Dolphins

Sunday, March 13, 2005, Fort Pierce

N27 28.142 W080 19.423

Our objective today was to sail 55 miles from Lake Worth to the Fort Pierce inlet to the ICW. We did it, but it didn’t come easy.

We motored out from the Lake Worth inlet about 3 miles then set the sails. The wind was terrible. It was from the SE, almost still, and the water was glassy. The forecast said W10 becoming SW10-15. It was dead wrong. We sailed for a while, then gave up and motored for a while, then sail then motor then sail again. Neither was much fun.

Another mishap! The tachometer stuck at 1500 RPM and the engine hour log stopped with it. I don’t know how to repair the tach.

Anyhow, we got good practice navigating. I showed Libby how to use the GPS and the charts and to cross check one with the other.

Around 1600 we noticed a pod of dolphins following us. I know that everybody experiences this, but this was the first time for us. There were at least 2 adults and 2 kids, maybe more. It was fun to go all the way forward on the bowsprit and watch them cavort. They’d dart in from the side and cross, just inches from where the bow cuts the water.

Dolphins brought good fortune. The tachometer unstuck, the wind picked up, blew from a more favorable direction and in no time we were flying toward the destination at 7.5 knots under main and yankee.

We came into the inlet at Fort Pierce just about sunset, and it was very pretty. The navigation is complex, and it was dark, but we paid very close attention to the chart and did OK. We’re at anchor in the ICW. The nice ending to the day erased the frustrations of the earlier part with bad wind.

We continue to gain gobs of experience every day. In a few weeks, things will seem familiar.

I can foresee that the simple life does not mean an idle life. There are chores to do all the time. Take something out, put it back. Repair, clean, polish, inspect. All in all, we probably won’t have any more idle time than we did when working full time. However doing simple chores is relaxing and therapeutic. It doesn’t feel like work. That’s why we pounced on the Brasso.

If we had retired to live in a condo in FL, we would have been idle a lot. Probably watch a lot of TV. The simple life, as opposed to the idle life, is the right life for us.