Day 181, Year 10: Headed North
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2015
Weather: Sunny, Temp in the 80’s, Winds E 10-14
Latitude: 26 55.701 N
Longitude: 080 01.768 W
Location: Off Florida’s East Coast, Headed N in the Gulf Stream
When I wrote our destination in the Captain’s Log this afternoon I simply wrote, “North!!!” In the next few days we are headed to Little River, South Carolina, but we know we can’t make it in one offshore go. Weather is going to force us to come in sometime on Friday night or Saturday. At that point, we’ll decide whether to proceed in the Intracoastal Waterway in day hops or whether to continue offshore doing two more overnights. I guess the important thing is that we are on our way and we will adjust destinations as need be.
We were up and on our way to shore by 7:30 am this morning. We arrived at Holy Cross Hospital shortly after 8:30 am, but we didn’t leave there until 1:30 this afternoon. There was one delay after another and Mark’s infusion didn’t start until after 12 noon. We are so appreciative that Dr. Gomez adopted us to let Mark get his cancer treatments there this winter, but the hospital organization definitely needs some adjustments.
 |
| 150409 Day 181a Florida, USA–Mark and Dr. Gomez |
Steve stayed with Mark and I at the hospital and Mary Ellen and Lee went to visit with their son Bryon’s in-laws that live nearby. Thankfully they stayed around as they had to take us back to West Palm rather than having us take the train and trolley. With the hours of delay, we would never have made it out of the Lake Worth inlet this afternoon. Not only did we have a great time sharing a bit of our cruising lifestyle with them, but the timing of their visit was perfect for helping us with our shopping and taking us to and from the hospital. Thank you Mary Ellen, Lee, and Steve.
When we got back to West Palm we could see a very big megayacht aground in the ICW channel. There were all sorts of boats trying to pull it off, but the Lady Kathryn V was hard aground. As we left the anchorage and motored toward the bridge, we had to weave in and out of boats in the anchorage rather than use the channel. It was a big boat sitting sideways with lots of boats attached to it by lines trying to pull it. Sure hope the 200-foot Lady Kathryn V is free by now.
 |
| 150409 Day 181b Florida, USA–Lady Kathryn V Stuck in the Waterway |
But we made it passed her, through the bridge at the 3:15 pm opening, and then on out of the Lake Worth Inlet and into the Gulf Stream. It is a bit like being in a washing machine out here this evening, but we are getting a boost from the Gulf Stream current. We should have about 15 knots of wind overnight and in the morning, but then the wind goes away. So we will be motoring northward, hopefully with a little help from the current, getting as far north as possible before the cold front exits the coast and causes some ugly, squally weather with north winds out here.
Ed and Lynne of Constance called this afternoon to let us know that they made it to Cumberland Island t 2:30 pm last night. They left Eleuthera in the Bahamas on Sunday and had a good trip across. This morning they left Cumberland Island to head up the St. Mary’s River to the boat yard where the leave Constance. The funniest thing happened as they pulled out of the Cumberland Island anchorage. Sea Turtle passed right by them. It is really a small world.
