Riviera Beach at Lake Worth Inlet - at a dock

 

We are getting into big time pelican country

There was no future in waiting for the Donald Ross bridge to be repaired. The delays were endless so we decided to go out St Lucie Inlet and back in using the Lake Worth Inlet at Riviera Beach. Our starting point was the Jensen Beach mooring field which was only five miles or so from St Lucie. 

Sort of a nice sunset

As I approached the inlet, I was overtaken by a fishing boat, the kind with a dozen fishermen on each railing with poles. The captain was obviously very familiar with the inlet and probably went out at least twice a day so I followed him as he headed east. I noticed that he took several very wide turns so I took them too. The least I saw was 11.4 MLLW and I constructed a GPX route that followed my track (which followed HIS track). So anyone wishing to exit via the St Lucie Inlet has access to the deepest route courtesy of a local fishing boat.

Getting a dock this time of the year is a challenge. We found one at Riviera Beach but only after calling every marina there. On the next day, we had wanted to get to Ft Lauderdale but after calling every marina in town, we found no slips available - and these are not cheap slips! Boaters remain undeterred by the slowing economy, high prices for diesel, or anything else that may try to slow them down in boating. 

Starting at Ft Lauderdale and calling marinas going north, we finally found one dock open at Delray Beach which we grabbed immediately. From there, we plan on arriving at Ft Lauderdale early in the day in the hopes of getting a mooring at Las Olas for a couple of days. Time to relax.