We set out in the black darkness of 4:30 am at West End, to cross over the ocean to Florida.  It would be at least a 14 hour day, depending on how the wind and waves affected our speed.

I stood on the bow and shined the spotlight to help us get out of the harbor without hitting the walls.

We made it.

Then we were in the channel going out, black as soot but at least we couldn’t hit anything.

We raised the mainsail out there.  Waves picked up and Ed was hand sailing, kind of rough out there. This went on for awhile.  We kept checking the time, looking for daybreak.  

Finally dawn.  That’s always the best thing to see when you’re sailing at night.

The seas continued to be swirly and we weren’t able to get much speed.  At less than 4 knots we were looking at 9pm or later in Ft.Pierce.

Frustrated and weary (Ed hadn’t slept any), we pushed ahead.

We didn’t get in the Gulf Stream until afternoon, hoping to get a knot or two push north from the current.

And it did.  But not as much as we had hoped because the wind had died down and turned west, right on our nose.

The sun on Ziggy’s spot in the back was getting hot, so I made her a makeshift tent with a blanket.

As the day wore on, I shifted it around to keep my precious puppy in the shade.

The good news over the afternoon was that the waters calmed down considerably and smoothed out, so the last few hours were smooth and faster (6-7 knots).

Nice.

The waters of the Gulf Stream are an amazing metallic hue, nothing you see anywhere else.

At 5:30 we sailed into St. Lucie inlet.  We had called several marinas before we found one just up the waterway near Jensen Beach.

Four Fish Marina is a working boatyard.  They had no slips but they could put us on the wall opposite the fuel dock.

We had taken down the Bahamas flag because we didn’t want to mess with customs. Last year arriving by plane we entered customs and they even took my orange.

This year on the boat we have numerous suspicious things we have brought back – a shotgun, veggies and meats from the Bahamas, sea fans and shells, tee shirts and hats, and a scary looking dog.

I wouldn’t want to give up any of that.

So we snuck in to the U.S. and moved north to enter the channel to the marina.  Ed wanted to go in the wrong direction but I kept yelling at him til he finally went to the right place on the wall.

I was sure everyone in the marina heard us yelling at each other, but as it turned out there was only one guy there – it was mostly a long term storage place for fishing boats.

The one guy came out and helped us tie up.  He didn’t mention our yelling.

We were both really tired, but happy to be there.

We set the lines, let Ziggy do her thing, and despite our weariness, we took the mile plus walk to the little downtown Jensen Beach area.  We wanted to watch the Heels play in the NCAA game.

But oh no!  We forgot it was St Patty’s Day.  The bars and restaurants were packed and overflowing into the streets, with wannabe Irish people reveling in their beer and burgers.

We made our way down to a place further away called Pineapple Jacks.  They had a steel drum guy outside playing music (do they do that in Ireland?) but it didn’t look as crowded or rowdy. 

We spotted a porch for Ziggy with outside tables and a TV.

Ed talked the hostess into letting us sit in chairs near the TV; there were no tables open and we couldn’t leave the dog unattended.

We ordered drinks and food.  Got the TV on the right channel and relaxed.

When my calamari and his burger came, we put them on an extra chair in front of us and ate.

Like homeless people.  One server came out to see us; he had heard there was a couple eating on their chair outside.  He thought that was awesomely creative.

We agreed, knowing in reality this was no big deal.  We’ve eaten ramen noodles with tuna on overnight passages, where I cooked in the dark so as not to use our batteries.  We’ve eaten meals in styrofoam containers that we bought out of the back of a lady’s car in Bimini.   Amazing roast chicken and macaroni.

Of course food always tastes better when it’s eaten from your lap.