Fort Lauderdale just up ahead

Last night was lots of fun. First we sailed onto the Bahama Banks, then back into the Old Bahama Channel, and then back on to the banks. We had fairly good winds, and as it shifted we made the most of it. Current was sometimes straight against us, then across us. We first sailed west a bit, then north, then west again until we found good current and positioning ourselves for the Gulf Stream current. First gennaker, then main and genoa, back to the gennaker, and finally main and genoa. It all worked out perfectly for us, and currently we are just under a hundred miles from Fort Lauderdale. We have got good current, and soon we will be in the Gulf Stream. Very light winds today, but the current is helping us a lot, and we expect to arrive at Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. We will be sailing pass Miami early hours of the morning.

We keep the boat neat and tidy, and this morning just a wipe here and a shine there to look spic and span when we arrive at Bahia Mar Yacht Club. I did a bit of laundry, shaved, and look and feel ten years younger.

For lunch Jane spoiled us with crunchy Asian gourmet Japanese style Panko crumbed fried chicken, jasmine rice with green peas, and a lovely salad. We have real top quality Italian olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dribble on the salad. Madagascar black pepper and Himalayan pink salt, suffice to say, we had a scrumptious meal. She has been spoiling us a lot on our journey thus far, and good food makes for happy crew. We love eating well when we sail, great for morale.

We obviously operate around the clock on ocean crossings, and have to be ready at any time for any eventuality. Anticipating the whims of the weather and the sea is part of what we do. We don't sail as fast as we possibly can, instead we conserve the boat, and choose to sail conservatively. It does not mean that we sail slow, at all. It just means that we prefer less sail perfectly set. It takes a lot of pressure off the rigging. When we arrive at Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning, we would have covered 6950nm in 45 days, averaging 6.4kts, and only 200hrs of motoring. Most of the motoring was the first few days out of Cape Town. We are thoroughly pleased with our progress thus far. Our motto was to sail whenever there was enough wind to hold the sails in shape. At times we were doing 4kts, and at other times 10kts. It worked out well for us.

We will be spending a few days in Fort Lauderdale, and then just under a thousand miles to Annapolis. With assistance from the Gulf Stream and good weather, we could cover it in five days. Our original goal was to arrive in Annapolis on June 15th, and it looks like we may be spot on.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I may share a bit what sailors do when they get to land for a few days.

Paul

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