Today’s leg began a few minutes after sunrise. There was plenty of light and no fog. We were the first boat awake and out of the anchorage so we tried to keep all noise to a minimum. The first four miles were scenic and silent, and quite restful. The remainder of our trip to Lake Worth? Not so much.

We made it through the first opening bridge smoothly, with our forward progress and the bridge tender’s opening nicely timed. The second was delayed by a jogger who stopped running in the middle of the drawbridge span to walk and then to stop and check his cell phone. This despite the noise of the loudspeaker warning from the bridge tender, the gates closing, and the bridge siren. There was nothing to do but to slow C Ghost to a crawl and wait for the oblivious pedestrian. This likely contributed to our missing the “on the every half hour” opening of the third bridge by minutes. This missed opportunity meant we wound up circling in tight quarters for almost 30 minutes to kill time (Paula piloting, Tom advising). We also waited for a northbound sailboat to come through once the bridge opened as that vessel was being pushed by a forward current and had less control of his positioning. The next two restricted bridge openings that followed were without incident. The final two restricted bridges we encountered were less than a mile and a half apart. The first opened on the hour and the next opened 15 minutes past the hour. This gave travelling boats a good chance to making it through both bridges without prolonged waiting in the very short and narrow stretch between them. We were able to negotiate this, but we still felt slightly strained. One of the parts of boating that is so different from car travel is that the road moves too. You can’t just hit the brake and stop and wait in place as with an auto. Current, wind, wakes, other boat traffic and having a single engine means that attempting to wait in one place requires constant subtle maneuvering. Paula has a way to go to master this.

An enjoyable distraction from the bridge issues was the vast variety of beautiful and huge homes lining the route. Below is an especially pretty one.

By this time we were very glad to see the ICW open up into the Lake Worth inlet and turning basin. Some minor snippiness had arisen during a discussion regarding channel marker identification as two channels intersected (ahem). Nearness to our intended destination and knowing that we had seen our last long ICW leg for the southbound trip was a welcome salve for ICW irritation. Lake Worth turning basin was busy and loud. Two cruise ships in dock were being worked on by cranes, welders, and riveters. Pleasure boats abounded in anchorages and marinas. Kayakers and paddle boarders meandered everywhere. One young man continued paddle boarding right at us. As the distance closed he continued to vacillate in the middle of the traffic channel, first going a little to the left, then a little to the right. Paula walked to the bow to greet him and let him know we wished to pass him on the right. “Oh right! Wow, man-sorry! I wasn’t looking and I didn’t even see you…I was really zoned out.” Hmmm. Future candidate for a Darwin award? May the angels protect him and the boaters in his path.

We located the immense Lake Worth anchorage with scores of boats on moorings. We anchored three times. After the first anchor set we decided we were too close to a vacant moored catamaran if the wind shifted to an unexpected direction. Pulling the anchor, we backed up and got a good bite, but upon reflection realized we might be closer to a buried cable line. The third spot appeared to be “just right” and we are there now. It took a bit of time, but it was good practice in coordination and teamwork for us. Tom drops and sets the anchor, Paula pilots and backs down on the anchor to test the bite. We use both headsets and hand signals (no, not that hand signal) and these are always being refined. Plus, it’s better to weigh anchor and choose a new spot than worry all night.

Tomorrow will be our first ocean leg and we are looking forward to it. If all goes as planned, the weather currently looks good for a Friday crossing to Bimini.