After sailing to Ft. Lauderdale on a leaky boat – we had safely made it to our anchorage in Lake Sylvia, near the Port Everglades inlet. The magic kick-butt pump pushed out the incoming water, before you had time to notice the water level in the engine compartment was rising. We now had to wait on anchor for 2 days – as Cat Maudy is scheduled to be hauled outta the water on the following Monday. Whew. All is good. Time to let down our guard.

Anchoring in Lake Sylvia is nearly the same as rafting up with some other boater you have never met before. The notion of having plenty of room to swing around your anchor safely without colliding into another boater is gone. The currents are tricky, and anchoring is not for the novice. We’ve had plenty of experience dragging anchor.

We anchored Friday afternoon, and after 24 hours of changing direction due to tides, and looking at neighboring boats in very close proximity – we felt pretty secure. So, when a mega power yacht dropped anchor 20 feet from us (far too close) – we stopped expressing concern. Everyone seems to anchor too close here – so just go with it. It’s a friendly Florida thing.

Thirty minutes later, while eating popcorn for dinner – a huge THUD shakes our boat. I run out to the foredeck – and sure enough, the mega yacht dragged anchor – right into the bow of Cat Maudy. Paddy and I made a noisy fuss trying to get the boaters attention. The captain and crew were below deck, and hadn’t noticed they had dragged anchor – or the collision with Cat Maudy. Cat Maudy and the mega yacht were now “one”.

Finally we got their attention. The captain of the mega yacht informed us how tricky it is to anchor in Lake Sylvia – since WE are new to the area. hmmmm. Let’s see. Dude…YOU dragged anchor into OUR boat”.

Welcome to Ft. Lauderdale!