Crustacean Travels

  Day 64 We started early to get ahead of the holiday boat traffic. Weighing anchor at Lake Sylvia in Fort Lauderdale, we traveled on the Intracoastal Waterway past the iconic Pier 66 Tower and Bahia Mar Marina.  We then turned north and passed the older sections of the city - Las Olas( older homes), Galt Ocean Mile (one mile of condominiums on the beach), and the famous miles of beaches on the Atlantic.  I used to live here in the early 70's and the biggest change I see is the older smaller homes on the water are being replaced with larger versions and a few more condo towers have been built. As we go further north towards Commercial Blvd, North Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano Beach and its Lighthouse at the cut, there is less reconstruction. The next town we traveled through was Boca Raton with its Spanish architecture, Camino Real and its  landmark tower. The sand bar at the cut was just beginning to fill up  with Memorial Day revelers as we went by. Next were t...

  Day 63 Left the marina in Bimini at 7:40 to head out of the channel and turned 290 degrees to head to Florida.  We will be bidding the Bahamas good-by.   We passed the small freighter in the channel as we left. Leaving the shallows around Bimini behind, we enter the Straits of Florida and quickly see the water depth change to 1400 feet deep.  The water is calm and deep blue with sea less than 1 foot and light winds.  Good weather to cross the Gulf Stream and return to Florida. So far we have seen 5 freighters heading Southeast and lots of fishing boats.  You can tell the favorite fishing spots as all the boats are gathered there. Ninety minutes into the trip we lose sight of Bimini, with continued calm seas and wind.  We entered the Gulf Stream which helps us push us north and add 2 knots to our speed. Two hours in, we are halfway there.  We can barely make out the tall buildings on Florida's east coast. Three and a half hours in we are joi...

 Day 62 Woke at sunrise to weigh anchor retracing our steps back down the channel to turn west and go around Chub Cay's south shore. Leaving the Berry Islands behind, the water depths change rapidly from 60 to 600 to over 1200 feet as we travel the next miles in the Northwest Channel - the deep bluewater between Andros and Berry's. We had one freighter, four large yachts, and several fishing boats to keep us company this morning.  The seas are less than one foot and wind is light on this bright sunny day.  Weather says its suppose to rain mid morning, but for now we have bright bluee skies.   We will see! One hour into the trip we have lost sight of the Berry Islands. At 9:00 we passed the mark that leads us through the shallow reef, leaving the Northwest Channel behind and enter the Great Bahama Banks along wiht a 110 foot yacht and a 90 foot fishermen.  Makes us feel pretty small! For next 58 miles we will travel in the Banks almost due west heading to Ca...