New Year's at Lake Worth, FL

Remember the post when I said good things about bridges across the ICW. I noted that they all seemed to being replaced rapidly by standard 65 foot clearance spans, and I worried what would happen to all of the nice bridge tenders. I need not have worried. They will all move to south Florida and help man the vast number of bridges there.

White Pepper planned to leave Vero Beach for Fort Lauderdale. We left on 12-30-11 and passed the Fort Pierce bridge without incident. Just past the bridge to the south and before the inlet was the Fort Pierce Marina, the scene of eventful changes to White Pepper 2 and 1/2 years ago. We waved silently to our friend Babette who still lives aboard in the marina. We motored down to Hobe Sound and found a peaceful anchorage for the night. One of the pics is of our friends on Scrimshaw about to go through on of the many draw bridges we past during that day.

However, the next day, New Year's Eve, brought 3 bridges within the first 6 statue miles. The chart showed 29 more bridges within the next 40 statue miles. Jan and I had had enough and we peeled off to the south anchorage of Lake Worth. Most non-sailors call this place Palm Beach, and indeed we were within several hundred yards of Palm Beach. Jan was tickled that the local grocery store, Publix, featured valet parking. We put the anchor down opposite the famed Ribovich Yard. That marina was full of mega yachts of which two were shrink wrapped presumably for shipping. The long distance pic just does not do the sight justice. That night the Flagler museum put on a spectacular fireworks display to welcome 2011. Jan and I reminisced about watching another great fireworks over Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas with Philip 3 years ago.

Although foiled in our original plan to get as far south as Ft. Lauderdale before jumping off to Port Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas, the weather dealt us a favorable hand. Today high pressure will drift over the Florida Straights making for light and variable winds tonight and a light following west wind Wed. morning. Lake Worth has the best inlet on the Florida coast and slack water is at 4 pm. I am hoping for a motor ride tonight across the Gulf Stream and then a dawn spinnaker run up the Northwest Channel to Port Lucaya. With luck and God's will the next post will be from the Bahamas.