Getting Warmer
Dec 3, 2023
The weather is beautiful today and everyone seems to be taking full advantage of it. Dozens of small pleasure boats loaded with people passed us, most heading out into the ocean. The dolphins surfed our wake over and over again obviously enjoying themselves on the nice day.
Julia making more dolphin friends
As we travel, I find it funny that we keep passing and then later getting passed by the same boats. My parents said in previous years they have seen boats on the ICW, and then again in Bimini, and later in the Exumas. Apparently we aren’t the only ones destined for the Bahamas.
Our destination today is Vero Beach and our chartplotter says it’s about a six hour trip, so we’re in for a long ride. Recently, I have become part of the food chain down here; I am covered in bites in all kinds of unspeakable places. I’m really hoping to become less of a buffet once we’re out of Florida, however it’s not going to get any less tropical. Benadryl is at the top of our recent shopping list as I have been eating it like candy. Everyone else is thanking me for “taking one for the team.” I guess as long as I keep feeding them, they don’t bother Jules or my parents, but trust me, it’s not by choice.
Once we stopped at Vero, I tried to fish - briefly. I’ve been itching to get my line in the water since we put the boat in, however I’m completely out of my element in the ICW, bass fishing in Colorado is very different from this. I didn’t end up catching anything, but at least I threw a couple of casts.
Dec 4, 2023
The fog is thick this morning and so far it has only gotten thicker. It feels like the Go Away Ghost Ship Scooby-Doo episode; I could cut a slice out and take a bite. We have chartplotters so navigating isn’t a problem, but if someone comes out of the mist in front of us, we’ll need a quick reaction time. Hopefully, like us, they don’t move very fast.
An eerie feeling settles in
After about an hour of travel, the sun managed to burn off the low-lying fog and make way for a beautiful morning. Jules got more driving practice and is definitely getting the hang of it fast. We passed by a marina today with a boat lift that severely dwarfed the lift that put our fifty-two footer in the water in Georgia. It was hard to tell its perspective from a distance, but after a quick Google search, we learned it is the largest mobile ship lift in the world. It can move yachts up to 256 feet long and 57 feet wide. That’s wider than the Altitude Adjustment is long!!
While Jules, my mom, and I gawked at the best of modern marine engineering, my dad was below deck in the engine room. The bathroom Julia and I use has been subpar since we got on board, and my dad has been troubleshooting it almost every day. With all of my fingers and toes crossed, I say it is now fixed.
My parents decided that Peck Lake would be our anchorage for the next couple of nights, but you can hardly call it a lake. It is essentially equivalent to an aquatic truck stop, just a small anchorage barely off the ICW channel.
We arrived here a little after noon today only to find the area packed in fairly tight. We decided to squeeze in near the last boat in the row and started laying out the anchor and chain. We backed up from the drop point to set the anchor and abruptly stopped. The depth finders that, seconds earlier, said twelve feet now said three and the back of the boat was stuck in the silty bottom. We tried, briefly, to pull the boat forward using the anchor chain, however the boat weighs 33 tons and I weigh 180 lbs…it didn’t flinch. Luckily, my parents have a service that will come get your boat unstuck, it’s called SeaTow. My dad gave them a call and they showed up pronto.
The kid driving the boat couldn’t have been more than sixteen, but this definitely wasn’t his first day. He threw a bundle of ropes to me on the bow and pulled his small boat into position in front of ours.
Trying to avoid getting smacked in the face
Once he had the line tight, it didn’t take much convincing to ease us out of the mud. He towed us out into deeper water and then was nice enough to stick around until we got safely anchored nearby.
Can’t believe this little boat can tow us!
Today was the first time any of us have seen the ocean since we started our trip. It’s been within reach nearly the whole time but at no point have we laid eyes on it. Fortunately, this anchorage is very close to Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge Beach. Of course we had to collect some shells and play in the sand. What is a trip to the beach without shells?
No warning for spinner sharks?
Dec 5, 2023
Today is the first day we aren’t traveling. Our urge to continue south got interrupted by some upcoming bad weather. Initially, we were trying to get to Miami as soon as we could to cross over to Bimini, however we do require some calm wind and waves. Right now, it’s looking like we won’t be able to make the crossing until at least this coming Monday. Peck Lake is a nice spot to be for a night or two just for the beach access. The one we are on is the largest portion of undeveloped beach in Florida. I don’t think I need to explain why that is awesome.
