It is good to be back in the US but I sure miss the blue Bahama's waters. The Atlantic off the east coast is clear and blue but not that wonderful color. That and I just don't see any deserted beaches. All of them along the coast have big houses or multi-story condos.

The arrival at Ft Pierce was easy as far as customs. Customs and Border Patrol have a Local Boater Option program. You go and sign up with your passport and boat information. Then if all of the folks on the boat have been pre-signed up, re-entry into the States just takes a phone call. They may still have you report but only if they suspect something.

I called when entering Ft Pierce and was told to call back once docked. I did and the whole process took about 3 minutes. The customs officer gave me a long number that I wrote in the back of the passport with a reference as to the date of entry. Nice program.

Left Ft Pierce on the 2nd and sailed down the ICW on the Banana River to St. Lucie and Stuart. That is where I would have gone to take the ICW across Lake O. I did go about 6 miles up the river to pick up a mooring at the Stuart city anchorage. (I did this as much to see what it was like so I have more ideas to take back to Punta Gorda in case I get interested in helping the city establish a mooring field and ground rules.) It is a super facility that charged $10 a night for a mooring and use of the facilities or $240 a month.

Left at 07:30 the next morning and went out the St Lucie inlet (sounds like violating a one-way street) to head south to Palm Beach. "Going Outside" avoids the bridges on the ICW. However, that famous indian Wind on Nose was aboard again. Ten hours of motoring into the wind. Came in at Lake Worth inlet and anchored close to Peanut Island for a quick exit in the morning. The winds are supposed to be light from the east so I hope we can sail south to Ft Lauderdale.

Some days are better than others. Left Lake Worth at 06:30 to clear skies and very light SE winds. Raised the main sail but it was useless due to wind direction. Headed down the coast about ¼ mile off shore. The first 3 hours I spent on the bow reading an Elmore Leonard novel and watching the condos and houses go by. About 11:00 the wind shifted around to the ESE and the sailing began. The rest of the day we averaged 4.5 knots down the coast. As we approached Ft Lauderdale, there was a lot of activity in the air and on the water.

Ends up that the Sea and Air Festival is this weekend and Friday was practice day. What I didn't see was an amphibious invasion by Marines. What I did see was three aerobatic teams practice including the Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds started just as I got there so I saw their whole show and more as they repeated a lot of stunts. Also saw the F-22 Raptor put on a display with its vectored thrust engines. It is a large aircraft but really can maneuver. I realized that there were a lot more boats out than usual and finding a place to anchor in Ft Lauderdale might be difficult. It was only 3:30 so I pressed on to Miami.

Came in at Government Cut after dark, which was fine except for the departing container ship whose wake, came high over the bow. But as usual, Puff did fine and shook off the water with no problem. I have learned to close and lock all the hatches even when the seas and weather are smooth. At 9 PM we anchored in the Marine Stadium anchorage where I had spent a few nights in March. This time there were signs saying No Trespassing on Water or Land beyond this point. That was funny since the signs were on both sides of the piling so you had no idea of what point you couldn't go past. I tried to anchor before the sign but no one seemed to care anyway.

Saturday morning we left the Marine Stadium and sailed over to Dinner Key Marina at Coconut Grove. We anchored off the marina complex and dinghied in to the dinghy dock. Walked around Coconut Grove's Cocowalk shopping area, bought and shipped off a Mother's Day gift to Karen, and had lunch there. It is a nice area, a bit like Naples but less pretentious. Got back on board and sailed down to anchor off Elliott Key as I did on the way up. Being a Saturday, the place was packed with boats enjoying the clear waters on the lee of the key.

Sunday I awoke to a complete calm. When you are in clear waters and there are no waves, you really can see the bottom in detail, almost like snorkeling. After breakfast and a few chores, we motored down Biscayne Bay to Card Sound and then to Little Card Sound. That is just north of the first bridge crossing over to the north end of Key Largo and the Ocean Reef Club area. I was looking for shallow water with good protection from northwest to northeast winds, as a cold front was expected Sunday night. We snuggled in about a ¼ mile off the shore in the northeast corner of the sound and put out the storm anchors. It was only 1:30 so I worked on boat projects and finished a novel.

After dinner, the storms hit. We had a lot of rain in heavy thunderstorms. I disconnected electronics and antennas just in case of a strike and shut everything down except one GPS running on internal batteries to monitor our location. About 11 pm I set the alarm for an hour to check things since the lightning seemed to be subsiding and went to sleep. An hour later the storms had past and I could open the hatch to get some air circulating. Everything was fine although we had some close strikes, the flash/bang kind. Back to sleep to be awakened by rain coming in the hatch about 5:30 and a cold breeze. The winds had shifted to the north and really picked up.

At one point it looked like the bimini top was going to go so I had to go out and take it down. Thank goodness for a fully removable top that comes off in a minute. The gusts were about 50 mph but calmed down to 30-35 as soon as I took the top down??"of course. Checked the dinghy and anchor lines and buttoned up again. The rest of the day was forecast with high winds so I'll write up the last few days blog and work on photos.

The photos on the blog site are limited to 640 by 480 pixels and take a while to upload. Most of the photos I've taken are at that resolution but I've also taken some at higher resolution for enlargements. Hopefully I'll go thru them and do some sorting and labeling, after I pump 3 inches of water out of the dingy.

The 8th we sailed the few miles to Key Largo back to where we stayed near the Caribbean Club. This time we anchored off the canal that cuts Key Largo in two. Took the dingy in the canal and over to John Pennekamp State Park. It is quite a nice place with docks, moorings, campsites and beaches. Then there is a concession for scuba, snorkeling and other underwater adventures. I signed up for a snorkeling tour on the 9th.

The Pennekamp snorkeling tour was great! We went out to the Grecian Rocks which are right next to a preservation area. Got to see many pretty fish, reefs and other living things. Saw one 2-foot barracuda that had no interest in us. No sharks or rays but plenty of parrot fish of all colors. Schools of tangs and wrasse made it colorful. Some of the coral was a beautiful purple. Hopefully I'll get some photos but they won't go on the web site until I have them developed as used an underwater camera, duh. That will be after I get home unless plans change.

If you are into camping, kayaking, snorkeling or diving, Pennekamp is super. You can also dive or snorkel the reef on your own or sign up with private parties to go in smaller groups. We had 50 folks in the water from our boat and it was not crowded on the reef since there was such a big area and different comfort levels on how far you got from the boat. Going with a guide would be better and going in your own boat would be great if there were a few of you. I don't do things like that by myself and I'm still here.

It is still windy and even at anchor we are rocking and rolling in here in Blackwater Sound. A little less wind would be good. Then it is also coming from the direction I need to be going. We need to go down to at least Channel 5 bridge before starting up across Florida Bay toward the Marco or Naples area. Actually, we'll probably go to Shark River again as an overnight stop.

Got up early on the 10th and motored away from Blackwater Sound and Key Largo Down the inside of the Keys through Buttonwood Sound, Cotton Key Basin, and Steamboat Channel down to Channel 5 bridge. At Channel 5, we went under the bridge and out to the reef for one last look. Then back to Long Key for the night. Put the dinghy up on the deck for less drag since I won't use it until Naples.