Miami to Fort Pierce, FL

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January 10-15, 2024: We travel north from Miami to West Palm Beach, Jason heads home, and I continue on to the dock at my Dad’s house.

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We started the day in Miami after a three night stay at Miami Yacht Club, courtesy of Jason’s friend Ryan. If you haven’t read about that yet, you can read about it here. After watching Icon of the Seas make its first arrival ever in Miami, we headed back to the boat, had some breakfast, and prepared to leave. I made sure to check the engine compartment for water (none), the oil level (fine), and the fresh water strainer (needed cleaning). After cleaning the strainer and closing up the engine lid, I started the engine.

Almost immediately, I got a Low Coolant Level warning. This was the third time I’d gotten the warning since the coolant was flushed and replaced in September. Unfortunately, I’d stowed the extra coolant in the aft most hatch, so after killing the engine I had to dig it out. I added less than a cup to the reservoir, closed up the cap, set the bottle aside in case I needed more, and started the engine again. This time, no warning.

Jason cast us off. Most of the lines holding us in place were Ryan’s, left at the dock, so it was pretty easy to just disconnect them and pull straight out.

It was 11:50 AM.

A Short Cruise

We didn’t have far to go that morning: less than 10 miles. We were shooting for Baker’s Haulover Basin at Oleta River State Park in North Miami. I’d stayed there on Christmas on my way south. I liked it because it was easy and sheltered. We were in no real rush — Jason hadn’t booked his flight yet — so we didn’t have a real need to cover a lot of miles.

Of course, we started the cruise by waiting for the West Venetian Causeway bridge to open at noon. Once through there, we just followed the ICW at a slow cruising speed. It was a beautiful day and I did the driving from the command bridge with my pups in their life jackets while Jason worked at the cabin inside the boat. He occasionally came up to visit, sometimes bearing snacks like mandarin oranges.

The West Venetian Causeway Bridge connects Miami to Miami Beach. It’s the only

I was cruising at slow speed the whole time. We were in no hurry. At one point, I came into a wide part of the ICW where some jackass in a Zodiac with a big motor was impressing his friends by driving fast in big circles close to the other boats cruising through. He waked me good once and pissed me off enough that when it looked like he was going to do it again, I pushed my throttle forward, got the boat up to 15 knots, and blew past him, giving him a taste of my wake, leaving him behind me.

It’s nice to have speed when you need it.

It wasn’t long before we passed the infamous Haulover Inlet. There didn’t seem to be anything going on there. The turn for the anchorage was just past that, on the port side. I followed my previous track in, avoiding the shallow water, dropped to idle forward speed, and eased the boat in.

A few minutes later, we were anchored in almost the exact same spot where I spent Christmas just over two weeks before.

Here’s my Nebo log for January 10, 2024. Download a PDF log file with more info. Track Do It Now on Nebo.

At Baker’s Haulover Anchorage

We had a mostly restful time at the anchorage. It was still early when we arrived so Jason was still at work. I launched the dinghy and took my pups ashore for a potty break, then loaded them back up and motored around the various arms of the basin to explore. Although there were fewer boats there than there had been at Christmas, there were still a lot of boats and many of them were unoccupied. A few were washed ashore or sunk in place. Florida is the sunken boat state. I was starting to think of it as the place boats came to die.

One of several sunken boats at Bakers Haulover Basin. I have to wonder why someone hasn’t scavenged that dinghy engine yet.

We also passed a few rafted boats that were obviously people squatting at the anchorage. I seriously doubt any of these boats were running, let alone seaworthy. One group of boats included a large flat raft — or small barge? — with a shed on it. I didn’t linger near any of them. Up at the end of one arm, I discovered a dock for Florida Fish and Game. There was a building there and the dock was in good condition, but there were no boats.

“Squatters” is what I call folks who live in one place on the waterways in boats that are barely able to float, let alone move under their own power.

Around this time, I realized that another Ranger Tug, Jenna & Tim’s Scout, was farther down our arm of the anchorage. I texted Jenna and we met up when Jason was done working for a hike near where I take the dogs for their potty breaks. The woods were filled with what turned out to be mountain bike trails, although we didn’t see any bikers. We did see bugs, however: no-see-ums and mosquitos. That cut our hike short and we went back to our dinghies and back to our boats.

