Day 63. May 24. On to Port Everglades/ Fort Lauderdale, Florida Miles 52.9. Total Miles 1058.6

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 joined by lots of fishing boats off the Florida coast. We also now can see the coast from Miami to probably Pompano Beach.

Five hours into the trip, we clear Customs using the CBP ROAM App. Glad they let us back in!!

Approaching Fort Lauderdale we can see the cranes and cruise ships of Port Everglades and all the buildings and homes that line the port entry.

Passing through the port we turn north and wind our way up the Stranahan River/ Intracoastal Waterway passing downtown Fort Lauderdale and Pier 66 iconic tower.

We traveled to Lake Sylvia, just off the Intracoastal, where we anchored for the night. We had the company of 24 other boats. Luckily many were just day visitors enjoying the sunny day, playing and swimming off their boats. Was much quieter after 5pm, when all the day boats had left.

After another long travel day, we earned ourselves a good night's sleep.

Reflections on the Bahamas

Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...

June 4-5. Day 63-64. On to Cape May New Jersey. 53.4nm. Total 1534 miles.

Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...

Day 98. 2nd year. August 27. On to Manistee. Miles 25 Total miles. 3910.

We weighed anchor on a sunny 50 degree morning. So we put on our sweatshirts and drove from below as we left Frankfort. Going through Frankfort’s channel and breakwater we encountered a few intrepid fisherman and further along as we cleared the breakwater there must have been over a hundred fishing boats. Almost like playing bumper cars, but with boats. Had to negotiate a path between them as the fishing boats were all trolling fishing lines behind them. We were still seeing fishermen 4 miles south of Frankfort. These guys sure take their fishing tournaments seriously! The shoreline that we pass heading south are still sand dunes bluffs some as tall as 200 feet. As we travel, we pass the small town of Arcadia and Portage Lake, each situated on an inland lake which is connected to Lake Michigan by a dredged channel. Interesting to note that the dredged channels were originally small rivers connecting the inland lakes to Lake Michigan. As we passe...

Crustacean Travels

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