Finally warming up

We are under way southbound in the Atlantic Ocean, offshore of Jupiter Island, Florida. Between a couple of really long days inland, and this unexpected short window offshore, we will be in West Palm Beach three days early for the orthopedic appointment I was able to make a short walk from the dinghy dock.

Wednesday morning we walked back to town to grab a couple of breakfast sandwich bagels at Serra Doce, which were decent. We dropped lines just before 10am to have enough tide out of the basin and time our arrival at the George Musson Bridge for the top-of-the-hour opening. A half hour after departing we had a decent, if distant, view of the Falcon-9 launch, delayed from the previous two days due to the same winds we had been battling. We had a better view than those closer to the cape, where it was overcast.

Sunset over our anchorage in Fort Pierce last night. That's Derecktor Shipyard center frame.

Shoaling at the Ponce junction had us try a new route this time, exiting the channel and skirting around the shoal to the north. That turns out to be a lot easier than trying to thread the needle in the cross-current and we are glad it was pioneered by others. We arrived at the Musson bridge just nine minutes early. Clearing the bridge at noon would make it a comfortable day all the way to Titusville.

We had plenty of water in the Mosquito Lagoon, but after passing through the Haulover Canal with over a knot of current behind us, we landed in a very shallow Indian River Lagoon. The persistent northerlies had piled water up at the south end of Mosquito but blown it all out of the Indian River, with Haulover unable to keep up with the filling. We made it through the skinny stuff at the north end of the lagoon with less than a foot under the keel.

Falcon-9 Starlink launch as seen from Daytona.

We pulled off-channel just south of the Titusville causeway on the west side, for northerly protection, finding a half dozen boats in this spot we usually have to ourselves. We hunted for a clear patch and dropped the hook (map). Things were not too bad north of the causeway, so we dropped the tender and headed to the courtesy dock at the Titusville Pier for dinner at Pier 220. The food here is surprisingly good for what amounts to a pierside tiki joint, and they have a nice selection of drafts, which the inside servers have to get from the outdoor bar.

With a short day to Indian Harbour Beach, we had a relaxed start in the morning, weighing around 9am, yet still we left ahead of our neighbors. We were tied up at the Eau Gallie Yacht Club (map) a little before 2pm, and I immediately hoofed it the mile and a quarter to Supercuts for a long-overdue haircut. From there I made my way to Publix for a few essentials, by way of a 15-minute neck massage at a local joint.

Vector at Titusville, more crowded than usual.

The clubhouse has reopened since our last visit, after extensive renovations, and we had dinner in their dining room for the first time in a couple of years. The building is quite nice and the food was good, but I think I prefer the more casual menu in the poolside bar. I was hoping to stay up to watch the launch, just 20 miles away, of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, but it was delayed due to sea conditions at the LZ. They are trying again tonight, but we're now a hundred miles away and it looks to be overcast.

Yesterday we dropped lines in time to make the 4:30pm bridge opening in Fort Pierce, normally a seven-hour trip. Between a south wind and adverse current our arrival kept getting later and later, and eventually I gave up and reduced speed for the 5pm instead. My alarm went off just before 10:30 for another Falcon-9 launch, but that got pushed back three times, eventually clearing the pad after 2pm. We again had a distant view under way. We noted several boats pull off channel to watch at the original time; they had a very long wait.

Another Starlink launch, this one astern.

We had hoped we could stop in Vero Beach, always a bit of a challenge for us, and connect with good friends Alyse and Chris, but our schedules did not align, which is why we had our sights set on Fort Pierce. Under way we learned that our friend Dave was actually en route to Fort Pierce himself, driving down from Wilmington by car. We concocted a hast plan to meet up at the courtesy dock at South Causeway Park and have dinner together someplace.

As we made the turn off the ICW toward the Fort Pierce Inlet, we could see the park dock was fenced off for repair. Dave was already nearly there, and we had to shift gears. We dropped the hook in our customary spot off the Coast Guard Station (map), amid a sea of boats seeking the same southerly protection, and tendered over to the boat ramp, where several already-moored dinghies suggested this was the temporary replacement for the park dock.

A nice and expensive motorsailer in her day, up against the Titusville Causeway with her mast on the ground.

Dave met us at the dock, where we had a bit of a climb to disembark the tender, and drove us over to Angelina’s Pizzeria e Ristorante, which none of us would ever have seen or found if I had not looked it up earlier while we were under way. It turned out to be quite good, with several beers on tap and lots of choices besides pizza, but the place was packed and the kitchen was a bit slow. The 2-for-1 happy hour drinks made up for that, and we were in no hurry since we were enjoying catching up. This was also the first evening in a long time where I did not wear my winter coat.

Louise has had her eyes on the offshore weather daily, looking for a window to maybe get us around the shoaling and construction at Jupiter Inlet. Yesterday it looked like the earliest window would be Monday, and so this morning we weighed anchor on the last of the flood to continue south on the ICW. We spent the next two hours discussing and debating the plan.

We forgot to snap a photo at dinner, so we had to settle for the boat ramp parking lot. Photo: Dave Rowe

Our options were to stop in Jensen Beach, taking our chances with the local constabulary regarding landing the dinghy at the boat ramp, or turn up the St. Lucie to Stuart for a couple of nights, adding 15 miles round trip and crossing a 7.5' bar in the river both ways, while we waited for the Monday window to leave via St. Lucie Inlet. Or just to continue south to Hobe Sound, forgoing the offshore option and waiting there for tide to cross the Jupiter shoaling.

Just as we were arriving to the first option in Jensen Beach, she checked the outside weather again and realized we could go today if we could still make it by daylight and we could confirm the forecast. A quick route calculation showed we'd be through the inlet before 5, and I radioed a sailboat making the transit offshore to ask about conditions. We could see a whole pack of them making the trek, likely from Fort Pierce, where we ourselves should have departed, in hindsight.

There was a good bit of swell just outside the St. Lucie jetties, and we bashed our way out, but things have been improving steadily since then. The gulf stream is close in here, and we are pushing against nearly a knot of current, but we should still make the anchorage in plenty of daylight. Tomorrow we will be in West Palm Beach, where the biggest challenge is always finding a spot in the crowded anchorage. I have no idea how long we'll be here; it all depends on what I learn at the doctor's on Wednesday.