We left Fort Myers on Friday with great regret. We had a great time with Hélène and Robert Bourassa, thank you again friends.
We did not have the expected winds but the trip went well. We saw a lot more dolphins here in the keys than in the Bahamas. It's so beautiful to see.
Arriving at Marathon in the morning after 26 hours of sailing. We went for a walk in the city the next day after a good rest. Nice little town with lots of people. We ate on the seaside a good 'Lobster Ruben' delicious but so big ... portions for Americans. Then, small grocery store and return to the sailboat for the preparation of the departure. We left around 8:30 to get to Long Key. Very quiet with a little swell caused by the tides.
We have no wind for our departure the next day was engine only. After 26 Nm we stopped at Rodriguez Key and the next day we made it to Key Biscayne. 38 Nm away and still there no wind or almost. We were in a small bay with lots of traffic as we are close to Miami Beach.
We had the opportunity to see a manhunt by boat. There were 2 customs boats and 2 helicopters which were chasing a small boat with 2 people on board. They are right next to us (making a lot of waves ...) and stopped them at 200 feet from us. Lots of suspense.
The next day no wind yet, so motor. But in the afternoon the wind rose, hardly. We had thunderstorms lurking around us and we could not avoid all of them. We were going good speeds with a top speed of 11.5 knots. We had up to 45 knots of wind, and waves of 8 to 10 feet. Not fun ...
We enter West Palm Beach Pass just in time (15:41) after 68 minutes. We had one of those storms with hailstones. The genoa opened and trying to wind it, it ripped, and the winch of the furler broke. More repairs ....
So we changed the pieces on the winch with ones that we used less, meanwhile, we are waiting for the winds to be weaker before the next start. The next day there is no wind so we decide to try the intra costal from West Palm Beach to Fort Pierce. Everything went well right until in the middle of the channel a temporary red buoy tells us to leave to the left which we did, but we had not been far enough from this buoy, so we are caught in the sandy bottom we try to get out by putting the sails and the engine but no luck. The tide rose quietly and the winds blew at 12 KM. The boat was lying but not enough to move. I decide to use the anchor to get us out. We put the dinghy back in the water and I put anchor on board and away from the boat. I pull throw the anchor in the water and suddenly the wind changes direction tilt the boat on the other side the boat starts to move Jacynthe who is on board does not know what to do with the sail and the engine is engaged, in addition the anchor is in the water and it holds while I rush to get on board de-power the sail and bring the boat as close at the anchor as possible and try to keep the boat there while Jacynthe stows the anchor. Finally we are free and continue our journey after all this stress. We anchor in front of the coast guards (Fort Pierce) and leave the next morning to the sea. (No more intra costal for us or as little as possible!)
We left for a short day, but as there was good wind and the passage. Where we wanted to stop was a dangerous inlet due to the last hurricane, we decided to continue to St. Augustine. After 35 hours of sailing we arrive in this small town of Florida which is the oldest of the United States. Lots of history, friendly people full of food. Lots of tourists so a lot of shops. We are at the City Marina for at least 2 weeks.
During this time, the varnish will be finalized on the exterior woods as well as the small repairs. We also have time to visit this small town. We went to the distillery where everything is done by hand. It was very interesting. Christian tasted rum, Bourbon and Gin. Not the best I ever tasted.
We have dolphins who took a home right next to us in the bay. They make shows for us all day long. It's so beautiful!
See you soon!