels damaged by storms,
collisions and who knows what kind of disasters in the Straits of Florida, which just happens to be within the
Bermuda Triangle.

Along with the garbage also came “sea beans” out of the Oronoco River in Venezuela and carried over 2,000 miles
at sea by the Gulf Stream out of the Caribbean, into the Gulf of Mexico and then up to the Atlantic Ocean to the
shore of Florida.

It wasn’t all bountiful treasure to be found along these keys, the sea going freighters pumped their bilges of the
black tar residue from the cheap fuel that they burned known as “bunker-c”. The result was that this black ooze
floated ashore and landed on the beaches, some in tiny bits you couldn’t even see but would stick to your skin and
leave a greasy smudge or some in huge deposits that when warmed by the hot sun on shore would be ankle deep
and needed to be scraped off with a knife followed by several applications of diesel fuel to clean it away.
I mentioned a lot of lovely wood there on the beach free for the taking; well it too had its hazards as I so vividly found
out. One day as Jane and I walked the beach I had the misfortune of stepping on a board and to my astonishment
discovered a bronze stronghold ringed boat nail had gone completely through my foot and was protruding out the
top. These are the kind of nails that are designed not to come out; sure enough I couldn’t pull it out. This definitely
got my undivided attention. I had to lie down and have Jane use her full effort to yank and pull it out. As much as it
hurt at the time I must admit that the wound was completely healed in a couple of weeks. (We always kept our
tetanus booster shots up to date,)

Oh, by the way!
When the effects of the Arab oil embargoes relented and fuel was readily available again the beautiful tranquility of
Biscayne Bay was shattered by Sea-doos, speedboats, and all sorts of noisy fuel burning watercraft we referred to
as “water cars”. The weekends were the worst and an accident that occurred next to us will give you some idea of
the terrorizing effects of the weekend power boaters on anchored boats. A “Cigarette” style racing boat doing in
excess of 60 miles an hour drove broad side through one of our anchored neighbors, sinking the sailboat and killing
everyone aboard. Yes, the Arab oil embargoes weren’t all bad and somehow we yearn for those golden years of sail
to return again.

Back to Biscayne Bay
This utopian paradise could turn an ugly face as we learned back in the winter of 1976. Storms come in different
intensities and durations. A devastating tornado packing winds of several hundred miles an hour only lasts a few
minutes at most. A hurricane with winds of over 67 miles an hour can last for several hours. The “norther” that
brings high winds and arctic air to the south country during the winter season may pack wind speeds up to gale
force and last a day or two. (Jane and I have encountered on our Dursmirg tornados, hurricanes and countless
northers, so when we received news of another norther arriving in south Florida we pretty well knew what to expect
and took the appropriate measures.)
At this time in the winter of 1976, we were anchored less than a mile off the west shore of Elliot Key harbor landing
which is 17 miles south of Dinner Key and the city of Miami with the open waters of Biscayne Bay in between.

Our home Dursmirg is anchored off Elliot Key in the clear waters and tranquil seas without a boat in
sight. Little did we know what this slice of paradise would soon turn into with the coming of the rapidly
approaching “norther”.
The day this norther was scheduled to arrive the morning was unseasonable beautiful and we swan overboard
several times as we discussed the strategy of what measures we should take for the norther. I made sure that we
had down two of our biggest and best anchors and all of the anchor rode, chain, shackles, and chafing gear was in
order for the blow. We had collectively agreed that returning to Miami to be in the lee of the land when the northwest
winds arrived wouldn’t be worth the effort because of our experience the storm would pass in 24 hours or so…we
could stand up to that.

What came next I would have considered impossible if I had not actually lived through this experience. Just the same
as all the other northers we had ever seen, the first sign was a line of low very black clouds far off across the
northwestern horizon that progressively blackens as it rapidly approached. Next came the increase in wind as it
shifted around to the northwest; this was shortly after noon. By the time the sun was about to set that afternoon the
wind speed had climbed to over 60 knots sustained with higher gusts.

