At the mouth of the Miami River we turn north to cruise along the downtown Miami waterfront, which includes Bayfront Park and Bayside Marketplace. Then we head back east through the passenger side of the Port and you can view some of the cruiseliners.Then we head west via Fisherman's Channel, the commercial side of the Port of Miami, which is occupied by Merchant Ships from all over the world.

At the Miami Beach Coast Guard Base, one of the nation's busiest stations, we turn north again to go under the MacArthur Causeway and then sail by Star, Palm and Hibiscus Islands where there are many magnificent waterfront homes, such as the one currently occupied by Gloria Estefan and her family. of the cruiseliners. around the west and south sides of Fisher Island where people who desire real privacy have found it in on an exclusive island that is accessible only by ferry, private yacht or helicopter. (It's the only inhabited island in Biscayne Bay that is not connected by bridge or causeway.)

We then can anchor on a small beach on nearby Monument Island to swim (the monument is a tribute to Henry Flagler, one of the area's founding fathers). How long we spend at anchor determines the route and pace of the remainder of the trip, but we generally have time to pass through the Venetian Causeway east drawbridge and proceed up Biscayne Bay on the inside of Miami Beach.

The northern portion of Biscayne Bay is mostly shallow and the navigable channel runs close to the barrier islands that form Miami Beach, These islands are lined with more outstanding homes of many different types and styles such as one patterned after a Gothic castle (complete with dragons an the roof and seawall) and another with its own private helicopter pad. Proceeding along the eastern shores of the Bay also allows a magnificent view of downtown Miami, framed by sky and water. This route also takes us through the eastern bridges of the Julia Tuttle and 79th Street (Kennedy) Causeways.

After passing by the Village of Indian Creek, another exclusive island community that's home to singer Julio Iglesias and a few other famous and not so famous people of considerable means (the center of the island is a golf course; the homes lie around its perimeter), we pass through the Broad Causeway and sail by Bal Harbour to go out through Baker's Haulover Inlet to cruise back down the ocean side of Miami Beach, in through the main ship channel, Government Cut, and back to Bayside Marina.