January 16

January 16. This morning before we left Peck Lake we were in for a real nature show. All night long there had been fish jumping out of the water. It was hard to imagine that there could really be that many fish there. When we started the engine to get ready to pull the anchor we realized that along the entire side of the shady side of the boat was a school of 18 inch long needle like Gars (fish). They were just holding their position in unison and hanging in the early morning shade of our boat.

The ride south today was only a 4 hour trip. There were several bridges, opulent riverfront homes and a lot of boat traffic. There was one section of 3 bridges within one mile of each other. At one of the bridges as we were waiting for it to open we realized that we could see the bottom 12 feet below us through the perfect turquoise water.

We are now in the Lake Worth anchorage. The blow we were expecting should be from the north and we are the northern most boat in the anchorage so we should be plenty protected. The weather report has changed for the better and the bad weather looks to be milder than previously reported. Better safe than sorry so we’ll still be here for 2 days or so even though the weather should be okay.

We walked close to a mile to West Marine (where else) today to see if a part we had ordered had arrived on time. It was supposed to get there on Wednesday and when we inquired where our part was they kindly pointed out that it was only Tuesday so we’ll get to make that walk again tomorrow. And to think, it was me who vetoed having a calendar on board.

Lake Worth is the first place where security can be an issue. It’s a sad slap back to the reality of today’s world. Everywhere we’ve gone we’ve been able to leave the dinghy for hours at a time with no worries about theft. The guide books all say from here through Miami you had better lock everything up or don’t be surprised if it’s gone when you get back. After the cruising Nirvana of Vero Beach this is a real smack in the face. We have a 16 foot cable with swaged ends and a couple of heavy duty locks so we can lock the dinghy when we come ashore. There are a couple of heavy chains welded in place along the water front so you have something decent to secure your dinghy and outboard to. We even have to pick the dinghy and outboard up onto the boat at night as people have had theirs stolen while they were tied to their boat overnight. If we had a calendar I’d cross off the days until we leave here. 