Jan 8:

The wind had dropped when I peaked out the window at 5:30 a.m. The forecast had been for Northerly winds again and having missed a day because of high winds, I was ready to get up and get on the water. Breakfast was a piece of banana bread and a cup of coffee on the run. Just as we were pulling away from the Chase’s house, we noticed Gordon coming across the lawn to catch us. He climbed in and came with us to the launch so he could drive our car down to pick us up. We were on the water at 8:10 where we had landed on the beach beside the Wabasso Causeway. The winds that had been forecasted to be from the North turned out to be from the East so we hugged the shore as much as possible. But the winds turned out to be light enough to have little effect and I started cutting across and straightening our course.

I stopped at a very small sheltered spot under a Mangrove tree at the end of a point where a beautiful golf course was situated to lie down for a few minutes rest. I also ate lunch and made a phone call. While we were there some golfers came to the tee just above the bank and noticed the boat and sleeping oarsman. One man came over to ask us some questions. Then another came and asked if we were from NH. He had seen our pictures in the Fort Pierce paper and was excited to see the celebrities! They quickly resumed their round of golf. I resumed rowing.

Distance went by quickly and though we had planned to stop at Round Island Park about 5 miles south of Vero Beach, We were there by 1:00 and I was not ready to stop. Rowing at 17 strokes per minute means you never need to stop. The mesmerizing swing and the song of the sliding seat just kept going until we had reached Fort Pierce 21 ½ miles south of Wabasso. So it was a record day for mileage!

Our friends, Sue and Gordon Chase arrived shortly to pick me up and take me to the car. It seemed a long ride up the coast to find it and then another going back to pick up Heather and the boat. When we arrived at their home we quickly got cleaned up and took our hosts who had done so much for us to the Lobster Shanty for dinner. By the time I was home I was so tired that writing the log was not possible. I fell into bed.