Headed through the Camino Real Blvd. Bridge and on down the waterway. We had made a list of possible anchorages and their mile markers on the ICW and their relationship to bridges. The first few were uninhabited so we were concerned. We were thinking of a place called sunset bay but when we got there, it was crowded and also rather shallow. We turned around in there and continued.
We had planned to cheek out the Ft. Lauderdale mooring field just after the Las Olas bridge in Fort Lauderdale. As we came up, we saw one empty mooring ball. We eased into the small mooring field. There was no pendant on the ball. Just then, a boat owner in the anchorage, told us he would help. He got in his dinghy and motored over to us. We threw him a line and he was able to attach it to the chain under the mooring ball from his dinghy. He said he had to do this with his as well. We were attached. We thanked Steven and offered to take him to dinner.
After mooring, you are supposed to call the marina to settle up. We did this. They are aware of the missing pendants and said it was fine for us to stay there. They are waiting on spare parts to fix the moorings. We know about that. They were very nice and we were able to complete our paperwork electronically. We felt very lucky. They also said the large catamaran behind us was leaving as they were too big for the mooring field. Also great.
We launched Fat Tuesday and secured our boat to the mooring ball with some redundancies. Then we set out to explore a little and walk. We met Steven at the dinghy dock. He had walked for some supplies. We exchanged numbers and planned to get together later.
We walked across the bridge to the beach. It was windy and no one was swimming. It seems that everyone was at a bar named Elbo Room. This place was a two story bar on a corner and was packed. There was standing room only.
We continued to walk down the sidewalk by the beach. One side is beachfront. The other side is pizza and taco places, liquor stores, and marijuana and vape stores mixed in with fancy hotels with sidewalk cafes. We listened to a guitarist playing music with a Spanish flare and singing in Spanish. The street was very busy with loud cars and motorcycles, sort of Virginia Beach Atlantic Avenue on steroids. There were no food markets, but any prepared food was available.
The current switch was around 630 and we wanted to be back on the boat so we decided on a a little quieter Mexican restaurant just over the bridge. The owner said it was Honduran, Mexican and Cuban. Steven was not hungry but came over and joined us for a drink. The margaritas came with dry ice. They made guacamole at our table. We all shared fajitas with homemade corn tortillas.
There was a very large family celebrating a woman’s graduation. They had a long table in the back. When we walked out into the parking lot, one of them was playing salsa music on his phone and they were all dancing. The grandmother was the best dancer. She reminded me of Sharon’s mother with the way she was just loving life and radiated happiness around her family.
Steven is very nice. He is from Dallas and bought his boat in New Orleans. He then sailed along the gulf coast, to Key West, and then here. He used to work at Club Med and learned to sail small boats there. He would take people out on Hobie cats. He then bought a 26 foot boat, took some sailing classes and crewed on a trip from Belize to Florida. He is currently living on his new boat, a 38 foot Catalina. He is not working currently and is planning also to cross to the Bahamas. He is worried because a friend already has tickets to meet him in Marsh Harbor on the 26th of January. He has two cats aboard, Natasha and Boris of Bullwinkle fame. They must have a Bahamas health check before he leaves.
We returned to the boat. Everything was safe and the current switch was not bad. The large catamaran behind us had gone. Then just before bed, a fishing boat pulled in towing a motor boat. They put the motor boat on the mooring ball in front of us and left. Afterward, we thought we should have videoed the deposit of the boat. The motor boat may be derelict. They did not attach it too well to the mooring and David went over and pulled it in closer so we could sleep.
