Friday
1700 Se here we are on our first official beach…we made it…on a boat and it just feels good. A run down “A1A Beach front Avenue” felt like a scene out of some movie as the Audax certainly treated us well today and is tired after running hard all day, making all but the first bridge opening and bringing us safely into Fort Lauderdale well ahead of schedule. She now rests… moored at the Las Olas Marina as we enjoy relaxing in probably the most comfortable marina accommodations to date after a swim in the Atlantic. Real estate and boats, holy cow, this photo album below does little justice to the shear magnitude of wealth of the materialistic variety that we saw today.

Earlier Post today
0905 – Its kind of like gambling… 3 components - 2 that are fixed and 1 variable.
Fixed: 1) Bridge schedule 2) The distance between 2 bridges.
Variable: The speed of your vessel.
Example: Right now we have 4 statute miles to get from bridge A to bridge B. If we don’t maintain a high speed of 6.5 to 7 nautical miles on average and arrive one minute too late all is lost and we are thus doomed to drift aimlessly soaking in the sun for 30 minutes until the next open. With 20 bridges to get through, Miami calling, it is go go go! Runnig at 2500 RPM… you could practically water ski behind us, sweet!!!

Thursday 2317
Jordi and Steve pretty much covered today in their postings so no need to elaborate on details as I sit enjoying Wi Fi here at the “Riviera rin”, (the neon sign is missing the MA and A and pretty much conveys the general feel of the area we lay rest at). Awesome sailing, the grand and most excellent tour by Mike, provisioning, good conversation, bumpy waves and some thoughts….

Emotions come, emotions go and when on a boat at sea away from land, computers, the internet, day to day tasks and societal conventions life seems to be so much simpler and easier to think about and deal with. What does this mean? Where does this leave me in my quest for better mental health, a greater spiritual background and perhaps more than anything a sense of purpose, a reason for doing what I do. Being on the boat there is a romanticized belief of reading great novels whilst under sail, having ground breaking insights as dolphins frolic in your wake, but a lot of the time when you are on watch from 12-4 AM all that is going through my mind is “jeez when will 4 arrive so that I can go to bed and close my eyes!” The repetitive ruminations over past actions and future plans ultimately creating stress and anxiety. More times than naught utilizing the present moment as a means to an end for what…. perceived gratification and praise, societal encouragement, quantifiable objects of material form.

I feel for the past many years I have been searching for something, to feel more whole, more comfortable, more me. Things happen for a reason, this trip, this post, the reading of Tolle’s New Earth… having the time to collect your thoughts, eliminating the irrational, negative thought patterns/habits on what I should have done, what I could have done, what I will do when I get X. This trip, the connections and conversations with Jordi and Steve, the time at sea has awakened a shift within, it has stirred my core. Nothing comes easy, but I continue to pursue a path that will align my inner core with true, genuine, good intentioned, enthusiasm and positive energy towards outer world goals, endeavours and missions. I hope I can continue to learn to be more in the moment, to share and radiate energy, kindness and happiness. Thanks for reading and lots of love and good vibes to all.