Back in the Good Ol USA

The trip over was a motor which was ok but it does serve to remind both of us that we really prefer to be a sailboat.  The constant droning of the engine is wearing and of course the expense isn't negligible.  Still, no wind was a better condition than wind from the wrong direction making the gulf stream impassable so off we went.  It was amazing the number of cruise ships we passed.  At night, they are even more impressive than in the daytime.  We also passed several freighters and other cruisers.  There was no illusion of being alone on the high seas.  We had a lot of success with fishing and some heartbreaks too.  We reeled in a large cero and a good sized mahi, too.  What got away was a shark, he bit through the line just as we were getting him to the boat.  At only about 4 feet we think we could have managed him.  The other was a huge dolphin fish (mahi).  While David was reeling in the one we were able to keep, I was reeling in another one.  It was a real fighter going back and forth, diving and doing everything to escape.  I finally got it to the boat and David was hauling it up onto the boat.  It was so heavy that it bent the hook straight and came off!! Too bad we were both busy and no pictures to prove it.
We made it back to Florida through the Palm Beach inlet then motored north about 20 miles to Stuart.  We caught a mooring ball and slept for 10 hours straight then dozed for a bit longer.  Today was spent putting the dingy together and going ashore to register and resupply.  We borrowed the marina bikes which were a bit hard to adjust to for us.  It's been a long time since we rode single speed bikes with coaster brakes but we managed and it beat walking.  Tomorrow we plan to tour the historic area and plan our trip through Okeechobee.

This damage to our varnish is the result of my sitting on the coaming and holding the rod to reel in the huge dolphin.

The Bahamian courtesy flag coming down to be replaced by the quarantine flag.

The marina that manages our mooring is very nice and well equiped.  You can tell by the number of dingies that they are crowded.  Their slips are all full with boats that come for the winter season.

This is the St. Lucie inlet.  It looks so nice and wide but sadly, not deep.  If we could have come in this way it would have saved us over 5 hours of motoring.

This is the harbor of Palm Beach.  We didn't have to come too close and fight the big boat traffic.

Our mooring field.  We're one of those tall sticks.

Other than the big sport fisherman out front, this house definitely doesn't match anything you typically see in Florida.

While cleaning the fish on the bow, David had a huge following of pelicans and other birds.

This bouy marked the beginning of the ship channel.  Our first sign of home.

We were used to seeing mansions along the water from the west coast of Florida but you can see the difference in the coasts by the size of the yards.  All  along the waterway, the huge houses were accompanied by huge expanses of grounds.  The style of houses looked like that of an older era.  It is nice to see the beautifully landscaped grounds.

This ship was being towed either to be scrapped for the metal or maybe sunk for a reef.  We had to steer around to avoid being in his way.  He had the right of way if just by sheer tonnage!