Well we left Miami as planned this
morning. It was still raining and the wind continued to blow, but it
didn't seem too bad, so we left. Our first change came near our
anchorage, when we found the bridge we'd planned to pass through to
get to the ICW was having problems and would not open. There was
another option, so we headed out to that bridge. By the time we'd
gotten our opening and were headed north, the weather had gone
downhill a bit - winds gusting up to gale force and the rain coming
down in torrents. In spite of that, we continued. Fortunately we had
put up our entire enclosure for the cockpit, so we stayed a bit dryer
than we would have otherwise.
 |
| A typical bridge opening on the ICW. Now imagine one side coming down early. |
Ten bridge openings later we made it to
Ft. Lauderdale and Lake Sylvia. We did have at least one moment of
stress during this passage when one of the bridges that had opened
for us began to close on one side as we passed under. I called the
bridge tender immediately as a swerved to avoid any contact. I was
told the wind caused it to come down a bit. We'd heard stories of
bridges closing on a sailboat with disastrous results. Fortunately
this was not one of those occasions.
After getting the anchor secured, we
just hunkered down for the remainder of the day. It was still
raining and blowing. Everything seemed to be at least a bit damp
after two plus days of rain.
This portion of the trip reminded me of
one aspect of boat choice that we'd never thought about when out
hunting. For anyone reading this and still looking for a boat, please
read on.
As we hunted for the perfect boat, we
looked for a boat with room for us and room for storage. We were
also concerned whether the boat could be managed by one person ,about
the depth of the keel and the type of sail plan. One thing we never
thought about was the height of the mast. Fortunately, our boat's
mast is about 50 feet high, so it has presented no special problems
for us. However, we've met up with a number of other cruisers for
whom the mast height has impacted their travel. The bridges along
the ICW are either lift bridges or fixed. Most of the fixed bridges
are 65 feet high. A few are only about 63 feet at high tide and at
least one in Miami is only 56 feet. For many cruisers with boats in
the 45 foot range, their mast is near the 65 foot range. This has
caused some anxiety as they travel. They have taken a variety of
steps to reduce the stress. This includes getting to the bridges at
low tide or taking off their anchor light and moving their radio
antenna, so they don't hit the bridge. A few we've met have masts
taller than 65 feet. They are forced to travel in the ocean when
heading south. While this can be attractive and save time, it also
puts them potentially in harms way more frequently or forces them to
wait several days or perhaps weeks for a good weather window. Since
we do most of our travel on the ICW, a tall mast would have had a
serious impact on our travels. We just got lucky and picked a boat
with a shorter mast.
Tomorrow we face 22 bridges that must
to lift for us to pass. This too impacts our travel, but doesn't
prevent us from the travel. If we chose to sail in the ocean, we be
staying here for another several days, since the weather out there
will be nasty for much of the week. We choose the ICW and will keep
on trucking.
Captain Bob
Carpe Diem
No comments:
Post a Comment