Traveling South to Palm Beach

Day 7:  April 1, 2014

A Great Day!  We both slept well and arose at around 6:00am.  We did the sausage gravy and tortilla (we are not carrying bread and not making biscuits this year) breakfast thing.  Well, Janine had hers straight in a bowl.  We are using tortillas because they keep better than bread and they have a lot fewer calories than biscuits.  So There!

We straightened up the boat and were literally eaten up with “no-see-ems.”  The little invisible boogers jump all over you when you step outside.  They have a stinging bite that doesn’t last after you smash them into your skin.  But, boy are they annoying. 

One of Many

We got underway at around 9:30 and motored down the ICW in a light southeasterly wind that was blowing in our face so we were unable to raise the sails.  As we made our passage, we went through 7 draw bridges.  The first ones were open on demand and later they were opened on a time schedule such as hourly or on the quarter hour.  The first one we came to we began calling on the radio using the universal emergency channel, Channel 16, but got no response.  As we got closer, we could

read a sign that told us that this bridge responded to calls on Channel 9.  It turns out that they all do the same so we needed to learn the system. 

Nice boathouse. Only problem, no sailboat in front!

At around noon, we entered and transited the Hoby Sound region which our guide book told us was the site of the huge mansions of the very rich.  They were not kidding.  A number of the yachts looked like ships and the homes would be castles were they situated in Perry County.  We were amazed at how very many of them there were.  The lawns and trees were manicured to a perfection and one boat house that we saw nice enough that I could spend the rest of my days in it!  One place had a float plane that took off as we passed.  Why not!

Transiting the ICW, we saw all sizes and types of boats.  Most of them respected the fact that we were moving at about 5 mph and would slow down but a number passed throwing huge wakes that would possibly sink a lesser boat.  It really shook things up.

Probably about ½ of the trip from Lake Francis (where we spent last night) to Palm Beach was a slow “No Wake Zone” established for the protection of manatees.   We have yet to see one this year but are hopeful. 

As we approached Palm Beach, the waterway became much busier.  At one marina, we saw a number of the biggest yachts that I have ever seen.  These super yachts had to be well over 150 feet in length.  Most of them were motor yachts, however, we did see a couple of mega sailing yachts.  Interestingly, they were in a marina and not out on the water.  I have heard folks theorize that the longer a boat, the less it is sailed.

We also saw a number of boats that were obviously abandoned.  Some had their mast down, windows out, and obviously in a terrible state of repair.  As we approached one fairly nice looking boat, I assumed at a distance that he was flying ribbons off of his jib stay but it turned out that his jib was rotten and torn into ribbons.  Obviously no one had been on that boat for a long time. 

Palm beach is a international seaport and we passed a casino ship, cruise ship and a large self loading container ship, all moored along the city wharf.  On the south edge of Palm Beach, the Lake Worth Inlet is a passage way out of the harbor/ICW into the open ocean.  This is also the closest point to the West End of Grand Bahama.  It is our goal to head that way once we get a weather window that will allow us to make what the locals call “The Crossing.”

South of the Inlet, we entered Lake Worth which is a wide open area that runs probably 10 miles long.  The wind had swung around to about 45 degrees off of our port bow so we raised the sails and went motorless for the next several hours.  It was good to get the sails up and begin to get the feel of the boat under sail.  We even tried to use the genniker sail which is a free flying sail that flies off of a bow sprit.  It was an interesting experience and will probably be more useful in open waters with steady, sustained winds. 

At the south end of Lake Worth, we snuggled up near the Royal Palm Bridge with several other boats, dropped the anchor and settled in for the night.  We fired up the grill and had brats and garlic potatoes for dinner.  We were both  tired but stayed awake reading until about 9:00.