Charleston SC.

We have really enjoyed our stay once again in Charleston. It is such a beautiful city with so many historic buildings. We especially enjoyed the French Quarter of the city. We had a bad scare the first night here when around 1:00 am we were hit by another boat. By time i got on deck they were gone and out of sight, quite possibly very drunk. We had a bent stanchion and some black rubber marks on the side but no real damage. I was able to remove the black marks and bend the stanchion back but i don't think the other guy will be able to put back the gel coat he left on our deck. He must have made a nice gouge down the side of his hull. The weather has been great with no rain. 168NM, Light winds, 33 3/4 hours , motored 3/4 of the way.

Fernandina Beach FL.

We had some mixed emotions about being back in Fernandina Beach. Its a lovely town and very cruiser friendly, but unlike the December before last we had horrendous no-see-ums attacking us this time. We revisited the shops and found the large grocery outside town to stock up at. The weather has been all northeast, the very direction we need to go, so we are here for almost 2 weeks until the weather breaks. We took a short 7.5 Nm. motor boat trip over to St. Marys Ga. for a couple of days where when we were pulling anchor to return to Fernandina Beach, we discovered we had a raccoon stow away in our anchor locker. Unfortunately i had to send him swimming back to shore. St. Marys is a very nice town but very small with no provisioning at all. 56 NM. motored the entire way.

St. Augustine Fl.

We got into St . Augustine on March 27 @ 10:00 PM but had to anchor outside along the inlet until morning being that we could not find the channel buoys. We moved inside the harbor at 7:30 in the following morning. It is a very pretty town but not very friendly to cruisers. We were charged $10:00 a day to tie up the dinghy at the city dock. Shopping was 1 1/2 miles or so away but other than that our stay was pleasant. We visited with some folks we met along the way, Tont and Sue, who live outside of town, that we have become friends with. They showed us a good time taking us out to dinner and a day out on there power boat Scarlett. 217 NM. 41 hours total. Motor sailed half.

Palm Beach Fl.

We ended up motoring to Lake Worth from Miami being the only weather window we had in a week was for no wind, we took it. Along the way we had a Homeland & Security boat sneak up on us. Finding out that we had checked in at Key West 3 weeks ago they left us to continue on our way. We motor sailed close to the 10 to 12 KN. wind over night to make the inlet in daylight the next morning. We anchored just inside the inlet and fought some vicious tidal currents until we moved 4.5 NM. up the waterway to North Palm Beach to a very placed anchorage where shopping was only 1 bock away. We had our friends Mel and Joni from Serene aboard for dinner. We also got to see Steve from Broad Reaching whom we met 10 months ago. He returned home to Stewart Fl. while we were here. We also got to see some family from Sarnia Ont.Ca. that were in the area during our stay. We really enjoyed seeing our cruising friends one last time and family before we moved on. 73NM. 14 hours overnight motoring and motor sailing.

Miami Fl.

One year and 2 1/2 months ago we left here sailing south. We did not plan on circumnavigating the Caribbean but sure are glad we did. It was a great adventure and we have made some great friends, 2 of which we will be leaving here after cruising on and off , more on for a year. Mel and Joni on the boat Serene have been great sailing companions. We both flew all our courtesy flags back into Biscayne Bay. With a stop at channel 5 at Long Key we took 2 days and a night to make Miami . We spent a week visiting Mel and Joni, seeing their home and meeting their kids and grand kids again. A trip to the Everglades, South beach, Fort Lauderdale & Miami with our local guides. We also got to enjoy a land side bed and shower which we haven't used in a long time.

Channel 5 Long Key 25NM motor sailing 5 1/2 hrs. Miami 82 NM. overnight sailing 19 hours.

Marithon Key Fl.

Two short day sails from Key West with a stop at a road stead anchorage at Key Lois, we stop at Marathon Key. Mel knows people here and we meet at a harbor side restaurant. The harbor is really a marina, almost entirely filled with mooring balls. We anchored outside and took the dinghy in. The main dinghy dock charges $16 a day just to tie up. The moorings seem cheep if you take them for a month. We could not see ourselves here that long, 2 days and we are ready to move on. There really is not much to see and do here within walking distance though we did some Manatee watching up the canals from the dinghy. 20NM. motor sailing to Key Lois, 20NM. sail to Marathon Key.

Key West Fl.

After a grueling 3 day passage, sailing all but the way out and into the harbors, we make Key West Fl. from Isla Mujeres Mexico. We knew that there was a possibility of some squally weather but it was the best window we could see in the forcasted weather. There were 2 other boats traveling with us, Isla Bonita ,a catamaran and Serene who we have been traveling with since the Dominican Republic. On the second day out it seemed more likely we were going to get hammered off the Cuban coast. So far the sailing had been fast and wet with frequent waves splashing into the cockpit. By day 2's evening we seen the front moving down on us. Serene moved off to the north 12 miles from Isla Bonita and ourselves and ended up experiencing nothing more than heavy rain. We, on the other hand, saw gusts up to 50 and 62 knots with 40 to 45 sustained. All in all it was not to bad being we anticipated this and had a triple reef in the main and the storm jib up and the wind being behind us. In an hour and a half it was all over and back to the usual 20 to 25 knot conditions. Our 3'rd day we hit the gulf stream adding 2 1/2 to 3 knots to our speed hitting almost 9 knots over ground for a couple hours. Getting to the sea bouy at 12:30 am we started the motor for the first time in almost 3 days and had it die right away. Again we got water into our fuel. I emptied almost 2 quarts of sea water from the water separator. It must be getting forced down the fuel vent on the stern with following seas. Getting the motor running again we get to the anchorage at 3:45 EST.
Key West is a very touristy party town where Mel used to have an office. He and Joni introduced us to their friends and took us on a tour of the lower keys. We hung out playing tourists for the next week until the next available weather window. 349 NM. sailed all but 6 miles. 65 hours.