…alternately:
I’m just trying to find the bridge
The Crunge – Led Zeppelin
Has anybody seen the bridge
Please
(Have you seen the bridge)
I ain’t seen the bridge
(Where’s that confounded bridge)
While the current was still running in our favor, we cast off our lines once more. It was a beautiful morning with a light haze, but shortly after departure, we noticed a fog bank rolling in. We did our best to keep ahead of it, but eventually it caught up. The fog wasn’t in the forecast, but we were already well on our way, so we brought up the radar and continued on. As we approached the Crescent Beach Bridge, it got so thick that we could barely even see shore, nevermind the bridge. Fortunately I had Aqua Maps running on my phone and was able to monitor distance, and the bridge operator hailed us just as I was about to call him. Since he’d lost us in the fog, he let us know to radio him at a certain ICW day mark so he could start the open for us, and he was in touch again to let us know he was fully opened. Once we passed through, he wished us safe travels and happy holidays. He made what was a potentially dangerous situation easy and safe and was one of the nicest bridge operators we’ve encountered on this trip.
I stood fog watch, and it helped to have my charts to refer to so I knew where to look. I found myself wishing for my winter jacket rather than my sweatshirt… not what I was expecting in Florida! Eventually it burned off and the first part of the day took us through pretty sections of mangrove forest. The second half of the day, we got into more densely populated areas that were, let’s say, not my style.
I’ve been surprised at how relatively few good anchorages there are along the ICW, and that’s even more true in Florida. We found what looked to be a good anchorage off Bethune Park just past the Memorial Bridge, but it turned out to be pretty full. Since most areas immediately off the ICW aren’t charted, we were hesitant to go for the more open Memorial Bridge Southeast anchorage, so we took a spot on the edge of the Bethune Park anchorage. We weren’t protected from wake, but the holding was good, and we plan to be off first thing, so it’s good enough.
Sunset was stunning – I feel like I’m saying that a lot, but we’ve been absolutely spoiled this trip with beautiful skies. As we were eating dinner, we heard someone playing “Jingle Bell Rock” over and over, and when I poked my head out on deck, it turned out that one of the local marinas was having their parade of lights, which was fun to watch. It looks like it’ll be a calm night, and it’s nice to be back on anchor.
One reply on “In a Fog”
Enjoyed your story, I feel your pain as sailing in dense fog can really be nerve racking even with radar. Keep it up! Stay safe!