Another successful overnight offshore passage! This time I had crew though, which certainly added to the whole experience, and it was great to share the experience with dad. Great for both of us. We were up at dawn in order catch the lift bridge before it shut down for rush hour which, coincidentally, put us on the St. John's River just as the tide turned to seaward so we had a nice push right from our departure. As we made the 20 mile trip back out to the Atlantic, the current continued to increase. We were up to almost 10 mph by the time the river shot us out into the sea. It certainly made short work of the first part of this leg. The dolphin escort has started to become a commonplace occurrence. Once out past the jetties, the character of the journey changed as the boat began its semi-rhythmic pitch and roll in the swells and the wind, unfettered by land, mustered its strength. As we set our course for Cape Canaveral, the wind settled in at a brisk 20-25 knots just a little starboard of astern, out of the north, just as forecast. This was a perfect wind to fly the jib alone and rip down the coast on a very broad reach with gentle following seas pushing us along as well. However, that would, of course, be too easy. As soon as the jib was flying, I noticed sunlight shining through all along one seam and part of another. The sail looked like it was about to blow apart. This was a bit disappointing, since it had just come back from the sail maker having been repaired from the accident. Luckily, I have a spare headsail just for such a situation. However, now we have to change sails at sea in a pretty stiff wind. I guess the learning will continue. Also luckily, I have dad on board as crew, which will make the whole process easier than if I had been single handing. We decided that the first order of business would be to hoist the main so that we'd at least have something to sail on while I puttered around switching the jibs. Although hoisting the main was the usual battle, switching the headsails went pretty smoothly and without any significant difficulty. Since the main was already up, and the wind was almost on our stern, we decided to try a wing-on-wing set, since it worked so well on my trip down from Georgetown. Unfortunately, the wind was just at that awkward angle that is just too wide for a dead run and not quite wide enough keep the jib full with the main up. It was also very fickle. Every time I tried a new trim, the wind would change and make me change it back. I did a lot of fiddling around for no real gain. In hindsight, we should have dropped the main and let the jib carry us away. Instead, I just spent hours trying to tweak the trim to get the boat moving, but I just couldn't find the sweet spot. And then the wind dropped off so we were forced to start the motor just to keep moving. Still a long way to go tonight. Finally, just as the sun set, the wind picked back up, and settled in on a steady direction. The main came down, and jib went out on the pole for a care-free overnight sail, which it was. The motor off now, autopilot on, we were both able to sleep in shifts without much need to do any piloting other than the odd ship check. Even that was easy. Not many ships run this close to shore, and we wouldn't be crossing any harbour entrances any time on our trajectory. It was another cold night, but again, being on the ocean took away a bit of the bite. So by sunrise, we had peeled away most of the north Florida coastline and could see the big NASA buildings and launch tower over the horizon. The wind continued its steady push as we ate breakfast while slowly rounding the giant cape. As soon as we turned in toward Port Canaveral it suddenly died and we found ourselves bobbing in a hot, sunny, Florida afternoon. FINALLY! We motored the last few miles in past the big cruise ships to a marina where we fuelled up and took a slip for the night. It was still early, so we went for a walk. Not much to see in this industrial dockland, but we did find a great little seafood vendor where we picked up some fresh scallops to grill for hors d'oeuvres. It was a gorgeous night although cold once again. Plugged in though, we had the luxury of the heater during the night. A successful passage, a great meal, and the promise of warmer weather. Almost like being on vacation in Florida!