We had a relaxed, easy anchorage last night and are starting to think anchoring out isn’t so scary anymore. After having the experience of a sailboat drag it’s anchor at Sucia Island two summers ago and run into us at 5:30 a.m., we’ve been leery of anchoring and wondered whether we’d learn how to do it securely. Apparently the training we got from Captain Chris Yacht Services served us well, as we’ve anchored out a dozen times now without any problems.
This morning over coffee we checked the weather forecast and saw it would remain cool, cloudy and WINDY for most of the coming week. Because we need to get back to Fort Pierce to catch a flight to Seattle, we decided to head north despite the forecast. So we pulled up anchor and headed north. Guess what we faced? High wind, cloudy skies, cold temperatures (for winter in Florida anyway) and gusts that knocked us around. It felt just like boating in Seattle in May or June! So we felt right at home. The only difference was the ICW is narrower and more protected, so there are no big scary waves like on Puget Sound. We had the entire ICW to ourselves today for 45 miles! We sometimes went 5 miles without seeing another moving boat, in sharp contrast to yesterday.
On arrival at tonight’s anchorage in North Lake Worth we noted the boat anchored next to us was also flying a Great Loop burghee. We got on the Loop website and found their phone number via their boat name, so invited them to cocktail hour on our boat. Erwin and Marilyn arrived via dinghy at 5:30 and we talked non-stop for 1 1/2 hours about boat stuff, The Loop, family and hometowns. They’re from Michigan and are yet another friendly, knowledgeable, helpful couple. They started their Loop on Lake Michigan in summer 2010 and will complete it this summer, and they invited us to connect with them at their home on Lake Michigan this summer. What a treat!
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