We had a very reliable “Dwyer” wind speed indicator and with it we could make note of the wind speeds that
happened to go in sequence with various sounds that our vessel produced at the different wind velocities. At 35
knots of wind speed, Dursmirg’s mast began to make a deep thump, thump, thump sound that reverberated
throughout the entire vessel. Then as the wind speed climbed over 40 knots that thump, thump, thump became a
frantic resounding chatter. At 50 knots and above of wind speed that sound level amplified and intensified like some
huge motor that was revved far beyond its upper limits on the verge of flying to pieces. Next came the deafening
roar with winds over 60 knots. Like a jet engine in full power acceleration, you couldn’t scream directly into someone’
s ear and be heard. Coupled with these wind-producing sounds the vessel set up a rapid and unrelenting tug of war
with the anchor rode stretched like a steel cable and flexed as a taunt bowstring ready to pop. The vessel nosed
frantically from side to side and each time it changed direction that stressed overly taunt anchor rode snapped and
reverberated from one side of the anchor chute to the other landing in its new position and sent a shock wave like a
demolition ball pulverizing concrete echoing through the roaring storm. All this time the vessel has become like a
berserk bucking beast bent on self destruction and we were the riders that could only hold on and ride for we had
passed the point of human intervention.
The picture of this situation could only be made worse with the blackness of night coupled with the plummeting
temperatures. There would be no rest or sleep.

The marine VHF band radio was crowded with countless “Mayday” pleas for help but until such time as Mother
Nature relented it was each man for himself. The Coast Guard rescue vessels and helicopters were all grounded
and even their fate was in question at this point in time.
We began to ration our firewood for heating as this “Mother of All Storms” ground into its second grueling day.
This arctic blast was so intense that it actually brought with it the unheard of event of all time… a blizzard of snow
whipped by 60 plus knots of sustained winds south of Miami… and Jane cried!
Unrelenting, unrelenting this “Mother of All Winter Storms” continued mercilessly persisting for an astonishing five
days. We survived more than 120 hours with some sustained winds of 60 plus knots. If nothing else came of this
storm, we did at least attain an even deeper appreciation for the good times.
When the winds had finally dropped sufficiently for us to venture out we had just burnt up the last piece of scrap
wood in our fireplace, heating our little isolated floating home.

Dressed in our warmest cloths we stepped out into the frigid winds whipped by arctic air to appraise this post-storm
world, miraculously and monumentally altered by this freak of nature.
Our deck gave every appearance of being covered by a blanket of blinding white snow. Five days of wind whipped
spindrift blasting briny sea spray up and over our decks had left in its wake this deposit of sea salt caked and much
resembling the hoarfrost of the tundra.
With still bleak and frigid weather, Jane and I lowered our dinghy from its davits, hoisted sail and had a very spirited
one mile ride to the shore of Elliot Key in search of more firewood to replenish our now totally depleted inventory.
Upon arriving, we were astonished by the huge drifts of seaweed and other debris piled high by the pounding seas
along the beach. Another shocking surprise were the dead fish in all sizes that had succumbed to the rapid drop in
water temperature lying in their lifeless state awaiting decomposition and the retched stench that would follow.

Collecting firewood was no problem here and in minutes we had a boatload and made a hasty retreat back to the
Dursmirg to start our fireplace and bring some warmth back into our very isolated little world.
That same evening the park rangers from Elliot Key ventured out and stopped by Dursmirg to see if we had survived
the storm. These were the first living souls we had seen since the storm began.
When the storm had finally blown the last of its furious fury out and relented its icy grip I checked the status of our
floating home, Dursmirg. With many buckets of water, I sloshed the encrusted salt from her decks. The anchor line
chafing gear that I had repeatedly repositioned during the entire storm was totally worn to rags even though our
anchor chute was lined with smooth rollers; 120 hours of continuous extreme tension did its damage. Under these
conditions the life expectancy of the anchor line unprotected without the heavy vinyl chafing gear would have been
less than an hour and the storm had raged more than 120. (A word about that vinyl chafing gear; We used thick
walled 1- ½ inch clear vinyl hose that slipped over our ¾ inch nylon anchor line. I had a “keeper” lanyard attached to
the chafing gear in order to belay it to the anchor line and keep the chafing gear from creeping away from where it
was needed. We fitted all of our anchor lines similarly. To give some idea of just how tough that chafing gear was,
we got 6 years of service out of most of the chafing gear that actually toughened as it yellowed and aged.)
With the wind continuously from the northwest, we rode on one of our two anchors. The Viking 50 aluminum anchor
was by all appearances unaffected by the torturous ordeal. I got a bone chilling sensation when I actually saw that
the two points of the anchor were ever so slightly hooked behind a one inch crack in the coral and if that had let go
or hopped out during the storm we would have wound up somewhere over the rainbow.
As soon as the winds shifted, we set sail for Miami to provision.

The damage to Miami and the surrounding Dade County area was pathetic. The frigid frosty temperatures
blackened all vegetation that was not blown away by the high winds. The damage to Florida’s fruit and vegetable
crops was catastrophic.
The following year blight hit the remaining coconut palms and that killed the last of them. This was like the one-two
punch for South Florida and it would take many years for this part of the state to recover.


