Stuart Fl. and on

Hi Folks,
We arrived back in Stuart after a month's leave to bond with family. After a couple of days with Francie's siblngs in MD, we were fortunate enough to travel to (and from) VT.with Francie's Mom. We had a marvelous time at home and connected with family and friends at a fast pace! Then back to MD where we enjoyed a couple more family days. We caught a ride from Solomons Island Md. with our good friends Jim and Elaine Freeman from Ohio. They came with their fifth wheel trailer and gave us a ride to Stuart. We spent a couple of days fixing things on Release and took her out for a shake down. It was a beautiful day and Jim and Elaine were happy to go on the ocean for a sail.
We said goodbye and headed out Saturday, May 8 and did an overnight, hoping to reach Ponce Inlet by Sunday eve. Sailing was great, that day was a dream come true for a sailor, perfect seas, sky, and breezes. Overnight was as wonderful, every star was out- just for us! Fantastic!! Then Sunday about 6:00 a.m. the wind changed and came right on the nose, bringing some rather impressive seas. We made the decision to continue hoping that we would arrive late afternoon. The fuel gods were not with us as the engine quit and after draining filter and replacing it we were off again for another couple of hours. The same thing happened again and after repeating the drill we were off again. The third time I couldn't find a problem and it turns out that indeed the pump is bad. We called TowboatUs and were fortunate to get into Ponce, at a dock, at 7:30 that evening. Thank goodness for insurance!!!
Wouldn't you know, next morning engine ran fine! We left for Daytona hoping to find a new pump(we do have an electric pump on board in case....). After a few calls a new pump is coming to St Augustine on Thur. We arrived in St. Augustine (as the engine quit again!) Tuesday and will do some sightseeing till the new pump gets here. Not a bad place to spend a couple extra days, eh?
Hope all is well with everyone, sending love,
Fair Winds, Peace and Terrwiliger, Ken, Francie & Skipper