Week 24 Blackfin Marina to Ft. Lauderdale Cooley Landing Marina

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Sunday, April 2, 2023 ~ Palm Sunday
Last night at Blackfin Marina Marathon FL

It's bittersweet saying goodbye to the wonderful people and friends we've made here. It is a real community with lots of history for many that return year after year. On this last night, we celebrated Linda's birthday from boat named New Horizons. We enjoyed a fish boil hosted by the resort managers Ruthie and Chris. There were toasts and tears and tiny beers.




Monday, April 3, 2023
Beautiful cruise to Tarpon Basin Key Largo

Leaving Blackfin with our friends on their boat "Shoreline Traveler" and saying goodbye. We had an easy cruising day to a quiet anchorage in Key Largo. Renee and Pierre dropped their dinghy and motored over for a glass of wine and a bit of planning for tomorrow's cruise.



Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Key Largo to Oleta State Park

We were watching the weather closely as our plan is to cross Biscayne Bay today.  This body of water is exposed to the Atlantic without any barrier islands and can be very rough.  The seas were at 2' but the difficulty was the East wind which hit us on the starboard side of the boat all day. This type of wave causes the boat to rock side to side and is a challenge to stay on course. We do not have autopilot so Scott is on all day steering the boat and following the 'magenta' line on Navionics. In the end, the Miami skyline will never disappoint! Our anchorage was very busy with all sizes of boats dropping anchor for a couple of hours.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Oleta to Ft. Lauderdale Cooley City Marina

Beautiful cruise today and a crazy trip up the New River in the heart of Ft. Lauderdale. This river is more like a canal flanked by riverwalks, high-rise condos, and Mega Yachts entering and leaving. We secured our slip at Cooley Landing and were pleasantly surprised to learn that we were within walking distance of all kinds of restaurants and the Ft. Lauderdale Performing Arts Complex. Today is my birthday and Scott made reservations at River Tale. More amazing seafood and a beautiful evening!

Thursday, April 6, 2023
Cooley Landing Marina - Night at the Theatre

We also bought tickets to the current production of  "To Kill A Mockingbird", starring Richard Thomas.  I had just finished reading The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee so the timing was perfect.  It was an amazing production and a beautiful evening.

Friday, April 7, 2023

After cleaning the boat we took a long bike ride along the riverwalk to the Java Bean and then to the Broward City Library.  Scott always likes to seek out the local libraries and the Broward Library was beautiful.  





Saturday, April 8, 2023

Took our dinghy for a long ride up the river dodging big boats, small boats, and tow boats. Some of the yachts here are so large they are towed out to the ICW. This shot is from Pinterest and is an overhead shot of the Ft. Lauderdale Marine Center boatyard. We felt like a gnat in our little dinghy and got quite a few smiles as we maneuvered around these mega yachts.

Click on the video below and you will get a glimpse of what one of these beautiful boats look like. We took this off the cockpit of our boat!





Spending time cruising in our Rosborough 246 on America's Great Loop.

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