Malicious Weather Gods

As soon as its time for us to leave FTL the weather gods took notice and whipped up the coldest weather year to date here, followed by winds from the NE for the next 5 days that make it impossible to cross to Grand Bahama. Late next week, probably, before we can cross.

Venice of America

Fort Lauderdale calls itself "The Venice of America", ignoring the fact that the thousands of miles of canals would never be built today. The motto is even more misleading when the recent history of the city has been to love mega yachts and disdain cruising boats, sail or power, and wish all live-a-boards would just go away.

A really nice restaurant is located at Lauderdale Marina positioned just north of the 17th St Causeway. We got to the Marina by dinghy; through canals and the ICW. From the outdoor dining balcony:

The 17 Street Causeway bridge. Under the bridge is the Port Everglades turning basin and the channel to sea.

The second picture is the Pier 66 Hotel (now renamed the Hyatt), one of the better known landmarks. Note the mega yachts all around.

The third picture is a shot of the DIXIE IV in her slip as we approach by dinghy.

And last, never miss an opportunity for a photo of FL wildlife. Here is a very large iguana sunning behind a house. These iguana are not harmless, though they are not aggressive in behavior. Their droppings contain a very high level of bacteria that can, and does, make dogs, cats, and curious children very ill.

Plans Written in Sand

As I have said before and will again "Boat Plans are Written in Sand at Low Tide". Just as we are preparing to leave FTL on Saturday a cold front is coming thru with north winds so we'll stay here day by day until the seas drop.

The picture shows Chet working on the fresh water pump that failed in the middle of the night leading to a midnight project to replace it with, fortunately, a spare pump. Always something.

A Visit from Old Friends

Mike and Terry came through a couple of days ago. They swallowed the anchor after cruising the Carribean for 4 years and are now in St Petersburg, heavy into art shows with Terry's paintings. To help them in their art show travels they bought a new (to them) RV and this trip was their break in week. They stopped in FTL on their way to a show in Key West.

The first picture is Mike and Terry and the RV.

Second is them in the spacious cabin of their land yacht.

The third picture is a revisit to the Florida wildlife comments. Hundreds of parrots on the power wires on Hendricks Isle.

Always Something Going on Riverwalk

There is something evryweekend on Riverwalk in downtown FTL. This weekend, as seen in the first picture, is the Turkish Festival - food, trinkets, music, etc.

The second picture shows a couple of wild parrots. There are thousands of parrots that are descended from imported parrots that were released or escaped and settled into South Florida. Another example of "new natives".

A less attactive example is huge python snakes that have settled in the everglades. They have been known to try to swallow alligators whole with the predictable result. Neither retile survives.

"Home" on Hendricks Isle

Our temprary "home" on Hendricks Isle probably won't be here next year. Three adjoining properties were purchased three years ago with the intent to demolish the existing buildings and contruct 8 townhouses. Because the home market is so overbuilt in South Florida the developers have not done anything except clear the first lot, which had to be done because of rodent infestation.

The first picture is a front view of the center property. Its really run down since no maintenance is done at all.

The second picture is another view showing the "temporary" roof covering still in place 3 years after ther last hurricane.

The third picture is the DIXIE IV behind the building.

All of this will be gone soon.

Miami Boat Show

The Miami Boat Show is billed as the largest in the world, though some European shows dispute that. We have been going to this show for at least 34 years, missing some years but being there most years. We long ago gave up looking at boats and concentrated on the largest accessory exhibit in the world.

Some pictures:
The first is a shot across the floor of the Miami Convention Center. This does not capture the 2 MILLION square feet of exhibition space. Its a big show.

The second is a shot of the sailboat show. Note the multihulls; billed as the largest multihull show.

Pictures 3 & 4 depict our dining companions at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The food inside the convention center is terrible as you would expect so we had a late lunch/early dinner at Miamarina before driving back to the boat (90 minutes to go 22 miles). A single squirrel and many pigeons.

As an observation, the drivers in south Florida are the worst in the United States; and that's being kind.

Heavy Rain in the Middle of Dry Season

Its been raining heavily for two days, but no one is complaining except the tourists who are paying hundreds of dollars per day for warmth and sunshine. The thunderstorms last night were a real light and sound show. South Florida, actually almost all of Florida, is in a deep drought. Lake Ocachoobee's water level is so low that it is impassable to most boats except very shallow draft skiffs. Unfortunately a lot more rain is needed and its not likely to come until the rainey season, hopefully, begins in May.

Fort Lauderdale Beach

The "barrier islands" in the South Florida metropolitan area are not really barrier islands anymore. Solid concrete and high rise condos between the ocean and the ICW. The pictures, in order are: The municipal moorings at Las Olas Bridge,

the mega yachys are moored at Bahia Mar Marina, perhaps the most famous marina in Florida because of John McDonalds' "Travis McGee" novels. Bahia Mar has been completely rebuilt and now caters only to mega yachts starting at five dollars per foot per day.


Port Everglades is a very busy port and there are always ships anchored outside waiting their turn to get in.

The Bahia Mar Hotel was also rebuilt and is always full.

Fort Lauderdale has discouraged youth hostels and cheap hotels, preferring mega yachts and expensive hotels. On the weekends it is literally impossible to drive up and down A1A, very crowded.

Ft Lauderdale Riverwalk

The New River runs from the ICW to I95, through Fort Lauderdale. At the head of the river, at I95, are some very large boat yards that handle mega yachts. The river runs thru downtown FTL and the city has developed a beautiful area called Riverwalk, which is exactly what it sounds like. A mile or so area along the river with riverviews, eateries, shops , etc. Condos in this area sell for more millions than you can imagine.

Some pictures: The first one has nothing to do with Riverwalk. The shadow I hope you see is a manatee and her baby swimming thru the canals. We had one spend the afternoon feeding off the algue on the bottom of our boat.

Every first Sunday the Riverwalk hosts a jazz festival. Many people, picnics, music, etc.

Morning Real Estate Walkabout

Our morning walk has turned into a real estate walkabout. Back in the 1920's the Nurmi Islands were created by digging canals in swampland and creating the islands with the spoil. There are 16 of them, mostly private residential with some condos and a few remaining seasonal apartment buildings. Today, of course, permits would never be issued for this type of development. The land, all waterfront, is very valuable. The real estate game is to buy older homes, tear them down and replace them with Mac Mansions. Its easy to identify those owners who are just waiting for an offer. Older homes that are not maintained. Eventually they will be sold for an absurdly high price and the bulldozer moves in. The huge, almost gross overbuilt, homes that replace them are worth many millions. The property taxes run in most cases over $100,000. This goes on even in a real estate collaspe because of the ocean access waterfronts which can never be replicated. Makes an intersting morning walk.