November 19, 2011 Saturday
We woke up this morning to a diminished NE'ly wind @ 15 kts. Departed the mooring at 0730 hrs. I decided to carry the jib today and gained an extra knot. The early morning brought several rain squalls so we ended up in foul weather gear. The afternoon was bright, warm and sunny.
There are many bridges that cross the ICW in this part of Florida. The fixed bridges have a mandated 65 ft vertical clearance. Our mast stands 55 ft above the water line so they present no problem. The Rail Road, bascule and swing bridges that do not have adequate vertical height are opened on demand by calling on VHF Channel 09 and requesting an opening. Some of these only open on the hour, half hour or every twenty minutes. We went through eleven bridges today. Five of these were "on demand" so there is a small waiting period. Nevertheless, we averaged seven miles per hour and made West Palm Beach just after sunset: long may that big jib draw!
This part of the ICW is quite beautiful: lots of birds of every description. The majority of it is made up of mangrove swamps: perfect habitat for wildlife. As one approaches Palm Beach, the multi-million dollar mansions start to appear along the ICW. Bernie Madoff's is there somewhere with a "For Sale" sign on it. Just what do these excessive millionaires do with a forty room mansion? Some are so big that one can't imagine how they find their way around.
Once you arrive in West Palm Beach, there are the excessive millionaires with waterfront property and the very poor around the industrial port area. When I was a tugboat captain, I used to come into WPB to load raw sugar for points North. The immediate area just out side the port is quite dangerous at night. It is frequented by gangs, drug addicts and prostitutes. Several of our crew members were mugged during their excursions ashore.
At 1745 hrs, we dropped anchor just South and East of the main port in 15 ft of water. This particular anchorage is used by many of the yachts waiting on a Wx window to cross over to the Bahamas which are only sixty miles distant from here. At the moment, there are many waiting because the Wx has been uncooperative. The Western Wall of the Gulf Stream influences Lake Worth Inlet and meanders fairly close to shore. Any wind from the North quadrant that blows against it sets up a nasty chop and steep seas. No one wants to venture out in this kind of weather so they wait for that Wx window. Right now this won't happen until next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Tomorrow will be an easy day since we only have twenty miles to go to reach Delray Harbor Club Marina. This is where the new SSB will be installed. I have everything set up with the technician for Monday morning @ 0900 hrs. It will take a few days to get everything sorted out. The end result should be world wide communication regardless of where we are.
Our Valiant 40 "Solstice" has been well cared for and led a charmed life in the fresh waters of Lake Michigan, however, she was not ready for a circumnavigation. That is what we have been preparing for and the end is in sight. The yacht is more that capable of undertaking this voyage and will keep us safe as long as she is handled well. Just about anyone who owns a Valiant has "blue water" ambitions. These boats are made to make transoceanic voyages. Some of the older ones have several circumnavigations under their keels. The boat can do it: can we?
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