The nice part about not traveling today was that Jules and I were able to make some real breakfast. She and I put together some killer breakfast burritos which was a great change from the cereal and toast we have been eating thus far. It’s just difficult to be down in the galley while traveling - definitely doesn’t help with sea sickness. She and I both struggled a little bit with the small kitchen. Cooking burritos on a pancake griddle was definitely a challenge, but the end result was just as delicious.
Trying not to wear the burritos
The next step in our chill day was to meander over to the beach. We packed up the necessities, mainly beer, and headed out to see the sand. The beach was essentially empty, it stretched out of sight in both directions and we saw only a few other people while we were there.
I think this is how beaches are supposed to look
Shortly after sitting down, my mom noticed something splash a little ways off the beach. None of us were able to tell exactly what was causing the commotion because it was so infrequent. After a little while, Jules and I got in the water, mainly to escape the bugs, and we got a better look at what was jumping. It was sharks! Specifically, spinner sharks. These things are crazy, but not very scary. They’re about four feet long on average, but can get bigger and have a rather unique hunting style. Spinner sharks propel themselves vertically at their prey from underneath and spin along their axis while chomping the whole time.
A spinner shark off the coast of Texas; photo by Ronald C. Modra, Newsweek
This action often leads them to spin wildly through the air. No wonder we couldn’t tell what they were. Jules and I stayed right where we were in hopes of seeing more, unsurprisingly we were alone in that endeavor. After seeing a few more silver torpedoes flying through the air, it was time to leave. Hopefully we will see more tomorrow!
Dec 6, 2023
Definitely won’t be seeing any more spinner sharks today. At some point last night, the temperature dropped drastically and the wind picked up from the north. Once again, we were back to adding blankets to the beds when just a sheet was too hot only a night or two ago.
Our plan was to move down to Lake Worth today, but instead we’re staying put. Traveling in windy conditions is somewhat tedious, but definitely doable. The main concern is anchoring at our new destination. As we sit now, we are hooked up good and going nowhere so we decided to wait for some gentler weather. Currently, there isn’t much of a window for us to make our crossing to the Bahamas so we are in no hurry. Keeping ourselves busy all day on a fifty foot boat proved less of a challenge than I thought. My dad continued working on the plumbing, I made pico de gallo, Jules worked on her project for The Watershed Center, and my mom, well she supervised. The projects on this boat are never ending, which can be awesome or overwhelming depending on how you look at it.
Our chariot awaits
The wind continued to pick up for most of the day, the highest speed we saw on our radar was twenty-one knots which is almost twenty-five mph. It’s crazy how much the boat actually moves while we are anchored in this wind. The anchor didn’t budge an inch, but for the entire day we swayed back and forth. Initially, I was concerned because it looked like we were loose and drifting, but at the last second we would stop and sway back the other way. Julia described it as being on an endless tilt-a-whirl ride. Sounds like fun, right?
Dec 7, 2023
‘Bipolar’ is a great way to describe today’s weather. When we woke up, the wind had calmed tremendously, but long sleeves and pants were still required. We took advantage of the light winds, pulled anchor, and headed towards Lake Worth. Shortly after we left, we began shedding layers rapidly as the sun peeked through the clouds.
We made our way south through Jupiter, Florida and, let me just say, property values went up. We passed a for sale sign that boasted the house was 16,000 square feet; I had to do a double take
Guess we haven’t been offered that job yet
As the houses grew, so did the boats, and we passed a couple of marinas packed with huge yachts. Those boats are millions of dollars to start, but that’s not even close to the end. If you include docking fees, fuel costs, paying a full-time crew, and general upkeep, the cash flow required to continually own and operate one of these yachts is astronomical. I bet most of the owners only use it a couple times a year.
This is the smaller yacht marina we passed
One boat we passed, named the Honey Fitz, was awesome. It is a wooden boat that was built in 1931 and is nicknamed “The Presidential Yacht” because it was used by five US presidents including Kennedy. It was recently restored by a private owner that lives in Jupiter; and yes, it’s still period correct.
Nearing its hundred year anniversary
Our anchorage for the night looks very different than the previous one, minus the wind that picked back up and the clouds that rolled in. Last night, we were surrounded by mangroves and the only lights were on the other boats anchored near us. Tonight, it’s high-rise condos and apartments with bustling city noise; I’m sure you can guess which one we prefer.