Ft. Lauderdale N26° 07.159' W80° 06.590'
13 January 2009 | 26 07.159N 80 06.590W
Randy
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around noon yesterday and picked up a mooring near the Las Olas Blvd bridge. $30/night and a good location with showers and laundry. There aren't many places to anchor around here and I will likely move someplace else by the weekend, but this is a good place for David and I to range from today and tomorrow before he flies back to CA tomorrow afternoon. We have really had a great time together the entire trip. David has experienced many firsts on this trip, including steering in through the Lake Worth inlet with an ebbing tide and east winds that created standing waves about 3' - 4' tall and lots of confusing currents, steering Kristinly up to the mooring ball we are on right now, lots of navigating through the ICW, sailing outside (overnight to-boot), seeing lots of wildlife like manatees, dolphins, many birds, and even a whale, viewing some very expensive real estate and boats, and all of that. He has a lifetime of experience power boating and is a natural at a lot of this and is quite good at it. Having him aboard for the fun and companionship has been wonderful, but he has also been a big help in general. The old adage of fish and company both smelling after three days has certainly not applied here. I will miss him after he leaves.
We are planning to get off the boat to do a little tourist stuff today and tomorrow. The weather today is going to be a bit stormy, so that may limit our options. Hitting the beach was one of them, so we may not get there.
Good boat karma has favored us again. We met people from several boats here, including some folks on a trawler who were anchored next to us at the Matanzas River. One of them needed a lift to the dinghy dock and has hired a delivery captain to take his boat to the Bahamas. He had some problems with an attempted crossing earlier this week and needs the help. Long story, but in the process of giving him a ride, I met his captain and asked him if he knew of a good place to haul Kristinly out of the water so I can deal with the centerboard issue. He said he did, and for the price of $150 and a case of Heineken, he could make that happen after hours at a boat yard. This will save me anywhere from $150 - $600 from what I was quoted at the same boat yard, so I'm hoping to make this happen tomorrow after David leaves. We'll see ...
I expect to hang somewhere around here for the next couple of weeks working on the boat, gathering provisions, and picking up the dogs at the airport around the 1st of the month. I'll write if anything interesting pops up, but otherwise, you may not hear much from. Hope all is well with everyone.