Key Biscayne, Hurricane Harbor and anchoring there:
When the wind piped up and a tranquil place to anchor was in need this little harbor had some advantages.
Entered from Biscayne Bay, Hurricane Harbor’s location was on the southwest side of Key Biscayne, which put it
directly across the bay from Dinner Key and Coconut Grove.
The bad news was that Hurricane Harbor was not isolated and tranquil, but its shoreline had been fully developed
with homes and those homes were very nice but not elegant. Another bit of bad news was that the harbor bottom did
not provide good holding for any of our various anchors. I still remember one blustery winter day when Jane and I
came into Hurricane Harbor for refuge from one of the “northers” directly from the frozen tundra sometimes referred
to as the “Arctic Express”. These “northers” were regular visitors to South Florida in the winter season and packed
with them intense northwest winds and frigid temperatures.
We were the only boat to anchor there that particular day and we would swing on two anchors for security purposes.
We took our bicycles to shore to shop at the Winn-Dixie grocery store and also do some sightseeing at the same
time. (A note about that Winn-Dixie; of all the Winn-Dixie stores that Jane and I had ever shopped at, this one on
Biscayne Key had the very best selection, quality and prices. By contrast, in poorer neighborhoods the Winn-Dixie
stores had less selection, quality and the highest prices.)

When we returned from our bicycle trip that afternoon, Jane was the first to note that one of our anchors had
definitely dragged. The solution would be to put out a third anchor and reset the dragging anchor if we wanted to
sleep through the night with the forecast of winds further increasing in intensity.
We did sleep soundly through that blustery night and awoke to a surprise. We were almost in someone’s living room
with our boat and we had now three anchor rodes, all off the bow. That is a sure sign of a dragging anchor. Yes, all
three anchors had let us down but together they had at least slowed our move across the harbor enough so that we
at least got a good night sleep. In the years that we lived aboard our vessel Dursmirg at anchor we had a number of
all night vigils interspersed with resetting anchors that always seemed to come at some of the very worst times and
in the very worst of conditions.

The good news about Hurricane Harbor was its location and also its lack of other boats that anchored there.
One of the most memorable events in the Miami area was while anchored in Hurricane harbor one Christmas season
as a flotilla of boats paraded through the harbor. All the parading boats were adorned decoratively with multicolor
lights and even Christmas music was being played on an electric organ aboard one of the passing boats and
broadcast across the mirror calm tropical waters.

Each year there is a competition for the best-decorated yacht and all of the participants make up a parade of boats
that visit the Miami area waterfront after dark to show off their decorative lights.
Jane and I have always looked back on our special boating moments to that uplifting moment of surprise at being
treated to all those beautiful colored lights reflected across the harbor to our boat anchored there. The parade of
boats entered the harbor and circled it. Of course, we were anchored right in the middle so it appeared as though
the parade had come just for us.
That was as beautiful as Hurricane Harbor ever gets with palm tree silhouettes and Christmas lights in motion and
we were there to share it together.

Further south on Biscayne Key was located another harbor named No-Name Harbor.
No-Name Harbor was smaller than Hurricane harbor and also had a much shallower entrance channel. The big draw
there was its dinghy boat-landing place on a sandy beach and many shallow draft boats made this little harbor their
home. The harbor was situated within the Cape Florida State Park and any of the boaters that cared to leave the
park for shopping by land wound up paying an entry fee for returning to their boats. This turned out to be a very
good deal considering the location and beautiful park. The harbor was not for large boats and when we looked it
over we couldn’t see how another boat could possibly have been crammed into that little harbor.

CHAPTER 11                                              JANE’S LETTERS FROM MIAMI

1973 December 25
A note Jane packed with Christmas gifts;
Bing and I made this sign. You will have to finish it. You can mount it on a post or piece of driftwood and put
it by the road.
We found this piece of mahogany on Lake Superior a few years ago. It’s traveled lots of places with us since
then and now it’s returned back again.
I hope you are having a Merry Christmas. We are thinking of you tonight.
Love Jane and Bing



