West Palm Beach to Fort Pierce

It was another wonderful day on the waterway.  Again, the temperatures were in the mid-70s with sunshine and slight breeze.  We left beautiful West Palm Beach in time to make the 0915 opening of the Flagler Bridge.  The tide was with us most of the day and we cruised along at close to 7 knots which helped us hit the bridge openings in stride and allowed us to travel an extra 10 miles beyond our originally planned anchorage.  We made it all the way to Fort Pierce and anchored just south of the bridges along with a half dozen other cruisers heading north.

Big Yachts are Common in the Palms

We are still amazed at all of the big motor yachts harboring in and around West Palm Beach.  There are huge dry docks and maintenance buildings to support the dozens of foreign vessels harbored here. You see the flags of the Cayman Islands, Marshal Islands, and of course the Bahamas.   I hope these foreign visitors are spending a lot of money in Florida during their visit.  I doubt they came here looking for better weather.  They must have had a case of Island Fever and had to find a mainland to visit to get a cure.  I think I saw John Kerry on the foredeck jacuzzi of what might have been his newest yacht.  It was docked right next to one that looked like Marco Rubio's speedboat.  Last fall, we saw Jay Rockefeller on a mega-yacht tied up at the docks of the Capital Yacht Club while we were there. Maybe it pays to run for the senate.  There isn't a presidential yacht anymore.

Rybovich Drydock