We left Nettles Island Marina around 10:30 am. It's a sunny, warm morning with very little breeze.

We decide to stay in the ICW today, to test the starboard engine ( we just repaired several oil leaks, and a fuel leak). We are only going to Lake Worth today --- about 35 miles.

We had an interesting, intense trip down the ICW. It's spring break week, and all the power boaters are out in full force. Their wakes are bigger than ocean waves in most cases, and they refuse to slow down, or give us slow old blow boaters any "wiggle room". All the bridges are a pain in the a---- too. However, We both enjoyed some of the "eye candy" along the way!!

We arrived at our anchorage at Lake Worth late afternoon. We chose to anchor in the far end of the anchorage, behind a golf course; it's calm and relatively quiet.
We enjoy cocktails in the cockpit, and a dinner of leftovers.

After listening to some good 70's/80's tunes, we head into the salon for a little TV before bedtime. More cocktails, and early to bed.

On Sunday, we depart our anchorage around 7 am, and head out the Lake Worth inlet. The inlet is calm, and the ocean is lovely!!! Very small waves, and a light breeze.

We motor sail with just the jib until after lunch. The wind is building some, the waves are increasing a bit, so we decide to raise the mainsail and try out our new rigging. We had several nice tacks, and all seems to be in good working order.

Mid afternoon, the sea conditions continue to get a little worse, so we decide to head back in at the Hillsborough Inlet. We've never used this inlet before, but we see other sailboats heading in, so we decide to "go for it". All I can say is WOW!!!!! There are dozens of boats heading in AND out!!!! The current is whippin' like mad, and we all wait for the bridge to open/ trying to hold our position. Major "pucker factor". We made it through without incident--- Robert did a great job, as usual. Now, to deal with the rest of the bridges down to Ft. Launderdale.

The ICW is a madhouse again today. Loud music blaring from boats/scantily clad girls and guys/and a huge amount of traffic. As we progress south, the port engine dies. DAMNIT!!!!! It's always something!! I start making phone calls to marinas, trying to obtain dockage for tonight. So much for a peaceful, quiet anchorage and a dinghy ride to shore. No Southport Raw Bar chowder for us tonight. Oh, well. Hopefully the engine trouble is minor.

We hobble in to Los Olas Marina around 6 pm on one engine. Docking was a challenge due to current, wind, and no dock hands to help. After two attempts, a couple of other boaters came out on the dock to help, and with much ado, we finally make it to the slip. WHEW!!!!

First item on the agenda is a very strong dark n stormy for both of us. Then, we tackle the engine. After a couple of hours troubleshooting, bleeding fuel lines, and trying every trick up Robert's sleeve, we relent and call our repairman, Steve. He'll come tomorrow am.

Dinner is a simple onion, pepper, and potato skillet with kielbasa. We're both exhausted, so it's showers and an early bedtime.


MONDAY am, Steve arrives as promised. He takes an hour or so to diagnose the problem. It's just what Robert had thought--- a broken governor spring. Parts ordered, should arrive tomorrow afternoon. Steve will return Wed. morning early to install.

Hopefully, we'll be able to stay at the dock until repairs are complete. They've agreed to let us stay until tomorrow; then we may have to take a mooring ball . We're currently occupying a slip on the face dock that they use for super huge yachts. Of course, if they get a chance to triple their money in dockage fees, we'll need to move---- our little 40 footer isn't a huge money maker for them.

Despite the setback, we're optimistic that we'll soon be in the Bahamas with a cold Kalik in hand. In the meantime, we're gonna enjoy Ft. Lauderdale.