Farewell Atlantic

We left Florida under warm, blue skies and smooth seas. We refuelled at the Inlet Marina where brown pelicans waited hopefully among the lines of the fishermen on the pontoons. Each time a fish was caught, a pelican would lunge at the end of the line as the fisherman desperately tried to reel it in first. The staff reckon these birds have forgotten how to fish for themselves.

At sea, it was a relief to be in open space and away from the confines of the shallow waterway. We had to motor the first twenty hours but then sailed in increasing winds. By the time we rounded Frying Pan Shoals off Cape Fear, we heard some of the ICW bridges were shut due to the high winds.

The water is now green and cool once more. The temperate continental seas are the most productive on the planet. The silty bottom holds many nutrients which are mixed into the wate column by winter storms. As the sun gains power in the spring and days lengthen, the plankton and algae begin to bloom, causing the characteristic green colour, and providing the base of a rich food chain, so unlike the nutrient starved coral seas which are nearly devoid of life away from the coral heads themselves.

Boom in the water - again

Birds too were on the move. We disturbed small flocks of migrating waders, resting in loose rafts on the foamy sea. At first, I mistook them for flying fish, they appeared that small as they took flight low over the waves from our bow. On looking them up, we found the flock was wintering red-necked phalaropes - we'd sailed right through their only known accumulation in the USA.

Red necked phalarope wintering offshore abeam South Carolina

We were also joined by a visitor – a tired palm warbler circled the boat whist we were still sixty miles off shore running before strong offshore winds, before he landed on deck. He hopped among the sheets and woodwork and found a quiet place to roost for the night. Lucky for him, we were heading for landfall at Beaufort Inlet, NC and were expecting to make it for dawn. We sighted land at first light and at 7am our stowaway left us and flew the last mile directly for the familiar shore. I hope the rest of his migration is uneventful as he makes his way north to Canada to breed.

Stowaway for a night off Cape Fear

The final night was busy – it was difficult to sleep as we were running dead downwind and the 3m waves were causing the boat to roll uncomfortably from time to time. We also managed to sail through a large military exercise. I heard at least five warships on Channel 16 and saw several other military vessels on the AIS. Two of the warships (Warship 55 and Warship 58) were kind enough to call us as they were passing less than one mile from us. They had us on AIS but were not transmitting themselves.

We entered the inlet and said farewell to the ocean under overcast skies. Light mist was lying on the sheltered water and the climate is quiet and cool like a British autumn. The inlet was home to more dolphins, mergansers, common loons and a tiny dovekie which swam out to sea just metres from the boat as we idled in.

Last view of the Atlantic at Beaufort Inlet

We ran gently aground again as we came into the waterway but were soon off on the rising tide. We are now anchored with many other yachts just off the channel and will go in search of fresh supplies and a laundromat.

Last Ocean Crossing

We had another change of plan as our plans are like the weather - fickle. If we stick with the Waterway, we have further shoaling to contend with at St. Augustine and cannot get 'out' until Jacksonville, FL, another 100 miles off. The norther we had been hiding from has now dropped right down and the sea is smooth with a change to favourable south westerlies forecast for this evening, so we are planning to head out right now.

Ponce de Leon from the lighthouse

"Sea Tow", who gave us such great advice yesterday, were equally helpful in person and we are confident we can extricate ourselves out of the "dangerous" and "difficult" Ponce de Leon inlet "which should be avoided by cruisers without local knowledge." With the drop in wind has come a rise in temperature and the skies are still clear blue. We took the kids ashore to explore the Ponce de Leon lighthouse - the tallest in Florida. From the top gallery, we admired the shoals which plagued us yesterday and confirmed our route out into the ocean.

We expect to have to motor today into 5kt north-easteries and then begin sailing tonight as the wind dies and veers into the east then southeast. By tomorrow, we're expecting a fair sou'wester which is forecast to increase to 30kt as a front moves through on Sunday. We should arrive in Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, on Monday

Aground....(twice)

I blogged too soon. We had enjoyed a fantastic day's run. The waterway was nerve-wrackingly shallow in parts and we bumped the bottom uneventfully, but we soon learned to ignore the depth sounder and just plough on regardless along the marked channel. I watched all the shorebirds as we passed - colonies of white pelicans, egrets and roseate spoonbills - and ospreys nested on the channel markers. We had an almost constant guide from the bottle-nosed dolphins who thought nothing of almost going aground themselves. The weather was clear and cold, and we somehow managed to arrange our arrival with the scheduled bridge opening times. The quoted distances seemed to be in statute rather than nautical miles so we hoped to make Daytona before sunset.

