Searching for warmth in Florida
Even though it is just a week, it seems so long ago! Back on the morning of the 29th, we woke up anchored at Pine Island on the Tombolo River in Northern Florida - our first anchorage after leaving Georgia - and it was cold, 34 F, again. So much for Florida being warmer!
The cold was keeping us motivated so by 7:30 we were continuing south. By 9 we passed through the Bridge of Lions - downtown St Augustine - with lovely morning sun lighting up Castillo de San Marcos and downtown Flagler college. As much as we had enjoyed St Augustine last trip, we had no desire to linger any longer than necessary wishing instead for something warmer. We pushed on, passing Daytona Beach and putting in another long day: 10 hours and 83 miles, reaching Calsita Creek, just south of New Smyrna Beach by 5:30 pm.
On Friday the 30th it finally felt like things were moderating. It was in the low 50s as we started out at 8 am. Passing first along a seemingly endless row of houses - all with docks and large multi engined T top skiffs or Picnic boats sitting high above the water on lifts. It seems an odd juxtaposition: nicely designed homes, landscaped with pools and patios - with these enormous, and not very elegant, docks. A statement on priorities - perhaps.
We passed down through Canaveral National Seashore and through Haulover Canal. One of our favorites stretches with abundant wild fowl (including Roseate Spoonbills) and one of the few places in Florida that you can see bedrock along the waterway (always the geologist). In the afternoon the temperature reached 75! I actually left the wheelhouse and enjoyed driving the boat from the fly bridge for an hour in the late afternoon.
One of the tricks to passing up or down the ICW is finding places to spend the night. So you spend a fair amount of time considering how far you might travel each day and where you might settle in. Liz and I prefer to anchor where we can - more scenic and peaceful - but along many stretches of the Florida ICW, there just aren't many spots where anchoring is possilble - or even allowed. And depending on the wind direction, not every possible anchorage will work. Of course there are marinas which offer possible alternative, but in the end, you need to find a spot to settle in before dark.
In looking at the forecast for Friday night into Saturday I wanted to find a protected spot, either an anchorage protected from NW winds or a marina. The marinas we contacted had no slips available. Along this stretch of the Indian River the anchorages were mainly along the eastern shore. Since the the river is one and a half miles wide those anchorages would not be suitable for the forecast. One small anchorage offered itself just south of the Eau Gallie bridge from Melbourne to Melbourne Beach. I was already looking ahead and realized that not only was Friday night weather problematic but Saturday looked even more challenging. We decided Eau Gallie was our best bet, possibly for waiting out the big polar outbreak forecast for Saturday into Sunday. By the 4:30 pm we were at anchor having traveled another 67 miles.
As it turned out this was a good choice. Not very senic, no shore access, and traffic noise from cars and trucks racing across the bridge, but protected from the north and west. That first night was not so bad, steady 15 -20 mph winds from the NW, but on Saturday mid day the forecast was for 40 mph gusts lasting 6 - 8 hours heralding the cold front bringing record cold for Sunday morning. The first night confirmed the anchor was well set. On Saturday morning, I applied weather stripping to the doors and tried once again to resolve the ongoing problem with the diesel heater.
As predicted the winds picked up about 3 pm. At one point I asked Liz if a jet had flown low over our boat, only to realize it was the first of the big gusts. We let out the anchor chain another 50 or 60 ft and settled in for the night. And even though we were tucked into the western shore, we were bounced around on confused waves most of the night.
While in the morning of February 1st the winds had calmed down some, but it was 26 F. Inside the cabin where we sleep it was 46. More motivation to keep moving south. Our routine on these cold mornings was for me to get up, start the generator, turn on the heat pump, make coffee - then start the diesel. We were bundled up and underway by 7:45. No point hanging around
There was some thought of meeting friends at Vero Beach but the marina had no slips, the mooring field was full (did we want to raft with other boats? NO) and the window of opportunity to see them was just a couple of hours. In the end we elected to keep moving and pressed on to Stuart. Here again the marinas and mooring fields were full but we found a protected anchorage. After another long day, 81 miles, we settled in at Hooker Cove on the St Lucie River Sunday night.
