Northern Phoenix blog

December 10
West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale

We made our first trip out into the ocean today.  We left with the sun rise at 6:30 from West Palm Beach and headed out into the ocean.  We were trying to avoid going through 15 bridges on the ICW that we would have had to wait for and have open for us, and we were tempted by the great big water.  We traveled 40 nautical miles in the ocean to Fort Lauderdale.  We had to fight the Gulf stream at times as it was very close to shore.  It was pushing us back about 2 knots.  Which is not very much, except we only go 7.  And we were going into the wind and waves, so we were only going about 3-4 knots for a while.  We moved in closer to shore and got into little eddies and our speed would sometimes get up to 8.5 knots, still going into the waves.  Little back eddies of the Gulf stream.

It was a little rough at the beginning, left over waves from the night before.  Add waves, wind, and a gulf stream and you have no idea what the waves will do.   We would hit areas with big waves....then little waves.  Can't figure out what caused the variation.
  

We saw 2 sea turtles lounging in the water!!  We were to slow to get a picture.  But this pictures gives you an idea.