Our optimistic estimate to get home Monday did not anticipate our latest challenge.  The incredibly strong north gale force winds blew so much water into the inland waterway the levels are 2-3 feet above normal!  Our mast is 63.5 feet tall so at normal levels we clear ICW bridges which are speced at 65 feet with no problem.  On Sunday the 6th we managed to get to Palm Coast by waiting for low tide, But upon reaching the Flagler Beach bridge the board was reading 62 ft. The wind was still blowing 20 knots from the north and the current was 1 knot with us, so if we had hit we would have been forced under the beams potentially causing extensive damage,  so we could not risk it.  The problem is compounded because no one knows the exact bridge clearances and the boards are not accurate in this area. The bridge operators are no help at all and neither were the Coast Guard or TowBoatUS.   We went back 5 miles to Palm Coast marina.  The next morning the wind finally dropped and all the people who had been holed up during the gales were heading out - but the water level was still 2 feet high!! So we felt like it was a sad sad day...

"Everyone is leaving - Sunny Skies has to stay behind..."

But then we realized - hey,  the temperature is warm, the sun is shining, the wind is down - all we have to do is adjust our attitude from "Delivery" to "Cruising" and life is good again!  As it turned out we hung out at the marina for 2 days.  Enjoyed biking around and exploring,  Biked over to the local Publix (hurray!  back in Publix country!) and restocked with some nice steak and fresh veggies.  

had a nice Italian dinner out.  

and a glorious sunset.

Finally this morning the water levels dropped about 18 inches and we left in the pitch dark to try to catch Flagler at mid-tide level .   

5:15  AM  cleared Palm Coast board reading 64 ft no contact.

6:00 Flagler Beach - board reading 64 ft  -Gene saw antenna contact so we were smart to turn back - this board actually reads about 6 inches higher than the clearance really is!

Ormond Beach   8:30   board reading 63.5   cleared but antenna hit about 6" down - so the board indicates 6 inches higher clearance than it really is.

This morning the wind is calm, so we are able to go slow right up to the bridge and would probably be able to back off without much damage if we did hit so we felt comfortable inching up to the bridges.

Daytona Sea Breeze - sign board reading 62 ft 3 inches.  However yesterday I found a blog from last year saying the bridge was actually higher than the board reads so we proceeded though.  did not touch.  so the board is definitely off by 2 ft.  (there is 2 ft higher clearance than indicated on the board!)  So thanks very much to the guys who posted this information below - it is right on!

http://icwcruisersguide.com/page5/page5.html

Daytona Beach Intl Speedway board reading 62 ft even - did not touch  looked like 6 inches to spare so it's really at least 64 feet.  So this board is also off by 2 feet.

 Port Orange  - this one was reading 62.5   - and we hit the antenna by 4" so the bridge is about  10 inches higher than inidcated on the board.  cleared at 10:20 AM....  we think think this is the last of the close calls.  

Past New Smyrna the Harris Saxon was reading 66 feet - the way it sposed to be - so we had no problems there.   So Hurray!  Looks like we are home free and should be in the Indian River by tomorrow or maybe even tonight current willing!  

We left Wrightsville Beach in the dawn.  

Our passage turned out to be a little more rigorous than we had in mind!  The first day (Wed) we headed out at Cape Fear around noon and made great time.  We also made really good time on the first overnight – it was wonderful to have Gene to share the night watches with us. The weather warmed up and we had a frisky dolphin entourage (looked like about 40 of them) escorting us almost the entire way. And even a beautiful double rainbow! 

So we were feeling pretty cocky. We couldn’t get any good weather updates, but the VHF radio update didn’t sound too bad (or maybe we just heard what we wanted to hear since we really didn’t want to go into Charleston as it would add lots of days) so we sailed right on past Charleston about 11 AM on Day 2 figuring we could make St Mary’s (FL-GA Border) before the full gale force winds kicked in. But we didn’t really reckon on an icy 25-30 wind on the nose with rain all night long Thursday night.  It definitely put this boat to the test (felt like being drop kicked off a 2 story building for most of the night. At one point we were making 1 knot with both engines straining) but as usual the boat came through with flying colors while the crew came through like wet whipped dogs with tails between our legs. It got REALLY cold and still is but in the morning the wind moved through South to West and life got good again.  We were very happy to make it in St Mary’s Inlet by 11AM Friday, well before the REAL gale force winds set in. Now we are tucked back in the salt marsh behind Amelia Island – peaceful with no other boats and swinging gently as opposed to jumping around like a demented monkey - even though it’s still blowing 20-25.  Just starting to get tidied up, dried out and the salt wiped down.  So all’s well that ends and we are happy to be back in FL -  even if it’s still freezing and blowing just like up north.  Things should start to settle down by Sunday and if so we’ll head out at the St Johns River inlet and be home Monday or Tuesday. Otherwise we’ll be in the ditch for another week.