April Winds April 2-3, 2021

 Friday April 2, 2021. Day 117.

Last night was tough. It was cold and rainy and really windy. Late at night we had to go up with a flashlight to tie up the bimini at the top of the boat (shade cover on the flybridge). Not something that one person could do on his or her own (if they could have, he would have, and I would have stayed warm, dry and cozy inside!).

The boat was rocking and rolling last night and although there was a little less wind this morning, the forecast was for the wind to pick up big time at approximately 10am, and it did. So we decided on a second night on the hook. There we were in Peck Lake; the clouds in the sky and water around us were beautiful. Magic Moments was swaying in a large arc with the heavy wind. Except for the wind, the day was very quiet, and there were plenty of chores to do, so I kept busy. Due to the heavy wind rocking the boat, the Wi-Fi internet kept going out; very annoying.

Late in the afternoon we saw four people on racing paddle boards (I had never seen a racing paddle board; very snazzy), moving at an amazing clip, with the current and the wind. We chatted with them while they paddled by. They were going a very long distance. Even with a wetsuit, the current and the wind at your back, their outing was still above my pay grade. We wished them luck.

Saturday, April 3, 2020. Day 118.

I set the alarm for 6:30am, so we would be up early to prepare to leave our Peck Lake anchorage for Vero Beach. We had been to Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach on our way south. It’s located in a beautiful golf community and I was looking forward to running again in the area. It was overcast, and the winds were from the east at 14 to 16 knots which was not terrible, but it was good to leave early, hoping that the winds do not increase significantly.

It was tough getting the anchor up; it was really stuck in the bottom, so we had to force the boat around in different directions to loosen it. Captain Roland was at the bow washing down the chain as we pulled up the anchor, and I was at the helm following his detailed instructions “forward, reverse, throttle, bow thruster, port thruster, starboard, and on and on until the anchor was finally released. And then I steered out of Peck Lake and back on the ICW.

The wind picked up to greater than 20 knots, but it was on our side so it was not as rocky as it could have been. I waited several hours to eat to make sure I could handle food in those sea conditions.

I had to deal with my taxes and I was already up to Plan C, which I expected would work out. I also was still making phone calls to various credit card companies and utilities and insurance companies to advise them that, notwithstanding that the post office was sending back my mail to them marked “undeliverable” my address remained the same. Boring and time-consuming.

It was Saturday and sunny but the traffic was very light traffic (do to the heavy wind, maybe), and that was a pleasure for us. We arrived at the Loggerhead Marina in Vero Beach at about 2:10pm. We got fuel, and pumped out, and then the dock hand guided us to a really nice slip on the far side of the marina, the new docks! It was a simple docking, and a great location, however, (why is there always a “but” ?), the brand new power stations (due to a change in the standards), did not connect with our boat. The dock hand said that he had experienced this recently with some older boats and said that there was an electrical fix that can be made on our boat, but meanwhile, we had to go back to the more crowded, older dock. Lovely! (to be read sarcastically); we now needed a modification to enable Magic Moments to connect to new power stations. Maybe I will sell the boat before we need to upgrade.

The dock hand gave us a card of a man who is an expert in this modification. He spends his winters in Vero Beach, but interestingly enough, he spends his summers at Hartge Yacht Yard in Galesville, Maryland, right near my sister’s marina, and where Magic Moments came into being, and we started this adventure. Small world!

The docking went well but the tie up was a challenge. The finger dock was extremely short, the slip was very narrow and we had to tie to pilings that were far beyond my reach, even with the boat hook. Captain Roland again to the rescue, he ran around to the stern to tie up Magic Moments so she would be secure and I would be able to disembark and embark on my own, which sometimes is a problem depending on the configuration; every docking is unique.

We met several boat owners at Loggerhead Marina, Kevin and Rachel on “Rachel”, a new Kadey- Krogen 48, from Beaufort SC, and a couple on a Krogen Express, from Chicago (they are quite fond of Philly, as that was where they met). One of the joys of cruising is meeting folks from all over and sharing our stories.

As always, when we get to a marina after several nights on the hook, I immediately start the laundry and walk or cycle to a supermarket. There are always lots of dishes to do and dinner to prepare.

I was looking forward to getting into bed and our newly washed sheets, and to running in the morning. Loggerhead Marina has a very nice pool and I may even consider swimming laps.

Returning north March 31-April 1, 2021

 Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Day 115.

We had planned an offshore passage to save a couple of days. Due to the endless number of bridges on the ICW in the Miami area, the inside trip can take forever! Last night the weather forecast was good, so I put on my patch and we secured the dinghy, the paddle boards, and everything else on the boat. We got up early in the morning; I took a pill, and put on the wrist bands, and, at 7:27am, we ventured out into the ocean. Unfortunately it was not to be. Although the weather report had said the winds would cooperate and the ocean would be doable for me, it was not the case.

The chop was heavy. Magic Moments was pounding on the swells, water was spraying on the windows, the glass bottles and dishes were clanging. We knew that we would have to be very careful opening all the cabinets after this to avoid breakage.

