A Shortened Boat Day

Heading out of the Marina
Tequesta, FL
September 4, 2024

 Chris and I made it out onto the water in a boat yesterday. We departed the marina about 9:45 AM for a day of motoring on the ICW. I had grandiose plans to motor to Lake Worth and maybe on to Peanut Island, I still want to see President Kennedy's bunker, then back to Season 52 for lunch and a sandbar stop for some relaxation. Low tide was about 2 PM which is why the sandbar stop was in the afternoon. 

The weather and unforeseen circumstances dictated otherwise. 

Chris in the Bow
Jupiter, FL
September 4, 2025

When we arrived at the marina, our chosen water vehicle was not there. We were told it was out being fueled. Granted, we arrived about 10 minutes early. Shortly, the boat motored up the ICW and to the docks. The report was not good. We were being given a boat with only 8.9 gallons of fuel because the fueling station had not been not open. My plan for the day would use about 10 gallons. BUT, since we were heading south, we were encouraged to stop at another marina to fuel-up.

So we motored off and headed south on the ICW for the marina to add fuel. It was an adventure! But, it also took precious time out of our day. We arrived at the marina and we had to wait over 15 minutes for the fuel person to arrive. And then the boat only took 32 gallons. Yes, despite the fuel gauge reading, the tank was actually over half full when we arrived at the fuel stop. I was told this boat should have taken about 100 gallons. Even after fueling, the gauge never registered the additional fuel. Now, granted, this is a new boat. I mean really new! I don't know how many hours it had on it, but it is likely that this was the first fill up since being placed into service. 

Jupiter Lighthouse from the ICW
Heading Back
Jupiter, FL
September 4, 2025

Although the fueling stop was pleasant and we were on our way, in addition to the loss of time it gave time for the clouds and storms to begin to form. That actually was a good thing as I decided not to head further south to Peanut Island where the storms were forming. My thought about small boats and storms is that even though I am a competent small boat captain, the best way to ride out a storm is to not get into a storm in the first place. So we truncated the day.

Heading under the US-1 Drawbridge
Jupiter, FL
September 4, 2025

It was 11:15 AM by this point and although we were near Season 52, they did not open until 11:30. We decided to cancel lunch and motor our way back to Tequesta from where we were in Palm Beach Gardens. While the distance was not all that great, the ICW is mostly restricted to minimum wake speeds--which in our boat is about 6 mph. We were 7 or 8 miles from the marina--so about an hour. There is one fun stretch where the speed limit is 30 mph--but it is far too short.

Seeing the developing storms, we headed back. I subsequently canceled the sandbar stop as well, sadly. We had brought chairs and an umbrella to enjoy time on the sandbar. We made it to the marina before the rains came. 

We had an enjoyable, but short boat day. Better safe than sorry. I do enjoy boating on weekdays. Look at the images--there are no other boats in the pictures. We did pass a few other boats along the way, but it is very different on a weekend. On a weekend, sometimes it is possible to walk across the ICW on boats, not literally, it only just seems that way. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL