Wind Horse has her bow pointed towards Fort Lauderdale for a quick stop, then we are headed north. We’re just off the 600 foot (180m) depth contour, riding the Gulf Stream making 13.5 knots over the bottom. Marathon treated us to a lovely sunrise as we cleared the deck for sea.
And a variety of avians stood at attention as we passed down the narrow channel.
Our brief sojourn in the Florida Keys was enough to make us want to come back and investigate more fully.
The mangroves are intriguing.
Filled with wild life.
And strange creatures who come out to visit.
We’ve had dolphins hunting breakfast under our hull.
And met old friends, like the schooner Appledore, with whom we last shared an anchorage in South Africa in 1979.
Sarah was seven when the Smith family, designers and builders of Appledore, put this page in our “boat book”. That’s her current skipper on the left.
We’ve been able to indulge our passion (some say obsession) for photography, with a prolific pallet of options.
Between a wonderful time with our progeny and their families, relaxing a bit, and taking a few pictures, work has suffered. We have been advised that this is good.
Occasionally work and play coincide, as with this test of a new wide angle lens (Canon 14mm prime).
We like the results and are looking forward to learning how to make best use of it.
After consulting with those who have gone before, the Wind Horse destination committee has opted for a look at the Inter Coastal Waterway. Between central Florida and the Chesapeake there are many interesting sounding locations to investigate. In the past we have always opted for a quick offshore passage. This time we are slowing down.
Posted by Steve Dashew (May 10, 2011)
May 10th, 2011 at 6:40 am
Steve,
How far North are you headed this year?
May 10th, 2011 at 10:42 am
Howdy Scott:
No definite plans, but probably Maine (we like blueberries). Or maybe Nova Scotia.
May 10th, 2011 at 8:04 am
Keep the warm weather posts frequent please as winter rolls into Sydney, Australia
May 10th, 2011 at 10:11 am
If your coming up the icw through georgia i would love to know when so i can watch you go by and see/hear what windhorse is like in person.
May 10th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Hi Chris:
We will almost certainly touch in Georgia somewhere. Watch SetSail for details.
May 10th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Will we get a chance to see you in the Great Lakes? A little side trip up the St Lawrence to Montreal maybe? You could complete the great loop and get right back to the Keys for winter…
May 10th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
Hi Tim and Steph:
We won’t be on the Great Lakes this year. Maybe some time in the future.
May 12th, 2011 at 9:35 am
I expect you’re going to get a lot of advice on what not to miss on the trip up the ditch.
McClellanville SC is a great little walking around with no tourists town. The best shrimp we had anywhere is at
Carolina Seafood -not a restaurant, it’s where the shrimpers sell. Freeze a few, or many pounds, fresh off the boat.
33o05’02.40″
79o27’56.73″
There’s one good restaurant nearby. Someone will drive you there.
Have a good trip
Fred Sorensen
May 12th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Thanks Fred:
We’ll keep space ready in the freezer for those shrimp.
May 13th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
I’m curious…
Have you done much sailing/motoring in the Great Lakes? Would the FPBs be just as comfortable in these conditions even though they are optimized for ocean passages?
Have you done the inland trip from Chicago to the Gulf – and if so, is it worthwhile? (Obviously can’t compare to Svalbard or the South Pacific, but still would like to hear your opinion.)
Many thanks for a great blog and excellent design work!
Z
May 13th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Hello Zenon:
We have not done any cruising on the Great Lakes. However, the very short period waves would be similar to the sea trial conditions in the video.