Atlantic Crossing .... !!!!!!
Trip Start
Apr 24, 2005
1
11
13
Trip End
May 06, 2005
West Palm Beach,
Florida,
United States
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
The mystery "free" WiFi network appears and I was able to check the weather for our crossing to West Palm Beach. The "Barometer BoB" web site says it will be an easy crossing with waves 2 feet or less, and the NOAA web site says 2-4 feet. We decide to give it a try, if it is too rough we can always come back to the marina.
At 7:30 Captain Ted starts taking down the lines and freeing us from the dock, so we can be first at the fuel dock. Our neighbor is trying the same thing, and beat us away from the birth by about 30 seconds. As we near the fuel dock we can see a second fuel pump on the other side of the dock. Both boats are able to tie up and wait for the dock to open
Captain Ted waitin to fuel for crossing
. The people in the other boat are heading into the northern Bahamas waters and ask if the marina at Walkers Cay is open. Captain Ted tells them the marina was destroyed by the hurricanes last summer, and the closest marina to that area is Spanish Cay. They have to be back in Key Largo by Sunday and Spanish Cay is 100 miles east from Freeport. It is to far away for them to feel comfortable that they can make the Atlantic crossing if there are calm seas. The fuel docks open on typical island time, about 8:20. We take on 125 gallons of diesel and head for Bell Channel, the exit from Port Lucaya in the Atlantic. The reef and shallows extend about a mile out into the ocean. The water is rough, but it is due to shore break and we can see that the ocean looks calmer further out. Judy and Katy are a bit apprehensive but we make a run for open water and it is relatively calm. We are on our way to West Palm Beach.
Captain Ted sets the throttles on the turbocharged Caterpillar engines to 20+ knots and sets a course for West Palm Beach. There is a bit splash, but no spray is coming over the bow and the ride is relatively smooth. We spot several large islands on the horizon, and they turn out to be the same large ships; oil tankers to be specific. There are tug boats maneuvering the tankers are taking them to offshore docks where the oil can be piped to shore. There are tankers and freighters in all directions, all miles away but we need to keep our eyes open
Ginger the Cat .. hiding while we cross
.It only takes us 4 hours to cross and enter the Intercostal Waterway near our marina. The first large buildings came into view on radar at 30 miles out, and we could see them with our unaided eyes at about 20 miles out. The large hotels and high rise office building look strange after the total lack of such things in the Abacos. We traveled on auto-pilot and never touched the controls or throttles until we were about a mile from the entrance.
Our marina is just south of the Flagler Memorial Bridge. Flagler was the person who opened up the Florida Keys via a railroad. A hurricane took out the railway a few years after it opened, but there were enough people there to make it a political issue and have a highway built all the way to Key West.
The plan was to get Pizza, but we were tired and busy. Katy fixed Quesidias and we all milled about for a while and took a nap until 8:00pm. Even though the trip was not to rough, it was still tiring. You are bounced around a bit even on an easy passage on the ocean.
It is raining hard ... the first real rain we have seen on our adventure. It is only ¼ mile form the marina to downtown West Palm Beach, but it is too wet to venture out. Katy cooked spaghetti and we just finished dinner and cleaning the galley at 11:15.
Tomorrow we have to check in with immigration and customs at the airport. The plan is to rent a car (Enterprise delivers!!) and do a bit of exploring.
