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.

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...

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...

Day 64-65. May 25-26. On to Peck Lake, Jupiter, FL and then on to Indiantown/ Okeechobee Waterway. Miles 63.5/ 29.1 Total Miles 1122.1/1142.0

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...

Crustacean Travels

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