Monday, March 2, 2009

Arriving at Fort Lauderdale

Our blissfully calm night ended abruptly at 3:30am with high winds! We were up and ready to move by 4:00am but we waited for the sun to come up before heading out. We headed north through the inland passage (the ICW - Intracoastal Waterway) and ended up following 2 boats the whole way through, which was nice. We got to watch how they navigated and listened in as they talked with the bridges that needed to be raised (they were taller then us. At less than 16 feet we probably could have made it under the bridges we passed). We even used the radio a bit! When going to Biscayne Bay we had waited for a sailboat to pass through a very narrow channel. They hailed us to say thank you. It's neat to talk with passing boats and have some contact. So yesterday we did the same and hailed the boat in front of us as we broke off near Ft. Lauderdale to say hi and thank them for the guided passage :) As talkative as I am I'm a nervous about using the radio, I need to get over it!

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around 11:30am and had a quick lunch. Then we both passed out for over 3 hours. 3 days/nights with the stress of traveling and sleepless nights from windy "slap-happy" waters took their toll. We're at the Bahia Mar Marina and it's sheltered and QUIET even with the winds blowing. Ahhhh. The beach is directly across the street from us - how nice! (Oh, and the wifi signal is strong and is free!)

The next week we'll spend exploring Ft. Lauderdale, getting some supplies and doing some work on the boat before we head out to the Bahamas. Top of the list is to fix a shower leak in the wall that Martin has been struggling with for a few days now.

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