Greetings to all.  The mighty Gratitude is off the hard and back in the water.  She fared well in Savannah resulting in no needed repairs.  Just a good cleaning.  We spent a few frosty days in Savannah checking all the systems and provisioning the boat.  Headquartered at a nearby Marriott Courtyard as we combined work with some sightseeing.

By chance, we discovered that the 8th Air Force was started in Savannah and is still headquartered there.  It is of interest because Susan's dad was with the 8th in WWII, stationed in England, and flew B-24s over Germany.  We found records of his duty and his name on a plaque on a memorial wall.  Very moving.


As we prepped to head south, we met a great couple on a 43 foot sailboat also getting ready to go south.  Bjorn is originally from Germany, now a Canadian citizen, and Kat is from Upstate NY and NYC.  We decided to sail together on the 27 hour outside run to St. Augustine, Fl.  This avoids shallow and windy ICW in southern Georgia.

They took this pic of us as we worked our way offshore.  We were very glad to sail with them as it was quite rough (big waves on our beam) and it gets pretty dark and lonely out there in the middle of the night.  Also, our chart plotter/GPS stopped working in the middle of the night.  Maintained visual contact at all times and radio contact on the hour.

 

We stayed several days with Bjorn and Kat and toured St. Augustine.  It is a the oldest city in the United States.  Founded in 1565 by Spain.  Great cafes, shops, historical sights, etc.

                                                       Relaxing with our new pals.


Went down the ICW to Daytona Beach and anchored for the night,  then the next day we continued to Cape Canaveral area.  Now navigating by IPad - yes there is truly an app for everything.  Too bad there wasn't a launch - would have had a bird's eye view from our anchorage.  Now navigating by IPad - yes, there is truly an app for everything.  Only $29.95 for charts of the entire US east coast, full color, touch screen access to current info on hazard, anchorage, marinas, etc.

Stopped for a couple of days at Cocoa Village, then proceeded to Vero Beach (on a mooring) and today re-connected with friends from Canada with whom we had sailed years ago  and will have dinner with them tonight in Ft. Pierce.  Next stop in Palm Beach where we catch a flight to Boston to celebrate Susan's mom's 90th.

                                                          Breezy bird.  Nice legs.