Marinas between Lake Worth (Palm Beach) and Ft. Lauderdale?

[Fanfare]

Back from the Bahamas, at Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores. Have never gone inside on the ICW to Ft. Lauderdale, but considering it just for fun. I understand it is VERY SLOW due to bridges. But we have two days. Can anyone recommend a marina or place to stop about half way there? Would leave tomorrow, Monday, 4/14. Don't seem to be a whole lot of transient berths listed, so would prefer to call ahead for a reservation rather than get trapped with nowhere to go.

Thanks.

 

[magnawake]

Eewwweee the concrete jungle. We anchored at the Lake Worth bridge using Active capt as a reference. The bridges were non stop and it seemed as if we were traveling through peoples backyards. We then anchored in the University of Miami cove. I think most of the marinas down there are very expensive. I guess everyone needs to do it at least one time. Never again if I can help it. Try Active Captain to see peoples reviews.

 

[Freestyle]

You can make it from Palm Beach Shores to Fort Lauderdale in a day. It is a long day of waiting for bridges. I like houses and architecture so a trip through a bunch of back yards is fun for me.

If you are going to break it up, I would suggest the Boca Raton Club. Pricy but for one night a pretty nice experience to go to their beach club facility.

The bridge tenders on that route range from nice to outright hostile. But they do usually tell you what the schedule is for the next bridge which is helpful. It seems like most are timed for a sailboat going 6 knots to make without much delay.

Bruce
Freestyle
1986 67 CPMY
Tampa

 

[Boatsb]

And remember the local boaters are more important than you and will run you out of the channel if it suits them.

 

[bobk]

I have made this trip lots of times. You can go the whole way at 8 knots in one day IF you time the bridges. It's not a bad trip on a week day. Check Active Captain for bridge times. There was some construction as we ran the round trip from Port St Lucie last month and some openings that should have been twice an hour were changed to once an hour at an odd time, so you need to know in advance. If you want to break it into two days, the anchorage at Lake Boca is very nice, good clean sand bottom etc, and just a few minutes to your first bridge as you continue south. If you have not been up the New River, I'd recommend a day or two at the City Docks. Very reasonable with BoatUS.

Send me your email address and I can send you my copy of the bridges that are less than 23' clearance. It covers the entire AICW and was up to date in Feb 2014.

BTW, watch the wake limits posted along the way.

Bobk

 

[Dan Mapes]

On 11/17/2010 it took us 9:16:27 to do the 51.1 statute miles between the North Palm Beach marina to the Las Olas dock (City Marina under the bridge, not the best). We have never stopped along the way. We have gone up the New River as opposed to stopping at Las Olas which adds to the time.
Maybe if you look on Active Captain you might find a spot you like, we never did because we were on the move.

The New River is an interesting and fun ride. Especially if you happen to go up when someone else is coming down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6rpvuMF47A&list=UUE_z_zqwCICltE1vF-KsWEA

 

[GJH]

It's definitely worth doing once. But do not do it on the weekend!! Bridge schedules are on cruisers net by mile marker. ; I used the Waterway Guide. Mind any rush hour restrictions. It is a one day adventure. I merely set my speed between bridges to match the times between openings to avoid standing off, helped a little by making each a waypoint.

http://cruisersnet.net/category/bridges-eastern-florida/page/3/

 

[Fanfare]

Great ideas!! Thanks guys. I'll give it a try in the morning. But keep those cards and letters coming.....

 

[pizzazsdaddy]

Yea...if you're at Palm Beach Shores now, it's only a 6-7 hour run to Lauderdale inside including bridges. The only Marinas are Murelles in Lantana. $1ft. Moorings Lantana $2ft. Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo, Boca Hotel and Club, and Sands Harbor/Pompano before you get into Lauderdale.

 

[Fanfare]

Arrived Ft. Lauderdale after a delightful voyage. Ran about 7 kts. for much of the trip, excluding the idle speed zones. Never had to wait for more than 12 minutes for a bridge opening. Ran about 18 miles from Lake Worth the first day, making the initial 9:15 opening of the Flagler Memorial Bridge, which closes entirely for rush hour traffic. This is to be replaced eventually with a newer span, but until then opens only once a hour. Was great fun looking at all the large estates of Palm Beach.

Due to Easter Break several of the marinas we called were full. Decided to stop at the Yacht Club at Delray Beach, about 3.5 hours out. Very nice staff. Club had been a victim of the recession, bankrupt. Now under recent new ownership which I hope will restore it. It's just south of the Atlantic Avenue bridge. We had fun walking along the beach, crowdwatching. Many grandparents with grandchildren. Good lunch at Luna Rosa Restaurant.

Continued on next day, six hours to FtL. Going past so many apartment houses, one realizes how Florida manages to get so many people wedged into so narrow a state! Lake Boca Raton, north end, would have been a good place to anchor. Next time!

We were fortunate to have wind from the south which made it relatively easy to hold position for the bridges. Traveling on a weekday made a great difference compared to the Saturday traffic. We had been at Sailfish Marina at Palm Beach Shores, just north of the inlet. Nice restaurant. Across from our dock there is a sandbar which disappears at high tide. On Saturday it was jammed with young picnickers, dogs and children. A hoot! A little loud music, but I knew it would be all gone when the tide came in.

The only problem on route was that several of the bridges had no names posted on them, making it difficult to know which to radio in order to request a raise. It is always a good idea to let the bridge tenders know you are nearby. On one bridge we did not need a raise, and told them so. This let them hold that raise time slot for a larger boat about five minutes behind us instead of making them wait 25 more minutes.

It was a fun trip although I was glad I had three months to sharpen my boat driving skills before trying it. Not having to hurry was the best part. Much of the time there was not another boat in sight. The few minutes we had to wait for bridges do drag, but it wasn't bad. There were a LOT of water cops out. I was glad I had my Florida boat registration stickers posted as well as my USCG Auxiliary inspection sticker for this year as I noticed they were always on my port side where these must be displayed. We did not get stopped although I was ready. Breaking our trip in two worked out very well. The six hour stretch was OK, but we got behind a 90 ft. jet drive on the way up the New River. It looked like it could go really fast, but it sure couldn't maneuver around the tight turns worth beans. Add two more hours! By then I was pretty tired, but a good "cold and frosty" soon improved my disposition. Thanks to all who helped us out with instructions.

 

[magnawake]

I wasnt aware of a second route. I thought we had to go ICW all the way South. We didnt like any of the trip. I would have much rather been off shore pulling a lure at 7 kts. and drinking a coke. I see all those houses and wonder what they do to purchase those mansions. It was good to see them one time though.