Navigating the New River in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Another helpful, informative post CapLady! I have edited it slightly for legibility.

EXCELLENT post! I am a yacht broker and have transited the New River on many occasions, always with a professional Captain at the helm. I try to pay attention to what goes on. This is a very good narrative.

I spend 3 months or so per year in Ft Lauderdale and hope to have a boat of my own here sometime soon. I look forward to familiarizing myself with running the river.

Thanks for this info.

Jungle Queen

Nicely done CapLady!

One thing I might add is to always listen to where the Jungle Queen is on the river. They have some very brave and qualified Captains but she is pretty flat on the bottom and tends to slide around the turns. Always give her a wide berth and especially at turns. They update their position regularly.

With all of the recreational traffic on the river, I must say that Captaining the Jungle Queen is one job I would not be interested in. My admiration goes out to those great Captains who run her. I've seen recreational boaters do some pretty crazy things around her.

ROCKY

Great post! you mentioned "The Girls School". When I first lived on a big Trumpy on the new River in the early 1970's there was a "finishing" secreterial school on the river. I believed it closed sometime in the mid 1980s and is now a private home. However all the regulars on the river mention when they are near "The Girls School" making it very tough for those travelling the river to know what they are talking about. As you head up river, after passing by Tarpon Bend there is a fairly straight stretch of river. "The Girls School" is located on the north side just after an open public area thet is a water taxi stop. It is a yellow two story house built in the 30's. Often there is a blue hulled express style boat, maybe 45 feet, tied up at a dock at the house, "SEA PORSCHE" might be the name of it.

Very good information. I really wish they put the New River bridges on another VHF channel like Channel 13. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the radio traffic on a weekend when everyone else is calling other bridges on the ICW.

Good point..

Perhaps another 30 years and a few more accidents will fix that...

Caplady: Excellent RiverGuide you put together.

I live on the Citrus Isles up the River and have done more than 100 river-runs and learn something every day, including reading your stuff right here.

If I was to add anything to your excellent post it would be about going down-hill in a single screw vessel with no bow thruster:

A natural current from the swamps adds to the tidal current and down the river with a following current can be quite interesting if the bridges don't open when you approach..Then traffic behind you starts piling up and being single screw you have a hard time maneuver with bursts of power and full rudder...Pushing you faster and faster to the bridge that won't open...

Unless you are Chuck Yeager, the only choice is to turn 180 degrees into the current while waiting for some numb-nut on a bicycle doing a slow sight-seeing across the bridge to clear so the operator can push the UP-button.

Then as the bridge opens you have to make room and turn 180 degrees again without hitting the Sea-Rays and mega yachts piling up on top of you...

Based on the above, I never go down the river with the current anymore: Been there, done that and survived numerous times, but from now on, incoming tide only, and 0600 or dark-of-thirty when the traffic is non-existent.

That being said, the railroad bridge is always the wild card and can stay down for 2 hours if broken or if being "tested" or whatever.

The New River can be a pain in the arse, but it can also be a beatiful journey..Depends on the current, and the number of engines and bow-thrusters you have..

As somebody else said above:

My hat of to the Jungle Queen drivers..Either they are the ultimate operators, or they are smoking some strong stuff, and I want to try it too...

It should also be mentioned that the New River bridges are "locked down" to all but commercial river traffic during rush hour. It's been a while since I was a regular on the river so I can't recall the exact hours.

Great info on navigating the river, I will have customers use this as a guide as they enter our docks downtown. The only thing is, unfortunately, the New River is not considered a western river in the rules of navigation, although many captains do follow the practice of giving way to others going with the current out of courtesy. I agree that more people need to monitor the radio and practice giving security calls.

For those that need to lift the bridges, it is a great help knowing when to call to avoid waiting for an opening. As you are inbound and approach SE 3rd Ave, make your request once you can see "Lady Lucille", which she is on the starboard side of the river in pic 2 and they will usually have the bridge up by the time you get there. The downtown tenders are on the ball and once you clear 3rd Ave, Andrews will be awaiting your call and you can call 7th Ave at the Performing Arts center just past the train bridge. CapLady did a great job on explaining the landmarks and locations to make security calls, you must have traveled the river a lot.

Your welcome and I enjoyed having lunch with you a few years ago...

Lets do it again.I am buying now that I have a job..


(Guys: This is a very experienced and very charming and pleasant Lady, but don't cross her bow on purpose. )

Going down the River this coming Saturday @ 0900, you working then?

Wave at the boat in my Avatar: Single screw sailboat named "Rhapsody".

Headed over to the Exumas, too far for stink-potters of course...

Great guide for those that do not transit the new river often. I'd remind everyone of rule 9(b) that vessels over 20 meters have right of way over vessels less than 20 meters in a narrow channel or fairway regardless of water flow direction, if you interpret the rule as most do. A 40 footer single screw would not have right of way over a 68 footer even if the 68 footer was headed up current. Communication is key.

Aye, but in general, Joe Sea-Ray does not go far beyond Bimini with his loud music.

(Although it has been quiet lately, Bimini is dead as per the other thread)

Aye, free lunch, anytime...Will fix ya up..You name the place and time..

Change in plans, going down the river 0730 now..Need that incoming current and read the time table wrong the other day. Also, less traffic at O-dark 30..

Aye, me too..
Would be in them islands all the time if it was not for the pesky thing called work.

That being said, my sailboat is paid for..So is all the gear and the booze.

In theory, I could sell the house and car and go for a loooong time sailing into the sunset.

In reality wifey says no...

Back mid June..See you then...

That was great! Thank You....

Well done, one little addition, if you are running with the current in the section inbound from Davie Blvd Bridge through "the wiggles"before Summerfield's (or where Summerfield's was), it pays to be early into the turns and ready to put on some throttle because you can tend to get pushed to the outside, especially on the spring tides. Out bound can give you even stronger currents as mentioned. Everybody dreads Little Florida with a big boat, but it's "the wiggles" I find that can put you into a real bind quickly.

Always fun, which one? I used to run Anticipation IV & V.