We did not have to leave until 8am this morning, but it was a struggle. It was important that we leave on time, not just for the tide but we had a bascule bridge that only opens on the hour. If we did not get to it by 9, we would have to wait until 10 when the water would start getting even shallower. Timmy is usually so good at night, but last night he woke up after at midnight after a couple of hours sleep. He was panting so I offered him a bowl of water- he drank it all. I opened the hatch a little wider. Whilst I was doing that Timmy moved his little body onto my pillow and looked at me. I settled down next to him and closed my eyes. He started pawing to get out. So I set the pee pee pad down in the salon and gave the relevant instruction. Nothing. I offered more water and he drank loads more and then looked at the hatch. It was clear we were going for a midnight walk. I dressed quickly and took him over the docks and on to land to do his business. He did a pee pee so I started to head back to the boat but Timmy had other ideas - after a look for lizards, chasing the crabs and a poop, we finally headed back to the boat. Still he could not settle down to sleep. Two hours after he woke up, he was finally able to relax in the salon. I was asleep before he was. A mere five hours later I groaned as the alarm went off. I looked appealingly at John, but I could only have a few extra minutes in bed before I was walking Timmy again. I was rather impressed that we were only ten minutes late in leaving but we were not sure if we would make the bridge in time. The day was already beautiful, John steered us out of the slip easily, and some of our new cruising friends called out from their boat wishing us safe travels until we see them next year. The water was calm and the sun highlighted the blue waters. We navigated carefully through the shallow Snake Creek towards the bridge. Even with the tide against us we made good time and had a ten minute wait for the bridge. The tides in the keys are nowhere near as dramatic as further north. Once we were through the bridge we headed out into the Atlantic and the Hawk channel. I had forgotten we were going into the Atlantic and had not taken a sea sickness tablet. I only have seven left so this seemed like a good opportunity not to take one and see how I do - so I did not go down and take one, after all it is only a three hour sail and we were going to stop to snorkel on the way. The waves quickly started swelling bigger and bigger. It was nothing like Lake Worth though so I was still feeling confident. For one thing, that water was blue rather than black and although I know it is illogical, it just seems less foreboding. However, the idea of getting out of the boat and snorkeling, potentially with no one else around was quickly losing it’s appeal. I made a strategic suggestion when we had the sails up, that perhaps it would be better to just enjoy the sailing today.’Yes, it may be a bit too rough for snorkeling’, John was quick to agree. I got to practice my helming skills with some waves but perhaps only two to three feet (please take that estimate with caution as I am notoriously bad at math). We maintained a speed of around 5 knots with one reef in the whole way. It was a fantastic sail with just a couple of tacks and no seasickness on my part. John never gets seasick by the way. To top off a wonderful sail, we saw a turtle swimming close to the boat as we came into the bay. Gone Away were coming in just ahead of us and we were all settled by 1pm. John and I usually aim to get to anchorages later in the afternoon because there is not much to do. Today we were able to dinghy over to Gone Away and enjoy gin and tonics as we traded adventure stories. Afterwards Timmy and John had a quick swim and we all showered at our super shower at the back of the boat. John miraculously had dinner ready for sunset. We heard a commotion in the water while we were eating. We looked over and saw small silver flashes as a school of 20 fish gracefully leapt out of the water in unison. A large fish then flew out of the water behind them, but it rather looked like he had been thrown over someone’s shoulder rather than an intentional act. It was a great dinner show, if a little short. We had just finished eating when Josh from Gone Away rowed over with chocolate ice cream for us. What a perfect end to a perfect day. Correction - now playing kill the mosquito in the boat. We have had to close the hatches to play the game and it is getting hot fast. The mosquitoes are huge and full of blood - just no sure whose…