Sarasota Break & Cruising Plans

On Thursday, March 20, I rented a car and drove to Sarasota to catch up with Diana and Kodi who had departed three days earlier.  This trip had many reasons.  Highest on the list was a visit with our friends, Dick and Marjorie Singer.  Slightly lower were scheduled visits with Brett, the amazing dental hygienist that takes care of both Diana and I.  Other benefits included getting away from the Palm Beach Boat Show, where we would have to find something to do from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM for four days and the last, was positioning our car for the trip north.

Standing: Dick, Marjorie, Diana and a cat
Seated: Jake (age 10) , Molly (age 6) and Kodi (Age 6)

We had three breakfasts at our favorite restaurant - Savory Street

Inside view of Savory Street

Every time I describe our plans to friends they say it's a bit involved but it's really very simple.  We would like to have our car up north for the summer.  Dick Singer would also like to accompany me for the trip north to Massachusetts.  So here's the deal.  We are leaving the car with the Singers.  Once I get up to Norfolk, Dick will drive up and meet us.  Then Diana and Kodi will drive up to Hingham while Dick and I (and one more person - feel free to volunteer) will cruise the boat north to the Cape Cod Canal.

The Taurus parked at the Singer residence

The trip from Norfolk to the Cape Cod Canal is approximately 372 nautical miles.  My plan is to wait for a weather window and then go direct from Norfolk to the canal.  At 8 knots we should cover the ground in about 46 hours.  The following day we will cruise north along the Massachusetts coast arriving in Hingham the next day.  All of this is "weather permitting."

Now back to the "present moment."  On Sunday we drove back to West Palm Beach and rejoined the boat. The next step will be our departure on Monday, which is scheduled for 10:00 AM.

This is a big deal.  There are easily over 1,000 boats that need to leave the show.  Fortunately, we are situated towards the outer layer.  The boats on the far east edge of the show need only cast off lines to get on their way.  However, they will have one obstacle to overcome before they can sail off, that being the Flagler Bridge which opens once per hour.  You would think that the the cities of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach would shut down the road and allow the bridge to remain open so that the boats could leave especially given the economic benefit the get by having the show in their area.

Diagram of the 2014 Palm Beach Boat Show

You would think.  Well that was certainly not the case as the boats arrived.  The bridge stubbornly opened once an hour for 10 minutes.  Some boats waited for hours to clear the bridge.

In order for us to depart, we will need to wait for the boats in front of us to leave and hopefully for Show Management to remove of the dock fingers blocking our path (as was the case when we departed from Miami).  Like everyone else, our first obstacle will be the Flagler Memorial Bridge.

Once clear of the bridge, we will head for Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart Florida where we will meet up with out friends Darrel and Sue on Present Moment, their 50 foot Ocean Alexander trawler.  Our plan is to cruise north to Norfolk with them. Present Moment cruises at eight knots, which is perfect for us.  Present Moment is already at Sunset Bay. Darrel and Sue are up north with a plan to return on March 31.  At the moment we are planning on a April 1 departure.  

Below is a synopsis of our cruising plans:

• March 24: Cruise from the boat show to Stuart Florida
• April 1: Begin cruising north with Present Moment
• May 1 to 10: Arrival in Norfolk
• May 10 to 15: Possible departure for the Cape Cod Canal
• May 12 to 16: Possible arrival at the Cape Cod Canal
• May 16 to 18: Cruise to Hingham Massachusetts from the Cape Cod Canal

Written by Les.