We are sitting here in the marina in Florida waiting for a weather window to travel north. There is a low that is upon us that developed in the Bahamas along with a cold front that came down from the north and the winds are blowing, blowing, blowing. We had rain and thunderstorms for the past 3 days and along with strong winds. We were all up at 4 am a couple of nights ago when gale force winds came through causing havoc with the boat bumping the dock and the halyards slapping. Once we got everything secured things were good the rest of the night. We are on the internet several times a day checking out the weather forecast. Tomorrow (Saturday) is looking real good. We are planning to head out the inlet around 0900 and are praying for a smooth ride up the coast. Our crew is here and we are ready to go. Will and Betsy love to fish so they have been keeping themselves busy catching dinner. We had a delicious fish dinner last night and they are out there right now trying to get tonight's meal. We have friends who are still in the Bahamas trying to get north also. We had hoped to hook up with them here on the coast but the weather has prevented that. Maybe we will see them along the way.
While we were waiting for the crew to arrive we had great weather. The temperatures were in the high 80's and the winds were just right. We actually thought that the cold fronts were over for the season and that summer weather was finally here. NOT!. We had the trip all planned out and we should be off shore right now having this nice ride. But the weather decided to make a change. It has felt like we were in a mini hurricane with all the wind and rain squalls that have continued to pass through. But right now we actually have blue skies.
The weather for tomorrow looks like winds out of the southeast, which is perfect with 3 to 4 foot seas, which is also OK . The winds should be around 15 to 20 knots starting out and diminishing as the day goes on. Similar weather should continue all the way up the coast. We plan to travel just on the western edge of the Gulf Stream to get a couple of knots extra boost. We are hoping to be in North Carolina in four days. This of course will be our last communication until we reach land again. We are all excited to be underway and to have great weather.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all.
The picture was taken at the beach at Singer Island, Fl. looking at the sea buoy off the Palm Beach inlet.