Port of Palm Beach

The marina where we are weather-trapped is next door to the Port of Palm Beach. Big cargo ships load and unload day and night. We can, once in a while, hear the trains leaving and if a pleasure boat gets too close to a cargo ship the harbor pilot boat or Coast Guard will blow a combo horn and siren so loud you can almost feel it. I watched a large catamaran pirouette in mid channel and beat a hasty retreat with a heavy steel pilot boat bearing down on it. The pilot boats are berthed in our marina so we have advance notice of a cargo ship coming in when the pilot boat goes out.

There is a constant on both coasts of Florida. Derelict boats are everywhere. Property owners complain to their city, then laws are passed that hurt liveaboards. The boat bums leave the boat abandoned and it sinks creating a very expensive mess for the local government. The State government passed a law that boats could anchor at least 48 hours with some local restrictions allowed. Just north of our marina is a small anchorage with 2 boats blown ashore and 2 sunk boats just barely showing. In the picture below a bum boat is tied to a sunk boat - very convenient!

The wind is relentless and it now looks like we will remain hunkered down 2 or 3 more days enjoying the delights of marina life.