Day 10 -- HOME

ALAS! I awoke to a familiar setting, as we passed the lighthouse of Egmont Key, which we saw on our way out into the Gulf. I had great sleep and a weird dream that shook me awake. I immediately leaped out of the cabin and demanded control of the helm. I was piloting Ella as the sun broke the horizon. A pod of porpoises escorted us into Tampa Bay and in the distance I could see the grand arches of the Sunshine Sky Way bridge just over the horizon. The wind was whipping hard and I was alone at the helm, pulling 5 knots and getting Ella on her side. Though it seemed close, it took nearly 2 hours to pass beneath the Sky Way. We were passed several times by large freighters that dwarfed tiny Ella and their speed was envious. Once under the bridge, it took nearly 2 hours to get home. The heat was finally at its peak and we could no longer bear it. Our fatigue and frustration sank in fully as we could almost see the dock.

We were a few hundred yards from home and it felt as though it would take us two days to get there. Our speed was little more than a trot, and the heat pounded the life out of us. But alas, we finally made it into the safe harbor and secured Ella to her slip. We cleaned and unloaded her, and attempted to contemplate what our journey truly meant to us. I'm not sure we'll ever really know what it meant, and what it has taught us, but I do know it was an important thing I experienced. I'll conclude with an epilogue, though, so I can do my best to contemplate and explain it all.