Jacksonville to Key Biscayne, Florida
07 February 2009 | "Brilliant" hard aground, Lake Sylvia, Ft. Lauderdale
Brilliant's Log 01-09
26 January 2009 - Mulberry Cove, NAS Jacksonville, FL to Blount Island, St. Johns River.
The last doctor's appointment was completed, lines were cast off, and "Brilliant" was underway for the 2009 season. As we rounded Piney Point a mile from the marina, we received a VHF call from "Cat's Cradle," letting us know they were on their way to the base. We'd met them last winter at the Mulberry Cove Marina and had expected to see them this winter. Unfortunately, they had their mast knocked off by a prematurely closing swing bridge on the Alligator River, NC and had spent the last four months having repairs made. We sorry not to have the chance to spend time with them and we did a quick chat as we passed under the Main St. Lift Bridge in downtown Jacksonville.
The late departure limited our options for the night, so we motored to the Back River anchorage behind Blount Island. We made good time riding the ebb tide and made it in well before dark.
Log 23NM
27 January 2009 - Blount Island to St. Augustine, FL
The morning greeted with a very dense fog, visibility was down to around 50 yards. Traveling on a busy river in the fog is not something we like to do, but with radar, GPS and common sense it can be done safely. So with our nose glued to the radar, we made our way out the St. Johns River to the Atlantic Ocean and then south along the coast to St. Augustine. Our late departure, flood tide, and fog all conspired to force us to motor sail all day even though we would have been able to sail at least part of the trip to ensure arrival before nightfall. We had expected the fog to burn off in the afternoon to make our trip through the St. Augustine inlet a bit easier. No, the fog never lifted. Coming into the uncharted entrance to St. Augustine was going to be really scary. Because of the shoaling in the inlet the navigation buoys and day marks are moved frequently and are not shown on the charts. Luckily a Dutch boat we chatted with on the VHF gave us enough information to confidently enter the inlet with only 100 yards visibility. Even with the radar it was still a challenge to pick out the buoys. Once inside we were able to find a good spot to anchor and will be here for at least two nights with a cold front due in tomorrow or the next day.
Log 40 NM
28 - 30 January 2009 - St. Augustine to Fort Pierce, FL
On the 28th the fog had cleared and we had a good day ashore in St. Augustine. Pete wandered over to the Sailor's Exchange, a consignment shop, while Stephanie visited the tourist shops in the old part of town. The dinghy ride back to "Brilliant" wasn't too pleasant. The engine wouldn't keep running so we drifted back to the dinghy dock, where Pete found the fuel filter clogged. With help from another cruiser he was able to clean the filter and we were able to just make it back to Brilliant under power. We'll need to re-filter all the gas in the fuel tank. Guess we'll work on that when we get further south.
We waited for the cold front to arrive around 1100 before departing. As forecast, the front came through with some light rains, then the winds shifted from southwest to northwest. Perfect for our trip outside down the coast.
It was much easier going out the inlet with good visibility than it was in coming in with the fog. The seas were real chunky in the channel and were both having second thoughts about continuing, but once we reached the sea buoy and turned south it settle down. With good wind we were able to shut the engine down and started sailing on a broad reach.
Afternoon showers and a wind shift slowed us down but we continued to sail through the day and were still making 5 knots. Thankful for the cockpit enclosure with the cool weather we stayed comfortable and dry. Our plan was to continue down the coast, hoping to make it to Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale in two to three days as long as the conditions allowed. Late evening we enjoyed a pod of porpoise riding our bow in the dark. The ghostly phosphorescence trails through the water keep us entertained for hours. With Pete on watch around midnight we slowly lost the wind and when the boat speed dropped to less than 2 knots we had to start the engine. Five hours later the wind filled in again and we were sailing again.
Just before dawn as we rounded Cape Canaveral it started to really blow. Now with 20-25 knots and gusts to 30 knots and a building sea we had to decide if it should stop at Port Canaveral or continue to Fort Piece before darkness fell. In the meantime, we were sailing dead downwind with reefed main and jib making better than 7 knots.
Midmorning, about 4 miles off of Satellite Beach Stephanie saw a right whale breech. As she pointed out where she'd seen it, the whale breeched again for Pete to see, only 100-200 yards away. As right whales are a critically endangered species we call the USCG and reported the sighting. It was amazing to see!
Neither of us had slept well on the overnight, so we decided we make for Ft. Pierce. We had no problem with the Fort Pierce Inlet and found a good anchorage just off the ICW. We were a exhausted, but it was a great sail. Covering a good bit of ground in 28 hours.
Log 168 NM
31 January 2009 - Fort Pierce to Lantana, FL
In the morning the winds were still strong from the northeast and we decided to continue on the inside down the ICW. Departing at 0800 we made good time motor sailing down the broad straight Indian River channel.
