Northbound ’19 – Travel Day 4: Fort Lauderdale, Fl to North Palm Beach, Fl

Conditions: Mostly sunny & hot. Winds SSE 5 – 10 kts, seas 1-2′ on the beam.

Distance traveled: 50.2 nautical miles

Time underway: 5 hours 15 minutes*

Average Speed: 10 kts

Max Speed: 13 kts

Fuel used: 55 gallons

 

After getting a fresh detailing, some canvas repairs and a few other odds and ends taken care of in Fort Lauderdale it was time to start our journey in earnest.  An upside of our few lay days was that it allowed some weather to pass through and the ocean to lay down properly for our next run up to Palm Beach.  To run the same stretch on the ICW would take nearly twice as long as the outside route because of the number of bridges we have to open (something like 27).  It was dead calm as we pulled out of slip G-714 at Bahia Mar at 7:41am and refreshing to have virtually no traffic on the stretch of the ICW between the marina and Port Everglades inlet.  That piece of waterway is always fascinating and we run through it in time lapse in the video below.

Once we cleared the inlet and turned to the north it was an easy run up to Lake Worth Inlet in Palm Beach.  The seas were abeam and a bit lumpy but it was another great showcase for our upgraded stabilizers as even in this wave height it would have been a much less comfortable ride before the upgrade.  There were lots of small pockets of fishing boats to avoid as we traveled a bit less than a mile offshore but it was otherwise an uneventful ride until we got to Lake Worth Inlet.

Lake Worth inlet is a big, easily navigated inlet with a well-marked, straight-forward approach.  But… we were reminded of why we prefer to avoid weekend boating when possible as we turned in on our way to rejoin the ICW.  There were weekend boaters creating chaos everywhere, coming at us from every direction with no regard for the rules of the road let alone common courtesy (be sure to see the excitement in the video below).  But we soldiered through and took in the sights on our way up to Old Port Cove Marina just a few miles north on the ICW.

OPC is a beautiful, very well-run marina with a courteous, professional staff, beautiful docks, relatively reasonable rates (good Boat U.S. discount) in a pretty, protected spot.  We primarily chose this port so we could visit with our friends on Ranger who make this their winter/spring home.  [Cruiser’s Note: When coming to Old Port Cove you exit the ICW at Green 27.  Line up the center of the private channel back into the cove for good water – do not cut the corners]

Fort Pierce is next.  See you out there…

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