Currently sitting on a little island…
We woke up before sunrise in West Palm Beach, to face our biggest day yet. I’d even say it was one of the biggest days of my life. I don’t even know how to tell the story!
We decided to take the Intracoastal Waterway route to Miami. We chose that over the 60 mile open ocean sail. We could not be sure what this decision meant yet…
The water at the West Palm Beach anchorage was haunting, the clear blue glass, very out of place in this industrial area and the only spot on the intracoastal that looked like this. The air that early morning was finally soft and really felt tropical.
We set off to attack the day. But because of me taking my time to poop in the morning, we were now missing our time for the first drawbridge. 7:30 AM we were watching as the Flagler Memorial Bridge opened, so close but not close enough! We got a bit closer and watched as it closed.
We would now need to wait half an hour for the next opening. We decided to drop the anchor in a small harbor beside the bridge.
Almost as soon as we dropped anchor we were hauling it back up again! The time flies, and we passed under the bridge along with some mega yachts. Right away came the next drawbridge, and after a couple wide S curves through the open part of the channel, I timed it to pass under that one 15 minutes later.
I should mention my reverse gear does not work. Because of this, to get under the bridges is a feat of exact timing and maneuvering the boat through the narrow channel, around many other boats and obstacles. If I arrive at the bridge too soon, I have to make a u-turn, but with different unknown obstacles at each bridge you just never know how it will go around the next corner of the intracoastal… My friend put it best by simply saying, “Drawbridges are sketchy.”
We were motoring free! We didn’t think we would be sailing much today, because the map showed the channel was narrower than ever. In this area we were passing through a wide open bay, but it was still very shallow. We saw the next bridge in the distance, a strange looking one surrounded by piles of industry. It would be lifted straight up in the air, as opposed to two spans opening individually. It looked to be stuck open, maybe we wouldn’t have to lift this one.
I started cooking some breakfast for us as Kathleen steered. Then we realized we were mistaken as we came closer to the bridge. It was definitely closed.
That was when a coastguard boat approached at a fast speed. They had huge machine guns off the front of the their boat! Woah it was scary! The guy who called to us was heavily armed. He told us the bridge would be opening today at 8:45, and that we needed to drop anchor immediately and wait right here.
We didn’t realize it at the time, but this whole thing happened right in front of Mar-a-Lago resort, Donald Trumps house. We were waiting to see that place… but we were too distracted to realize we were in front of it. All we saw was polluted water, a pile of sick industry, a wicked drawbridge, a boat armed to the teeth with machine guns, and after that… the biggest castle-like mansion we’ve ever seen sprawling along the distant shore.
We were only anchored for a few minutes and scarfed down our meal pretty stressfully! Then we pulled the hook and headed out.
You can’t come onto the bridge too fast. If I was to get too close I’d be basically driving a car that won’t stop directly into a wall. So I go very slow, and only give it the gas when the bridge finally begins to open. They I gun it full speed ahead! Gotta pass through the thing asap once it is open! But it if I get to it too soon I have to make a u-turn. However, I have to time it right so I don’t drive too far the other direction before turning back! Gotta hit it right on the minute. And I’m in contact with the bridge operator on the radio the whole time.
“Calling the Southern Blvd Causeway, this is sailing vessel Simplicity, headed southbound, planning to transit at your 8:45 opening.”
Or something like, “We’re passing mile marker 39A, wondering if we’ll reach you for your 9:30 opening…?”
Whatever they respond depends on the bridge operator, how well they feel like doing their job, sometimes they won’t answer at all… Other times they are very nice.
The 9:30 bridge at Lantana was very nice and decided to hold the bridge open a few minutes longer to allow us to pass through. We saw it open in the distance, full speed ahead!!! Eventually we reached it and cleared it, waving at the bridge operators house and thanking her on the radio.
“This is Simplicity, we are clear of the spans, thank you so much for your patience!!”
“Copy that captain, have a beautiful day.”
At Boynton Beach we left the open waters of the bay, and began the narrow channel. We followed another sailboat under the next bridge, after that the intercostal became like a neighborhood street, with docks and houses and concrete walls on both sides. A mega yacht flew past kicking up a massive wake which bounced off the walls and refracted back over and over, another powerboat sped through to add to the chaotic wake. We were riding the waves down the channel trying to keep in control of the boat, and not to hit any walls!
I go down below to call the bridges on the VHF radio, so the wind doesn’t disturb the connection.
“Calling the George Bush Blvd Bridge, this is vessel Simplicity sailing southbound…..”
My train of thought completely was lost, as I realized I was standing in water.
Oh fuck are we taking on water?!
