daily decisions ................ from P

It is morning - time to make another set of decisions that will determine whether we have a good or bad day. That is probably the biggest difference between living on a boat and living at home. Our physical comfort, indeed our well being, depends upon how we choose to deal with the elements each day - and especially during the night. We are anchored at the south end of Key Biscayne. Our only goal is to be in the marina at Ft. Lauderdale by Saturday morning. So, theoretically we have plenty of time to make a short trip. We have to sail on the outside - in the ocean - around the northern part of Miami to get around a bridge that is too low for us. The marine forecast is for 18 knot winds gusting to 23 out of the NE with 4-6 foot seas today. 16 knot winds with 4 foot seas tomorrow. The following two days are about the same, although any wind forecast more than 48 hours into the future holds no credibility down here. There are two outlets to the ocean, one is where we are now (tip of Key Biscayne), the other is the port of Miami entrance. Based on that information, we have decided to make a very short trip today on the inside, behind key Biscayne and Virginia Key to stay out of the 6 foot seas, up into an anchorage area just north of the cruise ship terminals in Miami, but just south of the too-low bridge. Then tomorrow we will exit out of the port of Miami sail up the beach to the Port Everglades inlet which is the big port entrance at Ft. Lauderdale. This can all change if we wake up tomorrow and the wind is whipping up 6 foot seas again.

Sometimes the constant drill of studying charts, pondering forecasts, weighing options, plotting courses, making contingency plans, and having to adjust on the fly can give a married couple a case of decision making fatigue. I think it was just yesterday when one of us said to the other "Why are you looking at me like I've lost my mind ?!" But I have come to believe that this is the essence of our trip. We live each day in a different environment, and in different circumstances. We have to think through the options, make the decisions, and then work together in the wind, the rain - or on a gorgeous sunny day - so that we can spend the night in a relatively safe place. Then we get up, drink our coffee, and pull out the charts again.