Cayman to America!

We started out at about 6:30 AM from our anchorage. We estimated the run to be just about 3 1/2 days. The forecast was for mild winds, so we expected to do lots of motor sailing. We also had hopes that we’d get pushes from the currents, so we might gain back a little time there. It would be nice to arrive in the morning to Key West for clearing back into the US.

Currents! Small push south of Cuba. Big Gulf Stream push north of Cuba

It was a very long, boring run. 525 miles of motoring. We tried putting out the headsail a couple times, but got tired of that with the lack of wind. We now figure we can do about 600 miles of motoring, if we ever have that kind of bad weather again. The last full day the seas were so calm we transfered our jerry cans of fuel to our fuel tank.

Finally we saw Key West! Mary had enough energy to dance to Jimmy Buffet as we were coming down the channel! Dave kept his eyes open and masterfully guided YO to her slip. This was the first time we were in fixed slips with pilings to tie to instead of cleats. We did it with a little help from our neighbors. Ahhh time for showers, dinner and sleep!