Well, in an effort to outrun as much of the cold as possible, I left Fort Pierce (without harming or scaring any manatees) and headed south. It was a little cool by Florida standards; around 70, and breezy but the sun was shining and I had current with me most of the day.

When I arrived at my marina, I discovered that Palm Beach was having its lighted boat parade tonight and it was passing right by us. There were lots of nicely decorated boats but the one that stole the show for me was the fireworks boat. It was a large working bot that was basically a platform for launching fireworks which it did about every thousand yards or so. Pretty cool!

I'm still formulating my plan for my upcoming assault on the keys. Unfortunately, an even stronger cold front is supposed to blow through here on Sunday night with strong winds, causing rough seas. I'll probably wait for that to pass before going back off-shore.

Here's a pic from the boat parade.