St. Augustine, FL — 11•17•24
0350 — Dropped mooring. Called for the Bridge of Lions opening and got it right away. The channel was calm heading out—quite the contrast from the choppy conditions coming in a few days earlier.
0430 — Cleared the St. Augustine deep-water buoy and turned south toward West Palm Beach, about 200 nautical miles away. This would be another overnight passage, skirting past Cape Canaveral. As the wind filled in, I raised the sails and began motorsailing.
Approaching the Kennedy Space Center, the VHF lit up with restricted-area call-outs near the coast. These SpaceX launch warnings have become routine for me, and this time I was rewarded with a spectacular Falcon 9 launch right as I passed by.
Cloud Penetration by a SpaceX Falcon 9
11•18•24 — 0630
It was a peaceful night passage overall, but when I stepped out in the morning to check things, a catamaran was motoring surprisingly close. No AIS broadcast, no VHF calls—he’d snuck up on me overnight. I hadn’t spotted him on radar or even seen his lights. Some boats without transmit AIS like to shadow ones that do, figuring it’s safer. Lesson learned: I need to be more vigilant with night scans for lights.
1315 — Anchor down in West Palm Beach. I’ll hang here for the next good weather window to cross to the Bahamas. Planning to fuel up at Pickle Rick’s barge and stock up at what might be Florida’s nicest Publix
West Palm Beach, FL — 11•24•24
0900 — Anchor up. I’ve completed the Bahamas Click2Clear process and received my PCR Rotation Number. Time to cross the Gulf Stream to Great Harbour Cay (pronounced “Key”) in the Berry Islands—roughly 150 nautical miles. Another overnight run.
The crossing stayed pretty calm, though the wind never really filled in, so it was mostly motoring. Traffic was moderate with cruise ships around. I tied up at Great Harbour Cay by morning and cleared customs by 1000.
Just an overnight stop here before heading to Adler Cay next—stay tuned for that update in the next post!