ENTRY INTO FT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

ENTRY INTO FT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

May 25, 2017

As we approached the US coast and Miami area, a severe Wx warning was issued on VHF Ch 22a by the USCG for thunderstorms and squalls.  It was getting late in the afternoon so we decided to reduce sail to the minimum and move slowly towards Ft Lauderdale.  Strong wind and thunderstorms stayed with us for the rest of the night.  About one and one half miles off the Ft Lauderdale jetties, we headed back south and started to stem the wind and current by lying ahull with the rudder hard over.  This allowed the vessel to slide down the coastline at a 90 degree angle.  We were about 1.5nm off, well out of shipping traffic and watching the high rise buildings slip by.  At 0900 hrs on the morning of May 25^th, we entered the Ft. Lauderdale/Port Everglades jetties.

There are pros and cons for coming into Ft. Lauderdale:  there are no designated anchorage areas; the marinas are very expensive with an average rate of $2.50 per foot; that’s one hundred dollars a day for a 40 ft boat!; food is good but expensive; Customs Clearance is a taxi ride away; services are comprehensive but expensive; largest West Marine Store in the USA; good salvage yard right next door to West Marine.  Most importantly, for us, we had a good friend living nearby and wanted to see him.  We stayed at the Hall of Fame Marina, just north of the 17^th St SE bridge.  Their high season rates are $2.50 per foot of vessel length but on June 1^st the rates drop to $1.00 per foot.  That’s a substantial reduction.  We were at the Marina from May 25^th to June 8^th so we paid dearly and then received the discount rate.  There is an excellent restaurant named Coconuts in the area: great seafood and reasonably priced during Happy Hour.

We needed a good safe marina because we were leaving the yacht to travel to Pensacola, FL to visit our daughter and bring back our grand-daughter to sail with us.  We left on June 1^st and returned on June 5^th.  There was a significant Wx system that brought torrential rain on June 6^th and 7^th.  We departed Hall of Fame Marina on June 8^th for Lake Worth, about 40 nm up the Intracoastal Waterway.  Other than the multi-million dollar homes, we had to pass under 21 bridges.  Some of these only opened on the hour and half hour so timing was important.  For a few, it wasn’t possible to negotiate one bridge and then make the other within the required time frame so we just puttered along until the next opening.  I would never motor this stretch again if the outside option was available with good Wx.

At 2000 hrs, we dropped anchor just inside Lake Worth Jetties, south of G 11 Marker in 16 ft with 130 ft chain out:  pos: 26-46.069 N; 80-02.663 W,  This is a great anchorage with good holding in sand.