We spent the night at anchor near the Los Olas bridge in Ft. Lauderdale. The current rips to the south on an outgoing tide and lags for close to an hour before creating a fun but questionable current to the north. Adding to the stress of kids swimming at anchor in a ripping current is the constant boat traffic funneling into the canals and southward to the pass that stretches to the all sporty Atlantic.
Waking at sunrise, James and I checked the tides and combed over the marine weather apps. High tide clocked in around 10am and low tide coming around 4pm. The seas were still punching in around 4-5 ft but according to the latest data, we should be seeing a decreasing tide with decreasing winds around 3pm. We talked it over for at least an hour and decided we should ride the tide out at 11:45am. Adding to our decision making was the Las Olas draw bridge that opened every hour at the 45 mark. With our 71 ft mast, this was a crucial part of our decision making. At abruptly 11:40, we lifted the hook and turned our bow into the outgoing current. Time, currents, decreasing wave height and winds were on our side so with just enough confidence and a brain full of coffee we were on our way.
Around noon, we made it to the pass and turned east to head out into the sporty Atlantic. The kids were full of excitement and plans and immediately made me remember that the little fellas still required boundaries and plenty of parenting. Bouncing, running, laughing and dangling dangerously close to the 4-5 ft waves crashing off the bow. I though…good Lord, I am going to lose one. So I huddled them close and gave them a stern safety briefing. There would be no running and playing on the trampoline in rough seas so with a swift of mom rage, I sent them to the stern of the boat to save their sweet little lives.
We took the Southern Star out of the pass and quickly turned south towards the lively port of Miami. The swell was much like the gulf, a washing machine with steady swells from the southeast which for us means the waves were pummeling us port side and rolling starboard. Within minutes, of the kids safety banishment, I had my sweet 10 year old crawling down the port side of the boat so sea sick that he thought for sure he would die. His exact words were “mom I am broken and I think I might be dying.” Not too far behind was his middle brother very close to passing out due to sea sickness. Within four hours to go and literally no place to pull into port, I had to dig deep and trouble shoot the problem. I started with white bread, Dramamine and sparkly water. After two hours of listening to my boys moan and cry and literally wearing Ben on my lap, I decided that maybe their idea all along was the best idea. So I drug the boys to the bow of the boat and let the cold waves and sporty swells wash the sickness away. Perched high on the dolphin watch seats, the boys began to come back to life. So did we break the kids in and they adjusted to the ever changing ground beneath them or did we break the mom boundaries? Not sure yet but we are firmly anchored in a safe harbor and our backdrop is the magnificent skyline of Miami on the south end of Fisher Island.