No, no, actually one of my water jugs had broken and leaked our drinking water all over the floor. Oops, but it took me a minute to figure it out and I had to call the bridge again.
The George Bush Blvd bridge was friendly to us and we timed it perfectly to pass between the narrow walls of the tiny bridge. The next one was in sight immediately after, to open 15 minutes later. We’d surely be there too soon and have to cut back around this narrow area somehow. We were trapped between the bridges!
We were still following the other sailboat. I was going as slow as possible… This boat could just cruise right up to the bridge and do some magic trick that allowed him to just sit completely still in front of the bridge. He might have been switching back and forth between forward and reverse to sit still like that, but I thought more likely he just pushed some button on his fancy boat that did the work for him and allowed him to sit still. I didn’t have this ability at all!
We were also pursued by a huge powerboat right behind us. That made it pretty much impossible to U-turn.
Stress came as we approached the bridge. I only had to kill 15 minutes before it would open, but were arriving with 5 minutes to spare. I actually didn’t know what to do here.
As the moment until the bridge opens approaches, things get more and more tense by the minute. 5 minutes ok, get ready whats the plan… This time we were approaching the sailboat as he sat there. I was going as slow as possible. Almost now, 4 minutes, I was too close!
I tried putting the boat in neutral, but after only a few moments of that we began to turn sideways in a bad way. Ayy! Back in forward!!
Oh god I had no idea what to here, there was no possibility for a u-turn but no option to not make one either. I would either crash into something or attempt the u-turn. To crash into the bridge spells the death of Simplicity, so that is not an option. I continued in forward as slow as I could possibly go……
Then the boat just stopped. I sat right behind the stopped sailboat, and although I was still moving in forward I watched my knot meter fall, from moving at 1.5 knots, down to 1, down to nearly 0. As though God stepped in and put a hand out and stopped the boat. I had 3 minutes left before the opening.
The boat held there, and didn’t move at all. For 3 minutes.
Both Kathleen and I were feeling panic and in disbelief but just going with it. Everything is ok, just keep holding!!!
3 minutes past, and the bridge spans began to open! I gave it the gas! The engine died!! Pulled the cord, it took 4 tries and we started drifting sideways. Then I gave it full throttle and we went for the bridge. The powerboat passed us, having seen the whole ordeal, and he gave us a knowing smile.
There it was the next bridge!
This one I would try to go very slow, it was 15 minutes until the next opening, but it wasn’t far. Well actually it was. The bridge also wouldn’t answer to me, and when I asked for the time of the opening the lady from the George Bush bridge answered my questions.
I went too slow for this one!!
I screwed up, Kathleen was not happy with me about this one. At some point I realized 10 minutes had passed and it wasn’t as close as I thought. We gave it the gas, the bridge operator wouldn’t answer my call. 5 minutes come on! Get closer! Not happening, we were so close, but watched as it opened, and upon approaching closer, after 1 minute of it being opened it closed.
We had to drive the other way, the next opening would be in half an hour. I had this incredibly trapped feeling being stuck in the space between the two drawbridges.
We timed in better on the next try and passed right under it.
Now we had a few miles of channel before the next one so we could sort of relax. I don’t think I’ve ever been so punctual in my life as this day. We were now arriving in Boca Raton, Spanish for “mouse mouth.”
The place was so bizarre… Huge mansions, huge houses, all lining the channel. Other channels for powerboats passed between the houses like streets, they even had street names. Kathleen drove for a while and I sat on deck and watched the scenery. We wondered why people would want to live here, living on this channel seems like “waterfront property,” but to us it would be more like living on the side of the highway. The houses need a big sound barrier wall! Haha.
But really, these opulent lives disgust me. Fountains poured in the lawns adorned with statues. Infinity pools spilled water like a lazy women spilling wine from her glass. Not a care in the world, or of the world. Many houses are not lived in, they are just owned by some foreign billionaire. The palm trees are planted fully grown when the house is built, the plants are part of the construction. No dolphins live here, and the birds will probably have to leave eventually. If this was once a river it certainly is no more, and nothing remains of the natural world in Boca Raton.
I saw the weirdest sight, well many weird sights, like blue herons displaced from their habitat and living in condominium parking lots. But at one point I saw the biggest white and gold mansion, with 5 people, surely Central Americans, constructing it. They were installing a huge sparkling purple gorilla statue in the front. This says it all to me, these people, most likely illegal immigrants from Mexico, building a ridiculous house for Donald Trump, while he calls them criminal and says we need a wall to keep them out.
