Sunshine, beaches and 'Happy Hours' in Ft. Lauderdale

     February 15, 2014
     A week ago today we chose the 'outside' route from Lake Worth to Ft. Lauderdale. The wind was on the nose, as usual, so we motored through fairly heavy seas.  We were happy to avoid the eighteen bridges and mad weekend boat traffic on the ICW.  When we crossed under the S.E. 17th Street Causeway bridge at the entrance to Port Everglades harbour, pursued by everything from jet-skis to 80 foot motor cruisers, we were sure we'd be anchoring for the night in Lake Sylvia, an almost land-locked 'pond' of water surrounded by spectacular houses, and not a bad place to be at all.  However, our first choice would have been to find an empty mooring ball at Las Olas Marina. We felt we stood no chance.  But, just in case, we headed up towards Las Olas bridge and, to our surprise and delight, found that only two balls of the ten were occupied.  We grabbed one and breathed a sigh of relief.  That evening we knew why there were so many empty moorings: extensive work was being done on the bridge and this work carried on throughout the night!  Rumblings and roarings of machines, and annoying beeping from trucks backing up to disgorge their loads have become commonplace to all us moored boats. All ten moorings are full now and life goes on regardless.  Earplugs, bought at the local CVS Drug Store, are flying off the shelves.  One night welders working on the side of the bridge lit up the night with crackling and flying sparks, and seemed totally unaware of the large catamaran moored almost directly beneath them.

     Despite all of the above, how could we fail to enjoy the many delights and sunny days of Ft. Lauderdale? We discovered that our 'buddy boat' from Ft. Pierce, 'Alize', with Dick & Margaret aboard, was docked at the marina, so we introduced them to some of our favourite haunts, such as 'Casablanca Bar' and the nearby 'Quarter Deck'.  We've strolled the beach, had coffee at 'H2O', drinks at 'Bahia Cabana' and juicy oysters at the 'Southport Raw Bar'. We became tourists for a day, took the water-taxi into downtown, and ate lunch at 'Indigo' outside the Riverview Hotel.  Unfortunately Margaret had to fly back to Cleveland for a few days to see her sick mother, so we've been keeping Dick company until she comes back to the boat next week. 

     All this time, of course, we have been waiting for a 'weather window' to get us over to the Bahamas. We check all our weather forecasts daily and sometimes seem to see an opportunity, only to see it fall through with a surprise 'ridge' or 'cold front' which does not behave as expected.  We remain confident that one day soon we shall have to leave this lovely place and set out across those wild Atlantic rollers. We keep our fingers crossed that they won't be too wild!