Sunday, May 24, 2009

Homeward Bound - Part I

Winds from the east remained over 25 knots for the rest of April, which was a lovely reason to stay a bit longer and make a few more memories in Marathon. The once lively west dock at Marathon Marina was now like a ghost town. Most cruisers had headed north and most slips were vacant. The absence of our friends made us feel unsettled – like we should be moving north, too. After a day or two that feeling passed. We relaxed and noticed how beautiful Marathon is in late April. Bright sunshine. Robin’s egg blue skies. Aqua-green water. Trees and flowers in bloom. Balmy 80-degree temperatures. People leave too early.

My birthday was April 25th. John surprised me with my favorite cake, chocolate with chocolate butter cream frosting. I cannot remember when I have been so moved and delighted! The day prior John had ridden his bike five miles to Publix to purchase the cake. He tied the cake box to his bike rack, rode back to the marina, and stashed the round cake in the marina office refrigerator with the blessing of the dockmaster. My favorite part of the cake was the edge where the frosting smudged against the cake box when John hit a bump in the road on his ride back.

When the calendar turned to May, we knew we had to get moving. Our insurance requires us to be north of Cumberland Island, GA by June 1st. On May 2nd, with no relief from east winds in sight, we left Marathon and sailed for Key Largo. By 2PM we arrived at Rodriguez Key, our planned anchorage for the night. It felt too early to stop. We sailed on to Miami. Somewhere between 7PM and 8PM we arrived off of Key Biscayne and then the Government Cut. The sun was setting. It was Saturday night. We knew our planned Miami anchorage would be crazy. We felt great, so we kept sailing. Without meaning to do so, we picked up the Gulf Stream. Our speed changed from 7.5 knots to 9.5-10.5 knots! I did not know Island Chariot could sail at 10.5 knots! Totally awesome!

At 9PM John and I began taking two-hour shifts at the helm. I took the shifts from 11PM – 1AM and from 3AM – 5AM. So peaceful. So quiet. So many stars! During my second shift, somewhere around the Jupiter Inlet, U.S. Warship Number 98 was anchored in our path. Someone aboard the ship had made several intimidating radio calls telling the rest of us to stay at least 500 yards from the ship. The voice spoke so quickly that I missed everything except the warship number and 500 yards. All I could see was something gigantic ahead that was lit up like Los Angeles. I did not realize the ship was anchored. I kept changing course to avoid the ship. No matter which way I turned, it seemed that we were heading directly at the ship. Finally another radio call came. A new voice. Oh! The ship is anchored! Well, okay then. I looked at the radar and chose a path to keep Island Chariot outside 500 yards of the ship. Then it was time to wake John. “Your turn, Darlin’. My shift was uneventful. Eric the Autopilot is driving to the waypoint off the Fort Pierce Inlet.”

We entered the Fort Pierce Inlet on Sunday at 10AM. Miraculously, the tide was slack so our transit was comfortable and easy. By 12:30PM we were settled on a mooring at Vero Beach City Marina and settling down for a nap. My first overnight ocean sail. My first time being alone in the cockpit, completely responsible for everything that happened or failed to happen. Why didn’t someone tell me it was no big deal?

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