Slow day in the ICW

Message from Captain Wayne: 

Well, after a great day in the Atlantic yesterday, or at least a day where we covered a lot of distance, today we only made 48 nautical miles instead of the planned 69. We started out making great time. With 15-25 knot winds, we were sailing down the ICW at over eight knots most of the day, so we expected to easily arrive at Jacksonville Beach by 3 p.m., well ahead of my calculated time using seven knots average speed.

If you guessed our delay was due to bridges again, you are correct. We arrived at the Seaboard System Railroad Swing Bridge about 2:15 p.m. The bridge is normally open, but a train was coming, so we had to wait about 20 minutes in strong wind and currents until the train passed and the bridge was slowly opened. This bridge is immediately followed by 65' twin fixed bridges.

Because we were nearing high tide, with higher than normal high tides due to the lunar cycle and strong current, I was especially concerned, so it was all hands on deck to see if we could clear. It just so happened that an Island Packet 440 with the same mast height arrived just behind us with the same concerns. They were glad that they could watch us to see if we made it before trying it themselves.

As we approach a fixed bridge, the first thing we look for is tide boards, which tell us the height of the bridge based on current water level. There were none in sight. After going through the swing bridge and slowing the boat as much as possible against a following current and 20 knot winds, I noticed the tide board on the right side placed sideways so you had to be almost beside it to read it. It showed 62', which is 18" less than needed for us to pass under the bridge. So I had to turn around in the narrow channel while warning the other boat that there was not enough clearance. Fortunately, I was able to stop and turn around in the narrow channel less than 30 feet from the bridge. I am sure glad that Lena Bea has bow thrusters, a feathering propellor, and a powerful engine to be able to turn around in a 1.7 knot current with following winds of 18-22 knots.

After getting clear of the bridge, we anchored to wait for the tide to go down. I calculated that we would have to wait until about 5:12 p.m. before we would clear the bridge. We went under at about 5:20 with only an inch or two to spare (we think the antenna may have ticked against the bottom of one of the support beams), three hours after we arrived! We then had to anchor earlier, before dark, which meant we could not make it as far as we wanted. We found a great place to anchor about five miles after the bridge, but we will not be able to get to St. Augustine as early as we were hoping for tomorrow.

So cruising goes on the ICW. At least our mast is undamaged and we are securely anchored. Michele made a wonderful dinner again, and now we can relax and plan the next segment of our trip. Weather is keeping us in the ICW for at least another couple of days, and we are glad that Hurricane Noel is continuing the projected path to the northeast. I get real time information via Sirius and can track it on our Raymarine E80 displays.