A Bumpy Transit Day

Day 12:  April 6, 2014

Sunrise in Delray Beach Anchorage

We awoke at our usual early hour and efficiently fixed a bacon and egg and blob blueberry muffin breakfast.  (For folks who are new to this blog, the blob meals are made in a pot called a “Bake Packer.”  It is a vertical sided 4 quart pot with a grid in the bottom that stands about an inch high with the grid squares ¼ inch on each side.  You mix the ingredients in a 1 gallon ziplock bag and place into the pot into which you have added water to just below the top of the grid.  The boiling water cooks the ingredients in the bag and when finished, (for muffins it’s about 20 minutes), you

Some more of our Delray Beach neighbors

have an amorphous mass of muffin which we have dubbed the blob.  In the past we have used it almost daily making biscuits, muffins, cakes, etc.  When finished you throw the bag away and use the remaining hot water to clean dishes.  This year, we are trying to be weight conscous so most blob things are outside of those parameters.  We   prepackage the mixes and carry them dry and the one we enjoyed this morning was left over from our previous trip.

This one says it all! 

We worked hard to get underway by 8:00 knowing that we had a long trek passing through numerous lift bridges to our next anchorage.  We motored out into peaceful bright ICW heading south and made the first number of bridges at amazingly appropriate time so as not to have to wait.  However, as we moved south from Delray Beach through the cities of Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Oakland Beach and Fort Lauderdale, the Waterway traffic became increasingly busy and congested.  As we passed through Fort Lauderdale, there were boats of all sizes from container ships, cruise ships, gambling ships, mega yachts, cigarette boats, sail boats, midsize cruisers, day sailers,runabouts, dinghies and kayaks. At least, in that area, the speed limit was slow so the waves made by all of this traffic were manageable. 

In other parts of the Waterway, the passage was narrow and many big boats would



And another neat bridge

roar through rocking the socks off of us immediately after they passed.    The waves that they created would ricochet off of the side wall in a confused mountain of boiling water for the next ¾ mile.  It was a long day and by anchorage time, we were both really tired.  As in previous days, the bridges were many and frequently closely spaced.  We seemed to be more fortunate in the timing of our approaches so as to have to wait for only a few minutes or on a number of occasions, drive right on through a bridge that was open as we arrived.  Only once did we have to wait over 30 minutes. 

Part of the problem was the fact that we were traveling on a Sunday and most of the boats were local folks out for the afternoon.  We were amazed that we saw almost no transiting sailboats in the southern part of this segment of the trip. 

As we pulled into our anchorage, I was working out a plan that would keep us from having to transit this area as we return to our truck. 

Traveling on south, we passed through the cities of Dania, Hollywood, Hallandale, Golden Beach, and North Miami.  We were heading for an anchorage in an unnamed cove across from an area known as Bakers Haulover.  As we approached the entrance we saw literally hundreds of boats, kayaks, canoes, dinghies, and swimmers jammed into a relatively shallow area at the mouth of the Haulover.  We slowly made our way east into a deep water bay where we assumed there would be few boats, but we could not have been further from the truth.  The area was jam packed with frolicking boats, kayaks, canoes, dinghies and swimmers.  On shore, there were, I’m convinced, more than 1,000 partying folks in a park.  There was a “boom box” blaring out loud music of a language of which I am not versed. 

Most of our frolicking neighbors are gone!

HOWEVER, as the evening approached, the numbers began to diminish and by dark, the noise box was gone and we were alone with 3 other sailboats.  Janine made the comment that the music was not completely unpleasant and the folks were not speeding around in their boats being crazy.


Fine Dining, Second Wind Style

After a wonderful meal of grilled pork chops, garlic potatoes, and a glass of Knarley Head wine, we sat out in the cockpit and read until dark.  It was really pleasant. This is, it turned out, a really nice anchorage.  It is in a mangrove swamp in the middle of the Miami Coast.