Our sailing class was originally scheduled to begin August 23, last Saturday.  It was postponed a week due to problems with the chargers on Seas the Day and we were going to begin this weekend.  However, with two hurricanes churning in the Caribbean, Gustav and Hannah, our instructor, Captain Bill, decided we should wait until the weather clears, probably into next weekend.  That was fine with us, although we are very anxious to get started.  We did meet with him for a short time on Seas the Day and he explained the schedule we’ll have.  The first day we’ll sail to Miami and spend the next few days in Biscayne Bay, a 35 mile lagoon which starts at Miami Beach and runs to the northernmost Florida Keys.  We’ll start off each morning with coffee and some discussions about various aspects of sailing, such as navigation, weather, etc.  Then, we’ll have practice exercises sailing around the Bay.  After a few days, we will sail farther south.  There are four tests we’ll need to take, and will do one each day. 

Daisy spent Thursday, Friday and today at Camp Canine so we had to go pick her up this afternoon.  That was a bit of a waste, as she’ll now have to go back again for a week. 

We have had rain and very strong winds the last few days.  The waves are high on the beach.  We went to pick up a pizza at a recommended pizza parlor on the beach and it was right next to the dog beach which is open on weekend evenings.  There were quite a few dogs there, all running free.  As it isn’t fenced and is right on A1A, a very busy street, we weren’t comfortable letting her off her leash.  She was willing to jump in the waves but doesn’t love it.  We’ll take her back Sunday night.

Every night we take her out for her evening walk down to the beach area two blocks from the marina.  Turning to the left is a few blocks of bars with loud bands, but turning to the right it’s quieter.  Fort Lauderdale Beach has beautiful sidewalks next to the beach, so while we aren’t able to go in the sand with Daisy, it’s a pleasant walk.  Tonight, however, the wind was blowing the sand into the street and it was a bit painful.