MIDORI ADVENTURES

We are ready to go at 8:00 a.m. and our dock neighbour, Chuck, on motor vessel OTTER comes out to help us cast off. It is quite cool at 50 F degrees.

Our plan is to travel to Little Shark River which is approximately 38 nautical miles. The forecast is for light (10 - 15) northeasterly winds with seas of 1 ft.

Once we are out of Coon Key Pass, we put up both sails and begin a beautiful day on the water. The sun soon warms things up. We are motor sailing with speeds of just over 5.0 knots and RPM’s of 3500 - 3600 with the seas on our aft quarter……comfortable.

At 3:30 p.m. we are making good time and decide to sail past the turn off to Little Shark. The winds are forecast to remain light and out of the NE, which means we can anchor anywhere near shore and find protection. By 5:00 p.m. we are anchored off of Middle Cape in about 8 feet of water. There is only one other boat - a large catamaran - anchored off the shore and we make sure to leave a fair distance between us.

We have travelled 52 nautical miles in 9 1/4 hours, with a maximum speed of 7.5 knots and an average speed of 5.6 knots.

It just feels wonderful to be at anchor, so peaceful to watch the sunset, but what is that strange sound? A humming noise, a vibration…..maybe the rigging? No, the sound is coming from underneath the boat and when I walk from the port hull down into the starboard hull, the sound gets louder……..I think there is a fish or a creature of some sort underneath the boat. The sound continues for a couple of hours - even when go to bed - it seems to be directly underneath us! Eventually, the sound (the creature) goes away. Does anyone out there have any idea what it could have been? We truly don’t know!

Stay tuned,

First Mate Lynn