On the day when both Palm Beach and Miami-Dade banned recreational boating, Anthony Tores and girlfriend Shannon Giordano were testing the waters for the first time.

They were at Cooley’s Landing, one of Fort Lauderdale’s municipal marinas, where a steady stream of trailered boats left no vacant parking spaces.

The boat was a recent birthday present from Tores’s dad, who also joined the outing from the protective distance of his own craft. Excited, the couple was eager to launch their outboard on the New River for its first run.

“We want to drive the boat, see how the engine runs,” Giordano said. “We wanted to get out.”

The Avital family was also eager to venture away from their Weston home. “We just want fresh air,” said mom Rinat Avital who was with her two sons, Tal and Daniel. “We’ve been inside a long time.”

All those interviewed said they were distancing themselves from others. All appeared unlikely to wind up at a sandbar party like the one advertised in Miami-Dade over social media just days before.

That party, whose photos of dozens of fraternizing people, prompted the county to shut-down boat ramps and rafting in Miami-Dade. The outing was seen as a direct affront to the county’s policy to limit contact with no more than 10 people.

“We are in a state of emergency, and I cannot stress enough the need for personal responsibility,” said a statement put out by the office of Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Current guidelines call for gatherings to be limited to groups of 10 or fewer.”

After similar parties were observed in Lake Boca, Palm Beach followed on the heels of Miami-Dade, closing all boat ramps, marinas and storage facility’s egress and ingress.

“This order is necessary in response to people gathering in large groups on the sandbars, Intracoastal lands and waterways without observing social distancing to prevent community spread of COVID-19,” said a Palm Beach County statement on the issue.

The ban is not meant to stop people from taking out their personal watercraft docked behind their homes as long as they don’t raft together or otherwise engage in large social outings that will attract attention.

“There’s no way we could enforce that,” said Teri Barbera, spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, referring to people taking out their privately docked boats. “You can’t stop what’s going on in someone’s backyard. [All you can do is] just hope people are following CDC guidelines.”

Also unaffected are commercial marine and fishing interests.

In Broward — dubbed the “Yachting Capital of the World” — there was no ban on recreational boating as of late March as long as people respect coronavirus distance restrictions, according to Broward Mayor Dale Holness who spoke at a press conference.

Broward County did enact a law stopping non-essential businesses from operating. Excluded from the list are private and city marinas and boat launches, docking, fuel services, marine suppliers and marine stores.

Phil Decker, commodore of the Gulfstream Sailing Club based in Broward, said the virus forced him to cancel an outing with friends. “There’s no way to social distance ourselves on one boat,” he wrote in an email.

The club itself is taking “a big hit,” with its youth and small boat sailing classes, monthly meetings and happy hours now cancelled indefinitely.

Also postponed is the club’s signature annual event, the Gulfstream Sailing Regatta which had been scheduled for April 18. The club hopes it can take place later this year.

Decker said he and his fiancé are staying positive while sailing their Catalina 380.

“On the weekends, we are enjoying taking sunset dinghy cruises through the canals of Hollywood with a cocktail or a bottle of wine for just the two of us.”

Capt. Chuck Willard, 94, of Fort Lauderdale, agreed with the sentiment that less is more.

“Happiness is having everything you need in life within the length of your boat.”