12/15/02 – 2/24/03
Finally got to Delray Beach on December 15. We traveled outside in the ocean as much as possible to make better time, but came inside at Hillsboro Inlet in Deerfield Beach. The no wake areas and, especially, the many bridges make this part of the ICW a long, slow trip. Many of the bridges are too low for our boat to pass under, so we had to wait for scheduled openings, sometimes as long as a half hour. Again, we arrived after dark, docking at the Delray Beach Yacht Club. The next day we moved across the ICW to the municipal marina where we stayed until February 24. We had a great spot right on the ICW, one block to Atlantic Avenue, the main street in town with all the shops and restaurants and three blocks to the beach. It’s a very active town, the only real downtown between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The street always seems to be full of people, with an active nightlife and many daytime shoppers. We also had a beautiful sunrise off our aft deck every morning. First Mate loved spending Superbowl Sunday afternoon at the beach after all those years shivering up north on that day. Sheila & David, a British couple, were our liveaboard neighbors while in this slip. They’ve lived there for twelve years in a Carver like ours, HALCYON GAMBLER III. They, too, like most boaters, have a story to tell about the name of their boat. Very friendly and helpful like so many people we’ve met.