Then we ran aground. The first 40 miles had been easy so James hadn't spotted the warning in the guide to favour the east side of the channel after the New Smyrna Beach Bridge. We were overconfidently doing 6kts and hit the bottom hard. We managed to flag down a local boat who eventually managed to drag the bow round and we got off. However, two marks further along we had to turn left into the cut which bypasses the Ponce de Leon inlet. We had read the guide and nav warnings for this area. It was always going to be tricky in such a deep draft boat, but we hoped to follow the advice and trickle through. No such luck. Immediately we made the turn for the cut, we hit the bottom hard once more. This time we had been slower and more cautious, but we were now stuck properly.

James swinging on the boom to try to lift the keel

The tidal range here is only a couple of feet so we were not hopeful to float off anytime. We flagged down another passing boat who tried to pull us off but failed. The tide was now rising, but the flow and the breeze would be pushing us more onto the shoals. We had to inflate and launch the rib, and with judicious use of Croix des Gardes' engine and the rib, we crept inordinately slowly off the bottom.

Navigating through the 'dangerous' shoals

The guide told us there was a 6' shoal across the entire channel and it was worse at the other end of the cut. A local told us they could guide us through the 'dangerous' inlet itself for a $300 fee. We turned that down, but SeaTow did give us detailed advice of how to navigate the inlet. We tiptoed anxiously into the inlet and out of the marked channel as advised, and found ourselves in 11' of water. Further in was a secluded row of docks, complete with fine dining bars and live music. Now we were doing fine, one of the boats that had helped us before rejoined us and told us where the best spot to stop was, so we are now anchored for the night off a torch-lit pontoon with a band playing R'n'B whilst we watch the ever-present dolphins cruise lazily in the setting sun.

Waterway Wildlife

The USA seem to be very eco-savvy. The Federal Law on pollution is stringent and enforced. We are not permitted any discharge within 3nm of any shore, nor within any of the inlets or estuaries. Vessels must have a holding tank and pump out facilities are frequent. In the UK, yachts often pump out anywhere in tidal waters, and many of our race colleagues were smelt to even pump out in confined marina waters. If the US board a vessel without a holding tank, they will forcibly close the seacock and wire lock it shut to insist occupants use shore facilities.

As a consequence, the marine life is profuse. Our first venture into the ICW via the Canaveral Barge Canal was idyllic. The waters were calm and fringed by mangroves and palms. Fish were plentiful, the sea birds were feeding, and we even passed two alligators, a manatee and a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins in our first hour. We also had to negotiate several opening bridges and a lock. All the operators have come out in person to wish us a safe trip and admire our yacht. It is still perilously cold (for Florida) at 6C and we are the exception, moving north so early in the season.

Breakfast aboard when it's 6 degrees C

The Waterway itself is somewhat shallow for us, narrow and not overly obviously defined. The depth sounder regularly reaches 0.1m below the keel and we’ve seen zero a few times. At least the bottom is soft so we hope to be able to dredge our way through the worst bits. It was unnerving to see a fellow yacht hard aground at anchor just off the channel.

Bridge opening for us on Canaveral Barge Canal

The Marine Stewardship movement also seems healthy in the US. At Tampa Aquarium, I picked up the US equivalent of our UK Marine Conservation Society “Good Fish Guide” which informs consumers which species are sustainable and which should be avoided. The US “Seafood Watch” is produced by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and includes both general and sushi guides. They not only colour code the best choices, good alternatives and avoid species, but also annotate which should be consumed in moderation due to concerns over mercury and other contaminants in large species higher up the food chain. We’ve been eating plenty of crab, local tuna and catfish – the latter is delicious wrapped in smoky bacon and pan-fried.

