On "New River", this is our Great Escape at the time of purchase. It's at the previous owners dock behind his house in Ft. Lauderdale Fla. She was called IIK's and we changed the name to Great Escape on way home to St. Louis Mo.
"New River" is beautiful and this was our view, from the cockpit, during morning coffee during our short stay there.
Across the channel there was a huge Sea Ray
As we left the dock the scenic vistas unrolled before us, one after another. This was my first time to run our new boat on my own.
Heading down New River toward downtown Ft. Lauderdale, passing huge MEGA YACHTS was a little nerve-racking at first! Some were over 120 ft. long. Some needed two push boats to help make the turn by our dock on New River
Our first bridge was easy as we just followed the "JUNGLE QUEEN".
Slowly the surroundings changed from tropical residential to tropical Metro as we neared down town.
The Jungle Queen sailed past us twice a day when we were moored at the dock. The captain would be telling the tourists about the area on a loud speaker on the boat. I told JoAnn that those people think we're "rich people" He He He... Little did they know we were only staying for free at that dock in paradise.
JoAnn and daughter Robin on top deck getting excited over our nearing the tourist areas of Ft. L. and the beaches.
Manatees are gentle giants related to elephants way back in time. They are vegans and move very slowly.
Like your pet dog they actually have come to our boat when our friend Chet Suske whistled to them. 
Slow and bulky these guys are subject to much danger from boats. 
They love fresh water and will seek out opertunities to get it like this hose left running, but letting them drink from your hose further erases their fear of humans,.jpg)
Scars from propeller dammage are seen frequently.
These pictures are a compilation of shots taken by us, by friends Tom and Lisa Stiefavter, cruising with us and by visiting friend Chet Suske, while docked at Captiva Island's South Seas Yacht Basin . Also some of the pics are from Mike and Judy's blog on "One September"
The Blog "One September" can be accessed by clicking on our profile and then clicking on "One September" listed under the blogs we follow. They are doing the Loop in an awesome boat and take many beautiful pictures.
When cruisung in warm waters always obey the Manatee warning signs as these guys aren"t expected to survive in the long term.
