Hello Ft. Pierce, Florida! We have arrived!

We left Alice Town, North Bimini on Monday, March 23 as planned, at 1130. For the first few hours we motorsailed but by 1500 we were able to shut the engine off and just sail. We were doing 6+ kts, in 10 - 12 kts of wind from the SW, with the help of the Gulf Stream. Around 1800 we were watching a storm approach. The engine went on, sails came down and the enclosure went up. We had a few minutes of heavy rain and wind gusts to 24 kts from the north. Although the rain lasted a short while the winds stayed with us for some 2 hours before subsiding, but they continued to come from the north all night. I would like to strangle the mini mental midget meteorologist from NOAA who miss called this! The four weather sights we checked before leaving Bimini had no mention of any northerly winds. Anyone who has done their homework knows that you do not want to cross the Gulf Stream with any northerly component of wind. With the stream running north and the winds going south, well, the seas get very agitated! We contemplated turning around and heading for Ft. Lauderdale (6 hours away) or continuing north, going into Lake Worth (7 hours away), rather than Ft. Pierce. As the weather forecast was for lighter winds during the night and coming from the SW - W, we opted to continue going north. The winds did, in fact, diminish becoming less than 10 kts but continued to come from the north. However the seas greatly calmed and, as Lake Worth got closer, we decided the conditions were okay to continue on to Ft. Pierce.

We had anticipated getting a good lift from the Gulf Stream during the entire crossing, but once on the Florida side of the stream, it seemed to run against us. The going was slow, at times our speed was reduced to 3 - 3.5 kts. I really wish I understood the weather, tides, currents and what affects them, better.

Anyhow, we arrived at Ft. Pierce Inlet two hours later than anticipated on Tuesday, March 24 and set anchor in the ICW just south of Ft. Pierce North Bridge at 1330. Prior to leaving Bimini, we had called a Verizon (phone) representative in Annapolis who helped us out immensely on our way south. He was able to program our phone and hotspot so when we arrived in Florida we just had to call a number and activate them. Jorge did that about 3 miles before the Ft. Pierce Inlet and viola . . . phone and internet! After setting anchor, we called CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and cleared in - partially. We still had to appear in person within 24 hours even though we have Nexus, passports and a US cruising permit. This protocol was different from when we entered New York in 2013.

This morning (Wednesday, March 25) we left the boat around 1100, got to Harbourtown Marina, tied up the dinghy and started our walk to Customs at the airport. The route on Google Earth showed it to be about 5 km each way, but it seemed more like 7 - 8 km each way! We presented our passports, cruising permit and the arrival # we received from CBP when we called in the day before. Five minutes later we were set to go, no questions asked, no inspection of the boat, nada!

We treated ourselves to lunch at a restaurant close to the marina before going grocery/liquor shopping. While in Nassau and Bimini I limited the buying as the prices were ridiculously high. Publix (a Florida supermarket) was 1/2 to 2/3 less than the prices in Nassau! And Jorge was able to find his brand of IPA beer. A win/win situation.

I think we are going to do a bit of the ICW for the next couple of days. After doing an overnighter, we were bagged, needing 12 hours of sleep the night of arrival. By travelling the ICW we can go for a couple of hours and then stop if we so desire. Once you're making an ocean passage there is no stopping and pulling over!

The weather was gloomy this morning (Jorge's SAD was kicking in already) but it cleared up and it has been sunny all afternoon with temp around 26C. Last night was nice for sleeping, we required a sheet and a light blanket but we slept like babies! (I know the lack of sleep the night before had something to do with it.)

With the hotspot, we have internet on board, maybe I'll be able to blog more often.