Day 1 - The most challenging day so far!

​Today we started our trek north to return to the Chesapeake Bay within a few weeks. It was a rough day and I hope that it is not a warning of things to come. We decided to avoid the ICW Saturday traffic and go outside to Fort Pierce from North Palm Beach. I had checked various weather sources and the conditions were supposed to be ok for the run.

We left right after saying good bye to our good friends Debbie and Bill. Martha took the boat out of the slip and I took us out the channel in front of Old Port Cove. We immediately hit traffic as we headed to the Fort Worth Inlet, and took it slow. We were only waked by a couple of other boats that were in a hurry. As we rounded Peanut Island all traffic was at a standstill for a large barge that was being docked by a few tugs. We were able to wind our way around the traffic and head out the inlet. It was immediately apparent that we were going to be dealing with some heavy seas, but I thought it was going to settle down as we moved north.

It didn’t turn out that way as the weather got worse. We were pounded by wave after wave with water going over the roof of the cabin. The wind and waves were coming directly from the north, the direction we were going. Our little Encore held her own and kept us safe. We experimented with different speeds to find the most comfortable one, and settled in around 10 or 11 kph.
We spotted a number of sea turtles, but couldn’t get any pictures due to the weather conditions. They seemed to be having the same problems we were with the sea conditions.

We finally reached the Fort Pierce inlet and made it through without incident. We were very happy to finally reach the calm conditions inside the inlet. We hailed the Fort Pierce City Marina to let them know we were coming in and needed fuel before going to our slip. The fuel dock was clear and we tied up immediately. It was a lot easier this time since the wind was coming from the north rather than the south.

The fueling process went well, but things got a little dicey from there. We left the fuel dock and headed to our slip for the night. The wind was gusting and it was difficult to get the boat in position to back into the slip. We were starting to be pushed way too close to the other boats on the dock. I had to add some power in a not-so-glamorous fashion to avoid a crash. Once out of the way of the big boats, the wind pushed us into a smaller boat and we bumped his swim platform. Despite the embarrassment and concern about the other boat, I was able to get further out into the fairway and lined up to back into the slip. After getting tied up on the dock we talked to the owner of the boat, who was very understanding, and exchanged contact info. We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the boat since it was completely covered in salt water.

We knew that this marina can be challenging due to strong current and wind. As a matter of fact, the last time we were here, one of the slip holders told us they had witnessed some pretty bad crashes due to conditions. I was mindful of this, but still had problems. I will have to evaluate whether I want to return to this marina in the future. Despite the conditions, it is a very nice marina and it is convenient to downtown Fort Pierce. The wind has continued to gust all afternoon and evening. I am hoping for calmer conditions tomorrow, however we will be staying inside on the ICW on our way to Titusville. Today was enough adventure for a while!