Ft Lauderdale to Miami Beach

...The 50 foot dinghy has 4 outboards 1,400 hp...

We traveled through the mecca of world yachting today. Fort Lauderdale, and then onward south to Miami where we turned east at the Venetian Causeway West bridge to make a stop in South Beach (SoBe) known properly as Miami Beach.  The photos we take in this section are always over the top when it comes to demonstrating wealth. The waterfront "winter" homes are even more massive than what is just north of here on yesterday's leg. The yachts are the biggest anywhere in the world, and there are many of them. It is surprising to learn that having boat work done is not excessively expensive in Ft. Lauderdale, due to all the competition.

Anchored off Belle Island, South Beach

We have now made it to one of our "happy" places, that of Miami Beach, Florida. We are anchored out off Belle Island, as usual, and we take the dinghy into the Collins Canal and dock at the Publix's Dock. Construction on the retaining walls is complete and the canal is open. There we climb the tall dock and then onto the street and walk 1.5 miles into Lincoln Road. Here the street is closed off to traffic with coffee shops, ice cream, pizza shops, and everything that the international traveler needs like an Apple Store, a Garmin Store, and upscale clothing lines. It is a great place to walk and to enjoy the many sights and international languages. Lincoln Road leads over to Ocean Drive for a 3 mile walk along world famous South Beach. Several public parks, beach accesses, walking paths, the famous Art Deco buildings and many bars and restaurants are found along Ocean Drive. If you are a cruiser, then Belle Island is the place to drop the hook and explore this wonderful area.

Here are the photos of the day....enjoy...

This is when a smaller boat pays off, We can pass under
the Julia Tuttle Bridge. It is 56 feet, we are 49'6".
Taller vessels must go off shore between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

There it is, our first view of the Miami skyline.

Radeen driving under the Julia Tuttle Bridge

These lift bridges are so interesting to transit.

The centerpiece home in Ft. Lauderdale.

The stern of this yacht opens to lift out the jet boats with a crane.
The 50 foot tender has 4 outboards, this is 1,400 hp!

The same yacht as seen from the bow, I am calling this 130+ feet long.
That tender is at least 50 feet long.

Here you see a person cleaning the windows on a smaller yacht.

These guys give perspective to the size of the yacht. They are mounting railings on the 3rd floor.

Same yacht as above, look for the guys on the 3rd floor

This one is my favorite, It is called Savanna. Well, it is everyone's favorite....
winning"Super Yacht of 2016." She is 274 feet long. See photos here:

Another photo of "Savanna"

This yacht has two staircases on the stern and is four stories tall!

Container ship at dock, notice the underwater bow bulb

These are containers, they are tractor trailer boxes.
You see them on the road all the time.
10 boxes across, 5 boxes high, ON DECK 

Container ships run at about 15 to 20 mph at sea

Cruise ship getting washed. There was one guy power washing each balcony!

Hollywood Lift Bridge

Condo living on the water, beautiful views

Notice the balcony twisting effect

Notice the specks high on both sides of the building, then look at next photo.

Those specks are window washers rapelling off the roof!

We like the palm trees on these roof top decks.

This is how we get into South Beach, via our dinghy into a canal.

Beautiful steps outside this building

The #1 venue in Miami Beach

Lincoln Road Plaza walking around. This is where the street used to be.

Lincoln Road is right next to the New World Symphony 

This is the park where hundreds of people will gather for the Wallcast concert.
The projector in the middle and on the sides are speakers in tall tubes.

Our anchorage off Belle Island, Miami Beach, FL

Our view of Miami from South Beach

I shot over 400 photos today. There are always so many great scenes to photograph. We never get tired of running this section of the waterway. Biscayne Bay is just one more hour south to the best place for sailing. We will move over there Friday, for now, it is a day in Miami Beach.

PS:
We are running a LIVE tracking map. When the boat moves, this map is updated. Also our blog home page shows our current position.