Moving on up !

After some more dancing and playtime in the BVI, it was time to move on out of the Caribbean. Because of the summer hurricane season here we have decided to sail EcstaSea up to the east coast of the US and leave her in Charleston for the summer. Our seasons will now be reversed with us on the boat in the winter and in Tucson in the summer. And because of that we are somewhat confused and are not sure what time of year it is….

It was a six day sail north up past the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas. We took the inside passage up the Bahama Channel hoping to have calmer seas. The first 3 days were challenging once again with the second 3 days calm and serene. It seems to us that on the sea, it is either the worst or the best of times and we are always thankful that Yemaya gives us the best at the end to entice us to keep coming back.
EcstaSea has not seen American waters since we bought her and took her to the Med in 2008. And it feels quite odd and different for us to be back too. In fact, we had forgotten about the strict US security. So we were taken by surprise when just off the coast of Florida at daybreak a helicopter and a very fast power boat stopped,boarded, and searched us. It was the US Customs and Border Patrol with very big guns. Okay….here we are in the good ole US of A.

The coastline of Europe never looked like this coast of Miami, Florida...

We landed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for a few days to rest up. The marinas in Ft Lauderdale are inland and up a river lined with big expensive mansions. It was all new to us and quite the sensory overload at first after being on the open seas for so long.

The inland marina actually turned out to be just a tie up along the bank of the river right in the downtown area.

It was quite a busy waterway and once we go used to the hustle and bustle of it all, it became great entertainment for us. All day long and especially in the early evening, everyone in their boats cruised along the river just for the fun of it. We sat in our cockpit and watched the parade with our happy hour drinks.
Water taxis all day long...

Gondolas aren't only in Venice….

And we even saw Jerry Garcia walking his little chihuahua along the river walk. So FYI, Jerry is not dead after all….

Cruising (crackers) ….

And this warning sign for the Manatees posted on the bridge in front of Esea….

And of course, great walks to the Starbucks for our much missed great Sumatra coffee….

We ended up being thankful for so much to do in Ft Lauderdale as we got pinned down here for a week due to bad weather out on the open sea. It also gave us time for the re-entry period that we always need when we come back to the States. But finally after much rest and entertainment it, was time to move on up to Charleston, South Carolina.