FORT LA-DI-DA!

            The trip from Ft Pierce to Ft Lauderdale is usually an 18-20 hour trip.  The biggest problem encountered is the edge of the Gulf Stream, that north flowing river that lies off the East Coast.  When you are headed south, it slows you down.  To avoid it, you have to stay within a mile or so of the coast.  This year, for some reason, we ran into the current as close in as ½ mile.  Instead of taking 18-20 hours, the trip took 24.  Before leaving Ft Pierce, I caught the first fish of the season—a nice catfish.  OK, so there was little sport involved.  Number one, we had chummed the water frequently.  Then, a bread covered hook attracted scores of fish, I didn’t even have to wait for one to tug on the line, I could see when he took the hook.  It’s still a thrill to have a fish on the end of the line.

           
             Upon arrival at Las Olas Marina, we had a different current problem.  The tide was coming in and pushed the boat from behind.  Normally, the extra speed would be welcome.  In this case we were coming into a dock.  The current kept us from slowing down enough to avoid bumping into the dock.  There are only three things you need to know when boating.  The first one is, “Don’t hit anything hard!”  There is nothing soft about concrete docks!  Thank goodness our good friends Jim and Ellie (s/v FinniRish) were on hand to cushion our landing.

            Oh, the other 2 things you need to know?  “Keep the slimy side down!”  and “Stay on the damned boat!”

            My friend and occasional sailing companion Al let us use his condo and car when we got to Ft Lauderdale.  He arrived a few days later.  I took advantage of his presence and asked him to help me take the boat to Playboy Marine for a haul-out.  I wanted to re-pitch my propeller and I had an ancient seacock that I wanted to replace.  The old one was hopelessly corroded and frozen in the open position.  Both jobs required the boat to be out of the water.

            I felt really special at Playboy.  Officially, the yard was closed for renovation and they weren’t doing any haul-outs.  I smiled real nice at Wendy, the person who schedules haul-outs, and was able to get an impromptu haul-out within a couple of days.  Then, I was able to get Danny, the contractor who has done work for me before, to drop what he was doing.  He did the work while the boat was in the slings and it only took a couple of hours.  We were back at Las Olas in time for lunch.  Sweet!

            Then, more friends came to town.  Frank and Carol from Port Oliver Yacht Club came down to sail to the Bahamas with Al on his boat s/v Moon Taxi.  Al took us all out to lunch at el Tamarindo, one of my favorite restaurants.  While everything they serve is excellent and delicious, I nearly always order Mariscada—a seafood soup/stew; all kinds of seafood swimming in a fantastic tomato-herb based broth.

As if that weren’t enough, Al insisted on grilling steaks for us at the condo.  We stayed up far too late solving the world’s problems, telling stories and lies.

                    There is no shortage of palatial homes along the banks of the new river

                          And no shortage of fine food at the many restaurants of Ft La-di-da

                       And don’t think that wildlife doesn’t abound on the streets and waterways!

                     All in all, Fort Lauderdale is a reasonable response to a latitude problem!