Sunday, March 27^th

We had a slow morning, chatting over coffee for quite awhile.  Consequently, we didn’t take off until 10:15.  We decided to head for Port St Joe, where we’ll probably spend a couple of days.  The weather forecast was pretty dicey, so we decided to continue along “on the inside” through the West Bay and along the Ditch rather than sailing “outside” in the Gulf.  Thankfully, the winds had died down somewhat, so we managed to leave the yacht club dock safely.

Our route was very “twisty” and the winds shifted a lot, but we did manage to sail about half the trip.  In fact, the wind gusts were so strong at times that we’d find ourselves over-canvassed and listing at 30 to 35 degrees.  I couldn’t take the extreme heeling, so Sam had to spill the wind from the sails when it got extreme.  We only bounced the lantern across the cabin once though, and luckily it still works.

Wow!  Sam spotted a bald eagle that had just caught a fish!  We watched as the eagle flew up into a tree and started tearing the fish apart.  The fish was so big it draped down over the branch.  How wonderful!

Good news:  The knot meter worked great!  Bad news:  The depth meter is still wacky.  Not good!

We docked at the Port St. Joe marina at 6:30 (we crossed into the Eastern time zone), and were met by our friends Theresa and Ernie who had driven over from Ft. Walton Beach.  We had happy hour, and then went to dinner at the marina.  Great burgers! 

Monday, March 28^th

We got up late, had a leisurely breakfast, and did some chores.  Sam and David Tye worked on the depth meter while I did two loads of laundry.  Then we walked over to the sports store, the Sweet Shop (had ice cream cones to fortify ourselves), and the grocery store. 

Later we borrowed the marina bikes and went for a ride.  Pat and I got the privilege of riding the three-wheelers, and that was an experience.  They steer weird, and Pat kept careening off the path.  My seat wouldn’t adjust so my knee muscles got a vigorous workout.  We rode along the city bike paths and it was beautiful!  A really neat thing happened when we passed a house with a pot-bellied pig in the yard.  He came running to see us, wagging his tail like crazy and grunting all the way.  He was so cute!

We had a great dinner on Sanctuary and then played dominoes.  David and Sam were competing for first place, while Pat and I competed for last.  No need to be explicit about the outcome!

Mariah sailing along

Port St Joe Marina