At this point we became aware that there might be a weather window for a crossing to Bimini on Wednesday. Now we were 115 miles short of Key Biscayne, our jumping off point. We needed fuel, wanted to stop for groceries, and needed water. And, oh by the way, those last 115 miles would be through Jupiter Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Ft Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Hollywood and Miami, including many miles of "No Wake" or "Minimal Wake" zones and sevearl dozen draw bridges we would have to negotiate. Two long days to be at No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, ready to go.
So we got up on Monday February 2nd with a 'let's see how it goes' approach. Off by 8:22 am (34 F). We didn't push hard (the bridges and No Wake zones kind of keep you in check) but by 6:20 we dropped anchor (after dark) in Lake Santa Barbara, in Pompano Beach, another 72 miles reeled off.
Osprey in the air at Mar a Lago
The key part of Lake Santa Barbara was that along its shoreline there is a public park that has about 100 ft of lake frontage - which is about 10 blocks from a Publix. In the dark, we launched the inflatable tender, loaded up our Costco "wagon" and went ashore. Please note this was the first time we had touched ground since leaving Hilton Head. With rubbery legs we went off grocery shopping and returned 1 1/2 hrs later with our larder fully stocked. Roasted chicken from the deli for dinner! And the first night we did not feel the need to run the heat before eating dinner!
Grocery Expedition: Pompano Beach
Up and moving by 7:40 on February 3rd - 46 degrees. Suddenly a growing number of other boats on the water. Boats mainly skippered by push A type's, I might add.
But with only 45 miles left we got Navigator down past Miami to Crandon Park marina by 2 PM where we fueled up and pumped out. Saw our friend Orestes, the Dock Master at Crandon Park. A lifelong sailer (spent decades in the Merchant Marine), Cuban by birth and a gentleman. We had met him when in 2025 when cruising north from Key West and it was a pleasure to see him and talk to him again. By 3:30 we were at anchor off No Name Harbor. In position for a crossing.
Of course, nothing is that simple. We had to prepare to be offshore. The "Ditch" bag to check. LIfe jackets to check. The Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) to register. The navigation route to upload to the Chartpotter. The Static lines to rig. Gear to stow in the event of a rough passage. A last check on the weather: wind speed and direction, wave height, wave period and direction. A last engine check. Then we treated ourselves to tacos for dinner!
We went to bed tired, but excited.
Monday February 4th. Up at 6:15. A last check of the weather. Noted a few other boats already moving and by 7:00 we, too were underway.
Once you get around the southern tip of Key Biscayne and past Stilt City, you turn east and it is 55 miles across the Gulf Stream to Bimini. The trick to crossing the Gulf Stream is to figure out how to compensate for the 2.5 to 4 knot north bound current that will be pulling you sideways the whole time you are heading east. Now normally you put a route in your chartplotter that draws a straight line between your starting point and your end point and let the auto pilot do the work. The problem with this is that the auto pilot cannot plan ahead for the current, but only try to compensate as it goes. The result would be a track that slowly curves further and further north and then corrects by pulling you back south the the rhumb line as you approach the end point. Potentially a long hard pull up current at the end. The solution is to calculate how much drift you expect in the 6 hrs of crossing (do you remember you vector sums?), then aim for a point that many miles south of the end point. That way the auto pilot will simply stay on a compas heading and the current will pull you into your destination. If you do the math right, you will end up following the rhumb line as a result.
The trip ended up taking us 7 hours. At first the sea was a bit lumpy and confused, but as the day went on it settled into a comfortable 2 ft swell we took head on. The wind never got above 10 knots. Our biggest challenge was keeping track of the big ship traffic - and dealing with one tanker that was on an intersecting course. They are not to be messed with so I slowed down and let him pass well in front of us.
Awesome Jon
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it.
DeleteOh you intrepid souls!!! Thanks for sharing such good details.
ReplyDeleteThanks for following us!
Delete