On the Move Again

The urge to be on our way again finally won out over the comfort of staying on longer in Stuart.  It wasn't easy to give up this lovely setting adjacent to the Harborage condominium community.

We will especially miss happy hour at Wahoo's right at the foot of our dock, with two-for-one drinks accompanied by free snacks available each evening.

A wonderful unexpected opportunity presented itself while we were there, as we discovered that two of my (Sharon's) cousins live in nearby Jupiter, and a third who lives in Charlotte, NC, was on the way to visit them.  So they all converged on our marina for an impromptu cousins reunion on our boat.  We hadn't seen each other for well over forty years!  It was so much fun reminiscing and catching up on what everyone has been doing, and we all vowed to keep in touch from now on.  Here we are, from left to right:  Sharon, Pam, Peggy, and Sandy.

Ken and I also made one more trip to Jensen Beach, but found three good reasons not to go in the water.
First, there was a rip tide current warning which made it dangerous for swimmers.

Second, the beach was littered with nasty looking Portuguese man 'o war jellyfish.

And third, the water was too cold! However, it was just perfect for a walk along the water's edge.

With a week remaining on our paid contract for dockage with the Loggerhead network of marinas, we took off on Tuesday, February 22nd, headed south to take advantage of reciprocity with three other marinas in the chain, the first at Palm Beach Gardens.  This was an easy 4-hour cruise with lots of interesting stuff to see along the way, including mangrove swamp wildlife refuges,

many beautiful mansions lining the ICW and offshoot canals,

plus the lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet. Here we turned west, up the Loxahatchee River, then sharply south again into Lake Worth Creek.

Our marina (Loggerhead - Palm Beach Gardens) was located immediately south of the Donald Ross Bridge, just a bike ride away from Juno Beach. We pulled in to the fuel dock and topped off our tanks, then just backed up a bit along that face dock for an overnighter. This was convenient to the marina office and restrooms.

The next morning we headed out again.  The wind was calm as we left the marina, but picked up a bit as we entered Lake Worth. Since it was coming from the north and we were heading south, we didn't feel it, so it was quite warm as we cruised.  Again, there was plenty to see along the way, more mansions,

some highrise apartment buildings,

plus Peanut Island and the Port of Palm Beach, with a container ship unloading, etc.

Although boat traffic was light, we did encounter one speed demon throwing a huge wake that challenged our stability (but nothing broke), plus a group of clueless kayakers blocking the channel.  I guess that's what horns are for.

When we arrived at our marina (Loggerhead - Sout Lantana), the water was choppy and the wind had picked up quite a bit, but we made it in safely, even though the dock hands were late arriving.  It's great to have two engines and two thrusters!

This marina has some very nice facilities, including a heated swimming pool and hot tub, which we enjoyed.

However, there were not very many boats there.

Again, we stayed one night and then moved on to our next destination, Hollywood. We briefly considered postponing our departure due to predicted windy weather that day.  Then we received an email from fellow Charleston Cruising Club members, Sharon and Charley Barnett, who are embarking on a 1200 mile non-stop passage from Charleston to Tortola, BVI, in their sailboat, Blue Horizon. That made us feel like real weenies, so we just threw off the lines and left.

That day we had a greater distance to cover, which took us seven hours, but it was a great cruise.  We had to carefully watch for signs indicating slow speed/minimum wake or idle speed/no wake.  Plus, we had several bridges to contend with that required opening, some on demand and others on a published schedule.

As we passed through areas such as Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, and Fort Lauderdale, there was so much to see, including waterside restaurants,

many more canals lined with gorgeous homes,

Lots more apartment buildings and resorts,

It was almost overwhelming, but also lots of fun. The predicted wind turned out to be no problem, even as we had to bide our time and stay in place waiting for bridges to open.