Schedules
They say the most dangerous thing on a cruising sailboat is a schedule. Those pesky things, that incessant taskmaster of getting all the things done and to all the places on time. There is truth in this, when sailing you must go where the wind takes you even if you have a reliable and strong diesel engine you still are not going to make miles directly into the wind, you must wait, thou shall not pass until King Neptune allows it.
Neptune's schedule allowed me to stay at St. Augustine another night but the price would be an overnight passage to Fort Pierce, the the next inlet north of Stuart Florida, my next destination. Fort Pierce inlet was about 160 miles south, off I went and sailed with the engine off for the next eight hours, glorious! And then!
I was relaxing in the cockpit letting the autopilot do it's thing when I saw something in the water, maybe trash, maybe sea grass, but no, it was a sea turtle!!! The first I have seen in the wild. He was a little guy maybe two feet long, just doing his thing. These are the moments that make sailing amazing, lots of just water, but it is full of life and sometimes it shows itself and it's wonderful. It's also wonderful that you have time to enjoy these encounters as they are fleeting but there is little to distract one from the special feeling. There is time to reflect and appreciate the opportunity.
Onward south, the wind eases and the motor must come on with its rumble and fuel consumption and CO2, but also necessary battery charging and nice to have hot water in the tank. Onward through another wonderful sunset and into the night. Eventually there are bright lights on the western horizon, there are always some, light pollution can be seen for over 50 miles at sea, but these lights are very bright! It's Cape Canaveral with its space rocket launch pad towering into the air and lit up like daylight for the round the clock work going on there. I check the flight schedule, nothing tonight. Four days later some lucky sailor will get a front row seat to a Space X launch.
Still a long day ahead but I make good time and arrive early, too early. I am at Pierce Inlet before the end of the ebb tide and there are warnings about channel being rough, so I wait. I go down to just the main sail and drift at three knots for a few hours until the tide turns and then head in. It's not enough, the channel is a washing machine with four foot waves coming from all directions but I can see smooth water ahead and power on, full power and only making a little over three knots and eventually make it past the rough water but still struggle for speed. At nine after five P.M. I anchor in eleven feet of water in front of Chucks Seafood Restaurant, I'm too tired to go ashore. Just time to tidy things up, have some dinner and get some well earned rest.
No extended rest for the weary today. Friday, I must motor on. I motor 20 miles down the ICW to Jensen beach, an unplanned stop but convenient and fortuitous. I considered leaving my boat here at a mooring field but veto it with concerns about security when leaving the boat for two weeks, but I stopped and checked it out, a great find! It's a beautiful spot, you can row ashore and walk a block to a big grocery store and there is a laundromat next door, perfect! And then there is Conchy Joe's Restaurant, the biggest Tiki bar I have ever seen. I meet some other cruisers in the anchorage and we had a Conchy rendezvous with live music and good food. I'll be back Conchy Joe's.
Saturday, 24 January. I finally found a place to leave my boat for two weeks while going on another adventure. I motored into Stuart and tied up at the Harbor Inn and Marina and negotiated the rent with Jerry, from Jersey. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse, we shook on it. Tomorrow I fly. Somehow, I met the schedule. This concludes another chapter, until next time dear readers.
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