Monday, December 12th

We are underway from Vero Beach at the crack of dawn en route to North Palm Beach, a distance of 58 miles.  Our course takes us south along the Indian River and across the inlet at Fort Pierce.  Further south at the St. Lucie inlet, the dolphin are playing and the water temporarily takes on an emerald hue, then returns to a brownish blue. 

[caption id="attachment_2284" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Jupiter lighthouse"][/caption]

We enter Hobe Sound, then Jupiter Sound before traversing Jupiter inlet.  South of Jupiter, the ICW follows a narrow cut that broadens into Lake Worth in North Palm Beach.  Cutter Loose is anchored in the northeast corner of Lake Worth where the wind is blowing a steady 15 knots from the east.

During today's journey, we pass through eight bridges that require openings.  Some of these bridges open on demand while others open at scheduled times, such as on the hour and the half hour.  Bridge operators always open for barges and other commercial traffic on demand.  This afternoon, we piggy back on two bridge openings commanded by a barge, thus eliminating the need to wait for scheduled openings.  At 3:45 PM, the anchor is down in Lake Worth.





Homes along the ICW become larger and more luxurious as we travel further south in the Sunshine State.  Visible on the horizon from our anchorage is the skyline of Palm Beach.

The Palm Beach skyline beckons