Thursday 27th March. The next anchorage is only 15 miles; it is an abandoned cement works and just a channel off the waterway. When we arrived at the anchorage there were lots of No Trespassing signs on the shore, so we stayed on the boat. We are the only boat here. Dave caught a catfish with the rod but Sarah would not let him feed it to Oakum, she says it is too ugly.

Friday 28th March. We set off for Daytona Beach and arrived at 16.00hrs. We had to go through 3 bridges one after the other, luckily they all opened on demand (one long and one short blast). We are anchored between two bridges near the town centre.

Saturday 29th March. It is Easter Weekend here and half of the countries students have congregated on the beach. The other half are at Fort Lauderdale. It is unbelievable. The beach is crammed with cars of all descriptions all parked in rows and full of teenagers playing loud music, dancing and shouting at each other. It is like a big party. We brought a picnic lunch and joined in the fun. It is like being on a film set.

Sunday 30th March. We decided to head for Mosquito Lagoon, 35 miles away. There is an anchorage in 8ft. of water, recommended in the waterway guide. We arrived at the anchorage at 16.00hrs. And promptly ran aground. The waterway guide seems to get its depths wrong with predictable regularity. It took half an hour to get ourselves off and we headed to Titusville. 15 miles away, finally anchoring in the municipal basin at 19.00hrs

Monday 31st March. This is a handy anchorage, there are shops only a quarter of a mile away, and this is the nearest point on the waterway to the Kennedy Space Centre and Disneyworld. There are manatees in the harbour. We have seen lots of pictures of them and it is quite a thrill to see them near the boat.

Tuesday 1st April. We hired a car for 2 days and spent today at the Space Centre. It is very interesting, although everything is quiet at the moment, after the recent shuttle disaster.

Wednesday 2nd April We drove to Disneyworld this morning, and got caught in a traffic jam outside Orlando, so we did not arrive until 09.30. The queues were tremendous; it took an hour to buy tickets. When we got inside there was more than an hour wait for each ride. We stayed until midnight and arrived exhausted at the boat at 2.00am. Sarah had a great time.

Thursday 3rd April. We spent today recovering from Disneyworld. It was hard going. I'd rather be sailing!

Friday 4th April. We spent today organizing traveler's cheques and funds for the next few months, with the help of our access cards. This evening we went to the cinema, the advertised film did not arrive so everyone got to see Murphy's Romance for free.

Saturday 5th April. We set off at 09.00hrs. The bloke on the next boat panicked a bit when we lifted our anchor, as he was almost over it, but we played it cool. He seemed a very neurotic person, when we first came in and anchored, he wanted to know what anchor we were putting sown and how much chain. Dave almost asked him which one he would prefer, as we have 4 different types on board. A Bruce, a CQR, a fisherman and a Danforth. Our next anchorage was in the Banana River between two bridges. The entrance is guarded by an enormous stone dragon. Luckily he slept peacefully all night, although he seemed to have one eye open.

Sunday 6th April. We finally managed to sail today. We are on the Indian River and the water is 15ft deep all over. WE averaged 5 knots all the way, finally anchoring in a very crowded anchorage at Vero Beach. The waterway is changing a lot now. There are lots of big houses on the banks with their own private docks and keep off signs. Also there are hundreds of speed boats whose sole pleasure seems to be terrifying yachtsmen by speeding under their bows like some irate mosquito.

Monday 7th April. We managed to sail most of the way again today and found an anchorage in a bay just off the waterway.

Tuesday 8th April. We intended getting an early start today but Dave had to tighten the fan belt, so we didn't get underway until 10.00am. We were plagued with bridges today, 6 of them. Some of them were restricted on opening hours, and some only opened partially, so that we had to watch the mast carefully as we went through. We arrived at our final anchorage at Lake Worth at 17.00hrs. There is plenty of room here and we are surrounded by magnificent homes belonging to the rich and famous.

Wednesday 9th April. I tried to row to the next boat, Limerick, today but the wind was really strong and I broke a rowlock. Luckily Jim the captain on Limerick came to my rescue and towed me home. He told us where we can land the dinghy, and where the supermarket is.

Thursday 10th April. The weather is terrible. There is no chance of leaving for the Bahamas in this weather. The wind is very strong from the north. I made the Bahamas flag today.

Friday 11th April. We went to the supermarket today to stock the boat with soft drinks and treats for the Bahamas. Anyone would think that we were alcoholics if they saw the cases of beer going on board.

Saturday 12th April. Still a bad forecast so we decided to stay here and drink some beer in company with Limerick.

Sunday 13th April. We had to do some more shopping today, especially for beer. The weather is still unsettled. We posted our cruising permit to the customs today so now we have to leave.

Monday 14th April. Today is the day! The weather is better. We left the anchorage at 17.00hrs, as we intend to do a night passage. The sea entrance at Fort Worth inlet is really simple. Only 2 buoys and then you are in deep water. We entered the Gulf Stream almost immediately, and it was rough. The wind is N.E. causing a wind over tide situation, and the boat is being knocked off by big waves all the time. One wave broke sideways over the boat, covering the boat with water from bow to stern. We've never had that happen before. I did my watch in the cockpit as I was sick most of the time. There is surprisingly little traffic tonight.

Tuesday 15th April. We are glad we had the Sat-nav repaired; it is invaluable in the Gulf Stream. We allowed 3 knots for the current and steered 120m to make 90m but the current was so strong it pushed us 10 miles north so that we ended up steering 150to160m to compensate. We finally sighted West End Grand Bahama at 10.00hrs. Sarah was excited to see the clear water. It was worrying going into the marina as we could see the bottom 7ft below us all the way in. I wish we drew 4ft instead of 6ft. WE cleared customs easily and didn't have any problems with having a cat on board.

Wednesday 16th April. We spoke to the people on the next boat today, it is called Seaweed. They are heading for Panama too. The hotel at the marina had a beach party tonight, we all went and had a good time. They had limbo dancers and a steel band; very exotic.

Thursday 17th April. We left the marina at high tide 14.30 hours. The wind was from the N.W. and the channel was very rough, our bows kept slamming around. As soon as we rounded the point, the wind dropped and we had to motor all night. There was a lot of traffic, in the N.W. Providence channel. At one time I had 7 ships around as I was on watch.

Friday 18th April. It was a very calm night, and we sighted the Berry Islands at dawn. We motored into Great Harbour at Stirrup Cay. Seaweed was already there. A friendly American rowed over and told us that if we walk over to Bertram Cove tomorrow, we can have a free meal. Sarah and Dave rowed ashore and found a lovely secluded beach, with good snorkeling.

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