Offshore Fort Pierce to Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale

Day 90-91 Feb 4-5

Fort Pierce to Lake Worth

We missed connecting with Babette and Tom on Super Bowl Sunday. However, the folks at Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce were very accommodating and they offer a Boat U.S. discount! We’ll try to stop there on our way back.

Monday at sea was great! The SE winds were light and the seas 1-2 feet. We put our mainsail and staysail out and enjoyed a pleasant motor sail down the Palm Coast. We were intrigued watching the rescue of a good sized fishing boat which had capsized south of Jupiter Inlet about two miles offshore. It was lying in the water about 45 degrees heeled and its decks awash. We watched Coast Guard boats and helicopters and TowBoat US rescue the vessel.

Bob had another career flash back when we passed the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant on Hutchinson Island, having lead two separate teams there to inspect the plant. As you can see by the picture, he prefers retirement onboard DeLaMer.

We called our friend, Harry Jones, who lives ten miles north of Fort Worth, and he joined us, once again, for dinner. His nephews are charter fishermen in the area; the youngest keeps his boat at the Sailfish Resort Marina on Singer Island. Harry picked us up and we had a superb dinner in an elegant setting at the resort. Tiger Woods is building a home on Singer Island and keeps his megayacht, Privacy, at the Sailfish resort.

February 5th Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale

We had a challenging departure from the Rivera Beach Municipal Marina in Fort Worth. Both the wind and current were pushing us against our dock. When “Nervous Nellie” finally agreed with the departure plan – Bob did a superb job maneuvering out of the slip into the tight fairway.

The best thing I can say about our trip to Fort Lauderdale is – we had the opportunity to gain more experience and confidence in choppy seas and I’m grateful the trip took only seven hours. We never saw the NOAA forecasted two to four foot seas. Five to six foot waves were the norm with SE winds 10-15 true off the bow. We rolled continually 15 -30 degrees starboard with strong pitching. DeLaMer took lots of water over the bow and some heavy spray over the dodger. Not a comfortable ride! The boat was in its element, though, and handled the conditions very well. Another good thing about the day, having experienced it, I know both the boat and we can handle it. I’ve overcome my concern with choppy seas.

We arrived at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66, a resort marina, in Fort Lauderdale at 3:30 PM. DeLaMer is the “baby boat” amongst the 60 – 140 foot cruisers and mega yachts. We are treating ourselves to luxury, staying put until Thursday morning when the forecast is predicted to change. Today sunning and swimming in one of their 6 pools – sounds delightful after yesterday!