Two more days on the ICW

Our second and third day on the ICW started with a deep chill in the air.  The cabin temperature was showing 0 degrees C yesterday.  Jens started up the GenSet and turned on the heating.  We didn’t really expect to have the heating on in Florida, but these cold days are not unusual in Central Florida in January.  We started out early planning to get as far South as quickly as possible.  Despite wearing plenty of layers (ski underwear, shirt, sweater, vest, jacket, wool hat, rain pants and jacket, gloves and boots) Jens was still chilly standing at the helm.  I was in the galley preparing lots of hot coffee and a hot bowl of oats to help him warm up. 

Thank to a clear skies these past few days and a tapering wind, we have been slowly reducing the amount of clothing we are wearing as the day goes on and are actually able to get a bit of sun.
We have seen many dolphins but I have yet to get a good photo … I’m just not quick enough!  And lots of pelicans of various colours.  I find the pelicans quite fascinating with their awkward but controlled flight and diving into the water to catch fish.  They almost seem to be just one small step up from prehistoric times.

Oh, and we had another casualty on board thanks to a motor boat that zoomed by without consideration for his wake.  This time it was the Bodum coffee pot.  Poo!  We’ll have to settle for instant until we can get to shore and replace it.  That was my fault.  I was getting a little too used to having calm waters and no other boat traffic and I left the pot on the counter.  Normally, I tuck it into the sink with the dish soap, handsoap and kettle.

We covered 53 nautical miles yesterday and 60 today.  We've got another half day tomorrow and will head out to Bahamas on Saturday.  The crossing should take us about 12 hours or so.  Can't wait!