I am writing this from the office aboard at 16h00 in WARM temperatures (Hurrah!) anchored in the Banana River side of the Canaveral Lock. This place is packed when there is a launch from the space centre but today there is nothing scheduled so we are alone.

We set off yesterday at 12h00 in the company of Passages and Further with every intent of a 40 hour trip culminating in our arrival at Lake Worth. Something should have told me that it wasn't to be when we hadn't even left the Fernandina Beach harbour when we were boarded and inspected by the USCG. Don't get me wrong, these servicemen were a credit to the Guard and to their country, it's just that I had my mind all set for the trip and simply wasn't expecting to be stopped. One thing, being little-goodie-two-shoes Canadian and inviting them aboard and asking for an inspection kind of set them on their heels. They were very professional and as I said a credit to their country so it really wasn't too much of a hardship.

Then we were off. What a great day for a sail. Winds on the beam at 15 kts and we romped along at 7 knots without even trying! Passages and Further departed the dock about a half hour later than we did but we remained in contact with them throughout the trip. The following seas meant that we got the equivalent of a spinnaker roll on a regular basis but there was no pounding so the boat wasn't really stressed at all. This was the torture test for the new autohelm mount and to say I was pleased would be an understatement. In the past, the three other styles of mount that I had used when you watched the linear drive in operation, there was always some sort of movement as the mount flexed and retracted but with this new mount the only motion was of the linear drive arm extending and retracting. Great! A lot less work for the unit!

That evening I heard something over the VHF that indicated to me that the USCG is not without a sense of humour. At first I thought that someone was practicing solar sites for celestial navigation but then I heard the countdown to mark.....5...4...3...2...1...Mark...Observe...Colours! And the sunset was worth observing.

The sail through the night was in great wind conditions but rather chilly temperatures. The skies were unbelievably clear. Most astronomers would kill for night skies like the one we had last night...there was a meteor shower too....and numerous airlines flying into Miami...a magical night.

Then in the morning the wind came around to our stern then to our nose and then died out entirely. According to the forecast, this was a prelude to really bad wind tonight and tomorrow on the nose so the three boats, which by that time had spread out considerably, made the collective decision to head into Cape Canaveral and finish the trip in the ICW.

One really neat thing occurred just as we were arriving at the entrance to Cape Canaveral Harbour - we saw humpback whales bubble netting a fish ball and then breaching through the centre of it - something that I had never seen before and which was truly magnificent.

Nelleke arrived at the port at least an hour ahead of everyone else and we managed to squeak through the bridges and locks to get to the Banana River where we anchored for the night. The other two boats stopped in the harbour and stayed at one of the marinas. Much $$$ I'm afraid.

Tomorrow will be an early start to walk Peri, cook breakfast and to get moving for the first bridge opening and head on to Vero Beach where we will likely stop for a couple of days.

Barb's brother Phil has his birthday today....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PHIL!


FROM BARB - I must add to the Mike's comments about the humpback sighting. I was standing next to the main boom looking off to port and saw a large oval shaped disturbance on the water's surface - sort of foamy and bubbly - when all of a sudden a humpback burst out of the centre. I am sure I was hopping up and down like a little kid uttering very un-kidlike expletives. The whale breached THREE times and it certainly made my day - made up for all of the storm thrashings and Nelleke damages and all of the cold passages that we have had so far on this trip - indeed it was right up there in my great experiences next to seeing our two children for the first times - I kid you not! My heart was still beating like a trip hammer for hours after the sighting. Where is the camera when you need it!