It was too rough; it was not fun. We turned into Miami and entered the north channel, surrendering to the reality that we would not be going offshore.

It was beautiful in the channel, and my stomach was calming down; I removed the wristbands. When we were 85% through the channel, a Miami Dade police motor vessel with blue flashing lights approached us and via radio said the channel was closed and forced us to turn around and go out and re-enter the south channel. The officer said the channel is closed when there are two cruise ships in the channel. Please note that the channel is huge, the two cruise ships were docked, no one was moving, there was no signage or other indication of any restriction and we were essentially through the channel!

 This was extremely annoying because we had to turn around and go out the whole way, and reenter in the south channel; we lost a couple of hours and it threw off our timing for the bridges (and there are LOTS of bridges).

Traveling near so many bridges so close together, causes the radio traffic to get crazy. The radio sounds like a cacophony of messages: announcements from the coast guard, boaters, and marinas, requests for openings, responses by the tenders; it is endless, loud and also unclear sometimes who is addressing whom.

After passing 16 bridges that required openings, and a few we could motor under, we anchored in Boca Lake (approximately 4:15pm). It was tight and very crowded, with a big sandbar (obviously a rather shallow area). 

 We anchored one hour before low tide, with only 3.1 feet under the keel, and a nearby neighbor trawler who complained that we were too close. I thought he had a point. Captain Roland felt that we were safe. Roland is attentive, careful and knowledgeable, and, in this case, he was correct. At 5:40pm, after watching, observing and calculating, tide, wind, and current, Captain Roland confirmed that he was satisfied with the anchorage.

As I’m sure I mentioned previously, one of the fun things to do while cruising the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), especially in this area, is observing the homes from mega mansions to old style Florida; some classic with round columns, some with square columns, tiles, arches, modern, mediterranean, and eclectic.

In addition to enjoying the view and the landscape and the passing homes, checking boat names is also a kick. Two favorite boat names of today: “Drifting Coconuts“ and “Yachta Yachta”.

Another note of the day: at 8:am we passed our 1900 mile mark on our adventure, and, more importantly, neither of us have thrown the other overboard, nor jumped ship!

Thursday, April 1, 2021. Day 116. April Fools’ Day.

I am not sleeping through the night; awakening from time to time; not sleeping well does not make me happy!

We left early, and went under the first bridge of the day, at approximately 7:20am, and then the Spanish River Bridge a little before 8am. Minutes later, with a phone call alert, we passed Ann and Richie on their balcony in Highland Beach. It was great to see them (seriously social distanced...with binoculars!), and to wave and talk on the phone; Richie took a great video of Magic Moments as we cruise by and also some stills (one of which was with me on the bow in full Devigi.....the only way to cruise no matter the weather!). Very cool!

At the 15th Ave. Bridge in Boynton Beach we had to wait way too long. The bridge tender (I grade her very low on my list of bridge tenders), opened at an odd time and thereby messed up our ability to get through the bridge that was a mile away for its regular schedule, so we lost another 30 minutes.

We were trying to make the next bridge in spite of the hold up on the 15th Ave. Bridge by my least favorite bridge tender, and, as we were cruising at a rapid speed for us, Enosis, the sailboat behind us (way too far behind us), radioed the bridge tender for the Ocean Avenue Bridge and asked that he hold the bridge for him when he opened for Magic Moments. The result was that the bridge tender didn’t open for us at the normal opening time, he waited for Enosis to arrive 20 minutes later, and, then made us wait until the next scheduled opening. We lost another 40 minutes. Circling around, wasting time and fuel and increasing the risk of collisions; not my happy place. Enosis called us on the radio later and apologized for his request to the bridge tender recognizing that he held us all up unnecessarily. Kind and generous Captain Roland blamed the bridge tender, forgiving Enosis.

I steered on and off passing the beautiful homes. The passage was lovely, we had sun, a gentle breeze, and gorgeous homes to see as we steered from the flybridge.

At Boynton Inlet, the current was rough and the whirlpools resulting from the ocean intersecting with the ICW, made steering tough so the captain took over. When we went under the Lantana Bridge on the 10:30am opening, the bridge tender radioed to Captain Roland that he was cruising too fast through the bridge. Our cruising speed is really slow, and that was a surprise.

Several bridges later we approached 707 Bridge which opens on request. The tender opened the bridge only partway, just enough for us to get under, but shorter than full opening. This was amazingly unusual. Every tender tells every captain, to not enter the wooden fenders until the bridge is fully open, and this one only opened part way. The reason: there was a lot of heavy road traffic, Magic Moments is not that tall (25 feet), so we could get by with a partial opening and the time to hold up the traffic (reduced time to open and close) was minimized. We were quite surprised and wondered if that was verboten in the bridge tender manual.

Most of our travel was from the flybridge until the early afternoon when the wind picked up dramatically and suddenly, at 3:40pm, the rain started.

At approximately 5pm, we anchored; it took a second try to get the anchor to grip (not all bottoms are created equal). 20 bridges (15 on request), the timing and the stress, today was a long one. We plan to stay two nights at Peck Lake; we need some R and R!

