An Ambitious Run

From the Deep South of historic Brunswick, Georgia to cosmopolitan Palm Beach, Florida, a 305 nautical (350 statute) mile jump.

Our two-night run down the coast started at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, December 6. Going out with the tide on a chilly, cloudy day, we had a fast trip out the fifteen-mile Saint Simon channel, well under two hours. In the Sound, the fast ride was rough, due to a stiff northeast wind meeting the strong east traveling current. Out of the channel, the seas were more comfortable than in the sound, but not much. With a forecast for wind and temperature changes as well as possible rain and a slight chance for squalls, weather conditions were not great. Knowing this, our plan was to stay within three nautical miles of land when possible; seas just get bigger the further away from land that you sail.

But even close in, the waves were six feet and rolly. The wind was NE, then East @ 20 with sustained gusts of 25. We were on a beam reach and heeled over enough that moving around was accomplished only by holding on to handrails. We had complete cloud cover and rain showers, then the moon and stars joined us for a while as we continued our fast voyage.

By Monday, the wind was mostly north and the ride more comfortable. The wind continued to change often, N, NE, and E. Like the wind direction, the wind speed was just as unpredictable, from light and variable to 20 and gusty. Monday night brought the right wind and weather. With a good point of sail, we had the perfect sailing night. We thought we would go in either the Ft. Pierce Channel or the Lake Worth Channel, depending on how many miles we covered. We passed the Ft. Pierce Channel around 4:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, so of course, we continued to Lake Worth, fifty-some miles further south. South wind was forecast for Tuesday night, but it arrived earlier. As long as it was southeast, we kept our speed up as we motor-sailed, but when it changed to due south, we were making less than five knots. We still made it to the Lake Worth Inlet in time to travel in the short inlet and have the anchor set by 2:30.

We had wanted to leave Wednesday afternoon for a one-night trip to an anchorage just south of Key Largo, a distance of seventy-five miles. The last thirty-three miles are in shallow Hawk’s Channel and should only be done in daylight. But the forecast was still South wind and 20 knots, so we stayed at the anchorage in Palm Beach for one more night, which gave us another night to rest. We'll leave early this afternoon to make that next leg.

Being on the hook again! Lovely!