West Palm Beach

August 8, 2010

We pull away from the docks at Fort Lauderdale and head out the Port Everglades Inlet for an outside run up the Florida coast to West Palm Beach.  While it remains clear over the ocean, we watch several thunderclouds build over the mainland.  Just as we enter the Fort Worth Inlet, a major storm cloud hovers just south of the inlet and in the general direction of the Palm Harbor Marina, our destination about 3 miles away.  Since we must wait for a bridge to open, we call the marina to find out the conditions there.  They say it is currently clear and to come on. 

When I pull the transmissions out of gear to stop for the bridge, the starboard shifter cable snaps.  Since it is still in gear, I can only turn off the engine.  I let the bridge know that we are having a problem and they agree to hold the bridge open until we can get ourselves straight and through the opening.

I call the marina and let them know we will be coming in on one engine.  Since we need fuel anyway, we decide to tie up on the face dock.  As we approach the dock, the sky opens up with a drenching downpour.
After the rain passes, we fuel up and manuever the boat over to a slip, still using one engine.

Even though it's a Sunday, I am able to contact a local mechanic recommended by the marina and he agrees to come over Monday morning and help replace the cable. 

Here's a shot of Shane and I working down in the engine room.

Shane is a diver, so we talk about the local spots, and is pretty knowledgeable about cables.  We learn that the starboard shifter cable runs from the bridge to the engine and is 28 feet in length.  Shane picks one up locally and as we pull out the old cable we have attached a wire that is pulled into it's place.  Then we attached the new cable to the wire and pull it from the bridge down to the engine room.  Total time about 3 hours.  The new cable works great and is noticeably smoother than the port side cable (it's currently working fine but probably needs replacement as well).

John and Nancy Crites fly down on Tuesday, the 10th to join us for the trip north.

W spend 4 days in West Palm Beach, reprovision the pantry,  ride the free downtown trolley and eat some great food (the mexican/southwestern fare at Rico's Tacos was excellent).

Since the weather was again nice and the ocean calm, on August 12 we take the outside route up the florida coast to Fort Pierce Inlet.  We meet a yacht going south out in the ocean.

We continue up the ICW and pick up a mooring at Vero Beach for the night.  Since we want to go through the Haulover Canal to see the manatees that live there, we have decided to continue up through the ICW.