Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com
We regret that we have fallen behind on our blogging lately. Truth be told we have been busy. That combined with a problem with our long range wifi antenna has conspired to make us look like loafers. More on the wifi antenna later.
We finally were able to get out of Fort Pierce on Friday. We spent two nights at anchor en route to Fort Lauderdale. South of Fort Pierce we lost our grill cover when it was blown off in the high winds. No worries though as we conducted a successful “grill cover overboard drill” and recovered it with a boathook.
The theme of this trip was “bascule bridges” and lots of them. This is a heavily populated part of Florida. There are lots of roads and lots of bridges. In this stretch we encountered more than twenty. What makes this so tough is that the majority of these bridges are restricted in when they open. Most open twice an hour either on the hour and half hour or alternatively at fifteen and forty-five after. You have to be there - there are no exceptions. If you don’t make it in time you deal with the wind and current in the river and wait for the next opening. Consequently it can be slow going in this stretch as much of your travel time is spent waiting for bridge openings.
The other noteworthy thing about this section of the ICW is all the conspicuous consumption that is on display. One elaborate estate home after another, many with a yacht parked behind it that would make Sweet Escape seem like a dinghy. Funny thing is you seldom see anyone around. As we pass by we wonder who owns these homes, what they do and whether or not they’re happy.
Upon arrival in Fort Lauderdale we were able to get through the Las Olas Bridge. The Las Olas Marina Mooring Field is located just south of the bridge. This is a small and often crowded mooring field consisting of ten moorings, only nine of which are actually usable. The moorings are first come, first served and we were concerned that there may not be any available. We arrived just in time and were able to pick up the last mooring that would have worked for a boat our size.
We like moorings for a couple reasons. First they cost a lot less than a marina and are still pretty secure. Our alternative in Fort Lauderdale would have been a marina at $100 a night since anchoring out was not an option because we intended to leave Sweet Escape overnight and take a side trip to Naples. We will never leave the boat unattended at anchor for long periods of time - there is just too much that can go wrong.
Since we did so much whining about the weather on the way down here we can report that the sun has been out at least for a while everyday and the temperatures have been wonderful. This is what we envisioned when we decided to go cruising. We love it.
We rented a car and drove over to Naples to visit family on Monday. More on that trip in a separate post. We returned Tuesday afternoon and spent some time at the outstanding Bluewater Books and Charts where we obtained some cruising guides for the Florida Keys and also a guide to inlets that we think will be really useful. We also made the requisite visits to West Marine and Sailorman.
We have been having an intermittent problem with our wifi antenna dating all the way back to Buffalo New York. We have finally decided to send it back for service while it is still under warranty and so we did that on Wednesday. As a result our ability to access the Internet and consequently to update this blog will be limited until it is returned to us in Marathon.
Having a car the past couple days has been nice. We have been able to do some Christmas shopping and even went to see the movie “Lincoln” on Tuesday night.
We are now only a few days away from our planned winter destination - Marathon in the Florida Keys. This has been the experience of a lifetime so far and it has only just begun.
We expect to leave Fort Lauderdale in the next day or so depending on weather and head to Miami where we will stage for our passage to Marathon.
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