Great Loop Blog | Good News

Day #179 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Glad to report that the inverter is installed.  Even Andy, the consummate handy man, worked all day on it.  It was an exhausting job, heavy and cramped quarters.  As usual, never a complaint and job completed and well done.  He is currently off to CVS in search of ace bandages for my hand and ankle as well as last minute supplies.

Yesterday we moved from Cooley’s Landing Marina to New River Marina.  They are both City of Ft. Lauderdale marinas, just a short distance from each other.  At Cooley’s the slip we were in was literally right next to a draw bridge and VERY noisy.  One night was plenty so after Andy worked all day on the inverter installation we moved the boat.  We are now closer to the ICW in preparation for our departure tomorrow to the Bahamas.  It is much quieter here, more scenic and we are really glad we made the change.

View from our boat at the New River Marina

The plan is to leave Ft. Lauderdale at 6:00 am tomorrow for the crossing.  It should take us 8-10 hours depending on weather.  We will stay the first night at Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina.  www.oldbahamabay.com 

After that, we work our way around to Marsh Harbour where we will be staying for the month of February if everything goes as planned.  http://www.abacobeachresort.com  We have been advised to turn our cell phones off and not turn them on again until we get back in to the United States.  We would be charged international rates for all voice mails, emails, etc.  One boater reported that his bill the first month was $400 and he never even used his phone.  We will check email as regularly as possible, so keep those emails coming.