Fort Lauderdale

 


Sunrise on Lettuce Lake.  Lettuce Lake was a great anchorage and we slept well after the wind diminished and the nearby catamaran left at 9pm.  (They startled us since their anchor was just off our stern, thinking we had drifted).  

Our day started early so we could avoid Friday boat traffic.  By 715am we were waiting in line for our first bridge opening.  A monohull and tug were our shadows through the first leg of journey.  No party boats and no speed boats.  Perfect.  






The buildings were taller.  The boats docked just as large.  And the waterway began with twists and turns.  Easy peasy.

Three bridges that Paul timed perfectly and we entered New River by 9am.

    New River starts in the east (green arrow) and heads west.  Our dock - the red arrow.  Five bridges                 and many, many twists and turns over almost 4 miles.

New River.  Dave, our broker who secured our dockage, assured us if we entered at slack tide or a rising tide, we would enjoy the ride.  This was one of the most harrowing, insanely narrow passages we have ever accomplished.  Beautiful - yes!  Mind blowing - definitely!  Would I recommend - only for the most hardy!  And never, ever on a weekend!  I cannot even imagine the amount of boat traffic during a hot summer weekend here!

                                                   Indiana Jones' boat from The Last Crusade!


                                            I perched on the dolphin seat in order to see around 
                                the turns best I could so I could let Paul know when to move over!

                                           As we continued west and inland - the boats continued 
                                            to be huge and the passage kept narrowing.

                                   We were a part of the downtown atmosphere where no one 
                                    even seemed to notice us.  Our boat was miniscule in comparison.

                                                    Our mast against the high rise skyline.  
                                            Yup - if I could spit, I could have hit their windows.

            And then the railroad bridge that is "always open".  Not our luck.  We wound up tying off to the pilings on the right to wait for the long freight train and then the commuter train to pass.

                                                            Everyone has a boat!

                                        Further west the houses become a bit more reasonable.  

                                            But not the yachts.

                                            Every blind turn produced palpitations.

                                    The swing bridge where the oncoming boat "didn't see us".  
                                    (Our mast is 60 feet high - totally reasonable he missed us!)


What I did not get pictures of...
    The mega yacht coming full speed around a corner being pulled by a tow boat and pushed by a tug.  Paul was inches from the docks on the starboard side and inches from a yacht with no power.
    The mere inches on either side of our boat while passing between boats on either side of the river.
    The ugly ducks that we came close to making "roadkill".
    The first few bridges since they were "surprises" after rounding a turn.
    Paul "holding" in place waiting for bridges or traffic.

As our last full day on Quiet Time - it was anything but quiet!  Nerve racking and gorgeous and now feeling accomplished!

Our dock is perfectly between others but parallel parking - a breeze after today's challenges!



We have rented a car, rented a storage area, emptied bare essentials and picked up dinner on the way to our very cute airBNB.  

The plan - sleep after a long shower with unlimited water!  Leave early and grab my car in Daytona before continuing emptying the boat.

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