Today I’ve decided to take an adventure!
Since my life lately has felt like complete adventure all the time, taking any unnecessary side trips hasn’t been a priority. Also, I found as I boated over here on my small inflatable dingy, to this wild and hidden Florida island, I was having some anxiety. Something could break, I could run aground, I could strand myself… Music has been helping me calm down lately. There was no reason for the stress, just a miniature face off with the unknown as usual, running the small motor through the mangroves and sandbar channels… into the wilderness. I think as I get accustomed to this life, things will get smoother. I do love living on the water and I’m enjoying it more and more each day. I came here to find a beach to sit on and write, and I’ve found a gorgeous place.
It feels like a long time since I’ve been to the wilderness, since the east coast of Florida seems mostly to be one great city. It’s been a month now since I bought the sailboat. This month has been very isolating… I’ve been usually alone like I am today in a silent and peaceful space. It’s also relaxing, strange, terrifying, beautiful… I’m having a certain separation from everything by being on the water. I’m building a new life!
Last night I had a breakthrough, with some big dreams of just how cool this trip could become. I have a lot of hope. I feel like a sponge, soaking up so much information and learning more each day. Uncertainty is scary, but I look forward to overcoming it one day at a time. Mistakes will have to be made! Like the one in this story I’m about to write…
I’m not even totally sure how many days ago it was… really I can’t be sure. 5 or 6 days ago I left Daytona Beach. I heard some advice from a crazy old man who worked at West Marine; you’ll never check everything off your list. At some point, ready or not, you just have to go! So I felt it was time, and I moved the boat a bit south.
I decided to go to Ponce Inlet, a beautiful place somewhat far from everything else. I came here because this anchorage is where William’s brother’s boat is, preparing for the Bahamas trip.
Dawn woke me up with some jitters! I had readied the boat the night before. I cooked some food for the trip, had some coffee, hoisted the anchor and I was off! I pulled up the sails. The wind was light, but coming dead on from the direction I wanted to go. That’s okay, I wanted to sail anyway!
Most people just motor down the intercoastal waterway I think, it is a pretty narrow channel of deep water through otherwise very shallow places. Easy to run into the mud around here. But my little boat has some freedom to go into shallow places. So I wanted to practice sailing, and thats what I did! I switched off the motor and sailed the whole way.
I had the jib reefed and found that helped me go into the wind easier. I tacked back and forth a couple times but mostly didn’t have to. Just wanted to practice, that can be a little tricky when alone! Then I came upon Pelican Island, a very shallow area, and a highway bridge to go under. The channel was extremely narrow here, but the wind was strong now and moving me along with ease. And fast.
As I closed in on the bridge, I could see the current running through the walls along the bridge pilings. This was as narrow as it gets, one boat through at a time! Adrenaline had been pumping since I came to Pelican Island, and I was still just sailing as I went to pass under the bridge, but fear of the place had me quickly kick the engine on for safety. I came out the other side no problem, and after that the wind died.
I turned the motor off to go under sail only, but very slow going. The channel was still despicably narrow with sandy, swampy islands all around. I began to notice the effects of the current. It definitely was against me and it was becoming obvious at how it was slowing me down.
As though it started all at once, the powerboats came! It was a Sunday, the weather was beautiful. The weekend warriors appeared in full force and they were awful. These massive floating condos just plowing through the water, sometimes going at high speed and kicking up enormous wakes. They would rock me all around and I’d brace myself! But at one point it must have been a LINE of them for 15 minutes, one after the next, boats of all different sizes, jet skis, all sorts of riff raff in this treacherously narrow channel. There was one lone fellow on a sailboat with his sails up going the other direction.
As I rounded the corner I could see Ponce de Leon lighthouse in the distance. The breeze kicked up and moved to the west. It put me on a glorious beam reach. Now I was sailing fast, and had more sea room around me. I felt very successful for arriving there in just a few hours, and sailing the whole way. But alas, I made one final error that ruined the whole day.
As I came towards the Inlet Harbor Marina and this anchorage, there were boats all around me. The channel narrowed again. It became narrower possibly than ever before, with the infamous disappearing island on one side and a row of castle-like mansions on the other. Each had a dock sticking out from it. The wind gusted on me hard, and I was flying along with the mansions suddenly on a close lee shore.
I knew I was coming to the anchorage and was going to start the engine soon and take the sails down… I should have done all that before this tight area. Now, what I could have done, is just sailed right through the channel here and started the motor on the other side. But I made the same mistake I made back at that bridge… I waited until I was in the tight and spooky area, AND THEN started the engine. I realized I would like to have more control over my direction here, and I turned behind me to pull the cord and kick her on. VROOM, back under that bridge she kicked right to life and I steered like a banshee through the thing. Not this time. She didn’t start.
