Up the coast of FL....

Today started out a bit more relaxing.  We had breakfast and started on our way around 8:30AM.  The  first 3 hours of our 7 hour day was great.  The sun was shining, the waters were clear, and the sea was relatively calm.  Around noon, the weather started to turn.  We had to retreat to the inside helm as we started taking waves from the side - making it a rather uncomfortable ride. 

A bit after passing Miami and 20 miles to go, we decided to take the Intracoastal waterway.  Our speed would dramatically decrease, but the quality of the ride would dramatically increase.  The rain was stead, so we remained inside.  We passed under 6 bridges, 4 of which were draw bridges and had to be raised for us. The bridges open every 30 minutes - when there is a boat that needs to pass.  We only had to wait 20 minutes for one, and the rest were almost perfectly timed for us to pass through.  4 of the 6 bridges required 22 feet of clearance.  Our boat  - I think - is 21 feet tall.  Dan didn't want to risk it - so we requested for the bridges to raise.  I even went outside, in a minor lightening storm, with a tape measure to check - still - Dan preferred we didn't halt our trip by ripping the top of the boat off.




We arrived to our destination about 1.5 hours after our initial plan.  We refueled in the Marina and only added 410 gallons of fuel to the boat.  Since the refueling Marina is the same marina we were staying for the night - the Dock Master just told us to keep tied up - as it was too late in the day for anyone else to fuel.  Today's evening view is of the fuel pump with the 410 gallon price tag showing every time I look out the window.  To add to that, there are Mega yachts surrounding us - that makes our boat extremely inferior.  We didn't feel so bad when the Dock Master told us the Mega yacht we were admiring took on 22 tankers of fuel before they set sail to the Mediterranean.

To end the day, we were hoping to relax with a Mia Tia.  Instead, Dan had to go hunt for a clamp - as the one he tightened upon our arrival snapped off of the after cooler (whatever that is).

We are ready for the big crossing tomorrow.  Wish us luck.