After spending the last week provisioning and preparing Dagny for the islands it was time for a little R&R. However, before we left Vero, while I was attending to the last errands, I bumped into a couple we had met on our first Bahamian cruise. Making new friends has always been a highlight of our trips but meeting them again in a different port is special. It's fun to trade stories about each other's adventures while making plans for the future.

We were finally on our way by 8:30 and it was a glorious day on the ICW, light traffic, warm temps and clear sunny skies. We decided to go to Peck Lake which is just south of Stuart FL. where we will stay until tuesday morning. The lake is nothing more than a widening of the channel, the anchorage is about 1/4 mile deep by 3/4 of a mile long. However, the eastern shore is a state conservation area with a small beach protected by sand dunes populated with palm trees. The bonus is that a hundred yard walk over the dunes brings you to the wide open ocean with beaches that stretch for miles. During our beach walk yesterday Bev found two hamburger beans and 2 heart beans which are supposed to bring luck. Although today's walk was void of treasure we were amused by the little crabs running along the surf line and burying themselves in the sand to hide from us.

The plan is to continue south over the next few days until the next front rolls through. With any luck we should be able to plan a crossing by late next week.

Today's picture is of an Opti training regatta we saw yesterday near Jensen Beach. It looked like a southern version of Fruitbowl.