1973 December 25; (Miami)
A postcard Jane wrote her parents
Merry Christmas;
We will be leaving Miami in a day or so and sail south to Elliot Key.
We will stay there a couple of weeks and then return to Miami. Could you forward the mail you have on
hand to?
General Delivery Coconut Grove Station
Miami, Fla 33133 Mark it “Hold for arrival” We will pick it up when we return.
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We had a nice warm one. Have a Happy New Year too.
Love Jane and Bing
Thanks for sending the mail.
1974 January 21
A letter Jane wrote her parents
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
Thank you so much for sending our mail again. We picked it up on the 10th when we got back to Dinner
Key.
We spent two weeks at Elliot Key-it’s a National Monument and preserved in its natural state and the
water is so clear you can see the bottom.
We sailed down on the 27th of December. It’s only 18 miles from here but it took three days to sail there
because the wind was so light. We sailed back in three hours. We really enjoyed it there, caught a lot of
fish, got many mahogany boards on the beach and I finally learned how to swim quite well.
(Read my account of; “Jane learns to swim” in volume 3, chapter 9, page 2, line 15)
We are back in Miami now but we are heading south in a day or two.
Thank you so much for the pillow cover-it’s beautiful. I’ve got a lot of complements on it. Thank you also
for the money; we bought a book we wanted called “Marlinspike Sailor”.
I’m sending you some pictures of our boat. These were taken by a friend while we were at Elliot Key.
We have really been enjoying our winter. The weather is great, between 70 and 80 degrees all the time. I
meant to write sooner but waited until I got the pictures. We have been busy this week stocking up on
groceries and other supplies. We figured that groceries would be cheaper here than further south.
There was a shortage of fuel here over the holidays but now everyone seems to have enough. The only
thing we can’t buy is kerosene so we use mineral spirits in our lanterns. The price of that has gone up
to 65 cents a gallon. Gasoline (regular) is now 50 cents a lot of places and diesel is up to 29 cents. There
is also a toilet paper and paper towel shortage but I’ve got plenty on board. Flour is sometimes hard to
get too! (Note; When we set sail from Superior, Wisconsin back in the summer of 1972 regular gasoline
was 23 cents per gallon and number 2 diesel fuel was 16 cents a gallon.)
We sure have gotten a lot of free food. There is an abandoned orchard here owned by the US
Government where you can pick all the oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes, and avocados you want.
Coconuts are everywhere and also a lot of almonds plus fish are easy to catch.
The only way to live on a boat in Miami is to anchor as the cheapest dockage at a marina is $120.00a
month…so there are a lot of anchored boats, between 30 and 40 are where we are now.
Did you see Kohotek (the comet)? We saw it one night when we were at Elliot Key. It was quite a sight.
Bing and I are both fine. Bing’s face is getting a little hairy. He decided to grow a beard and look like an
“old salt” for a while. I think he will shave it before he looks like a “hippie”. Miami has more than enough
“hippies”.
Love Jane and Bing
1974 March 24
We are back in Dinner Key at Miami again. We got here on the 21st. We had quite a sail up here from
Marathon. It took us three days. We traveled with three other sailboats. And all anchored together at
night. We enjoyed Marathon and just before we left we were getting good at catching fish and lobster.
We also got a lot of conch and ate them. We are here in Dinner Key to stock up on more supplies then
we are going to Elliot Key. This is 18 miles south of here.
We tried to figure out some way to pick up our mail when we return to Miami from Elliot Key but it looks
impossible. So just hold all of our mail until you hear from us again. It will be about 1-½ months before
we are somewhere we can get it. We should have a good stack by then.
We stocked up on groceries today. Boy, have prices gone up since we were here last. Sugar is the
worst, 89 cents for five pounds. I paid 67 cents two months ago…and 49 cents two months before that. I’
m still making wine so I use quite a lot. I made some home-brew too. It was real good but potent; you
have to drink it with care.
Well tomorrow we will do a little more shopping, then Wednesday head for Elliot Key. Hope that we can
catch a lot of fish there like we did last time or else we will have to live on canned food.
It sure has been warm here the last few days. It’s getting into the high 80s…just like summer time.
Hope everyone is well,
Love Jane and Bing

1976 April, 9th
Florida Keys
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel;
We finally left Marathon on Monday, April 5th. We had good weather that day and sailed 80 miles before
we anchored for the day only 23 miles from Miami. Tuesday the weather was terrible, on the way to
Miami entrance we got hit by a nasty thunderstorm, all we could do was hang on and wait for it to pass,
which it did in an hour. We are now anchored at Sand Key in Biscayne Bay about 18 miles south of
Coconut Grove area of Miami. Because we have a draft of 6 ½ feet we have to sail 103 miles north from
Marathon then south 18 miles to get here. We will be in the general area between Sand Key, Elliot Key
and Adams Key, (All Biscayne National Monument Park), for at least a month. I like it here. It is all
wilderness and undeveloped and no bridges to these Keys.
It sure has been windy since we got here and has turned cooler too; 65 degrees that is cold for April in
Miami, especially with a 25 knot north wind blowing. We had rain two nights ago and caught 20 gallons of
rainwater. It sure tastes good. Bing has been busy with projects. He made some blocks for the line on
our jib boom. He made the boom in Marathon. We’ve sailed our dinghy to the beach every day but today,
too much wind for an eight foot boat.
(Photo of handmade blocks)

These are some of the many wooden blocks that I hand made entirely from materials including the
bronze hardware that we salvaged from the beach or on our diving expeditions in the Keys.
I’ve been working on the quilt. I’ve got to get it done as my present bedspread is falling apart.

