After a two week holdover in No Name Harbor waiting for the northeast winds to die down, we weighed anchor and headed out to sea. It was our first day of ocean sailing in years.
We set out at about 7:30 and motored out of the Cape Florida Channel. It was a tough slog against the wind until we were able to turn north, set the sails and turn off the engine.
No sooner had we sheeted in the sails when a gust hit and we heeled over spilling everything to the floor down below. We trimmed sail and settled in for a generally quiet run to Ft Lauderdale. We averaged a little under 4 knots but hit a max of 7.3 for the day.
The autopilot at first tried to oversteer. We think some metal items in the cockpit interfered with the units compass. We moved some things around and Otto did fine the rest of the day.
We arrived at the Port Everglades entrance a little earlier than planned and had to fight the outgoing tide. We did time the bridge right and didn't have to wait for an opening.
The big frustration of the day came as we attempted to enter Lake Sylvia. We managed to find the only hard shallow spot and spent about 45 minutes hard aground. So glad we spent all that money getting the keel repaired. Now it's beat up again.
The tide eventually rose, we floated off and found a spot to anchor.
A beer or two, some jambalaya, a movie and do it all again tomorrow.
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