Work Done; At Anchor---ICW, Here We Come!

A Palm Beach Sunrise

After being "on the hard" for a "new bottom" and then back in the water for more work, what a relief and pleasure to finally set our anchor and enjoy our first night back on the hook on our floating home.  Never mind that we were only about 500 yards away from the marina dock in Lake Worth where we were moored.....it still felt great!  We had been working on the boat for almost 3 weeks...and it was getting old!  James Knight, owner of Yacht Tech and his hardworking staff specialize in Nordhavn maintenance and repairs and tended to Serena Ray.  They were perfectionists, knowledgeable and just plain nice folks to deal with.  They even replaced one of our curved pilot house windows that had cracked in Mexico in 2010.  Also, new carpet installed by Jennifer of Highlander Carpet Installation really spiffed Serena Ray up.  We had rented a car while there to explore the area and that made it so easy to provision.

FIRST DAY AND FIRST BRIDGE ON THE ICW

Mile 1017 approaching Blue Heron Bridge - 65' clearance so we could go underneath without concern.

The southern Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) begins at Norfolk, Virginia to just south of Miami, FL - 1095 statute miles (not nautical).  The waterway runs from 50 yards to almost a mile in some places and parallels the Atlantic Ocean.  There are many, many, many toll free bridges to pass under, most of which have to open up for you.  Each vessel must radio ahead to request that the bridge tender open the bridge.  They are generally on a schedule and open on the hour, quarter hour, half hour or three quarter to allow your to proceed through a couple bridges without waiting.  Some bridges open on demand when contacted. 

Happy Bridge Tender

On the first day from Lake Worth to Boca Ratan we passed under 12 bridges, nine of which opened on a schedule and two on demand.  We are finding the bridge tenders to be so friendly, professional and very polite.  It was an enjoyable day for our first on the waterway.

Along the way we observed cruise ships, dredges, beautiful homes, restaurants, fisherman, kayakers, working marinas, coast guard at work---such a variety of goings on.......

The waterway is constantly being dredged to keep the depth so all can pass through (generally 8 to 10 feet), but the funds for this are quite limited and we have heard that there are a few places to watch out for.  It's not a question of running aground....it's when!!

Lunch anyone?  Pull on up!  Several restaurants along the ICW cater to the boating community.

We're not sure what the Coast Guard was towing here, but they took it out into the Atlantic??

Many of the homes (by the way, the definition of a home here is quite different than ours!!) have docks...and also a mega yacht.

"Signs, signs, everywhere there are signs".......We aren't in Central America anymore Toto!!

We arrived at Lake Boca Raton (Mile 1048) and set our anchor in very "shallow water".  In the ICW you must "go near the shallow water".   It was a bit unnerving at first but we got used to it.

Yikes!  Not much room under the keel.  I slept with one eye open.......

We were introduced to a new "water toy" called the Jet Pak.  It "only" costs $100,000.00.  Then you, too could fly through the air with the greatest of ease.  John would love to try this out......($350 /hr to learn)

Lake Boca Raton is a popular anchorage on the ICW.  On weekends it comes alive with loads of boats coming in starting around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and partying all day.  Then they leave around 4:00 or 5:00p.m. and it is quiet once more.  Same thing on Sundays.  Even more boats seemed to show up...all with their own music.  There is a "no wake" zone, therefore no jet skis or water skis.  BUT most boats have their own parties going on with loud music blaring - seemingly competing with each other.  It was hard to think straight with all the noise, but quite an interesting weekend of people watching.  There are also many families in boats rafted up to each other enjoying lunch and a swim.

These kites at the beach were awesome!!

Puppet masters

Our good friends Jim and Sue from Washington State who transited the Panama Canal with us last year visited us here for a couple of days.  Jim has been on a quest since he retired a few years ago to hike to the highest peak in every state.  Florida was on his list (highest peak about 300').  We had a fun time as usual catching up and goofing around with them.  These are our Popsicle stick puppets that we bugged John with!

We took the dinghy to shore from our ICW anchorage, crossed the street and there we were at the beautiful Atlantic Ocean.  We enjoyed walks along the white sandy beach.

After staying in Lake Boca Raton for several days we moved south to Lake Sylvia in Ft. Lauderdale,  going under nine more bridges to reach Mile 1065.  Here we had an appointment to repair the water maker so we took a slip for a couple days.

We see water taxis all over here in Ft. Lauderdale.

More beautiful homes at Lake Sylvia.

Serena Ray at the Boatyard Marina..

Now we are ready to head South, keeping happy in the warm Florida weather.....Until the next update