                Jane hand stitched this quilt in her free time aboard Dursmirg.

We found some more prickly pears and I made another gallon of wine and some syrup.
Before we left Marathon, we went to dinner at a Cuban friend’s, (Edward Cordova) home. It was a great
treat to eat Cuban style food, (I learned how to prepare fried plantains- a green type of banana) and
drink Cuban coffee. A quarter inch in a cup is all you need. It is thick like syrup.
We expect some friends, Norm McFarland’s from Hialeah, Florida to sail here next Wednesday on their
boat, so I will send this letter with them unless I see a park ranger sooner, but they only seem to come
around in calm weather.
We only caught one fish as we trolled from Marathon to Miami but it made a real good meal.

April 11, 1976
The park ranger stopped by, but I forgot to give him the letter.
When you forward our mail next time, you need not send the March, 1976 National Geographic as
someone already gave us a copy.

April 12, 1976
We’ve moved from where we were anchored at Sand Key today. We are now anchored at Elliot key. Early
tomorrow morning we are going beachcombing on Elliot to see what treasures (sometimes junk) we can
find. On Wednesday our friends from Miami should be here.
I made Bing another watchband, (I claimed the first one of his for myself). This one is wider (1 1/2 inches)
and it took me five hours to tie all of the knots but it sure is pretty. It’s made a white nylon and Bing
made the buckle of bronze.
I’ll write again when I know when we are leaving here and where we are going next.
Hope everyone is well and wish the whole family a Happy Easter.
How is the rock cutting coming?
Love Jane and Bing

1976 April 19th
Florida Keys-Hialeah
A letter that our friend, Allene McFarland wrote to Jane’s folks;
Dear Mr., and Mrs. Pearson,
I am Allene McFarland and my husband is Norman. We live in Miami. You might have heard Jane mention
us. We met Jane and John two years ago.
We went sailing last Wednesday and met them. We spent Wednesday and Thursday night tied up to
Dursmirg. We saw them two other times this winter when they were moored at Marathon.
We were happy to see them again. They are both looking very good and enjoying our Florida weather.
Although it is a bit cool for this time of year.
Now that Easter has come and gone maybe the weather will improve. The weather always tends to be
unsettled around Easter time.
If the weather is favorable we plan to sail to the Bahamas the 27th or 28th of this month. If the weather is
bad, we will sail to Elliot Key and meet Jane and John.
Just thought you would like to know we saw them and we enjoy their company very much.
Sincerely’
Allene and Norman McFarland

1976 May 2
Florida Keys-Elliot Key-Miami
Letter Jane wrote to her parents:
Dear Mom, Dad and Joel,
Mom, Happy Mother’s Day. I made this necklace for you and also polished the sea bean, which I found
on the beach.   The beans come from South America and the Gulf Stream bring them up to the Keys. The
bean has no wax on it. It gets shiny just by sanding and rubbing.

Polished and fitted with bronze eyes these treasures were found along the beaches of south Florida.
From left to right: a sea heart, five sea beans of various sizes, colors and shapes and a palm nut that
has been cut flat and polished. All of the above items have no wax or varnish and owe their glossy
shine to their fine polishing.

May 2, 1976
We are still in Biscayne Bay at Elliot Key. Our friends (The McFarland’s) came down on Tuesday and left
Thursday to spend a month in the Bahamas. Our dingy got loose last Monday but we found it. It was a
mile down the bay. We had to chase it with the Dursmirg. Luckily it didn’t drift into shallow water.
We’ve spent a lot of day’s beachcombing and have collected enough white oak and mahogany to build
an aft cabin wheelhouse on our boat so we can steer from inside all the time. We plan to build that this
summer or fall.
Last week friends from the Bahamas came here on their boat to see us for a few days. They are both in
their 60’s and have been living aboard their boat for 22 years. We met them over 2 years ago and have
been corresponding with them ever since.

Photo above: Warren (Red) and Nira Brown resting in the shade while their boat is being pulled to do a
bottom paint job.

