Up & out by 7:00 am. Blowing, so mizzen up for stability; absolutely no help with wind direction since it is on the nose again. Breeze keeps us cool, but it’s fairly rough. Tried to dose Rita, but she spit out the pill multiple times & we feared for our skin… No idea if she ingested any of the medicine. Slow going, so we consider ducking into Longboat Key (looks gorgeous!), but opt to continue. Arrival time should be between 2:00 & 3:00, so no issues with getting there too late.

Venice inlet is busy; swimming area, fishing & lots of traffic. We are tied up at the Crow’s Nest Marina to experience several hours of more rocking, since they put us at the very end of the dock closest to the inlet. Easy to maneuver, but there’s the trade-off! Maybe not the best part of town, but at least we’re not under a bridge. Two young guys in front of us,, on a boat delivery from Port Charlotte to Slidell LA. Not too sure how they got this job, based on some of their questions... Had planned to have seafood for dinner at the restaurant, but decided on margaritas & Mexican instead. Ted was here years ago w/Mr. Wilson & it must still be good, if the steady stream of patrons is any indication. Having a/c issues in the afternoon; Cap’n Honey has blown out lines & fittings, cleaned & scraped barnacles from every possible location. If it stops again, next step is the barnacle buster treatment; ugh… Hard to decide if the St. Pete birds or barnacles are the worst!

Not too far to go tomorrow, so we can sleep in; at least if my coughing doesn’t keep both of us awake. Can’t seem to shake my TN cold – maybe I’m not meant to breathe cold air any more!