Publish Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The weather off the east coast has improved enough that we decided to run offshore today and tomorrow. I’m writing this from about eight miles offshore, somewhere near St. Augustine, Florida. We departed this morning from St. Mary’s Entrance, near the Georgia/Florida border, and we’re headed for the Port Everglades Inlet, just south of Fort Lauderdale. If all goes well, the trip should take about 40 hours, which will make this our first overnight trip as a family on the boat. We’ve been watching the weather very closely for the last few days to make sure we won’t get beaten up out here. So far, so good: The weather has done what we thought it would do, and we have following 2-3 foot seas.
I can’t say I’m sorry to leave the Intra Coastal Waterway behind. There were parts of it that were beautiful, and we certainly learned alot along the way. But the ICW is alot of work navigating the route and working the tides, and you make very slow progress. The further south we got, the shallower the channels became, and the larger the tides became (6-8 feet in some places). We encountered many boats aground in the channel, and we passed through quite a bit of “skinny” water ourselves. Out here in the open ocean it’s very relaxing, and we can go 200 miles with a single overnight. There are certainly risks, but they’re different risks, and the rewards seem worth it to me. I’m glad to have experienced the ICW, but I don’t need to do it again for awhile.
I had no idea that the ICW was as you described with the tides and skinny water,that is interesting,i had driven over it and have flown over but never navigated,thanks for the info,hope you and your family have a happy thanksgiving and smooth sailing.
David, after reading the December 2008 PassageMaker article I have been reading all your posts and Ayla’s videos. You are living the dream! I was interested to know what your first boat was which got you started in cruising? We are in Tampa and weather is not good; I wish you safe passage.