Fort Lauderdale Las Olas Anchorage to Fort Lauderdale Municipal Moorings
Once again,
the sun was shining bright when we emerged from our cabin. A couple of the
boats anchored with us were gone when we looked around in the morning. They
most likely were well on their way to the Bahamas. Our phone rang at 0830. It was Frank and
Carol calling to let us know they were on their way with an expected arrival
time of shortly before noon. It was agreed that we would take moorings at the
municipal mooring field just south of the Las Olas Bridge. If the weather
forecast held, we would be off to the Bahamas before daybreak.
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| Bahi Mar Marina Opposite the Fort Lauderdale Municipal Mooring Field |
The mooring
balls are first come-first served and are open for new arrivals at noon. We
weighed anchor in time to make the 11:15 Las Olas Bridge opening so we could
take on fuel and water at the Lauderdale Marina and return to the mooring field
by noon. We heard Hakuna Matata on
the radio requesting to pass through the Las Olas Bridge while we were waiting
for the bridge to open. They came through right behind us and headed directly
for the mooring field while we went on to refuel. We joined them at about noon
and thought we would have a leisurely afternoon together.
Sometimes
things don’t always go as planned. As soon as we were moored, we called Frank
and Carol to invite them over for lunch. Instead, we learned Carol had cut her
hand while trying to tie off to the mooring ball and she needed to get stitches
to close the wounds. We quickly ate sandwiches before Carol and Carla headed
off to the Acute Care Center for treatment. Frank and Dwayne remained behind to
make final preparations for our going offshore in a few hours. Their biggest
task was securing the dinghy on Hakuna
Matata.
Carol was in
the Acute Care Center for several hours waiting for her stiches. Carla went
grocery shopping in the meantime. Frank and Dwayne secured the dinghy and took
Molly, the dog, for a walk to relieve herself on land. Carla returned with the
shopping done about an hour before sunset. Dwayne picked her up in Foreign Affair’s dinghy. The food was
unloaded and soon Carol was on shore ready to be ferried over to Hakuna Matata. Dwayne and Carla headed
across the river to pick her up and she soon was back aboard her boat with
Frank and Molly.
Dwayne and
Carla removed the outboard from Foreign
Affair’s dinghy and mounted it on its place on the stern rail. Soon the
dinghy was hoisted and secured. We were tired and went to bed early since we
had to be up at 2:15 AM in order to slip off our moorings in time to make the 3:00
AM opening of the 17th Street Bridge. We needed to be clear of Port
Everglades by 3:30 to arrive in West End before the wind shifted to the north
which would increase the wave height and make for an uncomfortable ride. We
also wanted to avoid the cruise ships returning to port in the early morning.
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