I grilled up some salmon, which we had with baked potatoes, onions, and peppers for dinner. Although we had the cockpit’s screens zipped closed and the screens on the main cabin’s windows, some no-see-ums still got in. I figure the screens keep about 90% of them out; it’s the 10% I still have to deal with in buggy areas. (Georgia will be the test.)

The next day, I woke early and worked on my Key Largo post, which I managed to post on the blog. I made some clafoutis for breakfast. It was rainy and cool — not the kind of day to go anywhere. I convinced Jason to spend an extra day right where we were instead of going to an anchorage at Hillsboro Inlet that he’d suggested. We were at a known; I didn’t want to deal with an unknown on a miserable day.

While Jason worked at the table, I retreated to my sleeping space and spent most of the day reading. One of my MasterClass classes had suggested reading original Grimm’s fairy tales and I’d gotten an ebook full of them from my library. They also suggested reading bible stories, which I’d never read. I found a book called Biblical Literacy that put the stories in a modern context that made them readable. So I read that for a while.

Jason finished working and went for a run in the park. He found a cold water shower in the park and showered there, too. It started raining in earnest and he took the pups to shore for a potty break while I made dinner. We had grilled steak, salad, and mashed potatoes for dinner. Afterwards, we both read for a while.

It had been a restful day at a nice, peaceful anchorage.

Cruising to Lantana

By this time, Jason had made his flight arrangements to go home. He’d be flying out of West Palm Beach, which was on our way, midday on Saturday. It was Friday morning when we had to move on.

We’d planned to skip Hillsboro Inlet anchorage and anchor instead at Lantana, which I’d stopped at on my way south. It was another known anchorage for me with good holding and an easy way to get the pups to shore. It also had a handful of restaurants if we wanted to eat out.

West Palm Beach had two free day docks about 10 miles farther north. The plan was to leave Lantana early enough to get Jason to those docks. He’d be able to get an Uber to the airport from there.

But that meant getting from North Miami Beach to Lantana before sunset. Not only was that a distance of more than 45 nautical miles, but most of those miles were in No Wake or Minimum Wake zones and there were numerous drawbridges, some of which we needed to get open. And on top of that, I wanted to fuel and get a pumpout at a cheap fuel place along the way.

So we got an early start. I fed and walked my pups as soon as it was light enough to take the dinghy out. Then we stowed the dinghy, started the engine, pulled up the anchor, and headed out. Nebo said we got under way at 7:43 AM.

It was a long, slow trip. I drove from inside while Jason worked at the table behind me. We could never really get any speed up because of “manatee zones” and other reasons to keep boats moving slowly through the mostly narrow channels. (I put “manatee zones” in quotes here because that’s what the signs said even though it was obviously not manatee habitat. Instead, it was usually homes belonging to rich people right along the ICW with concrete sea walls no manatee would be interested in.) Although we could get under most of the bridges, we had to wait for some of them to open on their established schedules. Our timing was generally pretty good and we didn’t miss any openings, although we did have to wait 5 to 10 minutes for one or two.

The Broken Bridge

It was around 11 AM when we arrived at Atlantic Avenue. A bunch of us were waiting for the bridge, but it wasn’t opening. It was broken and had been broken for at least an hour before we got there. Some maintenance folks had been called to fix it.

I steered large ovals — a “racetrack pattern” is what we called it when I learned to fly helicopters — waiting for it to open. One by one, the other boats gave up and went south. I guess they were going to go back to the inlet at Fort Lauderdale and go north along the ocean. That was not an option for me; it was too far to go back and I didn’t have the fuel to go around. In fact, my fuel stop was right after the bridge.

I consulted my cheat sheet with the info about the air draft of my boat with the mast down: 9’11”. I consulted the sign board for the bridge: 12 feet. I tried to get the bridge tender to confirm that but he wouldn’t. Finally, after waiting more than an hour, I put Jason at the helm, grabbed a screwdriver, and took down my bimini top. Then I pulled down my antenna. And then I undid the guy wires and thumbscrews and lowered the mast. The boat was as short as I could make it.

