THURSDAY
We cast off from Fort Lauderdale this morning and cruised a relaxed 20 miles north to Delray Beach. Along the way we passed through a string of beautiful coastal communities—Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Hillsboro Beach, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, and Highland Beach—each with its own stretch of stunning waterfront homes and busy boat traffic.
It was definitely a “bridge day” for us, with several openings needed along the way. Thankfully every bridge tender we encountered was friendly and accommodating, which always makes the timing and pacing of the trip so much easier.
By mid-afternoon we dropped the hook in a great little anchorage just off the ICW, tucked into a circular cove that felt surprisingly private and protected. We had planned to take the dinghy out for a little exploring adventure, but Mother Nature had other ideas and sent a rain shower our way. So we scratched that plan and settled in instead.
In the end, it turned into a wonderfully quiet and peaceful evening at anchor—the kind that reminds you why nights on the water are so special. 🌅⚓️
FRIDAY
We had a leisurely start to the day since we didn’t have too far to travel. Our plan was to head up to Palm Beach, stop to visit the Flagler Museum, and then find a nice anchorage for the night. Mother Nature, however, had other plans—again!
About seven miles into our trip the rain started… and then it really started. It came down in sheets so thick we could barely see in front of us. At one point visibility was so bad we had to pull out of the channel and just sit tight until it passed. There was simply no way to see where we were going.
Eventually the downpour eased up enough for us to get moving again. It was still raining, though, so we decided to skip the museum stop and just keep cruising until we found a place to anchor for the night.
When we reached Palm Beach, I quickly realized I may have spoken too soon about Fort Lauderdale having the most mega yachts. I think the ones here might actually be bigger—and there are just as many of them, if not more. Absolutely jaw-dropping. Just wow!
We checked out a couple of anchorages along the way, but they were packed with boats, many of which looked like they’d been there for quite a while. On top of that, the wind had kicked up and there were whitecaps rolling through the area. The next spot that looked promising on the charts turned out to be just as disappointing—too deep, too crowded, and way too windy.
So… we pushed on a couple more miles with our fingers crossed for the next one.
Jackpot!
We found the perfect little spot tucked away in a quiet, much calmer bay with only four other boats. It felt like striking gold after the search. We dropped the anchor, settled in, and started opening everything up so the boat could dry out after all that rain.
While we were relaxing on the back deck, we noticed a DNR boat pull up next to one of the sailboats in the anchorage. They stayed there for quite a while before a Coast Guard boat arrived and pulled up on the other side. We never saw the owner of the sailboat, which had us a bit concerned and hoping nothing bad had happened.
Eventually the Coast Guard boarded the boat, and not long after that both boats left the anchorage together.
We never did find out what that was all about. 🤷♀️⚓️🌧️
The rest of the evening was as peaceful and serene as could be. We made shrimp tacos and enjoyed the calm.
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