With a weather forecast ruling out a gulf stream crossing, we changed to Plan B; get as far south on the Florida coast to facilitate a shorter weather window for a crossing in January. So with marina information in-hand for the Ft. Pierce and West Palm areas, we made our way out of the Charleston Harbor under sunny skies and a fresh North breeze.

While the wind was forecast to be 20-25, with gusts to 30, our first two days saw relatively light downwind breezes, often less than 10 true. This made for a relativley stress-free couple of days, but the motion was unkind to one of the crew who went from sick to sicker, causing us to divert to Jacksonville. Once there, the crewmember decided to catch a flight back home in search of Ohio soil and the ability to enjoy and digest his food. After the quick stop, we made our way back to the inlet to resume the journey south.