Day 83 - Crossing Back to the US

We awoke to a very warm day with a few clouds and calm winds; a fine day to cross the Gulf Stream back to Florida.  We checked out of the marina and gave the dock master our customs forms.  Our new friend Jim helped us with our lines and we were on our way to the fuel dock by 9 am and left there by 9:30 am.  We travelled to the end of the channel to see the new luxury resort, Bimini Bay Resort and Marina, where the tenders ferry people from the Super Fast ferry that anchors off the island.  A small seaplane flew over us, landed and then “taxied” toward us before pulling into a small bay next to the marina.  (Captain Randy had to really search his memory of the rules of the road to remember who had the right of way – us or the seaplane!  We do but we slowed down and let it pass in front of us.)  The complex is made up of small cottages and condominiums with all the amenities of a highly rated facility.  We did not see many boats in the harbor though.

 

 

We turned around and went back through the channel out of the harbor.  Captain Randy powered up the boat at 10:20 am and we said good-bye to Bimini and the Bahamas.  The wave heights were only about 1 foot.  Several miles out the boat picked up speed and we knew we were in the Gulf Stream.  Randy figured we picked up 3-4 knots from the current.  Several freighters were visible but not much else.  Captain Randy saw a sailfish jump (I saw it as it was diving back into the water) and a couple of balloons on the surface.

Around 12:30 pm more substantial rollers started hitting us on our beam, but nothing we couldn’t handle.  Captain Randy slowed down and went out on the bow to remove the Bahamian courtesy flag we had flown since entering the Bahamas at West End.  He started waving his arms and shouting for me to come up and look.  There were several dolphins at the bow of the boat, swimming along with us, jumping and darting about.  Soon there were several more, and more on both sides of the boat, in front and behind!  We were in the middle of a dolphin pod and there must have been a hundred or more.  The water was so clear that it seemed we were looking at them through glass as they moved through the water.  At this point we were 15-20 miles off the Florida coast near the Palm Beach area and in 1200 feet of water.  After about a half an hour of slow cruising with the dolphins we waved good-bye, sped up, and got back on our course to Fort Pierce.  What an amazing sight!

We could see the tall buildings of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach at this point and we had another 55 miles northwest to go.  Now there was lots of Florida fishing boats up and down the coast.  I saw a few grayish blobs on the surface and at first thought they were crab pots, but the water was too deep.  They were actually jellyfish and appeared translucent, almost like a clear plastic bag.  We passed the Port Lucie Inlet and Stuart, moving north until we saw the inlet for Fort Pierce.  Inside the harbor on our starboard was a popular anchorage area with lots of boats out and people in the water.

We arrived at the Fort Pierce City Marina at 3:40 and called US Customs first thing.  They asked a couple questions then cleared us for entry.  After washing down the boat, we walked up to the Tiki Bar for something to eat, as we had not eaten since early that morning.  The place had live music and a good crowd.  We took a walk around town but nothing was open as it was late on a Sunday.  With not much else to do, we took the opportunity to take care of some of the stacked up laundry.  Each wash or dry costs $5 or more in the Bahamas, so we waited until we were back in the States to do the laundry.