I asked Jason to go up on the command bridge and yell like crazy if it looked as if we’d hit the bridge. And then I eased forward, held my breath, and steered us under it.

“It looks like you have at least another foot of room,” Jason called down.

By the time we cleared the bridge, I was soaked with sweat and extremely cranky. I steered us over to the fuel dock. The dockhand, a pretty little girl in short shorts who wasn’t very good at tying up boats, took a line. We secured it.

While Jason pumped the fuel, I went about getting the mast, bimini top, and antenna back up. I asked for a pumpout and was handed the hose, but it would not accept my sewer fitting. I was not about to pay $15 to do all the work, especially when I was already sweating my brains out and my fitting couldn’t be used. So I handed it back. Then I took my pups for a walk, trying to cool down both mentally and physically.

The Rest of the Trip

Within 30 minutes, we were under way again. Jason made us sandwiches for lunch. I did more driving and dealt with more bridges. We passed by Hillsboro Inlet and both agreed that it would have been a terrible anchorage.

As we got close to Lantana, we passed Boyton Harbor and I thought about how nice it would be to pull into a marina for the night. I called them on the phone but they were full.

By this time, it was well after 3 PM and I’d been driving for nearly 8 hours. I was exhausted.

But then we got to Lantana and I pulled into position to drop anchor. Jason handled it from the bow. When we were sure the boat wasn’t drifting, I set an anchor alarm and shut everything down. We had covered 46.2 NM in just over 8 hours of travel.

Here’s my Nebo log for January 12, 2024. Download a PDF log file with more info. Track Do It Now on Nebo.

One Night at Lantana

Before I did anything else, I took a shower. I really felt gross. One good thing about my boat — there are actually a lot of good things about it — is that while I’m under way, it’s heating the water, so there was plenty of hot water for a good shower. Jason took one, too. Then we got dressed, launched the dinghy, and took my pups to shore for their potty break.

I knew Lantana because I’d stopped here on my way south. So I knew where the park was and where my girls liked to do their business. I also knew about the fish restaurant everyone raves about in anchorage reviews and the sushi restaurant no one mentions. Of course, we went to the sushi restaurant, Sushi Bon Express.

They had outside dining so we settled in and I fastened my pups’ leashes to a chair where they’d be out of the way. There weren’t many people there and that was fine with us. I think Jason dislikes crowds as much as I do. I let Jason do the ordering because I knew that whatever he picked, I’d like. I like just about everything.

I was not disappointed. Although I don’t remember exactly what we had other than the “fatty tuna,” it was all excellent. We shared a bottle of cold sake. Somewhere out of sight, the sun sank down into the horizon.

We took my pups for another quick walk on the way back to the dinghy. Then we went back to the boat for the night.

On to West Palm Beach

In the morning, when it got light enough to see, we took the dinghy back to shore with the girls. When they’d done their business, we walked over to the other restaurant no one talks about in Lantana: Kona Bay Cafe. I had a crab cake “benny,” which was a crab cake with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce on it. It was amazing.

Another quick walk with the pups and then back to the boat. It was Saturday and Jason didn’t have to work so he drove. I hauled up the anchor and we headed out.

The goal was to get to one of the free day docks at West Palm Beach in time for Jason to get a cab to the airport. He figured he needed to leave around 11:30 AM. We made it with plenty of time to spare, arriving at around 10 AM.

Here’s my Nebo log for January 13, 2024. Download a PDF log file with more info. Track Do It Now on Nebo.

And this is where we screwed up. The docks are long and narrow and come out from land, perpendicular to the ICW and its current. There was a lot of current that day. There was also a lot of wind. Both were coming from the south. The dock had tall, poorly protected wooden posts securing it in place. My boat was just short enough that it fit between two of these posts. So Jason came in with the boat pointing toward shore, landing us right between two posts near the outside end of the dock. Perfect!

Here’s Do It Now parked at the dock between the two posts. You can see one of the posts on the far right side of the photo. The wind and tide pretty much pinned the boat there.

Or so we thought. More on that in a moment.

