Florida Atlantic coast sail, spring 2009

[Mark Major]

I am currently planning a Florida Atlantic coastal sail aboard my 1986 Hunter 23 during March 2009. I propose to leave St. Lucie going offshore to Ft. Pierce Inlet, Sebastion, Canaveral, Ponce, St. Augustine, and ending in Mayport. I have 3' draft, stock sails in good condition and a late model 10hp engine. I am seeking local knowledge of the inlets listed.

 

[Buck420]

Ft. Pierce Inlet, Canaveral, and Mayport are jettied, all weather major ship channels. You will have no problem entering and leaving them. Currents run strongly in all of them, so time your passages accordingly. Obviously, commericial shipping will be an issue you will have to deal with.
As for Sebastion, Ponce, and St Augustine; they should be traversed in daylight; the currents can also be a factor; however, they are generally not used by commericial shipping. I would suggest that you call TowBoatUS or SeaTow at each of these inlets for current local knowledge. They are generally very helpful. Also, since the inlets are extensively used by locals, you may well be able to follow another boat in and/or ask their advice.
Obviously, the weather is always a factor. You may well find yourself motoring inside on the ICW. But, if you are determined to do the trip outside, plan for weather delays.
Have a great trip

 

[Rick I]

As posted earlier the currents will be your major worry. It can really run in Ft. Pierce Inlet and Mayport. Canaveral is usually fine. St. Augustine is straight in and not a problem at night. I've not done Ponce but I think it's the trickiest of all the inlets you mention. Is Sebastian ok for sailboats, always thought the bridge there was too low. Watch out for cold fronts, still lots of them in March

If you're going to anchor there's a lot of spots in Ft. Pierce, in Canaveral your best bet is to go through the lock and anchor just past it, either to the north or south. I've not anchored in Ponce or Sebastian. St. Augustine, anchor north or south of the Bridge of Lions, I prefer the south anchorage. In Mayport you'd have to go up the St Johns river to the ICW to find anchorages, either south towards Pablo Creek or north to Ft. George. Have a safe trip. Also don't be surprised if your gps goes crazy entering Mayport, the naval station there does things to it.

 

[Mark Major]

Thank you

All good advice; thank you.

 

[Eric M]

I wanted to put a bit more emphasis on the currents you will find in St. Augustine and Mayport. I have a 35', 18,000# displacement boat and have taken solid blue water over the bow going out both inlets into an onshore breeze (as little as 15 knots) with an outgoing tide. A 2-3 knot current flowing into a 15 knot breeze produces quite a standing wave.
St. Augustine: Make sure to start at the outer sea bouy and follow all the channel markers coming in. The sandbars shift constantly, and cutting even the outer most markers can put you aground. The anchorage in St. Augustine called Salt Run which is immediately on your port side once you pass through the breakwater I feel is more protected than either north or south of the bridge of lions. Currentlly controling depth in and out of salt run is ~6' at low tide.
At Ponce Inlet I have anchored oposite the Coast Guard station which is just before you reach the ICW if you turn south upon clearing in through the breakwalls.
In Mayport if you come all the way in to the ICW and turn north on the ICW it is ~3 miles north to Kingsley Plantation which will be the first major creek you find to the east when going north. You can anchor directly off the old plantation house and dinghy ashore. A very nice dinghy dock and plenty of space to stretch your legs before starting your trip home, and an anchorage that is protected from every direction.
Enjoy your trip.

 

[Capt. Ed]

Why offshore ? A 23 foot boat gets real small out there. If you are simply moving the boat from one port to another I would use the ICW . It is much safer and quite interesting in that area . Remember when you are out side and have to get in you could be in real trouble . Good luck .

 

[seadaddler]

WOW 23 Feet

Sure if you get good weather a 23 with an outboard OK but if the weather go's down hill and it will change you will wish you were inside real fast.
I just made the trip from Montauk,Ny to Fort Pierce mostly off shore in my
Hunter 36 and sure when the weather was good no problem and great sailing.
But when a gale hit us and other times when the sea got nasty I was wishing we were inside.
You need to make sure your boat is in top shape and every thing is working
perfectly and than recheck every thing again so you don't have a problem when offshore.
My boat is a 2007 but I still kept checking every thing over and over,the weather got pretty nasty at times on the ten day trip and on day two my autopilot stop working but I had a total crew of four so we all took three hour
shifts at the helm.
I would stay in the ICW and maybe go outside only when you know the weather is good and be able to get back in fast if and when the weather changes to be unsafe for your 23.
Cape Canaveral and Fort Pierce inlets are excellent,the problem going outside is you don't always have the wind in your favor trying to sail,we motored from Cape Canaveral down to Fort Pierce and it was a nice relaxing trip down the ICW.
Nick

 

[Mark Major]

Buck, good suggestion regarding calling TowBoatUS for local info. I often forget that source until I need them.
Rick, Sebastian was my biggest concern so far. Canaveral seemed safe, and you answered my question regarding that lock. I’ll have to look more closely at Ponce but it’s good to know St. Augustine is relatively easy for that will be the end of my longest day.
Gee Eric, you ruined that one (St. Aug)…but thanks. I’m trying to plan my passages closer to high tides but this is getting more difficult to coordinate.
Capt. Ed, yeah, she’s small but gone a long way. My goal is to complete the entire Fla. Coast inside and out, and this leg of the East coast seems to offer the greatest challenges. My bio outlines what I’ve done toward my goal to date.
Nick, it sounds like you had a good trip regardless. I am coming out of a two years of rehab on this boat and she’s better than new. I’m a firm believer in redundancy, and low tech.
I am planning an offshore sail, at best, expecting the worst, of course. The ICW is there if needed, and I don’t have to complete the entire distance (I’m being dropped off and picked up). This is a trailerable boat so I’m going to “cheat” by taking weekend trips to some inlets to practice, perhaps maybe all of them. This will give me familiarity with them and put me face-to-face with locals. Right now I’m trying to determine ranking of difficulty, if that can be done disregarding the variety of weather conditions.
I really appreciate your input, for I can use all the help I can get. I’ve yet to meet a sailor I can’t learn from.

 

[seadaddler]

Coast Guard

On our trip down to Florida from NY we did go in Cape Hatteras inlet with the help of the local coast Guard,they talked us in the inlet with great help picking out the marker buoys that we needed so badly,was not an easy inlet with out the local help.
Cape Canaveral was very easy when we went in at night,nice and wide very well marked but does have big boat traffic which we let them Casino boats go first while we waited.
The biggest thing that helped us on our trip was my Raymarine C-80 Chartplotter,we did also carry all needed paper charts but a good Chartplotter
will make you a much better sailor when cruising in unfamiliar waters.
Nick

 

[Paul F]

Resource

Mark, seems you have the planning well in hand. Being able to trailer and see the inlets will be a great advantage. Take a look at marinas.com they have an advanced search for inlets. If this link works you can look at St. Augustine. And then search for the others as you like.
http://marinas.com/search/index?sea...st.+augustine&radius=5&zipcode=&Submit=Search

 

[RAD]

Sebastian Inlet bridge

Is 37 ft. at center

 

[Buck420]

Mark,
I've been in and out of all the inlets you mention except Sebastion. I can't get under the bridge there.
I believe that the inlets, themselves, will not turn out to be your biggest challange provided you time the currents properly at each one, and traverse them in good weather w/ local knowledge as suggested.
However, you will have a very tough time going North, offshore, if the winds are out of the North or East (as they usually are). In fact, the first time you try heading out of any of the inlets into a 15-20kt NE wind, will very probably be the last time you will try that again.
You may be waiting at each inlet quite some time for the wind to shift from the NE, so unless time is not a problem, I suspect you will be doing most of the trip up the ICW.
In any event, good luck ... If the weather cooperates, you CAN do the trip as you are planning, but April can be pretty iffy !

 

[seadaddler]

Buck420

Buck did you find going down to the keys when in the Hawk Channel that
the lobster pots were a real pain,many cruisers have said they are a big problem in the Hawk and also on the west coast north of Marathon.
I am thinking of going down Hawk over night.
I am thinking of a whole new posting for this cruise so others can learn and add in.
Nick

 

[Buck420]

Re: Buck420

Nick,

I ran (motorsailed) south in Hawk channel on my boat during the day in the Fall of '01 and '02. Then ran it at night in Nov, '03, Dec, '04, and Nov '06. (I didn't go in '05 because the Keys were so torn up by Wilma, and in '07 'cause I went to the Bahamas).
Anyway, leaving Lake Worth Inlet about 16:00 (after running South from Ft Pierce in the ICW), it would take me about 20hrs (over night) to get to Marathon. With a GOOD chartplotter, and decent weather, it's not really that tricky. (And you can watch 20+ Miami broadcast stations on your TV from Lauderdale to almost Key Largo to help pass the time while you're motorsailing ). You may also have the opportunity to dodge lots of (cruise & other)shipping comming out of Lauderdale and Miami :cry:.
RE, the lobster pots. Prior to Hurricaine Wilma (Oct 2005), they were a real problem in the Fall. Saw almost none in '06 as most of the lobster fisherman had lost their gear as a result of Wilma. How it is now, I'm not sure.
However, when the pots were THICK prior to Wilma, I found that even if I did run one down, the wing keel on our Hunters seems to deflect the line and they (as well as crab pots in the Ches Bay) would invariable pop up behind the boat. In all my runs down Hawk Channel, I have never wrapped a lobster pot line around my prop. Lucky maybe. But, of course, at night, you absolutely can't see them at all, so I'm sure I've run a few down and not known it. Anyway, that's been my experience, I hope your's is as fortunate. But, even if you DO wrap one, at least the water is warm. Take a really sharp, serrated knife, just in case. And, take some heavy duty wire cutters because some of them use line with a wire inside it :dance: !

Good luck, wish I could join you, but I'm stuck up here this Winter...
Already looking fwd to next Fall.

 

[seadaddler]

Thanks Buck

I am thinking of leaving Fort Pierce after Jan1 waiting for good weather window,
my house is two hours from the boat so I'll just keep watching for the weather.
My boat is on the hard in Fort Pierce and will be painting the bottom and also adding Raymarine Sirius weather system to my C-80 and I am sure that with help out big time.
I will be starting a post on making the trip so we all can get more input from anyone else that has made the trip and anyone wanting to go down to the keys,thinking of going through the Channel 5 instead of Marathon.
Nick

 

[TC22454]

Ponce Inlet has plenty of safe anchorage inside north of the inlet on the Halifax. You can sometimes tie up at the CG station (for a fee) on the south side. The rock jetty on the north side is clearly avoidable. On the south side, just inside the jetty, a wide sand flat awaits those who don't stay to the center. Time the tides cuz the current funneling out that narrow inlet can challenge that 10hp at times.

 

[camaraderie]

Mark... suggest you get a copy of Dodge Guide to SE US Inlets...it has everything you are looking for including pictures, chartlets, waypoints and commentary for each inlet that is navigable.
http://www.landfallnavigation.com/bes109.html

As others have noted...I would be concerned about your safety if you try to buck the weather and/or opposing tidal currents vs. wind. Some of the inlets can be quite treacherous for a small, light boat even in good weather if your timing is not right. You always have the ICW option...just don't get yourself in a position where you are offshore in bad weather or arrive at an inlet at the wrong time and HAVE to go in. Planning and prudence and no time deadlines are the keys.