"December 5-6, 2003 Offshore - Ft. Pierce to Miami" Florida Travelogue by grandmaR

Leaving the marina at 7:15

When I went up to do email I talked to a guy who said Friday was the best window we'd have for awhile. There are supposed to be light winds from the south and then after midnight to come around to the NE with possible thunderstorms.

So I reconsidered, and thought we might get to Miami before the thunderstorms and decided to leave after all. I went up and paid.

Coast Guard Station Ft. Pierce

Bob ran the refrigeration, and went up to the bathroom and turned in the keys. I let him back in to the locked dock gate. We cast off about 0715 and went out the inlet. The marina (above) looks very peaceful as we leave and there is very little wind.

Bob goes on the wrong side of one of the ICW markers, but there's no problem - just a little shallower than the main channel. The tide is supposed to be high, but is still coming in according to the current.

We go by the CG station....

Breakers on the jetties

and out between the stone jetties. The inlet is relatively calm with just a little surf on the jetties and some fog over the beaches beyond it (top picture).

There are BIG rollers (well 8 ft anyway) from the east, as the wind has been from the east for awhile. Sort of uncomfortable because the wind is from the south and we are going south so we roll a bit.

Tug and barge

Bob saw a turtle, but all I saw was the ring in the water where it had been. After awhile of the wind being from the south, the roller smooth out. Big cumulus clouds build up over the land - we are on the outer edge of them.

By noon, we've gone 30 sm and are past the St. Lucie inlet. We can hear people calling the bridges as we pass. We are going 6.6 mph and are being helped a little bit by a current flowing south. We have lunch (tuna sandwiches). We pass a tug pushing a barge north.

We see a big ship with the name CROWLEY on the side in big white letters. We also see a green oil ship going north. At 1618 there is a current against us of about a knot, but the water temperature is only 73 degrees, so it's not in the Gulf Stream - it's probably the tide going in or out Lake Worth inlet. We see a small cruise ship (too far away to make out the name - the Palm Beach Princess maybe?) going into Lake Worth.

Bob asks what the line of buoys east of us is. We are passed by some racing boats which appear to also be headed from the inlet. Eventually we get close enough for me to tell that the line of buoys is in fact a line of sailboats. There must have been a race somewhere, or there is going to be a race off Lake Worth inlet. We speculate where they could be coming from. I think the Bahamas is unlikely given the reporting requirements, so I think they must be coming north from Miami.

Coast at about 1700 (5 pm)

We had dinner - I ate my beef from last night. There was a brief shower. I went to lie down, but Bob called me up because there was a torrential thunderstorm (with lightening) and the bimini appears to have stretched a bit and is funneling water between the gap in the side curtains right onto the computer box. I bring up towels, but soon all of them are soaked.

Eventually, I sit on the top of the computer box with an old throwable cushion on my head to push the bimini up. We kept going south and eventually the shower passed.

About 2100, Bob decided on his own to go down for a nap and left me with the main and jib up. I listened to the VHF and spent my time avoiding ships. I also tried to take a picture of the skyline at night (below).

Fortunately, most of the inlets between Lake Worth and Ft. Lauderdale are 'local knowledge' only, so no big ships going in or out.

I heard a (presumably) big ship talking to the harbor pilot - he was asked if he needed a tug and his answer was "I don't know, I've never been to your harbor before." Also heard the tow boat people in Miami and Ft. Pierce talking about a boater who was near Dodge Island in Miami and wanted help.

The most exciting drama was passing Ft. Lauderdale when a guy called to say that he'd lost his rudder about 3 miles off shore (44 ft sailboat) and that a cruise ship was running down on him.

Shoreline at night

Eventually, the wind was shifting around to the NW, and I was concerned that I'd gybe the jib, so I waked Bob up about 1230. I then went down and slept until about 0230. We were approaching Miami, and Bob still had the sails up, and needed help pulling them in as the wind was now gusting to 25 knots. I don't know why he insists on keeping the sails up like that.

Eventually he had to use the winch to get the jib in and it is now wrapped REALLY tight.

We came in the inlet without a problem - passing the Fisher Island ferry. Bob refused to try to get into our slip in the marina at night although I knew it would be marked.

But I also knew it would be hard with the wind without someone to help. We could not find the little floaters that used to be at the west end of the channel, but we did revisit the unlighted day marks going south along the ICW - not as close as the other time we'd done it though.

We anchored on the SE side of the Rickenbacker Causeway at about 0400 after a trip of 134 sm at an average speed of 6.4 mph. It took us almost 21 hours. Our total trip is 1004 nm.

Next: Miami