Moving On North

Yesterday, the kids were frolicking in the outdoor unheated pool at Cape Marina, Port Canaveral. This morning it is 6C and properly cold. At least we don’t have snow here. The weather continues as typical for Florida – a few days of easterlies, swinging to the south and southwest before a fresh cold front brings a norther which lasts for a few days. We are just into that fresh norther and so it will be foolish to try to sail to Hatteras ‘outside’. James has a plan that we will chug up the ICW instead and then pop out at Jacksonville FL to sail the remaining 300nm outside. It means three days of motoring but that will be cheaper than another three days in the marina and at least we’ll be moving on again.

The wildlife continues to astound – the ospreys at Sanibel allowed us to walk almost within touching distance of them on the causeway, whilst the black vultures here at Canaveral were similarly accepting of our presence as they delicately picked at a discarded fish carcass.

We have some more boat jobs to finish up today, such as replumbing the propane system to take a US gas cylinder, then we’ll be doing battle with the locks, opening bridges and shoaling of the ICW.

Normality and Storms

For a few days, we reverted to being a ‘regular’ family. ‘Normality’ began with Elizabeth’s birthday on Friday when she opened presents, visited a Toys’R’Us, ate waffles, visited the Florida Aquarium and then visited my father’s cousin, Jane, who had organised supper, birthday cake and balloons. The next day, Jane had arranged her friend to give us an insider’s tour at Lowrie Zoo, Tampa and then on Sunday we travelled further south to see nesting ospreys and kayak among the mangroves and alligators., however the highlight for Elizabeth was “staying in a real house and sleeping in a real bed again.”

The aquarium was as special as I had remembered with a wetlands section where you walk between pools with glass sides in a mangrove swamp whilst ducks paddle above the fish and other waterbirds fly around your head. The zoo was also memorable – we were introduced to the penguins inside their enclosure (although one had a taste for Matthew), fed the giraffe, listened to the gibbons sing, watched wild manatees recuperating from cold shock and red algae ingestion and photographed the many wild birds who take advantage of the safety of the zoo.

Jane’s company was enthusiastic and she was delightful to stay with. At her home, I watched the many brightly coloured native birds on her feeders – American goldfinches, tufted titmouse, Carolina chickadee, mourning dove, red cardinal, the massive Carolina wren, yellow-throated warbler and red-bellied woodpecker. We were also lucky enough to spot swallow-tailed kites and white storks.

We had to drive through a horrendous thunderstorm on our return which straddled over 60 miles from central Florida to the coast. We stopped for supper at a Golden Corral which offered a ridiculously good value buffet complete with steaks, rib and shrimp, as well as a chocolate fountain and unlimited drinks. However, our good mood evaporated as we reached the marina – the thunderstorms had been accompanied by unusually severe gusts and even a real tornado was reported on the news as touching down at Canaveral. This obviously had caused some localised damage in the area. Many boats had been “bruised” including Croix des Gardes. We lost our burgee mast and burgee, and the expensive bespoke sun awning was ripped apart and carried off into the bay. She looked a sorry sight, even in the darkness, with tattered rags hanging off the stays.

Space Center

We nearly missed our trip to the Space Center today. Everyone slept like the dead last night, including the kids who never even had to do a night watch.

We did all the usual things at Kennedy, including getting astronaut Bob Springer's autograph. When asked what the best bit of today was, Matthew replied "the alligators!" He saw thirteen today - mainly in the water, but two "sunbathing" as well. The wildlife was spectacular with freshwater turtles, 'gators and loads of waterbirds including several heron species, two types of ibis, two types of vulture, roseate spoonbills, ospreys and bald eagles.

After Kennedy, I persuaded James to drive up the the Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge where we did the seven mile birdwatching drive. These Americans know how to do birdwatching. Just cruise around a one-way trail in your car and the birds are just metres from your vehicle. No need to walk anywhere or even leave the car for fantastic wildlife shots. We even saw more alligators. A little further north, they had been cutting the veges and I spotted an armadillo in the grass. Matthew didn't even know they existed and says they're now his favourite animal "with two mouse ears, a rabbit's head and a zebra body." OK.... Back at the Cove we saw there really is something for everyone here. The entry sign advertises all the restaurants and stores including Brown's Taxidermy. Might have to pop in to see if there's anything for Sue.