We
departed Nassau on the 17th of May for Florida. Ransom had checked and double-checked the
weather for our journey, so we were not discouraged when we woke to grey skies
and a light drizzle.
Shortly
after we left the marina, the skies opened up and unleashed a downpour upon
us. However, the rain did not last long
and we were soon on our way home.
Hans
Otto Schteering did all the work for us and the overnight passage to Ft.
Lauderdale was a breeze.
We
each took shifts overnight, one of us keeping an eye on the charts and radar
while the other got some rest.
It
was kind of a bummer the skies were so cloudy, they blacked out all the celestial
lights, casting gloom onto the seas.
 | |
| Sunrise |
 |
| Dolphins welcoming us home |
We
sighted Ft. Lauderdale around 11:30am on the 18th. On our approach a Coast Guard vessel came
along side and hailed us on the radio requesting to come aboard for a safety
inspection.
The
“mother ship” launched a tender with four officers aboard; two of them boarded Vitte
while the other two remained on the tender.
After
inspecting our safety gear and informing that we passed, the officers got a
call from the ship’s captain and they walked to the bow for a conference.
The
two coasties returned to us in the cockpit and bluntly asked us if “we knew
anything about smuggling on this boat.”
WHAT?!
“No,
we sure don’t officers. We bought the
boat in 2010 and this is the first trip we have taken on her.”
We
asked about the smuggling flag, and apparently we can’t find out what it was
for, when it was flagged, or remove the flag.
D’oh.
After
that fiasco we continued on to the marina in Ft. Lauderdale and called customs
to inform them of our return and schedule our check in the following day.
 |
| Ft. Lauderdale in sight |
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