SOUTHPORT NC TO PENSACOLA, FL
NOVEMBER 13-29, 2018
After attending a weather forecast and ITCW
meeting, at the Southport Marina, which is given daily at 1800 hrs local by Capt. Hank Pomeranz, I decided that to continue on from Southport to SC and, possibly, Georgia would be very difficult with our boat which draws 6'. To do so would mean having to anchor and wait on tides and possible groundings. I prefer to sail outside anyway but passing Cold Fronts had prevented me form doing this. A Cold Front had just passed through and the wind was out of the North at 20 kts with 6' seas on the outside. we were already south of Cape Hatteras so I decided to sail on the outside knowing that wind and seas would increase. Our Valiant 40 is made for these conditions and the wind and seas would be on our port quarter which is comfortable sailing. We could fly just the furling genoa and adjust accordingly as conditions dictated.
We departed Southport Marina on November 13th at 0900 hrs local and continued sailing all the way to Port Canaveral with a N-NE wind fluctuating between 20-25 kts and gusting a little higher at times. We could have kept on sailing to Port of Palm but I was concerned that the Gulf stream would be moving more inshore and creating a bigger sea under the prevailing conditions. By the time a sailing vessel gets to Port of Palm, the influence of the Gulf Stream is just outside the Sea Buoy. With a strong NE'ly wind this will set up a much bigger sea. So I opted for Cape Canaveral and the ICW once again. We arrived off the Sea Buoy at 0930 hrs: sailed 367 nm in 72.5 hrs @ 5kts under poled out jib.
It's about 140 sm from Port Canaveral to Port of Palm. There are some lovely places along this stretch of the ICW and the extremely wealthy have mansions sprawled along stretches of it when approaching Port of Palm: just a lowly millionaire won't qualify. Anyway, about 14 sm below Cocoa Beach, Fl we found a beautiful ICW town called Eau Gallie (28-07.517' N; 80-37.651). This small town is a hidden gem: you don't see it from the ICW and the entrance leaves one doubting whether or not you will run aground. Once inside, there is a huge basin with 10' depths and a marina that has to be the cheapest anywhere along the ICW: $1.00 per ft per night and even cheaper by the week or month. I seem to remember that if you took a slip for a month you only pay for three weeks. There is a canvas shop called Karen's and she has been servicing yachts for forty years. She too, has some of the most reasonable prices I have seen. The town is attractive with art galleries and antique shops plus a thrift store that carries to name brands at Salvation Army prices. All in all a lovely experience. If we get the chance, We'll go back and spend a few days. Since we were on our way to Pensacola and Cold Fronts were increasing in time and strength, we only spent two nights there.
The following morning, November 18th, we departed the Eau Gallie Yacht Basin Marina for Port of Palm: 110 sm. We dropped anchor just south of the Ft. Pierce Br. at 1548 hrs for the night: (27-27.320' N; 80-18.524'W) 52 sm made good. We heaved up anchor the following morning, Nov.19th, at 0812 hrs enroute for Port of Palm: 46 sm. This stretch of the ICW has the big mansions and many bridges that have to be timed. I don't think I would come this way again unless the Wx outside was awful. The mega yachts are rude and inconsiderate: their wealth is proportional to their nautical ignorance. We dropped anchor at North Lake Worth (26-50-351' N; 80-03.228' W). This is a good place to anchor with plenty of room and water depth. The following day, Nov. 20th, we moved over to Old Cove Marina to take on fuel and pump out our sewage holding tank. We stayed there for the night and left the following morning, November 21st, for Port of Palm anchorage (26-46.023' N; 80-02.609' W). We have anchored here a few times and it's a good with good holding and room. So far we have sailed and motored over 1100 nm with another 200 nm to Key West, Fl and 510 sm from there to Pensacola. that adds up to a little over 1800 sm from New London, CT to Pensacola, FL.
