(ICW MM 1013 to ICW MM 952)
February 11 - 17, 2024
So, I have mentioned in prior blog posts that there is a great book and podcast called How Not to Sail. Well, there are times when I feel like Jimmy and I are creating the blog post format of How Not to Sail. This week we have a few good examples.
Close encounters with bascule bridges
Shortly after our cargo ship incident, we set up anchor for a couple of nights before beginning the long trip up the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). Feeling recovered, we weighed anchor early Monday morning, ready to pass through five bascule bridge openings before anchoring in Peck Lake. The North Fort Worth anchorage was “around the corner” from the first bridge opening so it did not take long to reach the ICW and to discover that we had over 2 knots of current and 15 knots of wind at our backs, pushing us quickly towards the bridge. Add in that there was a pedestrian slowly crossing the bridge, causing the bridge opening to be delayed. This resulted in a last-minute pivot away from the bridge, back to the south to avoid running into the closed bridge. It was quite the adrenaline rush, one that I’d rather not have.
While waiting for another bridge to open, we had some difficulty getting Utopia turned away from the bridge; this time we had a close call with an adjacent dock. This is when we figured out that we could simply wait for the bridge opening “backwards”; that is point the bow into the current and wind until the bridge begins to open. We made it a point to notify the bridge tender that although we are heading northbound, we are facing the other way in order to combat the currents while we wait for the opening.
Anchoring next to non-swinging boats
Later that same day, we were very happy to reach Peck Lake, our anchorage destination. As the lake came into view, we noticed that the area was very crowded, and this was a Monday afternoon! With gusty winds in a tight anchorage, the anchor was finally dropped on the third location attempt. The owner of the boat to our starboard, stepped out of the cabin to inspect just how close we got to him during the process, and it was quite close. After waiting a good 30 to 40 minutes, we felt that we would not swing into our neighbors with a wind shift, so we lowered the dinghy and got in a nice little beach walk. Upon returning to the dinghy we noticed the winds had begun to shift and that the unmanned boat to Utopia's port was sitting sideways to the wind because it had several anchors dropped around the boat keeping it in place through any angle of current and wind. The problem is that all of the other boats swing with the current and wind, and it appeared that Utopia would swing into the stationary boat during the night. So, just before 4 p.m., we decided to pull up anchor and move on up the ICW.
It was not fun to research anchorages while motoring up ICW. The first anchorage we selected had too much shoaling for Utopia to reach with the falling tide. Eventually we found a great anchorage near the Hutchison Island Marriott Resort and had the anchor set before sunset. There was plenty of depth and lots of room to swing around. Another boater in the anchorage gave us the low-down of where we could dinghy to shore. It was a nice ending to a very long day.
Running hard aground & fouling dinghy props
After taking a lay day, we left the Hutchison Island anchorage Wednesday morning to head north up to Ft. Pierce. I apparently forgot that I had read a warning that the charted depths are not necessarily accurate in this anchorage and managed to run hard aground while trying to turn Utopia into the wind. Our depth meter quickly went from 10’ under the keel to 4’, then 2, then ‘boom’ we stopped. Panic ensued, and then a couple showed up on their dinghy to use the power of their 20 hp engine to push our bow back into the wind and pointed to deeper water. They were not a talkative couple, but wow, oh so helpful!
Once we felt the anchor was set well, we dropped the dinghy into the water to head to shore, and back, before sunset. I pushed The Jeep off of Utopia’s stern and Jimmy turned the tiller and revved up the engine, only to hear a very loud clunk at the same time the engine shut off. One of the straps used to keep the dinghy steady in the davits was hanging in the water and found its way to the prop. Jimmy plunged his arms into the cold water to free the prop from the strap, restarted the engine and we were off, scolding ourselves for creating another eventful day.
The Good Stuff
Going forward in reverse
In order to arrive at each bridge just in time for the scheduled opening, we often either need to hurry up, or go slow. With the strong current and winds pushing us up the ICW we needed to slow down our progress. For the heck of it, we placed the engine in reverse as we floated from one bridge to the next. This worked well for us, and we plan to use this trick in the future if needed. Hopefully the engine does not mind too much.
Courteous boaters
Several of the southbound boaters would hail us while waiting for a bridge to open to let us know that they would give us priority to go through the bridge first due to the strong currents. It was really nice for them to hail us with the offer, instead of our calling them to ask if we could go first.
Free dinghy docks
The City of Fort Pierce has a nice dinghy dock that is free to use. We always appreciate it when businesses or municipalities offer up a free place to park the dinghy. I think they realize it is a good economic decision because we typically spend money when coming to shore.
Pretty Beaches
We enjoyed two nice beach walks this week. The first was at Peck Lake. The beach is part of Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge National Sanctuary. The other was the incredible coral cliffs of Hutchison Island. It was amazing to see this feature on a Florida beach.
The City of Velcro Beach
We are on a mooring ball at the Vero Beach Municipal Marina, waiting out poor weather. This marina places two boats to each mooring ball. It is a little odd to have another boat tied to yours. The couple on the adjacent boat are rather quiet, as are Jimmy and I, so it is a good match up. The Vero Beach Municipal Marina has good amenities and pretty grounds. In fact, there is a lot of park space all around the marina. This green space, and the pretty SR 60 bridge make for a great view from our mooring ball. Also, the city offers free public transportation! I can see why cruisers have given Vero Beach nickname of “Velcro Beach”.
As usual, here are the photos for the last week.
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