Is Florida Really The Sunshine State?

We left Lake Worth Tuesday morning, March 17th, and put in another seemingly long four-hour, twenty-six mile day to get to Delray Beach. Our plan was to anchor in Pelican Harbor, near Tom & Jackie's house, but we weren't able to get the anchor to hold well in the soft mud, and with a strong north wind and rain predicted over the next couple of days, we weren't comfortable anchoring there without a solid hold.

So the Captain made a few calls and we ended up going to the Delray Beach Yacht Club. The rate at the Yacht Club was more than we wanted to pay ($1.80/foot/night), but we figured it was reasonable for the area. However, when we got tied up and the Captain went to the office to pay, we were informed that power would be another $25 per night, which would raise the rate to nearly $2.43/foot/night for our 40-foot boat! As a result, we declined their power and elected to use the generator to accommodate our power needs.

Tom & Jackie picked us up at the marina shortly after 5:00 p.m. and took us to their beautiful home where we had a great evening chatting and catching up as we munched on chilled shrimp and spinach artichoke dip, followed by filet mignon, fresh corn-on-the-cob and salad. Jackie also had fresh strawberries and shortcake for dessert, but we were too full to indulge ourselves further. Thanks, Tom & Jackie, for a marvelous evening. We look forward to seeing you soon in the Exumas!

This picture of Tom & Jackie's beautiful house and boat ("In Your Dreams") was taken from the Intracoastal Waterway.


What a gorgeous home!


Thanks for your hospitality, guys. We really appreciate it!


We took Jackie's car back to the marina that evening as rain settled in over the area. Wednesday morning the Captain used the marina facilities to do a couple of loads of laundry while I defrosted the refrigerator. By Wednesday afternoon we decided the rain wasn't going to stop so we got our shopping lists together and spent the next several hours taking care of business in the steady rain. The rain continued that evening as well and, after being out all afternoon in it, we didn't much feel like going anywhere so we spent a quiet evening on the boat.

Todd ran a few more errands Thursday morning and took Jackie's car back to their house. Tom then brought Todd back to the marina and we pulled out just before noon. More than four hours and less than twenty-five miles later we were anchored in Lake Sylvia in the Fort Lauderdale area. It was still cloudy but the rain had finally moved on - for now.

Just in case you can't read it, the sign says: Welcome to Fort Lauderdale, Yachting Capital of the World.


We're not sure what this was, but it appeared to be a house that was being towed north on the Intracoastal!


A pink condo - the Admiral's favorite color - just west of Lake Boca Raton.


The wind was forecast to pick up Friday afternoon, so we left Lake Sylvia by 9:00 a.m. Friday morning and travelled the final twenty-four miles to Miami. With all of the "No Wake" zones and more restricted bridges, it was 1:30 p.m. before we got anchored. I can understand why a lot of boaters avoid the Intracoastal in South Florida and run offshore. Even though we can clear many of the restricted bridges, it is still painfully slow boating!

Beyond this bridge to the east is Port Everglades, our port of entry last year when we returned from the Exumas.


Yachts like this one are a common sight in the Fort Lauderdale area. This one, named "Utopia," is the 59th largest yacht in the world, measuring 235 feet, according to Power & Motoryacht's 100 Largest Yachts in 2008.


A cruise ship docked at Port Everglades.


Scenes along the Intracoastal on the way to Miami. This one is of the Hollywood Boulevard bridge.







Downtown Miami from a distance.


We anchored in the Miami Beach area between Hibiscus and Palm Islands, just north of the Port of Miami where the cruise ships dock. The Captain had been in e-mail contact with a guy named Tommy who is on one of the boater list servs he follows, and Tommy told us we could anchor behind his house on Palm Island. This worked well for us since the wind was supposed to blow out of the north/northeast over the next several days and the islands run east and west, thereby affording a reasonable level of protection.

Views of downtown Miami to the west of our anchorage.




This is a view of Miami Beach to the east of our anchorage.


Tommy invited us to his house for dinner Friday evening where we met his wife, Coral, and friends Jed & Jan who were visiting from the Labelle, FL area where their boat is currently in a boat yard. As forecast, the afternoon had turned breezy but we had a pleasant evening and a nice dinner, and I made plans to have lunch with Coral on Saturday.

The view from Tommy's house. "Life's2Short" is anchored behind Tommy's boats, between the islands.


The rain moved in again overnight on Friday and continued into Saturday morning. Coral and I enjoyed grouper sandwiches at Joe's Stone Crab during a break in the rain and then toured part of the downtown Miami Beach area while the Captain worked on a few projects around the boat. The rain and wind continued off and on all afternoon and evening so we remained hunkered down aboard "Life's2Short" the remainder of the day.

Today is Sunday, March 22nd, and even though the wind doesn't seem to be letting up any, the sun is shining again - for now. The Captain left about 10:00 this morning to go to a marine flea market with Tommy and didn't return until 5:30 p.m. He bought a few "necessary" boat supplies and had a good time touring the many blocks of vendor booths with all manner of boating supplies and equipment.

Here are a couple of shots of the marine flea market.



Another shot of Tommy & Coral's house on Palm Island. If you look closely you will see Tommy & Coral eating dinner on their patio (on the right) with Tommy's boats in the background.


The wind is supposed to continue to blow 20-25 mph for the next several days, so we plan to leave here tomorrow and continue south and west toward Islamorada. At least we will be travelling with the wind for the most part and that should make for a somewhat smoother ride. We hope to arrive at Jack & Susan's sometime Tuesday afternoon and are looking forward to seeing them again. After that we will be Exumas-bound, when the weather permits.