Boat Show #3 - Palm Beach

The past few weeks have been filled with activities related to commissioning and addressing deficiencies.  As a result, I have not been able to capture as much of our experience as I would like to on this blog.  So, at the moment, I am still playing catch-up.  That said, as of today, my total "to do list" involving both boat and personal stuff has finally been reduced to a manageable level.

This article will cover the Palm Beach Boat Show.  I still need to write an article covering the cruising related to the return from Lake Park Trawlerfest on March 2 and the cruise to Palm Harbor Marina on the 15th.  So much to do and so little time.

Background: The Palm Beach Boat Show runs from Thursday, March 20 to Sunday, March 23.  Staging for the boat show began days earlier.  We were scheduled to arrive at the show on March 16 at 10:00 AM.  Why four days early?  Well it depends of your viewpoint.  Many boats were already "installed in the show" when we arrived.  Some had arrived several days earlier.

Guided Discovery just after our Sunday arrival

The Palm Beach Boat Show is very different from the Miami Boat Show and the Lake Park Passagemaker Trawlerfest.  This show, which is situated north to south along the ICW, is almost a 1/4 mile wide with four tiers of docks,  It is located just south of the Flagler Bridge and Palm Harbor Marina.  Most of the dockage is created for the show and will disappear when the show is over.

The Palm Beach Boat Show 2013 - Photo credit Forest Johnson

Notice I said dockage and not marina.  Unlike the Trawlerfest, which was held at a marina where every boat was in a slip (after the marina kicked out its tenants for a few days) or the Miami show which was held in four different locations, the Palm Beach show is one location with at least 1,000 boats packed in side by side and nose to nose. I'll let the photos below do the talking.

View from my starboard bow

Looking east from the flybridge

Looking southwest over the boat deck

View west.  Outer Reef's "office" is immediately astern

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: It's midnight on Thursday the 19th and I have been frustrated by something called "Bing" that has taken over my Internet Explorer browser.  The most obvious problem is Google BlogSpot has lost its paragraph formatting and I am unable to upload photos.  RESOLUTION: Working with my Chicago support team we removed "Bing," which is a form of malware.  My tech support person, who is also a blogger. said he had the same problem uploading photos and advised me to use Google Chrome for blogging.  Problem solved late in the afternoon on Friday.

On Saturday, I brought the boat from Marina Bay Marina in Fort Lauderdale to Palm Harbor Marina in West Palm Beach assisted by Pam Rose, my friend and part time crew member.  We were accompanied by Milt Baker, a contributing editor for Passagemaker Magazine, and his wife Judy. Milt wanted to perform a sea trial during our trip north as part of his research for a feature article on the Outer Reef 63.  As a result, the 58 mile trip north which would have taken 6 hours took us almost 8 hours.

We stayed overnight at the Palm Harbor Marina, which was literally 300 yards from the show site.  We departed Palm Harbor at 9:10AM and, just like that, we were "there."  Now came the tricky part, maneuvering the boat into position. 

Allow me to set the stage.  We were the first boat into the section of the show where Outer Reef was assigned.  The docking maneuver was tricky.  On the approach we had to pass two steel I-beams that were put in position to hold the large yachts that will eventually comprised the outer edge of the show.  Then through a narrow opening into a space a 160 feet wide by 140 feet deep.  Our goal was to enter bow first, turn south, back across the space and dock to port with our bow facing east.  This would have been an easy maneuver had it not been for a 2 knot current running south and a 18 knot wind from the south (blowing the boat north).  In a perfect world the two forces would cancel themselves out.  As usual the world was not perfect.  The current was winning.

Guided Discovery with the 70 and 65 before our sector filled-in

But I did not know that at the start of the process.  I though the wind would blow me away from the I-beams but that was not the case.  Oops.  Almost hit the I-beams.  Fortunately I saw the problem and aggressively backed the boat to avoid hitting the beams.  Then on the second try I went in bow first with a little speed to get by the beams and through the narrow opening and executed the docking maneuver described in the previous paragraph.  It was not pretty but I succeeded in docking without hitting anything.

