Sailing

Evening at Lake Worth Inlet

Tuesday morning we cast off from the marina and moved the boat down near the Lake Worth inlet to stage for an early departure. On the way down we stopped and fueled at North Palm Beach Marina. Be forewarned that they only have a large diesel nozzle if you stop here with a little sailboat like ours. It is a challenge to fill the tank without spilling and the openings in jerry jugs are just too small. They are more used to filling megayachts that take thousands of gallons of fuel. The seven mile trip down to where we anchored for the night was interesting as we passed vessels of all kind, from freighters being loaded with oranges to anchored boats that clearly won’t be going to sea again. Anchoring in Palm Beach afforded a good view of the “little” residences on the shore side.

Shortly after dropping the hook, we smelled something burning with that special scent of burning plastic. It was the charge controller for the wind generator having a meltdown. We quickly disconnected it before it caught on fire and got it out of the boat. Spent the afternoon rewiring the charge circuitry to make it simpler. The wind generator will now be controlled manually and, with a simplified circuit, is now providing more power. Beth cooked brownies, bread and meatloaf to help cover up the smell. Noah was able to go over and play with his buddy David on Contented Turtle while Jesse came over and helped us with the wiring project.

Three Island Packets left the anchorage about 0700 this morning and headed for the Atlantic. Contented Turtle (IP38) and Cat’s Cradle (IP380) were in the lead. It was 54 degrees and mist was clinging to the top of the water as we headed out. Winds were out of the Northwest at about 15 knots so we were able to do something unusual -- sail!  Noah even elected to come up into the cockpit for a bit to see the ocean. We dropped a Clark Spoon on a hand line in behind the boat and Noah pulled in a foot long mackerel within a couple of minutes. He elected to let it go back in the water rather than keeping it for dinner.

It was surprising how many boats were out on the ocean. We passed three boatloads of scuba divers and dozens of sport fishing vessels. By 1400 we were entering Port Everglades and winding our way up to Lake Sylvia where we are anchored for the night. Contented Turtle caught something in her prop on the way in and executed an excellent anchoring under sail. It turned out to be a huge palm frond that jammed in the propeller.

The Palm Beach Breakers Hotel from the Ocean

Island Packets on the Florida Coast

Anchorage in Lake Sylvia, Ft Lauderdale