If you have ever spent a night in a house during a hurricane you have an idea of what it was like to sleep on our boat last night. It was blowing only about 30 knots but the wind in the rigging sounded like the end of the world. Our anchorage was well protected from waves but strong gusts made the whole boat shake. Neither of us slept well.
We awoke to an unseasonably cold 47 degrees under bright skies. Once under way we were powering into a a 20 knot headwind. I don't know what the windchill score was but it was damned cold. Sandy had on four layers and was still a good sport to be on deck at all. I made do with a sweatshirt and a foul weather jacket, but I added a life jacket because I was pretty sure I couldn't swim with what I already had on if I were to have fallen overboard. Would have been a warm drowning, though.
Just as I was thinking to myself that the engine has run flawlessly since we started the cruise, it conked out. I checked the fuel tank it was running from, and found that the fuel level was low, but not nearly empty. Nevertheless I switched to a different fuel tank, bled the air out of the fuel lines, and we started right up without further problems. Still don't know for sure what the problem was but I will be more careful not to let any of the three fuel tanks run very low. The only other engine problems we have had were overheating on the first day because I forgot to open the cooling water intake, for which you cannot blame the engine; and one time when the starter switch wire shook loose, which was easily fixed.
We reached Bradenton Beach in mid afternoon and docked at the Bradenton Beach Marina, which sounds simpler than it was. Our slip assignment choices were either to tie up alongside the windward end of the dock- no way- or pull into a slip downwind with only about 40 feet between the slip and a bridge. Not much maneuvering room or safety margin, but we got into the slip without incident. On that basis alone it was a good day on the water.
The forecast for tonight is for a strong easterly wind and a lighter easterly wind tomorrow. And tomorrow should be not quite as cold. If we get that weather it will allow us to have a good sail home. We are about 25 miles from home.
Sandy served one more good dinner tonight and then we went ashore to a nearby ice cream shop for a treat to celebrate the last night of our cruise.
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