2012 - October - Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show

 

10/21 We skipped going to Rowland & Mary Martin’s restaurant/bar in Clewiston which means we didn’t get to have one of their great cheese burgers - Buggar! But we were a bit short of time. We anchored in the lake. We got the word about Hurricane Sandy heading towards the east coast of FL. She was slamming Jamaica then on to East Cuba but too early to know where she’d hit in the USA. (I feel like Jim Cantore, storms hit where ever he is - last year we were in Nassau for  Irene, this year in the Keys for Isaac & now Lauderdale for Sandy)The boat show started on the 25^th to the 29^th. Goal was to dock safely at Cooley’s Landing on the New River before it really started to blow. We had stiff winds all the way across the waterway & now the lake had 3 footers. It took us 3 hours to cross the lake to the Mayaca Lock. We got to Stewart about 5:30, got fuel then anchored by Hog Island at 7pm. Unfortunately, it was way too rough to cruise on the outside so we suffered going south on the ICW. 69 miles with 29 bridges from Hobe sound to the Los Olas bridge - we have to wait for all but


Boynton Beach Bridge - prettiest one on the ICW

4 to open for us. Some open on the hour & half hour, some open on the quarter hour…What a nightmare. Miles & miles of majestic & outlandish mansions - Where the hell did all this money come from ??? We docked at Cooley’s  
on the 24^th on an ebb tide & no wind.We fed the girls, changed clothes & headed to the Briny for happy hour & appetizers. My 'surrogate ' son, Richard, was trying to get us VIP tickets to the show but Sandy stood in his way. He was off to the Bahamas to secure boats that he takes care of. He was stuck in Nassau with no planes out. With a list of things we wanted to see or learn about, we went to

 

the show on Friday & Saturday. (this is what Wayne learned about) Exhausting for me!! It was overcast, rainy & windy…the wind took a portion of a few tents down. They were still sucking water out of the carpets when we arrived. I

 

 left Wayne to wander & ponder & I went to the beach. Heaven for a surfers…sand was everywhere covering some small boats, the parking area & roads. The tides were super high due to the storm surge & a full moon. It got cooler the last 3 days of October (60’s 70’s) requiring 


When high tide, all docks flooded @ Cooley's

blanket at night. As you know, Sandy made landfall on the 29^th devestating much of NJ/NY etc...