The next morning, 2.20.25, we woke up early and sailed north to a larger cut-through.  As soon as it was light enough for us to see clearly, we passed through the cut and were on our way to Florida.  We were crossing the Gulf Stream and had read that because of the current, boats appeared farther away than they actually were.  We kept a sharp lookout for freighters who were sailing perpendicular to us.  Luckily visibility was good and we could see the freighters at the horizon.  Steve had to speed us up with the motors at some points to avoid the freighters.  However, we made the crossing safely.

This was a couple of weeks after the election.  I don’t know if the coast guard presence we saw was due to this or if they were normally so active.  However, we saw one big cutter head straight towards us.  We are sure it checked us out before moving away.  Then, a smaller cutter headed our way, again looking our boat over and idling close by.  They moved away and then returned, seemingly following us.  After we took our sails down, Steve decided to call the cutter to see if there was anything wrong.  They indicated that they were there on other business and didn’t have any concerns regarding Spring Tradition.  So, we continued on towards the opening of the ICW.  Dolphins escorted us to the mouth.  Just as we were about to enter the ICW, a smaller coast guard boat sped towards us.  It passed right by and we entered the ICW.