Hobe Sound - at anchor

Hoolie's beach  by the anchorage

The forecast was for 20 to 30- kt winds out of the northwest but grib only predicted 20 kts tops. We've learned to trust more to grib than to the NOAA or Coast Guard forecasts. The Coast Guard forecasts seem to be tailored to make their job easier by keeps as many people off the water as possible (don't say we didn't warn you...) We followed grib and left Vero around 8:30 with an 18 kt wind behind us which was fine. You don't want to head into a 20 kt wind but having it behind you is no problem.

Nice neighborhood 

We had our normal 7.3 kts of speed, the prop was the problem after all and with it now clean, we made good time. It seems that almost all of the power boats are going the same speed as us. We were followed by a 62 ft powerboat most of the way. It's expensive to motor much faster than 7 kts!

A magical night

Grib said the winds would abate by late afternoon so we planned on anchoring in our traditional spot in Hobe Sound after briefly considering what appeared to be a more protected anchorage. It's now almost 8:00 and the wind has died to less than 5 kts but the temperature is falling fast, under 60 already. It's headed for a low of 40 tonight.

A hand-held shot of the moon off the back of the boat

On the way back to the boat after taking Hoolie into shore I saw the moonrise, what a sight! With the perfectly dark night and still waters, the sight was incredible! We're headed for Joe Mastri's place on Fridy at Boynton Beach for two days. We'll just hang out and have a good time with Joe.