We are tired

We are tired

Friday 8th January 2021

It sounds crazy to say we are tired when all we do is hang out on the boat! I think we got used to being super relaxed on the dock at Vero Beach and since we left six days ago we have been moving constantly. It’s not that it’s physically tiring but the constant uncertainty about weather, navigation and anchorages can start to wear you down. This came to a head last night after I realized we were anchored illegally in an area prohibited by local ordinances. It was too late to do anything about it then so we both spent the whole night fretting about whether the police would come calling and force us to move on in the dark and if not, where we would go in the morning with a passing cold front and bad weather expected. These thought processes aren’t always rational, but when it’s late at night and you are tired, problems can seem way more threatening than they are reality. When we had anchored earlier in the day the chain seemed to go tight rather abruptly and it was clear that the anchor was stuck firm. This should be a good thing but Gloria spent hours awake during the night convinced that the anchor was foul-hooked on some debris and wouldn’t come up. Neither of us got much sleep.

In the morning we had a quick cup of coffee and then set off. The anchor came up really easily, we motored about half a mile to a new location that we believe is legal, not a cable / pipeline area and has adequate depth. We anchored easily and it seems great. What was all the sweat about?

We envisage staying here at least a couple more nights to allow the stronger winds to blow through. Then we’ll start making our way south again down through the Florida Keys. This will again be a challenging section because of shallow water and limited anchorages, but we did do some planning today and feel that we have a number of options mapped out. This helps us feel more confident and in control of things.  More on that in future blogs … for now we are hoping to get a good nights sleep.

Mike

25 46.983 N, 80 09.895 W

We saw this beautiful iguana yesterday on shore in the park near the dinghy dock. It was about 3-4 feet long with tremendous coloration. This photo with my iPhone ... I went back this afternoon with my big camera but naturally there was no sign of it!