 Leaving
Harbortown involved piloting the boat through soft mud. At low
tide, the marina could not support our 5.5 foot draft. Our next
stop would be Rodriequez Key near Key Largo. Fort Pierce inlet is
a well defined all weather channel with decent sailing down the
coast of Florida. We planned for an overnight passage through the
busier anchorages of Southern Florida so we were a bit anxious.
However, the weather was mild which permitted a nice combination
of motorsailing.
 As
the day progressed, the wind died. Down came the sails and we
relied entirely on the motor. The coast of Southern Florida is
almost continually populated with buildings. The sights seemed to
blur as it was one cluster of high rises after another. As we
approached Palm Beach, the Gulf Stream had a remarkably negative
effect on our progress. To minimize its influence, we had to
adjust our course within 500 yards of the beach. To complicate
matters it was dark.
 Nighttime
was uneventful except for transiting the ship anchorages at Fort
Lauderdale and Miami. We relied heavily on the radar to wind
through the very, very big ships. We arrived at Governor's Cut
around 0500 where we had to wait for several cruise ships to
pass. Morning broke as we approached the waters near Key
Biscayne. All was quiet, all was good as we entered Hawk Channel.
We were in the Keys!
 We
spoke too soon. Showers were approaching from the South. There
was no lightning and the rain was refreshing. The showers only
lasted an hour or so. We saw our first of 10,000 lobster pots.
Though not as numerous as the crab pots in the Chesapeake, there
appeared to be no rhyme or reason for their layout. We would
learn to curse the lobster pots as much as we had hated the Bay
crab pots. Hawk Channel was full of pots from Key Biscayne to the
Dry Tortugas.
 Capt.
Ann had the longest set of watches during the transit. It turned
out that she got more than her fair share of stinking watches. We
might have to look into this sometime. Ann loves to 'drive'. She
often turns off the autopilot (nickname Helmer) so that she can
'feel' the boat. She is the best helmsperson.. Capt. Bob often
gets distracted and steers unusual courses. He has been voted the
worst. Toby is somewhere in between Bob and Ann.
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