"March 30-31, 2004 - Offishore Miami to Ft. Pierce" Florida Travelogue by grandmaR

Fisher Island auto ferry

We cast off about 9:30. We crossed Biscayne Bay and could see Rickenbacker Causeway to the south going to Virginia Key and passed south of Dodge Island (the Port of Miami) with the freight loading docks (across from the cruise ship docks which are on the north side), and THREE Fisher Island auto-ferries passed us, in addition to two regular passenger ferries. The passenger ferries come from over at the Miami Beach area (they have a different route than the car ferries). We turned north along the coast by 1022.

I heard someone on the radio telling a large ship that his berth was occupied, and they'd be out to get him at 1300.

Possibly he was one of two large ships anchored off Government Cut - one I think was a Greek ship (had a name of Olympic something and a blue and white flag), and the other was a container ship. Saw the pilot boat haring out in the direction of another freighter. The ultra light from Rickenbacker flew out and up Miami Beach, and then came back.

Miami Beach

Miami Beach looks very colorful and there are folks out on the beaches in spite of the predicted rip currents. Actually the '5-6 foot NE swells' that have been predicted aren't much in evidence. Maybe 2 feet.

The sky is blue with some cumulus clouds. After I took a bunch of pictures of Fisher Island, I took a nap, as I was incredibly sleepy.

By 1309 (1:09 pm) we had done 19.3 miles with an average speed of 5.8 mph. I still have the daily log set with statute miles and not nautical miles and I will keep it that way until we get back into the Chesapeake. We see a big white ship (It says St. Tropez Casino Cruises on the side) anchored offshore.

1330 - Bob pulled out the jib and had to go on deck to rearrange the staysail halyard which had gotten on the wrong side of the jib sheet. When he pulled out the jib, our speed really increased.

[While we are in port we let the jib halyard on the finger pier down below deck level in order that we don't have to crawl under or step over it when we get off the boat.]

1357 - Saw a big ship anchored off shore with the name on the side in big red letters (half the depth of the topside) but in script that is hard to read. I think it is called SEA ESCAPE. We see some sailboats appear to be headed for the Bahamas. I understand the Bahamian government now wants to see your original documentation papers and you need to have two photocopies to give them. Since we have a copier on board this wouldn't be a problem for us, but it might be fore some people.

Hillsborough Inlet at 1620

The wind is about 11 knots, and it is getting cloudier. It was supposed to be bright and sunny today. It almost looks like rain.

1400 - A small sailboat comes out SE towards us - absolutely no sails rigged at all. As I look with binoculars, I see a man come out on deck with a red sail bag, and rig the jib. I fully expected him to be tossed off the boat due to all the pitching the boat was doing, but it didn't happen while I could see him.

Bob has the main and staysail up. We are opposite Golden Beach and can see the Hallandale water tower which is red and blue.

By the time we get to Ft. Lauderdale the wind is puffing up, and the rollers have gotten to a size where I can really see them coming towards us from the NE. After we passed Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale's port) and have now done 31 miles with a speed about 5 knots with just the main and staysail.

1500 - Several planes are towing banners along the beaches ("Sloppy Joe's bikini cnts.." which I guess is a contest "Free buffet and 50 cent drafts.." at some restaurant that the name begins with an I (Iguanas?)).

The wind picked up to 18-19 knots and the rollers get bigger. Bob took in the jib. I took some pictures of Hillsborough Light.

1703 We had dinner, and Bob pulled out the jib again. We are off Boca Raton inlet. Our trip so far is 44 miles with an average speed of 6 mph. We are now doing 7.2 mph under full sail, but with the motor on.

Sunset over Florida about 6:30 pm

1813 - south of Delray Beach and we've gone 51.9 miles.

1840 - the sun is down and we've gone 55 miles.

About 7 pm (1900) Bob pulled in the jib because the wind was close to on the nose, and went down for a rest. About 2100 (9 pm) I called to him because the wind freshened quite a bit and was changing direction. He wouldn't or couldn't say if he had slept. Of course as soon as he got into the cockpit the wind stopped moving around. I went down into the aft cabin and slept for a couple of hours.

