Prepare for takeoff

The plan now is to take off tomorrow morning and head North. We must first 'Run the Gauntlet' of drawbridges, 7 bridges in the first 15 miles. All of them opening at different times and intervals, with only a couple of them opening on demand. Slow going, with lots of spinning in circles and idling in the current. Not sure where we'll anchor tomorrow, we have plenty of choices and we'll see how things are going in the afternoon. We want to push on up to Port St. Lucie where we'll meet our good friends that we've hung out with for the last couple of months, say our goodbyes and farewells, and then continue north. We're eager to get North of St. Augustine, where we took off from in February, so we can stop backtracking and cover new ground.

Star walked to the nearby Publix today for ice, fresh meats, and a few other last minute preparations and then hauled them back in her handy-dandy rollerbag. (See photo). While she was shopping I stayed at the dinghy beach with Chief, and had an interesting conversation with Dan, who was ashore walking his yellow labs. He mentioned that he had a friend staying long term in the anchorage on a boat 'Julie Ann'. I said that "I've been staring at the boat, because I swear it looks just like the boat we were anchored next to in Luperon, Dominican Republic back in 1999."

He told me "That was the boat you were next to, he bought it in Luperon, and I helped him sail it back!"

Me, "So I'm not crazy!" At least, only a little crazy. Somehow I can't remember the name of someone I met a few hours ago, but I can remember the sweet lines of a nice sailboat that I saw 10 years ago.

So goodbye North Lake Worth, maybe we'll see you next fall......