Hi All,
We heard you guys got some warm weather for a few days. After reading those low temperatures all winter, I’m sure you appreciated the break. We sailed up the Florida coast last week and had some great wind. . 15-20 knots from the ENE.

We were enjoying the day when all of a sudden we heard a “plunk” . . . saw our radar reflector floating in the water, it fell off the mast!! Jack came about; I leaned over the side, but couldn’t reach down far enough to get my hands on it. The freeboard on Beneteau’s is so darn high and there is nothing on the reflector to grab a hold of, plus the waves made it even more difficult. After 3 tries of “coming about” I said. . .”how much do these things cost?” Well, needless to say, letting it float away was not an option. So, Jack came about AGAIN, steered the boat, held the back of my pants and shirt, lowered me down to the water and I grabbed it. Good teamwork!!

We stayed in Key Biscayne a night then went into Fort Lauderdale on a “Sunday” during “Spring Break”. Do you know how many boats were in that harbor with girls in bikinis, sunning themselves on the deck . . . it was bumper to bumper down the waterway. Jack enjoyed the scenery!!
Our next port was Lake Worth where we met our friends, the Weinberger’s. Jack traded crew. I went with Sheila by car, while Dick skippered Razz to Fort Pierce, about 50 miles. The wind wasn’t the greatest that day, but Jack & Dick did manage to get some sailing in. We spent several days with the Weinberger’s enjoying their hospitality.

We are now in Vero Beach. This is the port where there are 3 boats to a mooring. It is very cruiser friendly and you meet lots of people. We saw the shuttle go up last Sunday. We even saw the shuttle separate from the booster rocket. It was quite a site to see. We’ll be going to Canaveral via the ICW, then hopefully, if the wind is right, head out to the ocean and sail north. I guess that’s all I have to report.
 
1. NOTE: 4.9 knots through the water, 8.4 knots over ground. . .don’t you just love that gulf stream!
2. Atlantis Space Shuttle.
3. Fort Pierce Park.
4. Our next boat ?#!
5. Up the mast putting the radar reflector back.