Friday, May 15, 2009

April 23-30 Back in the States



Very nice home along the ICW




Sunset coming into the lake Worth inlet from the Ocean



My first fish caught on the trip. A Bahama Runner



Today is April 23, the weather man says conditions to cross over will not be ideal but doable
and get better as the day progresses. The trip if we take the direct route to the Lake Worth inlet is 91 miles. If we take the "back way" which means going back through the Lucayan Waterway into the Sea of Abaco and crossing to Lake Worth from WestEnd is 108 miles. The latter route was the chosen one since it would be much smoother until we hit the Atlantic. A beautiful ride through the protected Sea of Abaco. Gin clear water and very tranquil. I hooked up with my first fish pictured above. As soon as we hit the Atlantic the sea of tranquility ended. The waves were small but there were 5' swells from the north and then from the south. We rolled from side to side but it was not too uncomfortable. Arrival time would be after dark and we would see the sunset from the water. We found our way into the Fort Worth inlet after dark and found a place to anchor amongst the boats. When arriving by boat you must clear customs and a telephone call accomplished the feat easily with our Local Boater Option #. Our Canadian friends had to appear in person the next morning at the customs office but that also was very easy. Customs office is just a dinghy ride away. Judy and I had never been to Ft. Lauderdale so we rented a car along with John and Gail and toured Lauderdale by car. Every side canal contains megayachts and boats of every description. We also visited the Sailorman store. Unique boating store that mostly sells used boating stuff in an environment that violates most rules of retailing.

On Saturday April 25th we started our trek northward on the ICW. An anchorage near Jensen Beach left us with no much sleep as there was little protection from the wind. On Sunday we travelled to an anchorage near EauGaille and on Monday we settled into Cocoa Village Marina for a few days. John & Gails friends, Pam & Dave Bruce met us there. They had flown from Canada to Sun & Fun aero meet and after that flew to Cocoa. Salty Dawg (Pat &Pat) and John Henry (Wink & Wilma) were anchored here and came to see us by dinghy. On Thursday we departed Cocoa, took on Fuel in the Canaveral Barge Canal and the backtracked a few miles to the ICW and found a cozy little anchorage in a very tiny bay off of the Haulover Barge Canal. It was our first encounter with Manatees for an extended period of time. All evening they swam around the boat in spite of fisherman coming and going at all hours.

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