Here Mike and I are enjoying our "arrival beverage" and celebrating the leg of the trip we accomplished Sunday through Monday morning - a 25.5 hour trip, covering 150 miles.  While we have done a number of over-nighters before, this was the first time we didn't have extra crew.  It was just the two of us. I wasn't sure I could hold up my end of the trip throughout the night -- would I fall asleep on my watch or encounter a huge freighter?  To my surprise I actually did just fine -- 3 hours on; 3 off from midnight- 3 am (and I slept every minute); 4 hours on.  I took the extra hour the second watch and let Mike sleep because the rising moon and then the rising sun were so spectacular - a very special birthday gift to me.   I didn't want to miss a minute!

We were very pleased to have met another cruising couple, Don and Mary Kay on Beckoning, in Fernandina Beach who also wanted to jump out all the way to Charleston so we partnered with them (our "buddy boat") and did the trip together.  Having another boat out there with us the whole way was super!  We checked in on each other every hour on the radios and chatted a bit -- certainly helped the time go faster.  The winds we were told to expect didn't materialize, except for 3 hours on my watch, so it was mostly a motor-sail in NE winds 8-14 knots.  The waves settled as the sun set and the night was clear and bright with stars.  It wasn't particularly cold, but very damp and that made it seem colder, but still we were dressed well and remained comfortable.  We were fortunate that all systems -- wind, weather, and boat -- worked well and the trip was a memorable one.  We also knocked off 5 days of traveling north in the ICW which puts us closer to home. 

Our days leading up to the ocean sail were enjoyable as well.  We left Vero Beach on April 2 after doing all the things one does in Vero -- eat out, ride the bus to run errands, and laundry.  We could see the weather window for the overnight developing so we moved quickly -- long days up the ICW, not taking time for play.  Evening stops in Titusville, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, and finally Fernandina Beach all worked well.  Weather mostly cooperated (except the thunderstorms and constant rain from St. Augustine to Fernandina Beach) and we arrived there in time for a lay day on Saturday in Fernandina Beach.  We'd not stopped there before so it was fun to explore a new community. Friends Marlene and Kevin joined us there for the Austin Healey car show on the street, a wonderful spring farmer's market, fried green tomatoes at Kelly's Cafe for lunch, and a  quick run to the grocery store for a few supplies.  We also met James and Sandra from Tennessee who also are sailing a J-40 -- lots of conversation and trading information about our favorite boats!  Not enough time in Fernandina Beach -- we'll stop again.

As always, we had great fun in Charleston -- more new food stops, a quick walk through the Market, a short jaunt "South of Broad" , a bit of rest from a long night, and we're back moving north again.