Anyway…
For a very short stretch we were in a peaceful, more natural place of mangroves and forests and only a few condos. I think it was actually before Boca. We came to the Spanish River bridge a little too soon and had to double back for 10 minutes. Then, I saw a sunhat in the water!! I had lost my hat a couple days before. Kathleen, I saw a hat, get the boat hook! We made a few extra U-turn and snagged the hat!! Hahah, we had a very good laugh about this. It was a woman hat with a tiny silver flower on it but I’ll wear it, it does the trick!
That bridge was probably the most relaxing one, and it peacefully opened, exact on the minute as usual.
Lake Boca had a million boats anchored in it with people swimming around sandbars in the relatively clean water which comes in from the ocean. The inlet is close here. The architecture was all old Spanish style around this lake, it was a pretty cool area. Then the next drawbridge was under construction and it was open! Yes, a freebee.
The next bridge was closed when we arrived and we still had a good 15 minutes to wait. There was a good spot in front of the bridge, somewhat open area beside a park. We decided to drop the anchor.
We have to gas up the engine!! Lets do it. We killed the engine, grabbed our funnels and huge jerry can. Kathleen helped and we filled our gas tanks and it took 7 minutes. Ok, time! Pull the anchor! Pulling and setting the anchor takes a few minutes as well. Vroom!!! Kicked on the engine, 2 minutes until bridge open! I made a big crazy U-turn, expertly avoiding hundred of powerboats all crowded around the closed drawbridge. That one was pretty fun and we passed right through.
Then came the Hillboro Inlet to the ocean. I was confused for a moment because the channel forked, there was a drawbridge and I actually called them, but then they assured me we were continuing in the channel, we would not need to pass under this one. It went to the ocean. However, it opened as we passed beside it and we let some mega yachts cruise in front of us. The current was so strong it sent all three of them flying sideways drunkenly in different directions as they turned into the intracoastal.
Ahhh!! We hit the current like a river and it grabbed Simplicity. Sent us flying too! I kept control, but we moving at 7 knots for a moment, (usually I go about 3-5 knots). Then as we continued in the channel the current reversed. Now we were crawling along at 2 knots.
We passed under another bridge or two, into Pompano Beach.
“Atlantic Blvd bridge, this is southbound vesdel Simplicity… we’re in sight of the bridge, do you think we’ll be able to make your 4PM opening?”
A woman answered, “We’ll find out when you get here,” she said without the ‘professional’ radio chatter.
…
“Simplicity, please approach the bridge now if you want to make this opening!” She said.
“On our way! We’re making 4 knots, hopefully we make it!”
“Step it up Simplicity!”
I’ll remember that line. She held the bridge an extra minute and we thanked her for it.
Then came Fort Lauderdale, ‘yachting capitol of the world’… An opening, then quickly closing bridge welcomed us as we approached it at rush hour. I had gone too slow in the channel before this and timed it wrong, and Kathleen was not having it! She told me no more going slow, just get to the bridge and turn around if we have to. We had to double back on this one and wait the half hour.
Fort Lauderdale would be 4 bridges. At sunset, we came too late for one, and dropped the anchor. It was actually a good anchorage, we could have stayed there. But there was no way we wanted to wake up to this nightmare of a trip again in the morning. We decided lets go into the night and get out of this godforsaken place!!! 😉
We were actually having an incredible amount of fun! I had probably laughed more today than any other day of my life, these near fiascos and feats of timing were hilarious, we were joking the entire way. Then we became loopy, and drained and confused. We would try to have conversations but the constant radio chatter, sometimes important news from the bridge operator, would continue to interrupt us. Then as the moment drew nearer to cross we would become more and more focused.
Then about 3 minutes of terror, as we tried to approach the closed spans not too fast not too slow.
Then joy after we made it through! Only 13 more to go!!
Wow just writing about it is draining, we watched the sunset, for about 4 minutes and it took me about 4 minutes to make some coffee and we were pulling up the anchor! Ahhh!! Not even enough time to drink my coffee, what is this place?!
Then night brought a new view and it was gorgeous. The city lights of the high-rises in Fort Lauderdale lined the channel. We loved it, the city at night was very cool. Kathleen noticed one waterfront bar that had like 2 dozen TVs playing and she was very confused and appalled by it.
“What the hell is this?!” She photographed it, and coming from Germany, had probably never seen such over the top opulence and gluttony as she saw here.
Things got bigger, the bay opened up in the darkness with mansion on the shores. The channel markers were lit with flashing red and green lights. The next bridge was huge, we didn’t need it to open, we could just sail under it. Still we pretended we were going to crash into it.
“Ahh it didn’t open!!! Oh my god there goes the mast! Oh wait, we just barely scraped the top, we made it!!”
Then we were in an industrial area where the ocean lets in, and massive cruise ships were docked like sky scrapers laying on their side. The channel here was 50 feet deep, and we passed through some enormous industry with planes flying close overhead. Then we were soon in a dark place with mangroves.
