2026 April: Pompano Beach FL

 

2 April 2026 - Thursday
Depart: Bocca Chita anchorage, Biscayne Bay, FL 8:50
Arrive: Private Dock in Pompano Beach, FL 5:30
Distance: 48 NM
Conditions: Ocean 4' to 6' waves with winds out of the East Northeast; thunderstorms

Ev was ready to pull up anchor at 8:00, but Clark delayed for a variety of reasons then had the nerve to say, "I was waiting for you!"

As we traveled from Boca Chita towards Miami, the view was quite literally "for the birds"! I guess there was no more room on Marker 3 for the one bird who positioned himself on 2A nearby.

The weather today made it difficult to see Miami this morning as it was enshrouded in fog.

As we got closer, the view became clearer.

Miami, FL

Normally we travel on the ocean and by pass Miami bridges; however, with the weather today we stayed inside. Thus, we missed our normal view of Stiltsville!

Houses of Stiltsville in the distance

As we came into Miami, the scenery became more interesting. 

Another bird convention

As the tall buildings came into view ...

Clark pointed out one with the colors of the rainbow.

I enjoyed looking at the architecture of the buildings. 

I have seen floating billboards before, but today was a first for one with electronic displays showing a variety of ads.

The clouds rolled in and Clark said rain was coming our way. As we passed by Tequesta Point, I noticed a statue with a woman sitting below it. I looked at the rain then her sitting there, I wondered how long it would take before she got chased away. As I watched she stood up and scurried off to a dryer location.

Woman at almost water level under statue

Next, Clark spotted another building that stood out. 

Short building amongst all those skyscrapers

The clouds rolled in ...

To one side we had heavy skies and to the other we had relatively clear ones. 

Fountains in Park

Hard Rock Cafe

And then the bridges started ...

and the sites became more interesting as we passed by Port Miami / Miami Beach fire department vessels.

Miami Fire Rescur

and then passed by Virgin's location for cruises. 

Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and full of oversized boats.

The light sprinkle we had earlier turned into a torrent as we passed through here. I notice a man standing on a barge. I also noticed that he was shirtless. Then I saw that he had a shirtless friend on the barge with him. 

They must have decided they needed cover from the rain, and I saw them move the barge to be under the bridge.

A short while later I looked and they were gone. Clark said they came out from under the bridge and carried on down the waterway. Whoops! Right after that a thunderstorm came by right overhead. I only hoped they had their shirts hidden somewhere dry because they were going to need something warm to put on as the temperatures dropped significantly when the storm came in. 

After that, the weather continued to improve throughout the day as the thunderstorm as well as the cloudy skies from  earlier in the day became things of the past. Beyond the Shepard Broad Causeway bridge, we passed through Hollywood, Florida where we saw quite a few folks enjoying the bars / restaurants on the water's edge.

Shepard Broad Causeway Bridge

One of several bars on the water

Nice Mural on this building

Our journey today took us by a variety of boats including

Tikki Beach

and

Bluefoot

The "road" signs through here were plentiful and hard to all too often hard to read. Is that a Minimum Wake or a Slow Speed No Wake? Sometimes the fine print said "On Weekends and Holidays Only".  Many of the speed signs required binoculars to read the whole board.

Some signs were informational ...

Environmental Protection Area

Some gave detailed warnings ...

Caution
Seagrass Area
Shallow

and some gave no detail whatsoever. 

Danger

Entering "Port Everglades / Fort Lauderdale",  the scenery changed dramatically from large personal houses and vessels to industrial.

 Here another unusual building stood out to Clark

Port Everglades

and then another caught his eye across the way.

Nova Southeastern University
Oceanographic Center

Next, we came upon a cruise ship with a police boat guard nearby.

Disney Cruise Ship
Police boat on guard

US Coast Guard boats were positioned here as well.

USCG vessel

USCG boat

We saw a couple of huge houses that stood out even among the mansions located through here.

Corner lot on the ICW for sale

The boats, both large and small, seen through here were as interesting as the houses.

Blue Moon

Taxi

Pontoon Party boat with
Guests in the water

The obligatory Tiki Hut Boat

A large sports boat passed by us but not under its own power. It had a tow boat in front and one in the rear. I could only wonder how much that costs!

Tow in front and back 
to keep all in line

Finally, after a long day on the water, we approached the end of our journey. We had just a few more bridges before we could tie up for the night.

"Pompano Beach" mural at bridge

Weighing his choices, Clark decided that we should add some fuel to the boat. At nearly $6 a gallon for diesel, he decided to add some fuel as opposed to filling up. We took on 75 gallons with hopes that the next place we plan to get fuel will have lower prices. 

At 5:30, after almost 9 hours of travel on the ICW, we arrived at our friend's house in Pompano Beach and rafted up to his boat at the dock behind his house. As is usual when we stop here, Clark and Steve went out to Pizza Hut and brought back dinner - such a treat after a long, and sometimes tedious, trip on the water.