Actually, I was VERY lucky as were the other two Outer Reefs (the 70 and a 65).  As the afternoon progressed the current reversed and got stronger as did the winds.  Seven out of eight boats that were scheduled to be stern into the dock to my west dock made it.  Number eight, an Offshore 80, had to wait several hours for slack tide.  My friend, Capt. Jay Brown, was assisting with the 80's delivery.

But it got worse.  The next morning the current was running 3 knots and the winds were even stronger from the south.  This meant that the boats entering our section were in danger of being pushed into the finger.  In the photo below you can see a tow boat pushing an 80 plus footer into place.

Note: That's the gap in the docks that I came through.

Yacht be assisted by the tow boat

Around 11:00 AM, I walked east to try to get a feel for what was to happen next (i.e., we still had room for more boats).  In the process I spoke with a gentlemen who was very frustrated. Turns out he was waiting for 37 foot Sea Ray 370 Sundancer that was later for arrival.  The plan was for that boat to be positioned at slack tide.  The delay had backed up the entire process.  The 370 had to be the first boat in.  The original game plan was to move all the boats in at slack tide (i.e., no current).  Further I learned from the gentlemen that the Sea Ray would be tied with its stern to the dock just to our east and that his starboard bow would be next to my starboard bow.

Awaiting the arrival of the Sea Ray 370

I immediately saw the risk.  The 370 would enter our section and then be dragged by the current and propelled by the wind directly into my boat.  Even if the folks on the dock were able to hold the stern to the dock then chances of the 370 hitting the 63 was very high (if not a certainty).  Working with Tommy Close, owner of the Outer Reef 65, we got out my compressor (bought at Capt. Randy's suggestion - thank you Capt Randy) and quickly inflated three 18" round fender balls that we had used to negotiate 101 locks on the Great Loop.  (Note: I considered throwing these away prior to leaving Chicago.  Mike Walsh of Marine Services advised me to hang on to them - Thank you Mike)

With 5 minutes to spare I was on the bow with the three balls.  Two of the balls were hung 4 feet above the waterline along my starboard bow and one was held at the ready just in case.  Turn out the one in my hand was the key.  Sure enough the 370 entered our section and got caught by the wind and current.  I placed the ball in line with the 370's bow rail and the 370 banged into ball bending its rail slightly.  Fortunately, there was no damage to the 63.  CLOSE CALL!

The 370 off our starboard bow

Note: The 370 is not tied to the 63.  The line coming off the starboard bow is secured to the Offshore 80.

As the morning progressed our area filled up but not without a lot of excitement and minor crashes caused by the difficult conditions. Note: I saw at least 5 boats with damage, one, a 150 footer, to the tune of $50,000 or more from hitting the I-beams.

Staff fending off a 50 foot sport fisherman as it enters our section.
Current and wind moving are the boat's stern into the dock

She's in.  Notice the turbulence caused by the current and bow thruster

NOTE: John the head honcho in charge of positioning boats for Show Management, the show's operator, was totally callous as it related to protecting boats tied up and those entering our area.  VERY DISAPPOINTING.  He stupidly ordered his goons to move my boat back slightly.  The goons did not think about the fact that our boarding stair was next to a light pole.  They came close to snapping the mounts (potentially $10,000 worth of damage).

The dock just to our east now loaded with boats

Once our section was filled I went back to attacking my to do list.  As I heard it from friends, I missed most of the exciting docking and, unfortunately, crashing that took place.

Pam, Tommy and Renee watching the action.  Pam is entertained (she has no dog (boat) in the fight
Tommy and Renee look concerned.  Their 65 is in the line of fire.

Gravitas, a 171 foot Feadship pulls in next to Guided Discovery
She charters for $230,000 per week

Gravitas' "tender" transports their bow line to shore

Guided Discovery next to Gravitas

Written by Les