I had been at the helm 14 hours already.  Too long.  I was mentally worn out.  We had gone out to sea.  It was our final run up to NYC. We were exhausted. It was 2am. A Saturday morning.  We were emerging from the NJ Intracoastal Waterway--in inland route through connected rivers, bays and inlets--into a place called the Manasquan Inlet, about 25 miles south of New York Harbor.  The plan was now to head back out into the Atlantic Ocean. I would get the sails set and then turn the helm over to the Orton ladies until 6am, at which point I would wake up and sail us into NYC.

We turned a corner a few weeks back.  We crossed the Gulf Stream: the warm northward running current between Florida and the Bahamas.  We were back in the U.S.  We’d been looking forward to this milestone for months, but when it came—as with any ending/beginning—it was bitter sweet.  We miss sailing in the Caribbean and Bahamas, where life is a little tougher but simpler.  That said, the East Coast has brought with it’s own set of welcome surprises.  Here is my list contrasting the two regions:

Okay, here's the truth:  a lot has happened.  But ironically wifi has been hard to come by on U.S. waters (at least for those of us who anchor out instead of hang out in marinas).  And we don't have one of those fancy SB radios that let's you send emails from the middle of the ocean, so we've been stymied.  We've had lots to share, but not many chances to share here on our media rich, data-hog of a website.  So we'll do our best to catch up and write about a few moments from along the way.  But for up to the moment pictures and tidbits, take a look at Fezywig on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (I know, I tweet, it's embarrassing) and Tumblr (tumbling just sounds so much cooler than tweeting?)  Anyway, there you have it.  Stop gap.

Editor's Note:  Some journal excerpts from our last few days of sailing in the Bahamas before crossing the Gulf Stream to Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Crossing from Staniel Cay, Exumas to Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas:  hit a squall a few miles outside of Nassau.  Kept the sails up and got some amazing speed out of the wind.  Maybe want to consider taking down the sails in the future.  Or at least reefing : )

Nassau to Chub Cay, Berry Islands, Bahamas:  we were five minutes out from the channel/anchorage, when we got sucked into a squall.  We’d already dropped the sails just in case, but it got nasty.