We left before sunrise and things were going well with pretty sunrise and a rainbow...
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| Wow, that's something to see |
...until the first bridge. Then it just went downhill from there. Twelve bridges today and we only got the timing right towards the very end...this included my missing a note in Active Captain about one bridge that is closed for four hours every M-F morning...seriously Florida? An ICW bridge between two major inlets is closed for four hours every morning? You think you may want to make sure that is corrected noted on your Palm Beach Bridge Schedule. Well I guess not since you don't even have the standard schedule correct for them all. Anyway, the bridges sucked and the next time I'm traveling between Boca and the Palm Beaches, it will 100% be via the Atlantic Ocean. Oh and then it started raining and then it got cold. Ok, not cold like at home but cold for us and we are sissies now so anything under 70 is now cold....ha!
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| "That" bridge - closing a bridge on the ICW from 7-11 am is NOT OK! |
We had three possible anchorages picked out--super, that's a lot of options and flexibility...except the first two were a joke for our size boats, the third and final option worked fine for Island Khaya but our anchor refused to set. After six tries, we bailed and kept going hoping that Boca Raton Lake would be acceptable, big enough and have a spot for us. Of course it was at this point where we suddenly were bridge timing experts. Meanwhile, I had no luck with a marina because Boca is a rich person
place and marinas are private, small, both a and b; and of the two that
were not the Waldorf Astoria ($5.40 a foot), neither had room. The gal
at Just Catamarans was not kidding--there is nothing down here. The Waldorf was starting to look darn good! But we got here and got in over the shallow entrance and dropped anchor basically on top of another catamaran that was already here. You know close talkers--those people who just get right up in your personal space? Well, tonight we are the boat equivalent. In all honesty, we are fine and will be as, if not tighter, in the Bahamas anchorages; nevertheless, I still have my Chesapeake Bay reserved dock space sensitivities and feel like a d-bag for being so close to this dude. Sorry, really. And sorry about the generator noise but we are freezing and need to turn on the heat and get the cold damp air out of our boat ;-)
Now while I am here bitching and moaning about today, let's keep some things in perspective. 1) In addition to all of the above, Mark drove 90% of the day in the rain and through the 12 bridges and all of their schedules so he deserves all the credit for getting us here and all the accolades for being a kick ass good captain. 2) "Cold" here is not 20's as it is at home, nor will it be...until the movie
The Day After Tomorrow becomes reality. 3) No one on the boat has The Ebola. 4) The WIFI is a million times better than North Palm. 5) Ten of the 12 bridge operators today were really great, one of the 12 was a hoot...chatty fella, had to love him. 6) We have a generator and aren't afraid to use it!
Also, if it had not been cold and raining and we had the benefit knowing
anchorage number four was going to work out so well and we would have
calculated the bridges better, this would have been a really nice
relaxing day with many interesting sites along the way.
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| West Palm flair |
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| That cat is really big compared to our boat but really tiny compared to those Mega's! |
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| Look at that mast! |
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| A study in perspective--that's Island Khaya |
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| Funky fishing platform |
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| Low tide don't bother him none |
I did not care for today but we have plotted out our short trip to Ft. Lauderdale and I have noted all bridges, cross referenced the schedules and calculated the times between each. I will not be bested by ICW bridges again!!! Moreover, we are crossing our fingers and toes that there will be a mooring ball there when we arrive. Oh please dear Lord let there be a mooring available when we arrive.
PS, the wind is also howling but at least it's only 15-20 knots...so we've got that going for us. XO Suzanne
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