Las Olas, Ft Lauderdale- Realized!

Just realized we haven't posted in a few days. We were on the move again.

We last reported from Lake Worth in Palm Beach. We were on the hook for 2 days/nights and the anchorage was not much fun. Tuesday, the wind blew hard ALL DAY. we clocked steady 20=25 knots and a few gusts to 30, even 34 knots. No fun. We hunkered down on the boat all day, we even snuggled up with Bella for a nap. So with all that, and a fair weather forecast for Wednesday, we decided to make a run on the outside to get to Ft Lauderdale.

So we got up Wed morning and pulled anchor. We were out through the channel by about 10am, and we turned south. We unfurled the headsail, and it filled with 15-20 knots of NW wind. The seas were rolly, 2-3 feet, but since we were running with them, the motion was reasonable. I left the engine on to get a little extra push, since we got a late start and had about 55 miles to go to get to the Port Everglades/Ft Lauderdale inlet. We parallelled the beach keeping a mile or 2 east, which took advantage of the strong land breeze. At some points, the wind was almost westerly.

I phoned Capt Byrd(our friends from Marietta/Tybee) to "file my float plan" for the day. He reminded me to put a line in the water, so I dug out my tackle bag and selected a delicious looking lure. I was confident that any tuna or mahi would be thrilled to snack on it. I trolled it for about 2 hours, but nothing fell for it. Oh well, probably best since I don't have a Florida fishing license.

Overall, a great sail. We entered Port Everglades around 430p and had to wait for the 17th St causeway bridge to open at 5. We motored north up the ICW into the very posh area of Ft Lauderdale. IT is obvious why they call it "the Venice of the Americas". with all the waterfront homes on dredged channels. The homes and yachts are absolutely incredible.

We found a mooring ball at Las Olas marina, and as we were pulling up to snag it, we heard a familiar voice call out. Only a hundred yards away, our friends on Las Sirenas were tucked into a slip on the other side of the channel. It was great to see them, since we had lost contact with them when they passed by Vero Beach to continue south.

So here we sit, right in the thick of things. We have a great view and are walking/biking distance to about anything you could want. I told Carryn, that when I was working/walking stores in FLL, I always made it a point to drive through this area, often grabbing lunch in between stores. I would look down at the little anchorage at the few boats tucked in, and affirm, that someday, SolMate would some day enjoy this posh spot. It has come to be, and it feels great.

We took Bella to shore to play catch with the Flippy Flopper(she loves it), and decided to walk a few blocks to A1A boulevard. We decided to splurge on dinner and grabbed a table on the patio at the QuarterDeck restaurant. Carryn had a burger and I went big with baby back ribs. We deserved it. So we closed out our first night in FLL, and have plans to venture out Thursday on the bikes. a little shopping, some groceries, and a trip to the liquor store. We'll let you know how that goes.

Until then, take care. Thanks for checking in on us. Leave us a comment if you have a minute.