Sailor getting ready to stand his watch.

We arrived in Port Canaveral on Nov 27 with high hopes of seeing the scheduled Dec 3 lift off of the space shuttle but it was not to be; the launch was delayed until Dec 17 and we need to move south before then.

We docked at Cape Marina which is a nice marina but they put us on the fuel dock which is prime real estate and they charged accordingly. There was no space for us in the marina slips so we had to pay the premium and then get further south when the weather broke. We ended up waiting until Dec 1st to get out of town. We had a lot of rain while we were there.

When we sailed out of Port Canaveral we had good conditions; 20 knots from the northwest and a following sea. We shared the narrow channel with a Carnival cruise ship and they get a wide berth both by federal law and the law of tonnage, so we pulled off to the side for it to pass. It was chilly so we were in foul weather gear most of the day. Not what we hoped for from Florida sailing.

We arrived in Ft Pierce Inlet late in the afternoon and we tied up at the Harbortown Marina. The inlet offers only one anchorage and it was busy with the Coast Guard trying to recover a dragging sailboat. That convinced us to go to the marina instead of anchoring out. We can highly recommend this marina. Everything seemed to be clean and in top shape. They put cats on the face dock down from the fuel pumps but didn't charge extra for the tie up.

On Dec 02 we left the Ft Pierce inlet at sunrise so we could get down to Lake Worth Inlet which is the home of West Palm Beach and we hoped, some warmer weather. It was not to be, though, as we were in jackets for the two day stay at Palm Beach anchorage. The current and the wind do battle here so boats at anchor dance around the anchor chain. It is not a comfortable anchorage when the wind blows from the north. It is a popular anchorage however, there is plenty of room to the south of the inlet and there were 30 boats at anchor with no crowding.

Dec 4 (day 27 of our trip) sends us back out to the ocean on a beautiful day. We had to motor sail as the wind dropped when the temperature rose. It became an gorgeous day with temps in the 70's and a clear sky. We sailed close to the beach to sight see the homes on the shore. Several times porpoises came to play in our bow wave. It is quite a thrill to watch them dash around the boat showing off.

At 1500 on the 4th we arrived at the Ft Lauderdale Inlet entrance. Inside there were 7 cruise ships waiting to leave. Our friend Dave Nelson, on board Pas de Deux, a Catana 47, refers to these ships as prisoner ships as the life aboard is as regulated as that of a guest at the federal pen.

We are now tied up in the Bahia Mar Marina in slip B200, the most difficult slip to get in to in the marina. The charter fishing fleet is across from us and the boats all seem to be coming home with good catches. This marina is the home of the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show and they are still putting the place back in order. The bathrooms are filthy, no soap, no paper towels and no toilet paper. That doesn't say much about a marina which bills itself as a luxury destination. We are among the smallest boats at the marina. They cater to mega yachts and I am surprised at the lack of attention to detail here.

Where to now? We need to head south again as very cold weather is forecast for here on Tuesday and Wednesday night. I know it is cold at home but we came south to get away from that type of weather. Living on a boat when the temperature is in the low 40's is not fun. When we are at anchor we have no heat so we keep plodding south looking for the endless summer. Today it is in the 80's so it is time to celebrate the current weather rather than complain about what may be.

We learned a few things coming south:

• Fuel gets very expensive as you go south. It is over $1.00 per gallon more than Hampton.
• Houses and boats get bigger as you go south.
• Power boat drivers are the same everywhere. They drag a big wake to prove they are men.
• Power boat drivers never answer a radio call.
• There is a lot of money in south Florida.
• Norfolk has a lot to do to become a destination town. From Annapolis to Ft Lauderdale many of the cities do what they can to encourage a waterfront community. There are more waterfront restaurants in one block here than in all of Norfolk.
• We miss our friends most of all.