And now it's getting Ancient. . .

 That's correct we are still in the United States. Fort Lauderdale Florida to be more precise. We are kicking ourselves for not crossing last Wednesday when it was forecast to be 2-3 at 9 seconds. Oh well. We have been in water like that several times before and we could have handled it. For example every time we crossed Lake Ontario from Oswego to the St. Lawrence Seaway and back we had similar forecasts. I believe the last Ontario crossing was worse and we altered course to mitigate the slamming. The determining factor this time was that it will take us all day to cross the stream vs. 4 or 5 hours to cross Ontario. But it is what it is, and here we are still. Adding to all of this gloom, today we heard that a well known expert with regard to weather associated with boating, has come out and said we should all forget about crossing to the Bahamas until after the holidays. So perhaps we will stay Stateside even longer than we thought was a worst case scenario.

  Fortunately at the Fort Lauderdale City Marinas, we have access to shopping, dining, and a rental car if we have need. In spite of all of these conveniences and most importantly, we got a close look at Theodore The Tug. It was only fitting to walk around and get close because he had been staring at us for a few days "weirding us out". He seemed easy going enough and had plenty of Santa's helpers aboard dressed in miniskirt elf outfits so perhaps he's not so bad after all. Maybe that's why he has that grin on his face all the time. And that defines the environment here on the New River this past weekend.
It was holiday season parade time again and we had to move in support of that effort since the Downtown marina was the kick off point for the boat parade that spans two days. Once the parade finished on Saturday night it continued on Sunday to wind up in Pompano Beach. The logistics of making this happen on Saturday were complex and frustrating for many boaters. Dock space on the New River is limited especially in consideration of how large some of the participating boats are.  Not only that but navigating the river during this time is a bit more stressful at best. In support of the notion the authorities were quite busy at the 7th Avenue bridge here when the river was locked down at 2:30 P.M.. This led to a confrontation between the authorities and several boats that did not want to be held up. They wanted to either participate in the parade, which required registration, or get to a good anchorage where they could review it. Since the closure of the river occurred at the 7th Avenue bridge and it is right off our port side we were "offered" a commanding view of the whole affair.

 One boat had a gang of folks on it and they missed the 2:30 deadline by a couple of minutes. My heart when out to them but what are you going to do? Another boat was also caught upstream of the bridge as a matter of happenstance. They also had a number of folks aboard but their intentions were merely to return home. What were they supposed to do? It did not matter what kind of boat you had. It could have been a dink. Some were. The CG was not going to let you under the bridge. The regulations were well published on the web and the notice to mariners probably had this event documented as well since the Coast Guard had a pronounced attendance in the form of boats and a helicopter. Loud speaker announcements were made threatening citations. People held their ground. More boats arrived adding to the confusion. Occupy New River was taking shape. Game on!
 We were not happy about this because our bow pulpit had been the subject of abuse by another boat last month and things were getting very crowded in tight spaces. Let's face it when the tide is shifting on the New River it's not going to be a pleasant boating experience if everyone around you has issues controlling their boat. Fortunately more law enforcement showed up making the point clear to the hold outs and they all eventually left the area one at a time for points up stream. Fortunately for the folks on the boat trying to get home, they were able to arrange a tow through the area and get where they had to be. They did not need a tow, and I am certain it cost them, but they were able to get home. Not exactly a great way to finish a day on the water. Occupy New River broke up after about an hour and a half. Here's hoping other venues are as fortunate with short lived demonstrations.
 Regardless of all the posturing, stress and difficulties it was evident many people had a pleasant evening. Reviewing the above photos will illustrate that well given the crowds lining the waterway at dining tables and chairs. Looking up we saw many condo balconies loaded with people reviewing the event.
 All in all, it was a good time to be on the New River.