December 23-25

It’s been a whirlwind couple of days. When it comes to boating, they say if you can’t find it in Fort Lauderdale, you can’t find it anywhere. We have been putting that to the test, and have probably been way too successful.

Terry and Deb, friends from Bay City, joined us Saturday through Monday morning and were great ‘sports’, chauffeuring us around and exploring the sights. When they left Monday they dropped us at The Galleria, a large shopping mall, where we planned to pick up a few final things. I guess no matter where you are, there are still too many things to do at the last minute, and nobody’s even thought about Christmas baking.

As we were waiting on the bus to get back to the boat, we checked the phone messages only to hear that Kristi and Brett were not going to be arriving Christmas Eve as planned. Their flight had been cancelled. What a disappointment!

On Tuesday we rolled the clock back a day and it was Christmas Eve Day all over - a time for cleaning, getting the last of the presents wrapped, and finishing the baking. Well, that’s all true except for the baking. Corinne stopped at a French bakery yesterday and we are pretty well taken care of.

In the afternoon we walked down to the beach, which was packed.

All in all it was a rather surreal day - no family, no snow and no turkey. We miss you. Merry Christmas!




There is only one way to end a day like that, and that’s with a giant margarita and burger for dinner.

December 21-22

Earlier in the week there was a promising weather forecast for crossing to the Bahamas, but as the week has progressed, the forecast has deteriorated.

This has shaped our plans as well. Originally we had been thinking to ‘bump out’ into the ocean to sail from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale. Not only would this have been a great opportunity to get another taste of ocean sailing, but it also would have allowed us to bypass the 18 bridges in between. However, with winds forecast was for 15-20 knots, basically on the nose, we opted for the slow and scenic option along the waterway. This section is particularly noted for the spectacular houses along the shores of the waterway.

We stopped for the night in Lettuce Lake, a little bump in the waterway just short of Fort Lauderdale. Did I mention that the houses are pretty nice? They all have a slip in front of them, and the boats aren’t bad either.

On Saturday morning we were up early and on our way. We have arranged to stay in a slip attached to a small apartment along one of the canals in Fort Lauderdale. The couple that we shared a mooring ball with in Vero Beach put us on to it.

The location has turned out to be spectacular. There is a small pool as well as all the amenities of a marina. Emma keeps an eye on things from her perch at the end of the pool, and has a hankering for the handsome sailors. At the end of the block is Las Olas Boulevard with very trendy shopping and restaurants, and we are less than a mile from the ocean beaches. This is going to be fun!

December 16-20

It wasn’t until December 18th that we continued on to Stuart, which is about seven miles off of the ICW down the St Lucie River. Stuart is a popular spot to sit and wait for good weather for those planning to continue on to the Bahamas. Like Vero Beach, it is a very comfortable anchorage with mooring balls, ready access to good shopping and a comfortable shore-side facility.

Upon our arrival we made a beeline for the dock where we were able to get a pump out (still the bain of our cruising experience), take on water, and spend a couple of hours washing down the boat. Saltwater is very hard on things and it can be disheartening to see the rust and salt accumulate right before your eyes.

The other boat tied up at the dock was Siggy’s Dancer. They maintained a website of their first trip to the Bahamas seven years ago on a C&C 30, and so showed that this whole thing really was possible on a smaller boat. I used to check their site every morning at work. Towards the end of March there were no more postings, and I always wondered what became of them. We introduced ourselves and had a nice visit.

On the 20th we were off to Lake Worth. This is perhaps the most popular spot from which to head off to the Abacos, the northernmost part of the Bahamas. It was a long day getting there, though, made even more so by the cantankerous bridge in this picture. Through the southern section of Florida we are encountering an increasing number of bridges which open on a schedule, not necessarily aligned with ours.

After waiting for fifteen minutes for the bridge to open, and then carefully timing our approach to coincide with the bascules being fully open, it came as a bit of a surprise to have the tender radio us saying, ‘Cap’n, better slow DOWN, I’m having a bit of a problem with the bridge.’ It seems the arms stuck when only partially opened.

Two and a half hours later they were able to fully raise one arm and we were on our way to Lake Worth.