It is rainy today and we are glad, as our water supply was getting real low. We got 14 gallons so far today
from our rain catcher. We still have 90 gallons in our tank, but with a 750 gallon tank, we consider that a
small supply.
Bing is busy today making some blocks (for a block and tackle for lifting sails) and I’ve been doing
macramé for some new sandals.
Fishing hasn’t been too good lately, but we did get 13 small ones the day before yesterday and they
made a big meal. There is a lot of lobster around but unfortunately, the season is now closed.
Allene McFarland brought me a lot of material scraps and a pattern to make shorts. She also brought
me 4 pairs of shorts her daughter made and a lot of blouses and tops. I had given Allene a lot of
driftwood and shells.
I found 2 big horse conch shells last week. Bing always wanted one so I told him I’d give him 2, one for
his birthday and one for Christmas. The largest shell is 17 inches long. We have been searching for 3
years for this type of shell and I found 2 in one day.

This is one of those two horse conchs that I cut the top out of to make into a conch horns.

My swimming is getting better and I’m learning to dive. I made my first dive last week and went down 6
whole feet. That is how deep the water was that I was diving in. That was a big accomplishment for me
and made Bing very happy.
Monday,
It’s overcast and looks like rain again today. I don’t know if we will make it to the park to mail this today.

1976 October, 22
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom and Dad;
We are at Dinner Key in Miami. We got here yesterday afternoon at 2:10 PM. We had just dropped the
anchor when Norm and Allene McFarland came out the channel to go sailing. They were surprised to
find us here and we were surprised to see them. We were going to go in and call them. Our friends the
Browns are also here.
We sailed down the ocean route. We left West Palm Beach at midnight, sailed all night and got here 14
hours later. It was a fast trip as far as sailing goes.
We went to the McFarland’s house for a delicious steak dinner last night. They have a beautiful home. It
is the first time we have been to their house. Allene gave me a bag of her and her daughter’s cast-off
clothing all of which is really beautiful clothing. It is fortunate for me that their daughter cleans her
closets so often. They also gave us a bag of grapefruit from their tree.
Today we are just going to take it easy as we had been so many hours without much sleep.
It’s good to be back in Biscayne Bay. I love this area. It’s not as warm here as I would like..63 degrees
that is cold for Miami in October. It is suppose to warm up and be summer again tomorrow.
Bing and I have found a refrigeration system we would like to buy but we haven’t been able to get the
address of the manufacturer. It is made in Sweden. It is an Atlas Kerosene-Electric refrigerator, 4.3 cubic
feet. If you correspond with some of the relatives over there, could you ask them to get me the address
of the manufacturer so we can write and order one or else send me the address of one of our relatives
that you think could help us locate the Atlas Company. It would be a real luxury to have refrigeration,
especially when we catch more fish than we can eat.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 October, 26
Miami;
A postcard that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom and Dad;
We are still in Dinner Key. We just got a post office box here in Coconut Grove.
Please forward all our mail to: Box 331113, Miami, FL 33133
I’ll write again soon. Weather is great here and we are having fun.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 November 17th
Miami
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom and Dad;
We got back to Dinner Key on the 15th. On Friday we were going to sail down to the lower keys in
Biscayne Bay for a couple of weeks and then back here again. Last weekend we spent anchored at
Biscayne Key near “ex-president Nixon’s ex-Florida White House”.
We did a lot of sightseeing one day to Cape Florida State Park and another to Crandon Park and the
Miami Zoo. We did all this on foot and I had some sore feet for awhile. Yesterday we put our bicycles
ashore here and first rode south to the County Park and then north to downtown Miami. They have
beautiful bicycle paths here, mostly covered with shade trees. Today we are going to visit the Miami
historical and science museum.
I think that Carl is located a little too far too bike to and our mast is too high to get to Miami Beach by our
boat but I will try to see him. There are a lot of city busses running to the beach. I’ll write first or try to
call him.

Also I have mentioned to John that I’m trying to sell my diesel oil galley range, (Cook stove), as it puts
out too much heat for the southern climate. It’s also a 29,000 BTU space heater. It’s hard to sell here in
the south so I know I’ll have to ship it north. I’ll sell cheap plus shipping. We are now looking for a small
kerosene stove with oven. Bing went ashore to deal on one this morning.
Say hello to Grandma for me. It sounds like she had a nice birthday party.
I better get busy and clean this boat up before Bing gets back. A friend from Connecticut just sailed in a
few minutes ago so I’m sure we will have company tonight. We are also expecting the McFarland’s
tonight or tomorrow.
Did I tell you we got a TV? It’s a 12 volt black and white. Bing really shocked me when he bought that. He
paid $40.00 for it and I’ve watched it 5 times. So he says we’re down to $8.00 a show. I’ll write again soon.
Love Jane and Bing


