Sunday, April 19, 2009
19 April - Day 46. We wake early to the sounds of Mimosa's anchor being retrieved. Being purists they sail off the mooring and will tack, upwind, the 8 nm to Green Turtle's Black Sound. Like so many others we've met, they're leaving for the summer. From very reliable sources we'd learned that spring and early summer are the best cruising times here. So it was a little alarming, to say the least, to see all the cruisers leaving now. It finally dawned on me that this a migratory pattern, i.e. south in the winter and north in summer, not a declaration of the best cruising time. It helps, too, to understand that cruisers are a thrifty lot and that slips that go for $0.65/ft in the winter are $2.40/ft in the summer. It's now 'high season' here because many Floridians come to escape the heat and go big game fishing. Lighter winds also makes the Gulf Stream crossing easier. For us it means empty anchorages and a lot fewer nights in a marina. 8nm today: 1276nm total. DBH
