27:42.1N 80:19.3W

 

Yesterday evening the wind died away and we had to turn on the engines.  There was a continual knot of current against us, so our six knots cruising speed turned into five knots and the miles seemed to drag by.  Tempers got frayed.  Nobody likes motoring.  It didn’t help that the rough seas stirred up the dirt and water in the bottom of the fuel tank and the engine alarm went off when the separator filled up with mucky water.  Then we had to turn off the starboard engine and clean the filter.  (The port engine has no cooler on the transmission so it is for emergency use only right now.)  Fortunately there were no more problems.

 

After about six hours of motoring the wind came back with gusto (sorry), picking up to 25 knots directly from the north.  We put out a genoa on each side and started surfing along.  Andrea’s watch got the record surf, 15.1 knots over ground.    

 

We passed Cape Canaveral at dawn, miles of seafront littered with huge buildings and lighted gantries.  We sailed close around the cape, keeping just outside of the security exclusion zone.

 

And finally, at around 2 pm, Fort Pierce came into view.  This is Anastasia’s home for the next few weeks while we get things fixed and take a trip back to the UK. 

 

I was going to include a photo of us sipping cocktails in the sunshine,  but it is overcast and blowing a gale, so instead here is a picture of the entrance to the harbour. 

 

There was a 25 knot crosswind, so it was quite fun dodging all the kitesurfers crowding the channel entrance.

 

It’s not fear it is concentration

 

And finally a sunset to end with.