The forecast was for wind from Northeast at 15 which suited us fine. We were out the Venice inlet at 7:45 and sailed Northwest along the coast. The wind actually turned out to be 15 to 18 and we were on a reasonably close reach. We ended up with a double reef most of the way, still moving at hull speed. The temperature was in the 70s and although showers threatened early we were dry for most of the trip. Once we were out in the Gulf, Otto the autopilot did most of the work and we enjoyed a magnificent sail. We covered the 23 miles to Longboat pass in 5 hours and 15 minutes. I think it may have been our finest sailing passage ever aboard Carina. It certainly made up for all the times on this cruise when we wished we could sail but couldn't. Longboat pass shifts all the time so we didn't know what kind of Channel markers we would find. It turned out to be a straight shot in on a course of 60 degrees with two sets of buoys and depth never less than about 10 feet. As we came in the channel a windy rain shower greeted us. First rain we have seen in 2 weeks. By the way I do know how to spell and capitalize. Google not so much. Another mile and a half took us to dock at our old favorite, the Seafood Shack. We decided to eat dinner ashore because we are having trouble with our propane stove- a new stove is on our to-do list when we get home. It is a long list.
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