Going South March 13-14, 2021

 Saturday, March 13, 2021. Day 97.

We had left the fuel dock two minutes before 11am and had just enough time to get to the Roosevelt Bridge for an 11am opening. Yeah! Because most of the bridges open on a schedule, it can seriously delay travel if one misses the opening by a few minutes. One must hang around for 30 or 45 minutes waiting for the next bridge opening, which is not only frustrating, but also a waste of fuel and increases the risk of injury or collision as more vessels are hovering around waiting for the opening. As my friend Joel reminded me in the fall: boats don't have brakes.

I steered for the first hour and we went under a total of 5 to 7 bridges. It was sunny and mild (the wind was only 5 to 7 knots ), and it was a Saturday so there were hundreds of boats all sizes going all speeds stopping by beaches and at the shoreline,

 folks were wading in the water. The visual was an endless caravan of vessels, and a what felt like an endless stream of people everywhere.

The ICW channel we were traveling through, on our way to Peck Lake, to anchor for the night, was quite narrow from time to time. Fortunately, most of the boats observed the speed limitation in the narrow passages, but the crowds on the shore were unbelievable: boats everywhere, people on every inch of beach.

We anchored in Peck Lake at about 12:40pm. By the time we had arrived, there were already dozens of boats in the beach area. We observed them longingly. Because we were leaving the next next evening for an offshore run, it made no sense to take the dinghy down nor inflate the SUPs. We comforted ourselves that we would soon be in the Keys and have lots of time for dinghy rides and to use the SUPs (famous last words!).

Peck Lake is right off the ICW, so there was a lot of traffic going by, and all day and all night the boat was rocking and rolling.

I used the afternoon to take care of my never ending paperwork and other obligations, and continued to contact all necessary creditors and other parties, to let them know my address was still the same.

Roland made his favorite lunch after we anchored: grilled hotdogs. Dinner was delish: steak from the butcher of Stuart, also grilled on the back of the boat

Sunday, March 14, 2021. Day 98.

Chris called early in the morning, to wish us happy Pi Day (3.14). Before that call. I was unaware that it was a holiday! I enjoy any excuse for celebration! Saturday night had been the start of daylight savings time, so we lost an hour of sleep (or got a very late start in the day, depending on your point of view). Although it was sunny and warm in Peck Lake, it was quite windy and the traffic was busy so we continued to rock ‘n’ roll on the boat.

After our poached egg breakfast ( loving those silicone cups), we left our anchorage and proceeded to start our slow cruising south through many bridges

I did some steering until the traffic and the narrow area got out of hand and then Captain Roland took over. The traffic for most of the way, had speed restrictions because it was deemed a manatee area. Where there were no speed restrictions, boats and jet skis were scooting all over the place, creating lots of wakes so, again Magic Moments was rocking and rolling. We passed by every vessel type known: fishing stand up paddle boards, fishing kayaks, ocean going fishing boats, mega yachts, and little floating pontoon boats, and a myriad of other motor vessels. People and vessels everywhere.

 It was lunacy, it looked like thousands of children had been released on a football field for an Easter egg hunt. And the boaters were acting as if “there were no lanes” (a favorite expression of my father). To say the least, steering was challenging. I think my favorite were the people who beached their small boats on sandbars in the middle of the waterway, and were wading, swimming, floating, and playing in the water around their beached boats, on the sandbar: very strange looking to me.

The most stressful part of cruising that day was going south under the PGA bridge. It was the narrowest area in the whole ICW (anybody who knows, better please correct this). On the starboard side, there was a packed waterside restaurant, whose dock was also fully occupied. There were several boats all around, waiting to dock and go to lunch, narrowing the passageway even more. As we waited for the bridge opening, a 200 foot mega yacht that wanted to have lunch at this restaurant, entered the ICW from a marina on the side, and was just idling in the middle of this very narrow passage. Fortunately, the yacht was behind us, but he kept getting closer. I finally went to the back deck and made hand motions to tell them to back up; they were too close for comfort and we couldn’t go anywhere because the bridge was not ready to open. They finally did back up, but the situation was unnerving.

All told that day, we went through a myriad of bridges: Hobe Sound Bridge, PGA Bridge, Jupiter Federal Bridge, Indiantown Bridge, and Parker Bridge, to name a few.

We anchored at about 3:40pm in Lake Worth, near West Palm Beach. We had to anchor past the marina, and past a huge (1-2miles long), mooring field (one is not permitted to anchor in mooring field, and I have never seen such a huge mooring field). Here we anchored for about four hours while the captain had a chance to rest. We had a little dinner and I applied a patch and two wristbands that, similar to acupuncture, were supposed to eliminate seasickness. Across the waterway, was a marina with unbelievable mega yachts; we were in a very fancy neighborhood. Their dinghies made Magic Moments look like a row boat!

Around 8pm, we left the anchorage. MM was prepped, I was prepped, with my patch and wristbands, and just as the sun set, we set off for the inlet to the ocean, and our overnight offshore passage.