Flamingo?

Saturday, January 31, 2015 Day 5 - Crossing Florida Bay!

It's first light and the anchors are up. We were the first of over a dozen boats in the anchorage to leave. As we departed, I notice the leaves in the trees were stirring. The sight gave me pause to contemplate the sea conditions.

The forecast suggested 15 to 20 out of the ENE. It appeared that the wind speed was on the lower part of the range. The seas had not yet built to a frothy chop, but that was sure to come.

At East Cape Sable, the point at which we were to make the "go/no go" decision, I was entering the route to Upper Matecumbe Key into the GPS. We decided that destination gave us the best opportunity to reach the Keys in safety and comfort, but when I looked up, the sea was brown and frothy. If we continued on our present course, it would soon get uncomfortable and we had at least four hours to go. We turned toward Flamingo on a course that would put us in the protection of the land. With spray flying, we made it safely to our new destination.

Once tied up, we thought about braving the chop to get to the Keys. Conditions deteriorated throughout the day.  I felt it was a good decision to wait for better conditions.