Last week we resumed our trip south having decided to go to the Keys rather than the Bahamas. Since weather and health issues delayed us so much, we just don't have enough time to have a reasonable stay in the Bahamas.

Just south of Ft. Pierce we noticed a distinct rise in the water temperature and even more tropical vegetation. Manatees were also common here. There is a warm water discharge which attracts them in winter. By the time we reached Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. The water temperaiture was again above 70. Of course there was also a distinct increase in the size of the waterfront homes and the yachts.

At Ft. Lauderdale we started seeing many floating coconuts. I suspect these are from the landscaping at the mansions. We also entered the concrete canyons where the ICW is bounded by concrete sea walls and high rise development. Even though the water is extremely protected from the wind, it is often very rough from the numerous boat wakes. In most of the ICW, boaters are very conscious of their wake and slow when near other boats. Not so here. The channel is often rather narrow and each boat wake is experienced at least 3 times. Once from the actual boat and then from the reflections off the concrete sea walls. When the traffic is busy, the water is like a washing machine. The exception to this situation is in the manatee zones where every one must travel at slow speeds. I think we need a stock enhancement program for manatees.

As we neared Port Everglades the water temperature reached 77. Success, warm water! As we motored through the port on Sunday, there were at least a dozen cruise ships, some loading lines of passengers with rolling bags. We also saw a ship loaded with yachts being shipped to Florida from the Mediterranean .

The Miami skyline looked nice from the water. This is probably the nicest view of Miami. Here we started seeing numerous cigarette racers as we entered Biscayne Bay, and further out in the Bay were dozens of small ultra high speed sailboats (some the boats were easily hitting 20 knots) that were practicing for an international regatta which starts tomorrow. The Swedish and French teams looked good in the little bit we saw. We spent the night in Coral Gables to restock before heading to the Keys.