One day in a row without calamity seems to be about the limit. Details to follow. Once again, we were greeted by the warm Florida sun rising over a calm, still waterway. I had decided to make North Palm Beach my final destination in Florida. It has a good protected anchorage, lots of marine facilities, not too far from mom and dad's, and a good jump off point for the ocean and Bahamas. It also means a short travel day today, which works out well for disembarking and for mom coming to get us. Approaching the Palm Beaches is definitely a trip into the who's who of South Florida. Each mile we went, the mansions became more frequent and more extravagant. The boats out front became yachts, then superyachts. Beyond Jupiter, it wasn't uncommon to see a 80 footer parked out front. Apparently Tiger Woods has a place around here. Shortly after passing the hectic Jupiter Inlet the sunny skies gave way to torrential rains. I didn't mind too much as my full enclosure is mostly waterproof, and the fresh water gave the boat a much-needed rinse. At times, however, it was teeming so hard it was difficult to navigate. It was blinding. We had to negotiate seven opening bridges in this section, which slowed the progress a bit, but by noon we had entered Lake Worth. Less than a mile to go and my Midland-to-Florida odyssey would be complete. What could possibly go wrong? Well, I don't know if it was the excitement of arriving, the rain pouring down, the confusing forest of markers, a misleading chart, stupidity, or just plain bad luck, but I managed to misread my route and cut the corner into the marina channel on the wrong side of the marker and ran us firmly aground in the sand. And no amount of wiggling and jiggling was going to get us free off the bar. What irony. 2700 miles through no shortage of shallow water and treacherous shoals, and I run hard aground within sight of the finish line. So we ate our lunch while waiting for the tow boat, watching all the other boats come and go through the obviously correct passage in and out of the marina. One good thing about this part of Florida is that there are lots of tow boats around. It didn't take more than 15 minutes to arrive and less than five to pull us off into deep water. Once underway again, all we had to do was motor a few minutes into the marina, fuel up, refill the water, pump out, and drop the hook in the anchorage. The tow boat stuck around so that we could do up the paperwork once tied up. That should be it for the troubles for a while. Nope. In all the commotion, I accidentally left the fuel switch off (again!) so once we were within a hundred yards or so of the marina, the motor quit and we were adrift. Not at sea in the wide open spaces, but right in the approach to an upscale Palm Beach marina, and headed right for a multi-million dollar megayacht! I hastily called the tow boat back to help us out, but he was not paying attention. Luckily, a local fishing boat was, and rushed over to grab a line to pull us to safety. That was exciting. Eventually, tow boy woke up and came over and pulled us in to the fuel dock. Even that was eventful as one of HIS engines quit while trying to dock. What a fine grand finale, and a very fitting end to this trip. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting the boat cleaned up, and getting me, dad, the bad sail, and all our gear off the boat. I closed her up and secured her the best I could. Dropped two anchors, Bahamian style, just in case things get ugly while Bacon sits unattended for a week. Even so, I don't think I'm gonna sleep soundly. But, I made it. I sailed my boat from Midland to Florida. Lots of troubles, but lots of learning too, and that was the objective. I almost met my original schedule, and got here in time for Christmas. It has cost me more than anticipated, but hasn't broken the bank. Even the catastrophes have all been of the "that-could-have-been-a-lot-worse" variety. Now I can relax in Florida at mom and dad's for a week and hopefully it will start to feel like a vacation. Next challenge, Bahamas! That's assuming my boat is still here and afloat when I return.