Dec. 2-3 We had a leisurely take off because we didn’t have far to go and needed to arrive in daylight and with a slack tide. The weather was sunny and we made good time overnight to the Brunswick, GA area and St. Simon’s Island. Our usual dock girl at Golden Isles Marina, Melissa, was there to take our lines. After a nap and lunch, we used their “loaner” car and did shopping errands. It was also time to top off the tanks before heading to the Bahamas where the fuel is more expensive. That night, we had a lovely dinner with our friends, the Ledbetters, who live on Sea Island. We always streak in and out but do enjoy our times with them. Scott grew up in Greenwich so we knew him when we were kids.

Dec. 4-6 Our last passage down the coast! We left around 6:30am and headed down the coast. As the day went on, the wind picked up till it was around 30 knots but the seas never got above 2-3ft and “Mr. Auto” was able to handle the steering. We were cozy inside once again. By dawn, we were passing Cape Canaveral which was our halfway point in the 355nm journey. As the day progressed, the winds and seas went down and the sun came out.

Now the water is a light turquoise green because we are staying close to shore to stay out of the Gulf Stream which is just a few miles out to sea in this part of Florida. As we have been traveling south, the water has changed colors. In Long Island Sound and down the Jersey shore, it was dark green and in the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay, it was brown. Off the Carolinas, it was a pretty dark blue but muddy again in Charleston harbor and Brunswick, GA. Once we get to the Gulf Stream, the water is a beautiful cobalt blue and has little bits of Sargasso weed floating in it and flying fish. The water temperature also goes up to the high 70’s or even 80. These two things help us know we are in the Stream as well as the northward current.

As we went down the southern Florida coast, the wind lessened and the temperature warmed enough for us to sit outside on the flybridge and watch the marlin/swordfish jump and the various seabirds fly by looking for fish. During the night the wind picked up again but the seas were not a problem. By dawn, it was blowing 25 knots or better. We planned to go in the Key Biscayne Channel and up the bay and into a new anchorage for us that would give us almost all around protection. We had heard this was possible from some CCA friends of our neighbors (M.A. & Barnaby Blatch). These friends live in that harbor. We came in the channel and did our route into the harbor but saw a nail biting 7.2 ft at the entrance. It is good to finally be in Florida even if the temperature tonight will be 29! We will stay here for a few days till the winds calm down and then cross to the Bahamas. Yeah!

Dec. 6 Our new friends took us around and had us for drinks that night. The big treat was seeing my exmother in law, Olga, and her friend Dolores for dinner. It was wonderful to catch up and we had a jolly evening.

Dec. 7 Ann took us to several supermarkets for a last minute provisioning. Both were first class. When we got back to the boat, our friends Kat and Alan on Andale were in the harbor. We were planning to buddy boat across the Gulf Stream and down to the Exumas. We had dinner aboard Windermere and made an early evening of it.

Dec. 8 At the high tide, we both left and worked our way out the Key biscayne channel and on to the Gulf Stream. The stream was a bit lumpy but it didn’t last long and the rest of the overnight to Chub Cay was calm. We arrived at Chub at dawn and anchored to wait for the marina to open. When everyone was ready, we both went in to the fuel dock and the men went to clear customs. That night, we both anchored out and had dinner on Andale.

Dec. 9 Another sunny day for our jump down to Norman’s Cay where we anchored off the big beach. John helped Kat take their dog ashore in our dinghy. Dinner was on Windermere.

Dec. 10 Windier but still sunny for our shorter hop down to Big Majors Spot by Staniel Cay. We were the only two boats anchored in the big harbor. We went to feed the pigs and show Andale how to get into Sampson Cay marina. dinner was on Andale.

Dec. 11 A nice sunny calm day and the boat was cleaned from top to bottom. At high tide, we moved over to hide behind Thunderball Grotto island because a big storm was coming the next day. Later in the afternoon, we went to check on Andale and make sure they were settled in the marina. They invited us to dinner at the Sampson Cay restaurant. The food was much improved and they had redecorated too. A partial moon and our GPS helped us work our way back to the boat. When we returned, we realized the wind had blown us on to a sandbar and the incoming tide was in the process of bumping us off. It was uncomfortable for about an hour and then we floated off and were able to swing further south to deeper water. The wind slowly picked up over the night but our new gigantic Rocna anchor was buried deep in the sand.