We Are Here: Drawbridge Day

JAMEY'S POST:

From time to time we pass under a bridge. Usually these bridges are crossing from the mainland out to the barrier islands that protect the coast. Farther north on the Intracoastal Waterway, many older drawbridges and swing bridges have been replaced by high clearance bridges that sailboats like C. Spirit can pass under without (much) hesitation. The newly built bridges have a standard minimum height of 65 feet. The top of our boat's mast is 46 feet above the water, so we clear under these bridges with ease.

In South Carolina, the few remaining swing and draw bridges need frequent repair, and signs are posted next to each bridge stating that the bridges will not open if a hurricane is coming or if the wind speed is higher that twenty-five miles per hour. Inconvenient at best, dangerous for a boater seeking shelter from a coming storm.

Some days we have passed two or three bridges, often timing our arrival with the GPS to match their opening schedule. Some bridges open on the hour and half hour, some only on the hour, some bridges open on request (meaning just call), and some do not open during rush hours. It is a pain to try and keep track of these restrictions, and disappointing to arrive and find that you missed the recent opening and have a fifty-five minute wait until the next.

Today, nearing the end of our trip down the east coast, we came to a section of south Florida where the priorities are shifted. Access to the coast for everyone is paramount it seems, so older draw bridges have been replaced by newer versions of the same. It seems the policy along parts of this stretch of the coast is that no car should have more than about a two mile drive to a bridge connecting to the coast. Happily, many of the restored or rebuilt bridges have unique architectural touches that echo the original designs, and all of these new bridges work reliably, even in high winds.

We planned to move fifty miles farther south today, starting at around 7:30 am, which usually gets us anchored around 2:30 pm. But today was different, today was A DAY OF MANY DRAWBRIDGES!! Today we passed through sixteen drawbridges!!!!

It started easily enough with two bridges that opened on request, but then we ran into a stretch that opened on the hour and half hour and were about four miles apart, just far enough that we could not make the distance between the bridges in the twenty-five minutes between clearing the first and the cut off time for the next.

So we waited, and then sprinted, only to have to wait, then we became clever and used the GPS to set a leisurely pace to arrive just in time for the next opening, only to find that the times had changed due to construction. Near the end of the day, we were fourth in line for a bridge, and the bridge tender closed the bridge right as we came up, then said over the radio, "Sorry, I did not see you back there, I will clear the traffic and get the bridge open right back up, and he did, but we were not able to make it up to the next bridge in time, and had another twenty-five minute wait for an opening that we missed by just two or three minutes.

In the end, we only were able to make forty miles before we stopped for the night. Though the boat cruises at a little over seven miles per hour, we averaged only around four miles per hour today.

We finally anchored about twenty minutes before sunset in Pineapple Lagoon, a tiny, man-made lake just off the waterway. We are surrounded on all sides by docks, houses and condominiums. It is very sheltered, but a strange, uniquely Florida experience to be anchored in the midst of this suburb, able to hear movies playing in living rooms and dogs barking at front doors a short way across the water.

At the end of the day, the captain was worn out, not sure if the lesson was to relax and go with the flow, or to be smarter and learn to play the tides and times to optimize travel time.

Tomorrow and the next day, traveling from Boca Raton to Miami will be more of the same. We will try for shorter distance goals, maybe half as much, and see if that makes things any better.

PC060516

While waiting for one bridge, we were next to a public dock and a playground. Unfortunately, we only had 15 minutes before the bridge was due to open. Sage gazed longingly at the playground -- such torture!!

_____________

WHERE WE ARE: Anchored in Pineapple Lagoon, Mile 1042, Boca Raton. Reportedly there is poor holding here, and before going to bed, I checked the rode to see how the anchor was doing. It seemed as if we might be dragging a little, so I pulled out the Big Dog -- a brand new Danforth anchor that I bought at the start of this trip and have not yet used. As I went to pull up the other anchor, I realized that it was set really well after all. Big Dog has to wait for another night.