Delray Beach Cruise

The view from the pilot house of the Lady Atlantic high above the Intracoastal Waterway as Captain Joe Reardon plots his course. Last week, I was lucky enough to be invited aboard this huge sightseeing vessel. Departing at 1:30p.m. every day except Monday ,The Lady Atlantic sails south from Delray Beach to Boca Raton and back to Delray.

As Captain Joe Reardon uses his bow-thrusters to shimmy us away from the Veterans Park docks, I noticed that the Atlantic Avenue drawbridge was approaching quickly. But, Captain Reardon is no novice skipper, he has the whole trip timed out and before I could say, "Stern-Thrusters" Captain Reardon was thanking the bridge tender for their scheduled bridge opening. We passed through two more of these perfectly timed occurrences, once at the Linton Boulevard Bridge, and once at the Spanish River Boulevard Bridge.

Along the way Captain Reardon pointed out the Delray Yacht Club, Delray Harbor Club, both valuable real estate, and maybe the most desired public marina in America: The City of Delray Beach Marina, where the waiting list to obtain a spot has reached seven years. Captain Reardon has a distinct New England accent. With a smile in his voice, Captain Reardon, a former Boston Red Sox season ticket holder, points out Bermuda West located on the ocean side of the Intracostal and current home to the former Red Sox slugger Carl Yastrzemski who played two decades from the 1960's to 1980's and is considered one of the 100 greatest baseball players of all-time.

Soon after we passed Yaz's place, Captain Reardon told us the exact area where the epicenter of 2005's Hurricane Wilma hit. Wilma killed 20, and caused over $60 Billion in damage. The storm also produced severe damage along the rich Intracoastal areas of Delray Beach and Boca Raton. As a guest of the Captain, I felt absolutely distinguished to be aboard his vessel sightseeing through paradise with a flawless, narrated history tour.

As we idled toward Highland Beach Captain Reardon told us that until recently Nascar superstar driver, Jeff Gordon, and his former wife shared a $20 million dollar home in the area. We saw mansions built by luggage tycoons, and the CEO of Office Depot, and compounds constructed by those individuals less famous but just as heavy in yearly earnings. If your lucky enough to be on the water in the area of Boca Raton, Delray Beach, or Highland Beach, the price tag on your home is in the average range of $3 million and up.

Then, as things slowed down a bit we cruised into Boca Raton...

Check back tomorrow evening for more on Delray Beach Cruises by Florida Yacht Cruises.