After saying good bye to our dear friend Amanda, and a Walmart stop for more bread and milk, the weather window was here for our next jump south. I’m gonna be honest, I cried. I did not want to leave the comfort of old friends. Our buddy Kevin drove up from Sunset Beach to see us off, and at 9:30 (an hour after high tide), we cast off. A few dolphins escorted us out the channel.

Monday sightings: A sailboat Stella. A sea turtle. Dolphins! Green flash.

Tuesday sightings: Two solo dolphins. A small flying insect. Several water birds. Sailing vessel Escapade from York River Yacht Haven passed us by and waved!

Wednesday: the morning crept by and our destination seemed to inch closer. A friendly dolphin swam by and we worked our way against current into the inlet. We successfully dropped anchor – twice! Got it set the first time but decided we were just a bit too close to a monohull, so we moved. Not worth bumping another boat. Catamarans and monohulls don’t swing quite the same on anchor, plus we’ve heard that everyone swings differently here due to the currents. paid to dinghy dock and walked around town. Super cute town. We found a park (Teddy Bear Park) and Wren got all sorts of wiggles out.

Thursday was a relaxed day of sleeping in and going back into town. Lunch at Amelia Island Brewing Co, more time at the park, and then ice cream for the kiddo. Debating leaving tomorrow to go further south.

Friday: Off we go! We fueled up before heading out ($3.599/gallon for diesel), and managed to get off the dock with current and 20 knots of wind pushing us onto the dock. Strong work, us! Long day on the water passage making, but we were going at 7 knots completely under sail for a while. Woohoo! Then the wind died. That’s why we have motors.

Saturday: We pass by Cape Canaveral and hear the coast guard calling out about a restricted zone for a rocket launch. Call to verify location and time – we should be well-clear of the restricted zone by then. Wren and I also make some ‘solstice bread’ which I forgot about while it was rising so it kinda melted into a blob… but it still eats well!

And horray for Sunday! Chris does an excellent job navigating the St Lucie inlet (poorly marked) during weekend fishing rush hour. Unfortunately our desired Anchorage spot was full, so we motored an hour or so to another spot. So thankful to be done with this passage!