SEVENTH DAY, DEC 7

Once again, morning light at 7:00 a.m. does not disappoint and turns out a fine sunrise.
With the 20 kt east wind still from astern, our American flag pokes through the aft stanchions.

Four hundred miles to Key West and where we expect to clear with US Customs before heading north, up Florida's west coast to final destination at Marco Island.

It was a perfect morning. It didn't take long before Mike and Alan joined me in the cockpit for my watch. We started talking about what it is that draws us to the sea. And, it is difficult to describe for those who have not been out on the ocean, or have not made a bluewater passage, or not even been out for an afternoon on the water. Later Ken offered his thoughts. Here is how we four see it:

We decide that the allure is in casting off the shore lines, escaping and getting free from the ties ashore. Tasting and settling into the rhythm of life at sea. And even more, forgetting the "tick tock, tick tock" of our shoreside lives.

For some it is just the "passage" that elevates; for others it is the ports visited, domestic and foreign, that brings the joy: the destinations, the different cultures met and how our lives become enriched by it all.