Bob said that while I was asleep a freighter going into Lake Worth passed close behind us - he said it appeared stationary to him, but that was because it was headed right for us. He also said the port running light was out, and he had put on the tether to the jacklines and gone out on deck to bang on it, but that didn't help it start working, and he wasn't going to try to fix it underway.

The wind has gone to the south, and he's tacking back and forth along our previous track (the computer tracks our GPS coordinates on the charts) to keep the boat from gybing - trying to keep the wind at about 180 degrees from the bow.

We discussed when we were likely to get to Ft. Pierce. When we came down it was 130 miles, and took us 20 hours at an average speed of 6+ mph. But we are going faster than that, and Bob is concerned that we will get to the inlet before dawn. So he pulls the power way back.

Sunrise over the ocean

At 2330 (11:30 pm) Bob went down for another nap. I'm sure he slept this time.

It was very peaceful at night (not even much chatter on the radio) until north of St. Lucie Inlet when the wind freshened a good bit and switched from SE to west.

I waked Bob, and discussed it with him, and then I went down and slept from about 0300 until Bob waked me at 0600.

As soon as I waked up, I called Harbortown on the radio and there was someone there!! That's great. We won't have to try to tie up by ourselves.

Fishing boats were coming out of the inlet and there were people fishing from the SOUTH jetty.

Breakers on the north jetty

It was a bit hazy, but not too windy. I could see the rollers coming in and crashing on the north rock jetty - no one fishing there! Although there was someone on the beach on the other side.

We passed the Holiday Inn Express (with the sign warning that it is a private dock) and the Coast Guard Station, and the Pelican Yacht Club (advertising that they take transients), and came into the marina channel. We got 32 gallons of fuel and a pump out and then went to our slip.

The trip has been 134 sm (exactly the same as the trip down in December, even though this time we were zig zagging), and has taken 21.25 hours. Our top speed was 8.0 knots.

I noticed a boat from Solomons Island (on the Patuxent) tied up on the face dock down from the gas dock - one of the guys said he lived in Breton Bay (near where we live in Leonardtown). They are leaving this morning to go down to Lake Worth staging for the Bahamas.

Bob fixed the port running light (he thought the starboard one was out, but it seems to be working now), and tried unsuccessfully to run the refrigeration. This is a bit worrying. He's very tired and takes a nap.

We had the early bird special at the marina restaurant, and Bob went to bed early. I went up to do email late (about 11). The email connection is outside the office, and it is courteous to limit your use of the line to 15 minutes if anyone is waiting. But since your back is to the area, it is hard to tell if anyone is waiting or if they've come up to get mail or talk to the folks in the office. I figure that no one will be waiting at that hour and there won't be any casual passersbys.

Eventually the night watchman comes around, so I pack up and use the bathroom and come back to bed.

Bob in Ft. Pierce

My original idea was to go swim in the pool this morning, but a cold front has come through and the idea is not appealing. I didn't remember that the pool was heated. Oh well.

I called to Vero Beach and got a slip, and also called Whitley Marina in Cocoa.

When I went up to pay for 2 nights, I tripped over a line Bob had tied across to the other side of the finger pier and fell on the dock and almost went over the edge. I landed on my left knee very heavily, and now it is quite bruised and sore.

While I was up there, I asked if there were any restaurants we could walk to, and they suggested Dinos which is up on the highway across the railroad tracks and up about a block from the shopping center that Bob often walks to. So we started out to walk there, and indeed it was within walking distance.

(The shopping center also has Ray's Pantry which the guys at the marina recommend for breakfast and lunch instead of Bonna's Cafe which is in the marina near the pool, and a pizza place, plus there is a Subway at the gas station.)

Almost everyone at Dinos was in the blue haired set. They have 4 handicapped parking slots, and they need them all. I doubt if there was more than about 4 people in the whole place that were younger than we are. I asked the cashier when we left where all these people came from, and she said trailer parks. (They don't take credit cards - only cash)

I went up and used the computer a little earlier this time.

Next Vero Beach