Ride up from Miami to Fort Lauderdale

Miami to Fort Lauderdale - February 27, 2013

Ride up from Miami - out in the ocean - was uneventful except swells. Then when approaching Fort Lauderdale the rain began so that as we entered it was pouring. Pouring! 

Encountered a huge (I mean huge) power cruiser astride the channel at one point, blocking the whole channel - and it is 200' wide at that point. Took a while to figure out what they were doing and when they were going to do it. Current was against us. 

Then confusion of where our slip in the Las Olas Marina was. Dockmaster mistook us for our buddy boat which is 40 ft long. I asked specifically the location of our dock and slip. So we get there and a boat is where I think we are assigned. Back out as current is grabbing the boat. Back into the channel. Another conversation. Clarify where we are to go. Oh, not the floating dock but the high fixed dock on the opposite side of the fairway. Will someone help with the lines? NO. It is raining outside. Don't have any rain gear. (?? Really - you work at a marina and no rain gear?) But he does come out and handles lines for us. Really needed his help. We are about 4-5 feet below the fixed dock surface. We climb out of the boat with no ladder at low tide [almost broke out the Bosun's Chair for disumbarking. High tide is a little better. A little better than being at a mooring ball. 

Then helped our buddy boat, Utopia, come in. Used very extended boat hooks to direct [push, pull] them into their slip. 

Cocktails on board later. Too tired to eat out. Dinner on board and early to sleep.

Weather looks like cold [60s] and rainy for the next few days. Well, we are docked, warm, dry, and well fed.