RIVIERA BEACH AND FT. LAUDERDALE

Hello from Florida: As my hero Jimmy Buffett says it – “Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, some things never remain quite the same.”  I believe that JB was talking to all of us who have been lucky enough to own a boat.  I have talked in the past about the boat world being controlled by the weatherman, and it has really hit us this past week or so.  

We departed Stuart following a great 5 days staying on the mooring ball and headed to Riviera Beach.  We anchored for a couple of days - it was a cute little town but not too much going down.  

 

View from the ICW

Since Tim got here from Seattle our game plan has been to make a move to the Bahamas when we get the much needed weather window - no N winds or very, very slight.  We have had our hopes deflated about 3 times in the past week.  I would say that this past Sunday was the most frustrating.  We did all of the preparation for an early departure and rolled out of bed at 6 so we could make the crossing earlier than later on Sunday.  We arrived in the Big Pond about 6:30 and headed out for about 5 miles or so.  All had changed with winds, weather - everything kind of headed south and it was a mess.  Tim said when we get to the gulf stream it will be much worse.  That was all we needed to hear, and we turned MTB around and headed back to Fort Lauderdale.  We feel really bad that Tim took 9 days away from Seattle and he won’t make it to the Bahamas.  As great as Florida is, the 3 of us were really excited about leaving for the Bahamas.

 

Another beautiful sunset

The good news is we had a chance to do some snorkeling, watch the Buckeyes last Saturday, and most important do some boat fixing. Tim has been a gr8 help, and we even got Mr. Dingy’s engine sort of rebuilt.  We had a fuel/carburetor issue and all seems to be just fine now.  

We are staying in a downtown Ft. Lauderdale marina.  It’s a great area to hang with lots of restaurants, bars, and great walking areas.  In our year plus of the boat world, I believe here in Ft. Lauderdale there are more mega yachts than you could ever imagine.  I would say the average boat within our view is about 100 feet - the yacht in front of us is 120 feet.  Of course, when you are pulling in behind one of these 10 million dollar yachts it certainly gets your ticker ticking.

 

One of the many yachts moving up and down the New River, Ft. Lauderdale

 

MTB is small compared to the yachts docked along the New River

After seeing all this weather all over the country (other than Phoenix), it is pretty tough to complain about 80 degree Florida.  I don’t mean to be bitching – it’s just a little frustrating, but that’s the way the boat world can be.  

Tim leaves here on Wednesday.  Pat and I will probably make a decision around Thanksgiving about what we are going to do. Our options are to keep trying for the Bahamas or to pass on the Bahamas and spend more time in the Keys - not a bad deal if that’s what we decide.  One thing for certain is that we will make a good decision because we never shoot from the hip when making big boat moves.  We also are very, very safe so we will certainly take no chances on the crossing if we decide to head to the Bahamas. 

Not much more happening here but we will keep everybody posted on our world of “Where is Waldo??” 

Have a GR8 Thanksgiving,  Jack

 

She Said:  

We left Stuart and had a pleasant day on the water.  We decided to anchor at Phil Foster Park just north of the Lake Worth Inlet in Riviera Beach.  We got in around 3pm, set the anchor and settled in for a quiet, early night.  I took out our passports and filled out 5 pages of Immigration and Customs paperwork.  The plan was to cross to the Bahamas early Thursday morning and I was ready.  We were looking for winds less than 10MPH and from any direction but the north.  As Thursday morning got closer, the wind speed increased and it wasn’t clocking around as we expected.  Bottom line – we weren’t crossing Thursday.  We were all bummed out, but we did our best to make a disappointing situation enjoyable.  It was 82 degrees outside so we hopped in the dinghy and did some exploring. 

We found Peanut Island – what a delight.  Peanut Island was created in the early 1900s from the dirt dredged from the ICW.  In the early 1960s, bunkers were built here to house the Kennedys in case of a Cuban conflict.  Today the island is a great picnic and camping area.  There’s also a nice snorkeling area.  All 3 of us grabbed our snorkeling gear and went for a swim in 78 degree water.  I was the first one out of the water – there were jelly fish and that sort of freaked me out.  That night we went into town for dinner at Two Drunken Goats.  The Cuban sandwich was the best I’ve ever had. 

 


Snorkeling off Peanut Island - beautiful water

 



The Kennedy bunker on Peanut Island

Our next crossing opportunity looked to be Sunday.  We decided to head to Ft. Lauderdale and wait out the weather there.  I remember last year that the trip from Lake Worth to Ft. Lauderdale was slow because of the bridges, boat traffic and No-Wake zones – but it was even longer than I remembered.  We finally grabbed a mooring ball at Las Olas Marina at 5:00pm.  Jack and I went to Quarter Deck (a favorite from last year) for dinner.

 

Night time view from MTB at Las Olas Marina, Ft. Lauderdale

 

Our AM/FM radio wasn’t working, and we thought we might be able to get it fixed in Ft. Lauderdale.  Mission accomplished - we got it fixed Saturday morning.  We headed into town – Jack to watch football, Tim to explore, and me to the beach.  We kept a close eye on the weather and were excited by what we saw – the forecast for a Sunday crossing looked near perfect.  We went into town for a quick dinner and to bed early.  The plan was to get up at 6:00AM and depart by 6:30AM.  A weather check at 3:00AM had the conditions deteriorating and by 6:00AM it didn’t look good – winds were around 15MPH and the winds were ENE, but we decided to give it a try.  The inlet was choppy and it didn’t get any better as made our way northeast.  After about 30 minutes at sea we decided to admit defeat and head back into town. 

A gorgeous day on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale

Instead of going back to Las Olas Marina, we decided to take the New River 1.8 miles into downtown Ft. Lauderdale.  The docks are right on the river and there’s lots of boat traffic – pleasure boats, sightseeing boats, and mega yachts.  Within an easy walk of the docks there are lots of restaurants and shopping.  It’s a great place to settle in for an extended stay.  Really bad weather is predicted for the foreseeable future (7 days out), so we’re going to stay put for at least the next week. 

Tugs are used to move the mega yachts up and down the New River

We've never stayed in a marina quite like this one, 100 slips along the New River - City Docks, Ft. Lauderdale

We will continue to do small boat projects while we’re waiting out the weather.  The dinghy motor’s been acting up, and Jack and Tim spent several hours working on it; I think they fixed it (knock on wood).  We’re also working on alternative plans in case a Bahamas crossing doesn’t materialize.   

We probably won’t send another update for about a week while we’re waiting out the weather.  As soon as we have a plan we’ll let you know.  Thanks for reading.