I stepped out onto the dock and secured us with two lines. We shut down the boat, locked the window facing the dock (so people couldn’t reach in), and locked the boat with my pups inside. It had only taken us about an hour to get from Lantana to West Palm Beach and they didn’t need another potty break.

It was a good thing we left them behind. The town was packed. There was some sort of farmer’s market and art fair going on and the streets were full of vendor tents and people walking among them. It was quite a crowd. At one point, we took refuge in a coffee shop where Jason got a cup of coffee to go. Then we were back out in the street, walking with the flow of the crowd.

West Palm Beach was packed with a farmer’s market and art show.

We didn’t stop to look at much. That was kind of disappointing for me because I’m a looker at things like this. But the crowds that made the situation somewhat intolerable and I think Jason’s upcoming departure was weighing heavily on our minds.

Eventually, we went back to the boat. We took my pups for a quick walk and then went back to get Jason’s luggage. We had it all on the dock and said our goodbyes. The idea was that he’d see me off and then go get an Uber.

But neither the tide nor wind had changed. And both were pinning my boat to the dock.

Now this normally would not be much of a problem. I’d be able to sort of slip backwards off the dock, letting my fenders protect the boat from the dock. But the boat was positioned between those two vertical posts and my fenders would not protect me from them. We tried twice — even the dockmaster had shown up to help — and my thrusters just couldn’t get me far enough off the dock to prevent what would be an ugly, damaging collision with one of those damn posts.

So I was stuck there until the tide changed at about 4:40 PM.

I shut down the engines and resecured the boat. I walked with Jason back down the dock and waited with him for his Uber to arrive. We said goodbye again and I watched his car disappear into traffic. I went back to the boat to wait.

An Unplanned Stay at West Palm Beach

The weather changed. That wind brought rain. Hard rain. I was warm and dry inside the boat. I killed time on social media and working on blog posts. And I realized that I was going to have to spend the night because my next anchorage — Peck Lake — was too far away to get to with a late afternoon departure and it didn’t look as if the rain would let up. In fact, the rain looked worse farther north.

Of course, I couldn’t stay at the dock. It was a day dock only and overnight stays were not allowed. I’d have to leave by midnight. But I was surrounded by a solution: an anchorage right off the dock. I could wait until around sunset, take my pups for a walk, and then move the boat into the anchorage. In the morning, I could dinghy them back to the dock for their potty break before heading out.

So that’s what I did.

But I did one more thing that afternoon: when the rain let up a little, I took a walk to the Publix supermarket in town. I was dangerously low on dog food and milk. It was about 6/10 of a mile each way and I only brought one shopping bag so I wouldn’t be tempted to overshop. Still, I filled it and had a long walk back with a heavy bag.

By 5 PM, after taking my girls for a walk, I was ready to move. The current was pushing the boat away from the dock, making departure very easy. But while I was waiting, other boats had come into the anchorage. It was tough, at first, for me to find a good spot, especially since I wasn’t sure how much rode I’d have to put out. I finally found a spot near the other free dock — the one without the dangerous posts. (Lesson learned.) I dropped anchor and swung into place with the boats around me.

The wind had shifted and the rain stopped. There was a country music concert in the park that was loud enough to hear on board. The anchorage was very calm. I slept well, despite the dampness, once the concert ended.

The view of West Palm Beach from t the anchorage was spectacular that night.

On to Peck Lake

I woke at 4:30 AM, had my coffee in bed with my pups and did my morning puzzles. It started raining hard again before dawn and hadn’t stopped before it was full light and my pups were expecting a trip to shore.

I dreaded going out in the dinghy in the rain. So I just pulled anchor and repositioned Do It Now to the dock without the nasty posts, facing out toward the ICW. I secured two lines, killed the engine, put on a rain jacket, and took my pups out for their walk.

In the morning, I parked at the other dock, the one without the treacherous vertical pilings.

They weren’t happy, but they did their business in a grassy area between the dock and the road. I cleaned it up and walked them back to the boat.

I had breakfast. A sailing cat came into the other side of the dock and I went out to help with lines. By 9 AM, there were four sailboats at the dock with me. I suspect they all spend the day at the dock, anchor out for the night and then return for the day. Kind of like what I was doing.

