As we approach the Florida coastline, we begin to appreciate the problem the US authorities have with refugees and drug runners trying to make it across the Straits of Florida from Cuba. We see one or two dilapidated boats drifting in the water, and as we pass Miami, a US Coastguard cutter is keeping a watchful eye on us.
As we come into Fort Lauderdale, we catch some radio traffic for Spirit of Cardiff, but as Alan tries to respond, we hear someone else answering in our name. It seems there are two Spirit of Cardiffs (or is that Spirits of Cardiff?) here on the same day. Most confusing.
Fort Lauderdale is a modern equivalent of Venice. Every house has a waterfront - indeed, there seem to be more boats here than cars. There's very much a laid back kind of holiday atmosphere to the place, with boats to-ing and fro-ing along the waterways. And there's a large helping of show-off here, with what Alan describes as cafe racers - massive racing powerboats whose engines gurgle throatily as they cruise from one waterfront cafe to another.
Nearby is Port Everglades, with P & O line's Grand Princess, one of the largest cruise liners in the world, tied up. A lot of cruises start from here, as evidenced by the several big brightly lit cruise ships which we see through the night on our way along the Great Bahama Bank.
The only problem here is the weather. Instead of Florida's fabled sunshine, there are huge black clouds, and frequent deluges of rain. It just can't stop following us about.
We're very grateful to Andy and Tess Dent (and Daniel) for giving up their Sunday afternoon to ferry us around from one shop to another. It was all down to Andy's mum Norma, who saw Spirit in Cardiff Bay the day before we set off. She mentioned it to her son Andy, who lives near Fort Lauderdale, and the rest is history. So thanks Norma for the contact.
After a hectic afternoon, we have a short moment to relax, meeting members of the Lauderdale Yacht Club, the club responsible for bringing the Whitbread round the world yacht race to the USA. So thanks, too for their hospitality. This one came about as a result of our new friends in Jamaica knowing John and Shirley Douglas, who live in Fort Lauderdale, but also have a home in Port Antonio. As they say, it's not what you know that counts, but who you know.
Clive Tully
FACTBOX
Port Antonio - Fort Lauderdale
Time of leg: 1 day 20 hours 47 minutes
Length of leg: 738 nautical miles
Total distance covered: 21,160 nautical miles
Distance to go: 4,280 nautical miles
Average speed over leg: 16.49 knots
Total elapsed time from Gibraltar: 91 days 6 hours 6 minutes
Total elapsed time at sea: 68 days 18 hours 52 minutes
Fuel consumed: 1,439 litres
Average fuel consumption: 1.95 litres / nautical mile
Number of refuelling stops to go: 4
Next stop: Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
ETA: Tuesday
Copyright Clive Tully ©2002
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