Breeze On

We left Fort Pierce early Monday with a plan to head to either Cape Fear, NC or Winyah Bay/Georgetown, SC. We had originally planned to go to Brunswick, GA but our weather routing software suggested the trip to Brunswick would take a day and a half and our arrival would be at night. We looked at destinations that were farther up the coast and decided on Cape Fear if we could or Winyah Bay if we were traveling more slowly than expected. We entered the Gulf Stream off of Cape Canaveral and really started to move. We motor-sailed because the winds were too light for sailing only. The seas in the Gulf Stream were 2-3 ft (not bad) but with a confused (waves every which way) wind chop on top. By Monday evening the wind unexpectedly picked up so we turned the engine off. Then we double-reefed the main. At times we were moving at 10 knots. The wind moved around to the north and we started bashing into the waves. The wind and waves on the nose slowed us down. We furled the sails and started the

After spending the month in Florida with family and friends we have returned to Breeze On and are preparing to begin our trip home. We had hoped for a nice, long weather window that would enable us to get as far as North Carolina or even the Chesapeake Bay, but it is not to be. We have a two-day weather window starting Monday so we plan to go to Brunswick, GA or perhaps a bit farther. It all depends on what comes next. If we know we will have to wait for several days we prefer Brunswick because we like the town. We have to decide by tomorrow. Making these decisions is never the fun part of sailing for us.  Safe Harbor Harbortown Marina had a cocktail party by the pool last evening to introduce the new general manager. I went while George stayed on the boat and napped. While I was there I met a young couple who had just returned from the Bahamas on their sailboat. They are relatively new to sailing but quite adventurous. We had a fun time talking about sailing, fishing, and the Bahamas.