1976 December 10th
Miami
A letter that Jane wrote to her folks;
Dear Mom and dad;
We hope you have a real Merry Christmas. It would be nice to be home for the holidays but it just isn’t
possible again this year.
Bing and I are back anchored at Dinner Key. We came back here on the 6th after spending 17 days about
20 miles south of here at Sand Key and Elliot Key, (they are part of the Biscayne National Monument). On
the 7th the McFarland’s came out to where we were anchored and spent some time with us. They have a
grapefruit tree and they brought us a bag that are delicious and we really appreciated them.
Night before last our Canadian friends, (Everson’s), who live at Dinner Key Marina, came out for a visit.
Plus on Monday a good friend, Ed Weber, from New Hampshire arrived on his sailboat so we’ve been
busy mostly visiting friends since we got here.
I’m not sure how long we will stay this time before sailing to Sand and Elliot Key’s again. A lot depends
on the weather. On December 26th we have to be here to meet our friends Debbie and Grant Ball from
Melbourne. They are going to spend about a week with us.
Also we bought a used kerosene stove through a friend of a friend and are waiting for it to arrive in
Miami from Virginia.
We also bought a used kerosene refrigerator that Bing has been struggling to get installed in our
icebox and running. I think he is ready to throw it overboard about now. Photo of burner that I designed
and made is on page 63.)
We are still very interested however in the Atlas Refrigerator from Sweden.
I’m not sure how Bing and I will spend Christmas. We also have our 7th wedding anniversary to
celebrate on the 20th. I can’t believe I’ve been married that long already. Time sure flies. We’ve been
living on Dursmirg 4 ½ years.
Please keep forwarding all of our mail to Miami until I let you know otherwise. We have had some cool
weather here, but it sure is a lot warmer than the 45 below in Northern Minnesota on Thursday.
Sunday we are going to the worlds largest flee market in Fort Lauderdale with friends. It should be fun
but I guarantee sore feet by Sunday night.
I suppose you are busy preparing for the holidays. Christmas isn’t as big an occasion here when we
aren’t spending it with family.
Love Jane and Bing

1976 December 21
Miami
Letter Jane wrote to her parents
Dear Mom & Dad,
We got back to Miami yesterday and picked up our mail. We got your package, card and money. Thank
you very much. We are saving the presents until Christmas Eve and will open them then.
We were glad to hear that you are coming to Florida this winter. When are you coming approx. and by
what mean, car, plane, bus? We’ve been trying to decide where it would be best to meet you. It will
depend on the time of year you come and whether you have a car or not. I’ll try and call sometime
during the holidays. I don’t think I’ll be able to call on Christmas Eve as I have other years as we are
anchored quite far offshore and may not be able to get in if the weather isn’t good.
On Christmas Day, we are going to Ft. Lauderdale with friends and have Christmas Dinner at the Sweden
House there.
Yesterday we got our new stove. Now we’ve got 2, so we must sell our diesel oil range. We also
bought a used kerosene refrigerator, but we are still interested in the kerosene refrigerator from
Sweden as they are no long manufactured in the States and we have many friends who want them plus
we could use a spare unit.
Bing is anxiously waiting for me to go ashore now.
.
Merry Christmas
Love, Jane and Bing

1977 Jan. 26
Miami
Letter Jane wrote to her parents:
Dear Mom & Dad,
We just got back to Miami on Jan 23. I called Carl as soon as I got in as I thought you may already be in
Miami. Bing and I had hoped to be back in Miami almost a week earlier but the weather was so bad that
we couldn’t make it. We had 30 degrees (26 in inland areas) and 60 mph winds. It was really rough
where we were anchored. We almost ran out of firewood to keep warm but the weather (wind) let up for
a few hours and we were able to go to shore and get some more from the beach. The cold here was
really disastrous to a lot of things. All the vegetable crops froze “solid”. I’m glad I have a lot of can
goods aboard. Most of the winter we’ve been only eating fresh vegetables   and fruits as they were so
plentiful and cheap. Most of the people here don’t have any heat in their homes. The Red Cross set up
beds, etc. in some of the schools and community centers so people could get warm. There were a lot of
broken pipes and solar hot water heaters. I’m glad you weren’t here in the cold weather. With the wind
chill, it was about 8 degrees and much too cold for boating activities.
We expect another freeze on Saturday.
Carl said he is looking forward to your visit and has been waiting to hear from you. I haven’t seen Carl
yet as we haven’t been around here many weekends and getting out nights in this weather is too cold
as we are anchored so far offshore.
Friday we are going downtown Miami by bus. I have to get my pap smear at the Family Planning Clinic
there. Then we are taking a bus to Miami Beach to see a vaudeville show at the Beach Theater. It’s only
$1.25 for an afternoon show. You can get anywhere by bus in Miami for $.30. It’s a great transit system.
We got the box of cookies when we went to the post office on Monday. Very few were broken. Thank
you very much. They are delicious. We ration them so they last longer. We had just eaten the last
sliver of fruitcake the day before. Thanks also for the towels, potholders and Tupperware containers. I
can use them all. I hope I thanked you earlier for the Christmas gifts. You always seem to know what we
need.
I’m not sure when we will leave here again but when we do, we will go back to the keys for a few weeks
and then return here again. We have to sell our stove so we can install our new one. We also have to
get rid of our 1902 encyclopedia, as they will make us list to far to starboard when the old heavy stove
comes out.


