Back to Reality

We departed West End Bahamas on Wednesday morning at approximately 6:30AM, it was an absolutely beautiful morning!  Captain Alyse decided it was time for me to try and maneuver the boat out of our spot and out of the Marina.  That was FUN, it was even funnier to see the pucker factor on David's face knowing that he was in a situation that he wasn't controlling.  He was a trooper and handled the situation well and was very complimentary of my efforts.   The seas started out very smooth, but slowly progressed throughout the day.  We had rougher seas today than we did yesterday coming in.  The return cruise took a little longer because we didn't return through West Palm, but returned directly to Fort Pierce.  We had the gulf stream working in our favor pushing us North.  We were cruising at about 10 knots for a large period of time without increasing RPM's. 

Sunrise in West End Bahamas

Thursday we decided to do some practice on the ICW.  We left Fort Pierce and traveled about 20 miles North to Vero Beach Marina.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful cruise.  Along the way we were greeted with a few dolphin.  They were so funny just traveling along at the same speed and  were putting on a show.  At one point, it appeared to be a family of 3.  Mom, Dad and Baby....

Dolphin Show

After reaching Vero and doing a little practice in tight spaces and a "kiss N go" at the dock, we returned to Fort Pierce.  It was time for David and I to anchor the boat by ourselves as well as launch the dingy, go for a brief ride and reload her.   There is a saying that has something to do with monkeys and footballs (I think you all know what I'm talking about) that would have applied here.  

Launching "Little Girl"

The anchor was no problem, but the dingy is a whole other story.  Let me just say that it looks a lot easier than it really is.  I also think because we have a hard dingy VS an inflatable makes a big difference too.  All went well and we completed our lessons without any damage to either boat (thank goodness).  After we finished, we pulled up anchor and headed into the Marnia to end our lessons.  We had our debriefing and ended with a champagne toast.  David and I were both so impressed with our Captains, which we are now proud to call our Friends.