A strange bridge in the darkness made us wait a while and do laps. The next one was very friendly and professional. The third one was the opposite and yelled at us rudely on the radio.
We saw the Miami skyline lit for us in the distance! We had arrived.
The current ripped us fast through a channel beside a highway lit with streetlights and skyscrapers. We were so thrilled to be here! We opened a bottle of wine and celebrated, but soon a massive wake from a mega yacht flying past at an ungodly speed tipped the uncorked bottle and spilled all of it!
Grr.
Then we came onto a bridge and the operator told me he’d open at 9:35. That was a strange time… I was there at 9:35 but it didn’t open. I tried to call again and no answer. We made circles, maybe he said 10:45? Nope. 10:45 passed with no opening. What the hell!! We just drove in circles in this wider area before the bridge shouting angry and laughing having lost out minds 13 bridges ago.
He opened at 10:55, he must’ve been pooping.
Hollywood, Florida and the skyscrapers surrounding us became epic. We took some good pictures. We were quiet now, taking in the beauty of the night cityscape reflecting on the calm water.
One more bridge was very polite to us, and this one opened on demand. That was it, we had done them all, 25 bridges.
Now we would try to anchor, we wanted to go to this harbor by a Miami college. The current took us fast through that last bridge, and continued to a suddenly very dark place.
Then we were moving so fast with the current that it had us going over 7 knots without even the engine being on full speed. It was actually scary, this inlet to the ocean we were passing near Miami Beach was intense. There were many shoals and sandbars in the night around the channel, and many of the channel markers were not lit! Kathleen stood with the flashlight and lit the way for me.
We realized there was no good way to pass into the college harbor, it was too shallow to enter safely. We looked at the chart to pick a new spot. There was one more drawbridge…
It took a long time but we approached it. It was a long causeway spanning a wide open space. When I called I obviously sounded very fatigued.
“Be safe out there Simplicity.” He told us.
Then we just drove down the nighttime channel, between the dark channel marker posts, careful not to hit one of those…
At long last we made it to the anchorage.
We dropped our anchor between many other sailboats, and although this was the 5th time anchoring today, I couldn’t get it to set right due to the lack of wind and strange currents. Oh well… it was midnight and this day had lasted 17 hours. But we had made it.
….
Feb 19th
I slept really badly, and in the morning we got underway.
We crossed a drawbridge, timed it expertly, then we were headed for all the tall white and turquoise buildings of the Miami skyline. One… final…. bridge.
We dropped the anchor in what felt like the heart of the city to wait 10 minutes for the bridge. Apparently there was a boat show going on, which explained the plethora of mega-yachts we saw. Some of them were 4 stories high. We were surrounded, and we followed in a chaotic line of them going all different directions as they came out of a marina, and passed both ways under the bridge. I was loving it though, whats up Miami!!! I’m back!
From there we passed the empire. So many buildings, so tall, all built so close to the sea to be consumed by the rising tides. A temple to money, I think drug money in this particular city. I don’t see the point of all this domination of the world, all this construction, these concrete monoliths. A statue of a man stood in a park where the towers met the sea, blowing a conch shell horn, his penis thrust out to the ocean. This land has been conquered.
But there the intracoastal ended. The last bridge was just a normal one, no drawbridge, we passed under it and made it to Biscayne Bay.
What a victorious feeling it was, and the wind was perfect. We put up both sails and turned the motor off. Finally it was quiet.
We sailed fast and happy. It felt like we had completed our journey, although we had just completed the first journey. Still felt like a huge accomplishment, making it here to the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula from Daytona Beach.
Then we were at Key Biscayne! The day I picked Kathleen up at the Miami airport we had driven to this little island, explored it, and planned our trip to return here and live on the boat in this harbor we were currently pulling into. That was an incredible feeling, now we would get to know this place.
Hooray! We dropped the anchor and the water was turquoise, that classic Florida teal, warm and clean. We jumped in. We felt the stress of the last few days melting off into the water. Suddenly there was no more rush, no more need to move, to work and keep moving. It was over so suddenly. It was the best afternoon we could have ever imagined.
And here we will wait for a few days. There’s only one place we want to go from here, and that’s the Bahamas. Kathleen can only stay with me until March 1st, then she has to return to Germany. We still have some time left together.
This is the jumping off point to cross the Gulf Stream, 50 miles of deep open ocean. The shallow, paradise waters of the Bahama Bank is on the other side. We have to wait for the best weather window, to time it right with calm winds. Now we will relax here on Key Biscayne, prepare ourselves and plan.
The mythical island of Bimini is waiting out there for us, our next stop, a tiny speck in the middle of the ocean.
