Up north our boat is considered to be on the larger side. But that all changes when you head south. About St. Augustine we were back in the part of the world where our boat looks like a dinghy. Keeps us humble….
The ICW is famous for it’s bridges especially in Florida. Seems they don’t know how to make tall bridges down here which means we have to request bridges to open for us as we need at least 32′ of clearance. Doesn’t sound too bad you say? Yesterday we had to pass thru 22 bridges of which only 4 could we pass under without them opening. Most of the remaining 18 bridges only opened at specific times, either on the hour and half hour, 15 and 45 after the hour or the one that opened on the hour as well as 20 and 40 after the hour. We had to figure the distance between bridges to know how fast to go to not miss an opening or we would have to sit and wait for the next opportunity.
It was a long day and we were happy to reach our anchorage by 5pm and pour a glass or two of wine. At 5:30 we noticed a few boats milling around our area all decorated for the holidays. Seems there was a boat parade at 6:30 and the starting area was right in front of us. So we bundled up (did I mention there’s a cold snap here?) and watched from the flybridge as 30-40 boats passed by. It was fun and a great way to end the day. We couldn’t have planned it better if we’d tried.
Today finds us in Ft. Lauderdale where we’ll stop for a few days for repairs that didn’t get done before we headed south. Then it’s on to Miami to pick up family next week for the Christmas Holidays.
What great adventures you are having,! We miss you but sure enjoy the blog!