To Lake Worth, preparing to cross to Bahamas
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West Palm Beach,
Florida,
United States
Friday, January 12, 2001
January 3 - 12
"Lush, plush, elegant, luxurious, rich, opulent, affluent. This aura of wealth seems to ooze from every side." (Intercoastal Waterway, A Cockpit Cruising Handbook).
On our trip north from Manatee Pocket to Lake Worth and North Palm Beach, we passed gorgeous homes and mansions. In addition to homes costing millions, there were large yachts and mini-cruise liners tied up at their own pier. If you have an inferiority complex about the size of your boat, this is not the place for you. Some of these boats were over 100 feet long and we can only guess what they might cost. We were told that Roger Penskes yacht DETROIT EAGLE is 153 feet long and valued at over 40 million. John and Connie Fifer on RIVERDANCE saw this boat at Hilton Head Harbour on their way south and also read the write up as it was featured in one the luxury yacht magazines.
John and Connie are a new couple we just met through Dave and Judy aboard NICOU. They shared a mooring at Vero Beach with NICOU and have been together since. They are relatively new to sailing, having only three years experience, and they wanted to travel with someone who was also crossing to the Bahamas, so our three boats will cross together.
We have anchored at the north end of the anchorage to be close to a dinghy landing and the shopping malls. Some mornings it is almost impossible to land your dinghy as so many boats are here provisioning as they wait to cross over or head further south.
Thankfully the landing is near a huge and quite beautiful supermarket called Publix. I think all of us have made a daily trip to this store and a number of trips to the nearby West Marine store. There are also two Goodwill type stores in the West Marine mall and the ladies have continued to get great bargains. Margaret was able to purchase an excellent wind suit for $2 amongst other items. She bought me a pair of L.L.Bean shorts for a dollar. Can't beat those prices.
We have provisioned and prepared for this crossing as if we were leaving the civilized world for 3 months. In reality, the Bahamas are not that far away, only about 60 miles but we know when we get there that many of the items we have taken for granted these past months will no longer be available or will cost double or triple what they cost here in the States.
We have added a number of containers to supplement our meager water and fuel storage. For 16 years we always felt we had enough storage for sailing the Great Lakes but not for ocean or third world cruising. They say you can tell a true cruising boat by the number of add ons. Every boat going to the Bahamas has a number of containers up top, even the large sailboats. In addition, many boats not only have solar panels but wind generators to produce sufficient electricity for added equipment like refrigeration units.
Crossing the Gulf Stream
Some of you have asked why it is so important to wait for the right weather, hopefully the following will help explain the problem.
The Waterway Guide states: "Weather can change suddenly and strong winds from any quadrant will make the crossing unpleasant, but northerly winds can be downright dangerous. Never cross in even moderate northwest, north or northeast winds. They can turn the Stream's long easy swells into a maelstrom."
Since West End is almost due east of West Palm, east winds also make for very unpleasant head seas so you can see why we must be very cautious about when we leave. Each morning I turn on the HAM radio to listen to the Waterway Net at 7.2680 starting at 07:45 EST. The weather for the Caribbean, the Bahamas and the Gulf Stream is given each morning plus vessels at sea or anchor can give position reports to friends listening. In addition, we listen to the inshore reports on our VHF radios and then in the morning discuss all the variables with friends and fellow cruisers.
