Day 114 ( 162 TT, 87.1 MET )

I have a confession to make. I signed up to facebook. Yep. I resisted for as long as I could, honest. But it seems these days it's impossible to stay in touch with people any other way. So now you will see share icons on these posts, so share away!

A friend of mine invited me to sail with him from Punta Gorda to Key West. I agreed, since he ensured me that the trip will take only two days. A couple of nice time builders flew me to Punta Gorda and off we went sailing the gulf of mexico. The entire ordeal took seven days! Several of those we spent grounded waiting for high tide (I guess nobody onboard knew how to read a marine chart), and one day I spent sea sick (some pilot I am). Below is a picture I call "studying hard on deck, in Key West"


Once we sailed into Key West, I called my buddies to pick me up. They flew in late Friday night. I threw my stuff onboard and bummer, one of the main tires went flat. It didn't happen on landing or taxi, it just deflated siting there on the ramp. So we found a hotel and stayed the night. Saturday morning, Mike (owner of the school) flew in a mechanic with a new wheel.

On the way back my friend wanted some excitement and decided to hug the coast instead of a straight shot to Ft. Pierce. Because of Miami international airport, ATC made us follow the coast line, at 500' or below (that way we don't disrupt the traffic into MIA). Below are a couple of shots of us whizzing by Miami beach at 300', doing 130kts !