Welcome to Ft. Lauderdale

...condos off Lake Boca...

Driving south on the ICW from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale takes you past some of the most amazing winter homes on the water you will ever see.  Then there are the yachts that are docked in front of these magnificent homes. Yachts like a Pershing 72 which is easily a $2,000,000 yacht look small when compared to the neighbors' boats. In some cases, the property is enormous because the owner bought two or three lots, tore down the old homes, and then built a massive new mansion.

Mega Cat in for service at Lake Worth

It is really crazy, it is so over the top, yet it keeps getting more and more crazy as you continue into the hub of it all which is the center of Fort Lauderdale near the inlet. The largest and most expensive homes and yachts are always near the inlets. That way you can easily get your yacht in from the ocean and then dock it safely behind your home.

Tomorrow we will make it through this crazy area into Miami and go directly over to South Beach. For now, we are only into day #2 of moving south, and it is just as much fun as it always is!

Here are the photos of the day....

Welcome to Fort Lauderdale, yachting capital of the world

Dinner aboard, simple and easy

Sunset at our Sunrise Bay anchorage near Ft. Lauderdale

Heading SOUTH, compass on 180 degrees

Only half of the Flagler Memorial Bridge can open while a new span is under construction. It only opens once per hour and not during morning and afternoon rush hours, so timing an arrival is critical here.

This is a winter house, it is NOT their main home

Lift bridge gears are so interesting

This is a Pershing 72 footer, it is worth $2 million, and it looks small !!!!

That is ONE home, and a typical view as you push south.
The ICW provides views you can never see from the streets.

This is not a row of townhouses. It is one home.

We passed 19 bascule (opening) bridges today. Trying to talk to the bridge tenders and staying in position in the current while waiting with 10 other boats for the bridges to open can be stressful at times!

If you import Toyota cars, you get to buy many yachts, this is one of many.

Pelican wondering, "What they heck am I doing here?"

One after another, home after home just like this, amazing waterway

Radeen taking the boat through the bridges, it is a worry sometimes.

We will soon reach Biscayne Bay where it will be easy and we can sail. Yes, we will go over to South Beach and, yes, we will run around Coconut Grove and the sailing club. We love Dinner Key area. Right now, we need to finish running one last day of the ICW and get to Miami. This is the most amazing area of the waterway, it is never boring. Thanks for running along with us.