It's the ICW all the Way

We have never done the ICW from the zero marker in Norfolk VA., to Key West and back. Somewhere, somehow along the way we typically jump out off shore and go past some of the worst spots. It's just the two of us and we tend to limit our outside run to about 30 hrs. That is usually more than enough to get past the rough spots.

Or conversely there are some areas of South Florida that are such a hassle because of the boat traffic and so so many bridges that require an opening to safely pass. On the ICW from Palm Beach and Lake Worth to Ft. Lauderdale there are 22 bridges, almost one every 2 miles. It takes forever to go the 40 or so miles. The boat traffic from the very small to the very large mega yacht crowd are all here. Throw in some wind and current and it is a fine brew indeed. From Ft. Lauderdale to Miami it is another 20 bridges that require  opening, whew! In the past we have jumped outside and traveled inlet to inlet as the weather and circumstance allow. Said another way, we have never run this stretch inside before, ever, nope, nada.

Since we are leaving for home early, the weather is a bit unsettled with strong northerlies pushing against the gulf stream creating the most unpleasant set of circumstance. It seems like one ends and the next one begins. One key is to take a look at Lake Worth and its anchorages of boats waiting to cross to the Bahamas.

This is the early time for some to go to the Bahamas. As springtime settles the winds will die down and late April-June is a great time to be there. Actually it is the best time to be there.

The "early birds" are beginning to gather in Lake Worth for the crossing, frothy to be on their way. It is early so they often wait a few days, week or two and sometimes three for a weather window and then scoot across, feeling better once they are on the banks. Even then they cluster in strategic locations for the next jump. Looking at Lake Worth it was crowded with boats anchored in every nook and cranny.  The offshore forecast had every one hunkered down inside. Here is a link for NOAA and the Ocean Prediction Center showing in high level detail the gulf stream forecast; http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/A_24hrwind_wave.gif We have WxWeather capability on board http://www.xmwxweather.com/marine/ and along with the local forecasting we get detailed weather view in real time. What is important here is the wind and wave along with the sea temp and buoy data, which helps outline the wall of the gulf stream and current conditions.

From the urban and congested south FL, it opens up a bit and the biggest concerns are various inlets and shoals along the way. There are notorious problem areas that have lots of comments from fellow boaters, to just plain skinny waters.
Our real concerns do not arise again until the very end of north FL and into GA. There are such big tides here that you need to be thoughtful about when you go and for how long. The low tides in some parts make our passage difficult.

It seems each region has it distinct flavor and characteristic. The Carolinas are fine in some places but have real problems in areas where there are many inlets and then large shallow bays.
A different trip than times past where we've hopped outside takes a bit of creative planning to make it all work while dodging between fronts, wind and rain.