Finally home!

The Gulf Stream crossing was a great day. When we got out at first light, we weren't so sure as the waves were much larger than predicted! The 2-4 foot waves predicted were in fact 8-9 foot Northerly ocean swells, coming right on our nose. Luckily, they were just swells - meaning they were large, rounded and had good spacing in between. Even though it wasn't too bad, it is still a bit daunting when you look ahead and only see a wall of water!

We mostly motor sailed the whole way home and were happy to make it in to West Palm around 5 pm that afternoon. The trip had taken longer than expected since the waves were on the nose and slowing us down quite a bit, but we made it in before dark and we were finally home!! What a relief!

We spent the next few days provisioning, catching up on laundry, getting together with old friends and just walking around the city and taking in the sights. It is quite the culture shock to go from almost barren South Bimini to the hustle and bustle of downtown West Palm!

It was great meeting up with some old friends from when we lived there a few years ago. And the best surprise of all was that we crossed paths with some sailing friends who were bringing their boat up from Key Largo to Ft. Pierce. We had met "Insatiable" on our previous trip to Georgetown two years prior and hadn't seem them in two years! They anchored right behind us and we enjoyed a night of sundowners and catching up.

The following morning, we both upped anchor and set out for Ft Pierce. It was a beautiful day sail and we even hoisted our spinnaker for most of the trip! We made it in well before dark and then got together with them again for dinner! Two nights in a row after not seeing them for so long was great!!

Tomorrow we head our separate ways again - us up the ICW to Melbourne and them to the Ft Pierce city marina, "Insatiable's" new home. But we have lots of other boaters that are also heading up to the Chesapeake and we are looking forward to crossing paths with many of them along the way!

**Side note: about 30 miles out from the Florida coast, we ran into a group of finches who decided they were going to hitch a ride with us. They landed on the deck and even in the cockpit, some of them even flying downstairs. We enjoyed our little hitch hikers and were happy to give them a lift!!