In just that moment where I turned behind me I was blown fast towards shore. Even with the tiller lashed. The multitasking that is single hand sailing eventually got the best of me. And because of just letting go from the tiller for two seconds it was already too late. I learned later that the demonic current in this area had a lot to do with what happened, as it was at its peak flood during this event. The wind and it grabbed me, if the motor had started I would have driven out of it. I tried to carve upwind but could see I was headed unstoppably in a sideways direction now. I turned back again and pulled the cord again, to no avail. That did it for me.
I crashed into a mansion’s dock at a high speed. The image is somehow burned into my mind from a third person perspective. If I can paint you the picture… there was a powerboat somewhere in the way who quickly got out of my way… There were actually boats and people all around. I even had a fender in my hand and squished it between the dock and the boat before we collided, saving from impact a bit. I thought I could tie to the dock but there were no cleats on it.
Now imagine the scene as the boat tilts, having stopped, the sails full and beautiful blowing, flapping, confused. Moving me still with their power. Next step, get them DOWN! I was 100% out of control of the situation. I got the sails down, but meanwhile the current had its way with me like a rushing river, and just by some incredible chance I was yanked into a concrete boat slip in the mansions yard.
So here’s the truth. This situation went very well because of luck. Sailing can be very grim, or maybe it’s a spiritual thing and things work out as they are destined…? But even a small novice mistake like this could have sunk the boat EASILY that day. Not far from this house was a pile of rocks. Had I hit those instead, this trip and all my savings could have vanished pretty fast. Yet the mistake was easy to make. That’s what is so challenging about this adventure, it’s easy to make mistakes yet mistakes have very (possibly VERY) dire consequences. That’s where faith comes in… ha! And luck.
Because everything was FINE. I watched helpless as Simplicity cruised quickly into the concrete slip, just missing all the walls and and BAMMM! Slammed into the back of it. But it hit just the sturdy anchor on the front of the boat, and there was no damage to anything. I did scratch up the toe rail in what was probably the next half hour stuck there.
This is where I learned my engine really wont go into reverse. If it had, then I would have just backed out of the slip. If it started in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. (This also wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t alone.) But I learned a valuable lesson. Start the engine sooner. Don’t be too proud!! Just motor the damn intercoastal!!! And primarily, get the motor fixed.
I banged around in that slip in a complete frenzy of panic and a personal hell, as hundreds of people boated past and watched. I called to them for help and asked for a tow, but they were all assholes. Eventually a good person showed up, threw me a line, and with a 5 second tow I was free.
I was badly bruised on my shoulder and scraped. Stressed would be an understatement. But I calmed down after I was anchored, although I did have to anchor 3 times before I was happy with it. I checked for damage and Simplicity was fine, but she was very obviously angry at me. Really. I folded the sails properly and cleaned up as best as possible. I also took my sun shower bag and pretty much emptied all that precious water over me.
The next day too left me in a bit of depression.
The wind blew hard and very Florida cold from the north for 3 days after my gorgeous sailing day, and only on the third day did I go ashore.
Meanwhile I sat next to the boat the Half Moon. A hawk has been living on her the entire time I’ve been here. She looks relatively abandoned… She’ll need a lot of work before going to the Bahamas though, thats for sure. Makes me skeptical about my plans with William. At least with William’s brother and the Half Moon…
But all I can do is get myself ready first!! I could go on and on and on talking about various speculation and plans and worries and hopes. But we’ll just have to see where this trip takes us.
I brought my engine to a mechanic who appeared out of nowhere, who works at the marina I happen to be parked directly in front of. He is a great mechanic as well, I couldn’t have met a better person to help me with this. He also taught me a lot of things as we took the motor apart together. We replaced the impeller, but in order to get that reverse working I needed to order some parts.
So my engine is now sitting in pieces in his shop! For just a couple days, but this boat won’t be moving… I hope! I hope my anchor is set well, and I believe it truly is. But…
Tomorrow a storm is coming from the south.
Gale force winds out at sea, lightning storms, a hell of a blow!! The moon will be nearly full, and as it’s been waxing I’ve seen the currents getting stronger and stronger each day. When I pulled into the marina to go to shore today it was stronger than I’ve seen yet. It was like a raging river past the dock pilings.
It carries with it millions of jellyfish, literally a plague of them floating below the waterline.
They are another symptom of the dying planet….
Anyway, I’m excited for the storm! I won’t be leaving the boat for two days. I’ll prepare my second anchor in case of some emergency… At least sort it out for how I could use it. I doubt there will be an emergency, I actually just watched a huge sailboat slam into the sandbar here going full speed in the night. Boom! He lurched forward and stopped dead, and I saw it coming! He must’ve been drunk. Still he was totally fine, and backed off it. So I’m sure there’s nothing I can’t handle around here. I’ll let y’all know how it goes!
As I edit this today, I am having the most beautiful day… the wind is blowing warm before the storm comes in and I am just relaxed…