When the rain started letting up around 10 AM, I took a walk back down the dock to dump my trash. I noticed some food trucks had set up for a car event nearby. I wound up spending $20 on a to go box of Caribbean food. I thought the price was a little high, but as I snacked on it later in the day and at dinner time, I decided it was worth it.

By about 10:30 the rain had completely let up and the sky was brightening. Radar showed similar clearing up north along my path. So I started the engine and cast off.

I passed this marina as I left West Palm Beach. Even the large boats look small next to the very large boats.

It was a long, slow slog up the ICW, with too many Minimum Wake and No Wake zones along the way. The one thing that drives me nuts about wake signage in Florida is that it keeps changing. There’s “Idle Speed No Wake,” “Minimum Speed No Wake,” and signs that actual specify your maximum wake should not exceed 18 inches. In addition to that, there are signs that say “Manatee Zone No Wake” but have dates that’s in effect. And the dates in south Florida are different from the dates in north Florida. And some signs have fine print that say something like “West of ICW” or “Within 300 feet of shore” so they don’t apply to ICW traffic at all. It’s annoying and frustrating and confusing sometimes. And it almost got me in trouble. I passed one of the signs but didn’t really register what it said. I slowed down a bunch, but apparently not enough for the two harbor police at Jupiter. They waved me over and gave me a verbal warning. Oops.

North of Jupiter, the cruising conditions changed. There were fewer Minimum Wake zones, but the area was more natural with lot less development. It was more pleasant. I felt glad to be out of the South Florida congestion and back in a more mellow environment.

I arrived at Peck Lake anchorage for the third time in about a month just before 3 PM. Quite a few of the boats that had been there before Christmas were gone. I cruised slowly right to what I’d begun to think of as “my anchorage” and dropped 30 feet of chain. It was nice to be in a familiar place.

Here’s my Nebo log for January 14, 2024. Download a PDF log file with more info. Track Do It Now on Nebo.

At Peck Lake

I didn’t do much at Peck Lake. As usual, I took my pups to shore for a walk on the beach. Then, back at the boat, I made a batch of granola — I finally had all the ingredients I needed. I worked on the first posts in my blog series about planning a Great Loop trip. I texted back and forth with Jason. I talked to my housesitter about the heater under the stairs during the cold spell they were having back home.

Around sunset, I fed my pups and made another short trip to shore with them. I had leftover Caribbean food for dinner and retired early to read and watch TV.

I had a rough night. There was lots of wind and my boat, with its shallow draft, swung wildly. The sound of the anchor rode kept me up most of the night.

When I got up at 5 AM, it was much quieter. I settled down at the table to work on blog posts. At dawn, I fed my pups and took them for a last walk on the beach. Then I made myself some farina (like Cream of Wheat) for breakfast and had it with honey and unsweetened applesauce. A real comfort food breakfast.

As much as I wanted to spend another day there, I’d decided to move on

Peck Lake to Fort Pierce

I pulled anchor just after 8 AM and headed out. The weather was remarkably pleasant for most of the cruise. I decided on a “get there” day and cruised at 15 knots between No Wake zones. The water was relatively calm for the entire trip, including around the St Lucie Inlet and wide Indian River north of there.

My destination was the dock behind my dad’s house again. But before I got there, I needed to make a stop to top off my fuel tank with relatively cheap fuel and get my toilet tank pumped out. That meant a stop at Safe Harbor Harbortown in Fort Pierce. Diesel at $3.97/gallon was a good deal and it was worth the stop there, even though I only took on 48 gallons. They also have excellent fuel dock service, with enough staff to manage a pair of docks that can get very busy. I really appreciate that, especially when I’m single-handing.

It was nearly 1 PM when I eased into the parking spot behind my dad’s house and tied up. The rain started again almost immediately.

Here’s my Nebo log for January 15, 2024. Download a PDF log file with more info. Track Do It Now on Nebo.

Within a few hours, I’d have a good, hot shower and clean sheets on my bed.

It was a rough night and I was very glad I hadn’t spent a second night at Peck Lake.

I’d wind up spending ten nights there before continuing my travels.