5-5-10
After a last minute weather check, we decided to sail offshore again today. Yesterday, Gary and I thought the day presented itself with one of the very best days of our lives. After our sail today, we now believe TODAY was the best day yet. I remember when my two sons were growing up and every Christmas I would say, “This is the best Christmas yet!” After many years, they caught on to the fact that I said that every year and I think the statement lost its appeal to them. Well, now that I’m “grown up”, I think EVERY DAY SHOULD BE THE BEST DAY YET, Christmas or otherwise. And for a sailor to say, “Today was the best day yet.” has special meaning to those of us who know the skill and luck (we choose to believe it’s God’s blessing) it takes to safely return to port. Yeah… the Glenn’s are still awesome and we still rule!
Since today’s leg of the trip from Fort Lauderdale to Lake Worth was longer than yesterday’s journey, we left this morning around 7:30 AM. We safely arrived at Lake Worth and were anchored in a little cove near Singer Island, just inside the inlet, around 3:00 PM.
Going out Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades Inlet was not nearly as rough as it was yesterday going out Miami’s Government Cut. The wind was not as strong as it was yesterday and it was from a better direction, providing a smoother ride up the North Atlantic Ocean. Today it was almost always directly behind us, so our day’s sail was downwind. The current was in our favor as well, so we traveled at least two more miles per hour today than yesterday. The swells were small and infrequent as well. All of these factors played a part in making the sail very pleasant.
The wind was light today, around 8 to 10 knots the early part of the day, so we motor sailed with just our screecher. This is a sail designed for light wind and it is the first (on the bow) of three sails on White Swan. (Some boats use a spinnaker, or a gennaker for the same reason.) When we were within a couple of miles to our destination, we shut the motor off and sailed the rest of the way to the inlet with just the screecher. The wind had picked up to 10 to 14 knots by then, providing enough natural power to keep us at the same pace as when we were using the motor. This is what Gary and I call “Sweet!!!” We are minimizing our carbon footprint.
Gary tried his luck at trolling again today, with the same end result as yesterday. He enjoys adding that activity to his sailing.
I had a much easier time working in the galley today. And the refrigerator hinges didn’t have stress on them today like they did yesterday.
The ocean was tranquil today and she was stunningly deep blue in color. There were few clouds dotting the azure sky. When we looked out across the ocean , and nothing but blue ocean and blue sky could be seen as far as we could see, we were once again reminded of how huge this world really is and how much there is out there waiting for us to explore. I told Gary, it’s going to be really strange when we do get to go to the Bahamas and get out into the ocean far enough that we don’t see land anywhere around us, 360 degrees. He said, “It sounds wonderful to me. I’ll like it.” And I’m sure, after we have the opportunity to accomplish a sail to the Bahamas, we’ll once again be saying, “The best day yet!!!”