Miami
1977 April 4
Dear Mom and Dad
I’m sure you are home by now.   We sure enjoyed your visit.   We only wished you could have stayed
longer. If you think you will be comfortable enough you can stay on the boat when you come for a visit
again.
The day after you left Miami Bing and I sailed back to Elliot Key. We stayed there until March 29 then
went to Sand Key. Norm and Allene McFarland came the next day on their boat and we had two fun days
here. Allene said she had wanted to take you shopping but didn’t realize until the night we were at their
house that you were leaving so soon. They are sailing to Marathon on their vacation starting April 13
and we plan to meet them there.
Jon Moin and his girlfriend or wife (we don’t know which yet) is coming April 9. We will take them with
us to Marathon and they can fly home from there. We don’t know how long they will stay.
Have you cleaned the shells yet and did the coral make it home in one piece?   If you have any smelly
shells, there are several things you can do. Soak in warm, very soapy water for a few days. Adding
bleach helps get rid of the smell.   One real good way is to set the shells outside in the shade and let
the ants and bugs clean them for you. That’s how Allene does it.


Miami
1977 April, 14
Dear Mom and Dad,
I got your letter just before we closed our Miami post office box.   I’m glad you took it slow going home
and enjoyed your trip.   I wish you had stayed here longer however.
Jon Moin came on the 9th. He sure fooled us. Instead of bringing a girl named Sharon, he brought one
of Bing’s best friends, Dale Nichols.   Dale lives in St. Paul now. We went to the airport to meet them.
Two minutes before they came, we saw Mohamed Ali arrive. I didn’t realize who he was until I saw him
on TV the next day. We sailed to Elliot and Sand Keys with Jon and Dale.   We are just heading to Key
Biscayne now then out to the ocean and down to Marathon. We thought we would be in Marathon by
now but the wind has been blowing much too hard to make the trip. Last night Norm and Allene met us
at Sand Key and I fixed dinner for all of us.   Norm’s vacation started yesterday.   They are sailing to
Marathon also but are going a different route. We will be on the ocean side of the Keys and they will be
on the Gulf side. We will keep in touch by radio.
I’ve really kept busy cooking for 3 guys but at least I haven’t had to pull any anchors with them around.
I’m enclosing Nira’s recipe for Whistlers Punch and also her cornbread recipe. Could you send me the
grape-cranberry wine recipe?
I hope you have all your seashells cleaned or at least odor free by now.
I’m not sure how long we will be in Marathon but I’ll write when we arrive. I’ll mail this from Key
Biscayne. Say hello to Gramma for us.   Love, Jane and Bing

                                                                                                           next chapter

Still afraid of the water but more and
more curious of the wondrous sights to
be found in these tropical waters she
ventured about.
The next step was to get the flippers
on her. This step was not at all difficult
and even proved to be lots of fun. To
help this process along I had her hang
onto the back of our dinghy as I rowed
it along in the shallow waters.
We soon put the sail up and sailed and
it was indeed great fun grasping the
dinghy stern for security and I had
Jane take turns with me so I too could
partake in this fun sport. As it turned
out I quickly found that this was an
excellent way to go in search for
lobster and we were eating better than
ever now.
Yes, Jane though extremely cautious
and slightly timid was on her way to
swimming on her own. This opened a
whole new world to her and before this
winter had passed Jane actually was
diving for and catching lobsters in
water more than two meters deep.
I was incredibly happy for Jane to have
conquered her fears and also having
entered into a new and fascinating
world.

Jane at the helm of Dursmirg as we
navigate the shallow waters of
Biscayne Bay approaching Elliot
Key.

I thought I better enclose a note
with your gifts to you and explain
them.
This is a trivet that I carved out of
mahogany with Bing’s help. It’s one
of my first carvings and I had a lot of
fun making it.
I hope you are having a Merry
Christmas.
Love Jane and Bing