We made good time to Lake Worth, FL, but decided to continue with so much daylight left. Good anchorages are scarce from here south, but we had one in mind and it looked good to make it, except our guide book and the 13 bridges conspired to slow us down. We missed a couple of bridge openings because the book listed opening time incorrectly and I hadn't confirmed them on-line. That said, we made through the last bridge around 1830 and pulled off the ICW just south of the Lantana causeway. The anchorage was just deep enough for our six foot draft and looked good for the night. A club on shore 100 yards away had good live music playing until around midnight, which was ok. Just before Stephanie came to bed she noticed that the only other boat in the anchorage was now only 25 yards away and in front of us. The boat had dragged anchor and there didn't seem to be anyone aboard. Our only choice was to haul our anchor and move up wind.
Log 60 NM
1 February 2009 - Lantana - Fort Lauderdale, FL
In the morning the other boat was still there, maybe 100 yards further east of where we'd last seen him, so no harm to him or us. We got underway around 0800 after a careful study of the day's bridge schedules on-line. Not going to make the same mistake twice.
Our drive down the ditch was uneventful as we slowed or sped up to make bridge openings. The ICW along this stretch is lined on both sides with amazing waterfront homes. It is unbelievable the scale and size for some of the mansions. And yet along this stretch we saw at least a dozen or more manatees.
After 15 bridge openings we missed the 17th Street Bridge at Fort Lauderdale by three minutes. Frustrated, we decided to backtrack a mile and slip into a small lake amid the mega mansions of Fort Lauderdale. Our cruising guide gave specific warnings about shoaling and directions on how to safely get into Lake Sylvia. Pete followed the directions perfectly, he thought, until the keel bumped twice and "Brilliant" was no longer moving.
We have grounded more times than we care to remember, but this time it was different. It wasn't soft sand or mud, it was rocks and we couldn't get loose with the engine. To make it worse the tide was falling and it was still three hours to low water. We tried every trick we knew; shifted weight to one side; brought out the sails to try and heel the boat over; it didn't work. Then flagged down three young men passing by and tried again with using their dinghy as a tug and the extra weight on the rail, still no luck. Finally a big power both offered to help; we have them a halyard to try and heel the boat from the masthead. The boat heeled over mightily, but it didn't budge. After an hour trying and with the tide now further out, we said thanks to the powerboat and gave $20 to the guys that helped to buy a beer, and settled in to wait for the tide to change.
We were lucky that the Florida tidal range is only about two feet so we knew we wouldn't be laying on the hull at low tide. The Fort Lauderdale Police boat stopped by, but there wasn't anything he could do for us as we lay at about a 45 degree angle. He did comment that our bottom looked good and did some soundings so when we did float loose we could find the path in that we missed. It was around 10 PM when we were finally back on an even keel and floated off the rocks. We carefully moved "Brilliant" into the Lake and dropped the hook. It was a very long day.
Log 32 NM
2 February 2009 - Fort Lauderdale to Aventura, FL
We CAREFULLY departed Lake Sylvia and headed south down the ICW to visit with our friends Don & Sandy in Aventura. Those that have followed Brilliant's Log may remember we met them in Almerimar, Spain in 2006 and crossed the Atlantic at the same time. After finishing their 12 year circumnavigation they sold "Destiny" and have moved ashore. Someday that will be us.
It was an easy trip motoring down the ICW and we correctly timed the five bridges to reach Dumbfoundling Bay. Anchoring in front of our Don & Sandy's condo and we found good deep water and excellent protection.
Log 12 NM
3-5 February 2009 - Aventura - Key Biscayne, FL
We had a wonderful time enjoying Don & Sandy's hospitality, the conversations, the great food & wine, and just being together again. They also graciously shuttled us around for shopping and Don gave Pete the courage to tackle the carburetor on the dinghies outboard. Seems it wasn't just a fuel problem - but a quick disassembly and cleaning of the carburetor and it's working fine again. We sadly said our goodbyes after a terrific dinner at a Greek restaurant and a movie in their amazing home theater.
Next morning we headed north. North because of a low bridge on the ICW between Port Everglades and Miami that "Brilliant" with her 60' mast can't get under. This little detour adds 20 NM to this trip. But even with the wind against us we made good time motoring north on the ICW to Port Everglades and again were able to time all five bridge openings perfectly. \
We raised a reefed mainsail, anticipating the forecast 20 knot north wind, as we motored out the Port Everglades Inlet to the sea buoy. Turning south we shut the engine down and brought out the full genoa. Sailing at 6-7 knots with 3 foot seas was sublime. The wind slowly clocked from northwest to north and so we put the jib on the whisker pole to sail comfortably wing and wing. A sunny day but the temperature never got much above 60 degrees. We passed the Government Cut into Miami and continued south to Key Biscayne. Rounding Cape Florida on the keys south end we made our way into No Name Harbor. Very nice protected spot, but with 24 boats already anchored there wasn't room for us to drop the hook. We continued around to the west side of the island and anchored in a bay with limited protection from the wind.
The wind came up a bit and the chop increased as the evening wore on, but we felt secure. I went up on deck to check things (temperature was now in the 40's Brrrrr!) and realized we'd been dragging the anchor across the bay and were now very close to shore. Two tries at re-anchoring in the dark and with a frozen Stephanie and we were safely anchored again. Pete stood anchor watch for an hour or so and Stephanie for much longer, but the anchor was good this time.
Log 43 NM