We arrived at White Sands Ridge about 4 yesterday afternoon and finally anchored in 15 feet having looked in vain for the shallower water that was supposed to be there. Right by us was a large tour boat/small cruise ship that was going back and forth across the waters. We couldn't figure out what they were doing. Back and forth , back and forth. Then we heard that they were on a dolphin tour. There is a large group of dolphins in this general area that people swim with. They are wild dolphins and the guidelines stress that you cannot approach them or harass them, but you can swim with them. If the dolphins choose to approach you, that is fine. This pod seems to have become so used to having swimmers amongst them that tour boats come out filled with tourists taking a chance on being able to swim with wild dolphins. They didn't have any luck yesterday, and we didn't see any dolphins either.
A single hander anchored near us in the evening and radioed to ask if he could travel with us when we made the crossing. We were happy to do so, though he wanted to start off a fair bit earlier than we had planned on getting up. A bit of motivation is a good thing, and we were up at 3:30 a.m. ready to set off. An incredibly uncomfortable and rolly night meant we didn't have too much trouble waking as we never really slept, but getting our friend up was another matter! We finally roused him and were able to set off at 4:30 a.m.
The crossing was straightforward and trouble free, with only 2 tankers to get our blood pressure up. There were squalls all around us but we avoided every one, lucky for us. Friends who had crossed a week earlier had such bad squalls they couldn't see anything, and had to radio the Coast Guard who monitored them every 1/2 hour until the rain let up.
It took us just under 12 hours to get into Ft.Pierce and apart from the impressive current at the mouth of the inlet it was all straightforward. We tied up at Harbourtown Marina as later we would need to check in with Homeland Security (Customs and Immigration) and needed access to land. It is a lovely little marina, with good rates and a great restaurant. We had a pleasant meal with our singlehander friend (who found just before he met us that his credit card wasn't working!). It felt strange to have ready access to ice and airconditioning. But sort of nice.
The current at the mouth of Ft.Pierce inlet
Friday May 30
We took a taxi to the airport to check in, along with two other couples. The cab dispatcher has said we could all go together. It was a pretty tight squeeze, but better than waiting any longer and a great ice-breaker!
We arrived just a few minutes before opening. When our turn came we had to fill out loads of forms to apply for another cruising permit. This time, for whatever reason, we were only granted one for 10 months. We had to pay $19, and the officer refused to take a $20. He wouldn't give change, and he wouldn't take a $20. We had to go around the various people available and in the end could get enough notes to add up to $19, but it cost us $25 as lots of people didn't have enough change for our bills. Surreal.
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