Vaca Key

3.27.10

Friday morning we set out for another day of sailing. This day, unfortunately, is what everyone has told us was more along the lines of a "normal" sailing day. The wind was slim to none, averaging out at about 4knots, with the occasional 8knot gust. The only thing more depressing than that was that the wind was directly off our stern. Not good news for a sailor.
We set the sails for a run and settled in for a long, hot day. When the wind is coming from behind you, there is no breeze and with the wind being as nonexistent as it was there was no correct positioning for the sails. All day long we were adjusting and readjusting the sails, attempting to eek out as much forward movement as possible. It ended up taking us 7hours to go 20 miles- two days before it had taken us that long to go 40miles!!
It was a long and grueling, but we finally made it to Vaca Key (aka Marathon) by abou 5pm. We got right into a slip and called it a day.
We have since been putting around Vaca Key, trying to get our boat up to snuff. We finally have a dinghy motor - tomorrow we will be attempting to putter around the waterways in that (although neither of us have a clue how to work one!!) We rented bikes and rode 3miles to the closest Home Depot and Publix to restock as needed - that was a cruel reminder as to how small bike seats are. We are certainly paying for that decision today!
Today was rainy and windy, which brought the temperatures down and forced us indoors - hence the catchup on the blog!
We will be hunkering down here for about a week and then slowly make our way over to Key West. It has been an exciting journey so far and the best is yet to come!! Early Retirement is awesome!