Tuesday, April 1, 2014 – 8:30 PM – Leg 2/Day 2 of The Great Loop – 38.4 Miles
The day began with an interesting thought. For years I had watched the sunset over the Pacific Ocean, it is strange to see the sunrise on the Atlantic.
The scenery didn't change much from yesterday, though it does seem to be getting a little sparser. The big telling of that is the marinas are becoming more spread out. Traffic was very light today, didn't pass much and those going by South were mostly pleasure craft. There were some very large ships going through Port of Palm Beach, but most were at anchor or docked.
Traveling along, the scenery is as I recall the Intracoastal Waterway looking in Texas. Deeper into this journey there will be some very long and reflective times where the sight of an upcoming marina will be welcome, but today the wish is that it was a little less populated. No matter where you are along this portion of The Great Loop, there are buildings everywhere. So many little inlets into the ICW that pass by, such that, when peering down one there are docks and rows of houses that just seem to go on forever. There are a lot of brave souls here because being here during a hurricane must be frightening, even if you evacuate. This elevation is so low that another 10 feet of water would put most of it under water.
A good place to moor for the evening could not be found, so it was decided to just stay at The Bluff's Marina south of Jupiter. Running up to the inlet could have gotten the evening offshore again, but the wind picked up during the day and it looks like there might be some rain in the forecast. In that case, being tied where the boat will stay is the preference. As there is still some apprehensive about operating this boat alone, spending the night tied to something secure will ease the fears and help the sleep. These feelings will certainly pass, but for tonight, the old girl is tied down securely and the worry level is on low. Additionally, a night of Internet is welcome without using the hotspot as the provider is always ready with the charges for every single bit downloaded.
The goal is to be up in St. Lucia tomorrow to get the mast stepped and stored. So a light dinner tonight knowing that tomorrow will be a night out is the course of action. The hope is they can get the boat in right away and pull it quickly so that she can be back on the water and moving again. If that happens, finishing the leg will be the best of hope for the day. Two more days of travel would be great because the plan is to rest on the weekends when the boating traffic is higher with the weekend crowds.
Since most of the charting and planning happened years in advance, the evenings are spent reviewing the course over the updated charts to verify and then double checking Active Captain to find trouble spots. But to be honest, other than the channels in the bigger bays, this really is nothing more than a boat outing on a local lake. The underwater edges have come close a couple of times based on the Chartplotter course, but since the depth display is closely watched the whole time on the water, it has never been a danger. So far the timing has allowed traveling mostly on a rising tide in the more shallow areas. That may change as we go along, in fact, there is a certainty it will.
Dear Lord, please let those I love know that they are in my prayers tonight, bless them all and keep the angels on the path before me on this The Great Loop.