Yesterday, we sprang ourselves out of the boatyard and made our way to the anchorage in South Lake in Hollywood, Florida. A world of palm trees, speedboats, and high-rise condos. The only white part of Christmas here is the sand on the beach!

We are probably here for two weeks or so while we clean the last of the accumulated boatyard dirt off the boat and finish off the last few things on our list. It is a convenient location with access to groceries and land-based stuff. The boat seems to be in good shape, as do we, and all are ready for further adventures.

Once done here, we will head off to the Bahamas for our slow and relaxing trip down the islands. We do not have our stops planned out ahead of time but ultimately will be landing in Martinique about April 1.

Our stay at the yard was efficient and uneventful. Playboy Marine has been a fixture in Dania Beach for many years and is one of the last of the yards that allow you to work on your own boat. Small and smoothly run, we were happy with our stay there. One of the few downsides is that the yard is right at the end of Runway 10R for the busy Fort Lauderdale Airport. The noise of departing jets is constant, as is the rain of dust from burning jet fuel added to the normal boatyard gunk.

The South Lake anchorage has changed quite a bit for the better in the last year or so. It had been slowly accumulating boats that were either derelict or close to it and was becoming clogged by boats with owners who could not afford to keep them in a marina, so used the lake as free storage for their poorly maintained boats. Florida has been slowly working through decades of neglected and abandoned boats in an effort to clean up the waterways. Overall, the program seems to be a benefit, at least here in Broward County. This afternoon, the Hollywood police boat cruised through the anchorage, touching base with the boats who arrived today, and—I assume—noting who was here and starting the clock on the 45-day limit for a stay.