Sailing Vessel Beauty anchored deep in the Ten Thousand Islands, where the Everglades slowly gives way to the Gulf of America.
This is a remarkable place, a vast, twisting world of mangrove islands, hidden creeks, shallow bays and tidal passages stretching for miles along Florida’s southwest coast. From the deck of Beauty, it feels less like a collection of islands and more like a watery wilderness, where land and sea seem to blend together.
The mangroves rise from the water on their tangled roots, creating shelter for fish, birds, dolphins, manatees and countless other creatures. The tides move quietly through the maze, carrying the fresh waters of the Everglades toward the Gulf.
There are few roads here and even fewer signs of civilization. A sailor can slip into a quiet anchorage surrounded by mangroves and feel a long way from the world.
And then, this morning, the wilderness gave us a rainbow.
For a few minutes, Beauty sat quietly at anchor beneath the morning sky, with the mangroves all around us and a rainbow stretching across the horizon.
Some places are meant to be experienced from the water. The Ten Thousand Islands is one of them.
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