12/25/17-1/10/18: Hanging out in Florida

After spending about a week anchored in Manatee Pocket near my sister Deb’s house we took the intracoastal (ICW) south to Lake Worth (West Palm Beach area).  We opted not to go out the Jupiter Inlet.

This guy wasn’t fishing but obviously something he had on board was attractive to seagulls.

Interesting family outing.  Can’t believe how calm the dog was.

Entering one of the anchorages in Lake Worth – a place of contrasts:  derelict boats and mega boats getting a face lift.

New Year’s Eve Day outing with Deb, Riva and Tom. Took the ICW north a bit and had fun looking at…

magnificent banyan trees…

colorful statues…

and homes for sale.

Back at the marina we had to squeeze into a pretty narrow dockage against a cross current.

But it certainly wasn’t as tricky as turning a cruise ship around in a narrow channel near very shallow water!

New Year’s Eve Moon – followed by some fireworks later on.  Didn’t get to see the actual Super Moon on the first because it was too cloudy. Happy 2018 Everyone!

January 1 – Beautiful day to begin with, went on the outside to travel south to Fort Lauderdale. Going by Lighthouse Point near Pompano (where Riva and Tom live).

Looks of boaters and para-gliders out in the ocean.  Looks like fun.

Fort Lauderdale Beach from the ocean side.

Back into the ICW in the very busy Port of Fort Lauderdale.

Iconic scenes on Fort Lauderdale Beach.

While the north was being pummeled with snow, ice and record low wind chills, we had our own form of miserable weather.

Back at our marina (the Swimming Hall of Fame Marina) there was an unusual 60 foot inflatable boat!

Headed back north on January 5th.  This part of the ICW is lined with mega mansions and mega yachts.

Going by Pompano Beach/Lighthouse Point from the inside.

Anchored in Lake Boca Raton for the night.  Riva (and her friend Stephanie) picked me up for a wedding tour.  Here’s the hotel where the Rehearsal Dinner will take place and where the guests will stay.

Sneak peak at the exquisite wedding venue at the Addison.

Riva in front of the wedding night hotel.

Jan. 7.  On the move again.  This mansion is still decked out for Christmas.

Whimsical mermaids.

This segment of the ICW has a million bridges on timed schedules.  Makes for an interesting day of trying to time them just right.

King of Norway’s place?

King Kong’s hang out.

Looks like this bridge should lead to Disney World.

As we went by West Palm I noticed this turret off in the distance – maybe Mar-A-Lago?

Coming back into Lake Worth with strong North winds.  At first we thought this Mega Yacht was loose in the anchorage….

Turns out it was being towed into a marina.  Have to hand it to the two tow operators (one forward, one aft to keep it from drifting into the other boats – at this point the boat is perpendicular to the wind).  They did an amazing job of what looked to be threading a needle.

So now it’s January 10th and we’re still awaiting a weather window to head over to the Bahamas.  This current barrage of storms between us and Grand Bahama Island is supposed to blow through tonight with calmer seas predicted for tomorrow.  So we’ll see…..