Sailing Florida – Fort Lauderdale

Have you or will you ever sail to Ft Lauderdale? This post, ‘Sailing Florida Fort Lauderdale’ offers an article and video about our trip on the ICW and up the New River. Read on to join us for the journey…

If you missed our last sailing adventure, check out  10 Reasons to Sail down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) The article lists 10 reasons why you might want to follow our footsteps or passage plan.

And in the video, Simon shows our navigation path from West Palm Beach to Lettuce Lake via the ICW. I point out president Trump’s house. We go through loads of bridges and our volunteer crew member, Andrew, does some bird watching. Sienna does here homeschooling.

Simon runs us aground four times.

Michael, our solo sailing companion on his Island Packet, Entitled, becomes our depth sounder. We look for a place to stop. It gets darker and darker and then when we do find a place to anchor our windless decides not to work.

The windless, or mechanism that drops and pulls up the anchor, is a long story. To make the long story short, we eventually discovered that our two-year-old windlass was on its last leg. It wasn’t installed properly. We managed to get it to work but a longer-term solution was required. I’ve written a separate post about the windlass upgrade. (Make sure you get my weekly newsletter so you’re notified when this article is available. Sign up here)

Moving on about our time in Fort Lauderdale…

After pulling up our anchor, Simon, Andrew, Sienna and I made our way down the ICW, and then turned right, up the New River. The New River is a tidal estuary and is connected to the Everglades through a series of man-made canals. After passing through Fort Lauderdale, the river connects to the Atlantic Ocean at Port Everglades cut.

Similar to the ICW, there were blocks of beautiful homes separated by canals.

We saw amazing properties, huge motorboats, and a variety of activities along the river.

As we continued forward, the New River became more and more narrow. The traffic seemed to increase and buildings got higher and higher. Every moment brought a new stimulus! It was fantastic.

Eventually, we found our mooring spot. Michael on Entitled visits the same mooring every year so we were lucky to get a spot in the area. Simon effortlessly docked us up against a concrete river wall with wooden pylons. We then helped Michael get his boat tied down.

My first reaction was, ‘This river is as busy as heck!’

Tourist boats, giant motor yachts, dinghies, small craft, and even a floating tiki bar passed us by. The bridges on the New River open on demand so there’s always a constant flow of traffic.

And there’s not much room when two large boats have to pass each other. There’s often lots of shouting and horns blown in addition to bridge bells and alarms. Not a moment goes by without some sort of entertainment. For Lauderdale is one heck of a place!

Within the area of our mooring, you’ll find a lovely river walk, various restaurants and bars, and several high-rise accommodations. And one street away there’s the Los Olas bars, restaurants, boutiques, and art shops. You’ll also find a Theatre in addition to a Science Museum offering Imax shows. Within a few minute’s walk, there’s a Publix supermarket. What more could you ask for?!

Mooring your boat along the New River in Fort Lauderdale is a 'must-do' for sailors. There are loads to see and do! #sailing Click To Tweet

The only thing was that it was a bit too far for walking to the beach.

But with a bicycle, the Atlantic Ocean is not far at all. So how much did all these amazing sights and sounds cost us? It was around the $100/night mark for our 56′ sailboat including electricity and water. In comparison to the Fort Lauderdale marina’s the New River location was way cheaper than the alternatives.

To get a good feel for what it’s like to be moored up along the New River, watch our Fort Lauderdale via the ICW video (click the image below). We’ll take you from Lettuce Lake to our final mooring stop. You’ll enjoy the immediate surroundings in addition to seeing some of our visitors (not all humans). Sienna will give you a glimpse into her seven-year-old world and Simon, Andrew, and friends work hard to complete a variety of boat jobs.

You can also join us on our date night (with Michael).

Sailing Florida – Fort Lauderdale Video

All Our Florida Related Articles/Videos

To get an overview of our time spent in Florida, check out Sailing Around Florida.

• Amelia Island
• St Augustine
• Cape Canaveral
• West Palm Beach
• Heading To The Bahamas

Helpful Resources for Fort Lauderdale

Any questions, comments, or thoughts?!

Please leave them below.

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THE BRITICAN EXPERIENCE - A WEEK-LONG BLUEWATER CRUISING EXPERIENCE

Julia joined us for a week with her two beautiful children. She had no set of objectives. Her aim was to get an experience. And boy did she! Never having sailed before she took to the helm on day one and never looked back. Julia experience the thrill of sailing, the peacefulness of a quiet anchor, and the deliciousness of a lobster BBQ on the beach. If you'd like to experience what it's truly like to live and cruise on a bluewater sailboat, come join us for a week. Check out our availability here: Click here for more information.