From Port of Palm Beach to Key West, Fl it's about 200 nm sailing to the outside from Port of Palm to just south of Miami and then using the Hawk Channel form there to Key West.`The Hawk Channel in an interesting placethat runs from Biscayne National Park to Key West. The advantage of using this route for sailing vessels is that the current runs slowly from Biscayne National Park towards Key West while the stronger Gulf Stream Current runs outside the reef line and flows from Key West in a northerly direction up the east coast of the US. Sailing this stretch is about 154 nm and is weather dependent. There are few good places to anchor and nighttime sailing is not recommended due to numerous crab traps and other obstacles. The channel is well marked and maintained but frequent hurricanes cause shifting sand banks and debris. The most important caveat before deciding to use the Hawk Channel is to get a settled weather report. A shallow draft vessel with less than 5' can access several safe anchorages along the way but our 6' draft does not allow this: just that 1' increase makes all the difference.
I had a good weather report for November 21-24, 2018 so the only thing I had to do was to work out the timing so that we would arrive off the Hawks Channel entrance at daylight on November 22nd. We arrived at 0630 hrs with the goal of reaching Rodrigues Is (25-03.548' N; 80-26.427' W) for the first night's anchorage: 37 nm. We had a good night at this anchorage with light NE'ly wind at 5kts. The following morning, May 23rd, we heaved up anchor at 0654 with the goal of reaching Bahia Honda (24-39.282' N; 81-16.194' W) by late afternoon: 55 nm. This we did and dropped anchor at 1730 hrs. I had to reset the anchor three times due to a grassy bottom. I never did get a really good holding but it was sufficient for the weather conditions and the room I had to drag. There were a few thunderstorms in the late evening but nothing severe hit us; lots of lightning but nothing close.
At 0706 we heaved up anchor and got underway for Key West: 33nm. Due to crab pots and debris, we motored most of the way down the Hawk Channel. It was the only way we could time the available anchorages. From Bahia Honda anchorage, the crab pot grew in number and density to a point where it became necessary to weave in and out of them. They are similar to lobster pots in that they are set in strings. Once you locate the head of the string, it's possible to navigate around or between it. It would be dangerous to try this at night without good visibility. We arrived in Key West at 1350 and took a berth at A&B Marina in the heart of downtown Key West.
The last ime Phyllis and I were here in Key West was in July 1978. She was pregnat with our first daughter, Samantha, and we were sailing a 40' Wharram Catamaran named "Giniginamar" that we had spent six years building in the village of Giniginamar, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. We were headed towards Carabelle, FL to rendezvous with a our friend, Gary Gilbert, who had crewed for us from Barbados to Key West. We were now sailing towards Pensacola where, Samantha, lives with her husband and two children. Key West for us, was a whistle stop to rest before the final leg to Pensacola. It has grown a lot and we didn't recognize the places we had been in 1978 other than the anchorage at Christmas Tree Island. We only spent one night at A&B marina and then set off from the NW Channel at 1012 hrs on November 25th for Pensacola, Fl.
Once again, the important thing in making a direct sail from Key WEst to Pensacola is a good Wx forecast. The best time to leave is when a Cold Front has passed through and the winds shift to the NE > E >SE That's what we had and we were able to sail the whole way right into Santa Rosa Sound and off our destination to Palafox Pier and Yacht Harbor.
We completed a six year circumnavigation in June 2018. Our experience has been that the most important aspect of long distance cruising is timing the seasons and long term Wx forecasts. One can never know exactly what the Wx will be on a long distance cruise but if the season is correct, it won't be severe. Gales will happen to every long distance cruiser but their ocean going vessels are more than adequate to deal with this. The sail to Pensacola was uneventful and enjoyable. We arrived on November 29, 2018 at 1130 hrs: 510 nm in 96 hrs @ 5.3 kts. After coming out of the NW channel, the wind went light and we had to motor on and off for twelve hours.
Arrived off Palafox Yacht Pier and Marina at 1130 hrs local on November 29th, 2018. We will be in Pensacola until the end of April, 2018 and no further posts will be made until we start navigating again at the beginning of May. The plan is to set sail from Pensacola to Cuba in May.
The sail
