Shroud Cay, Bahamas
24.32.031N
76.47.873W
Water, water everywhere but not enough to float a boat! This morning we moved on to the next island, Shroud Cay, dodging sand bars more than coral heads arriving about 11:00 am. Shroud Cay is located just inside the borders of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. We were immediately greeted by the resident barracuda. We guesstimate that he's about 3 feet long and hasn't missed too many meals. He's definitely taken a liking to our port side since he's been there all day long! Dale says that he's probably waiting for a handout. Guess again Bubba!
We left Bubba guarding Gypsy Palace and took the dink around to a creek that traverses the island through the middle to do a little exploring. We took our charts but we didn't take into account the effect the tide would have on us. We started out alright. We saw lots of fish in the creek, rays, a small shark, baby barracuda, a few blue herons and an osprey. Yet, every once in a while, we had to get out of the dink and drag it though the shallows, then jump back in and take off again.
We finally made it to the other side to a beautiful beach, gathered a few shells to contribute to the "park", then climbed a steep hill to the "Driftwood Park". After reading the write up in the guide, I guess I was anticipating a Robinson Caruso type locale but instead found a "yacht club" ala Allens-Pensacola, on a smaller scale at the top of the hill. It was very picturesque looking out from there to the pristine beach below, the turquoise water beyond, the islands in the distance and some black clouds on the horizon. We added our shells to the collection of flotsam and jetsam, then started our trek back. You would have thought that by that time (midway between high tide and low tide) the water would have started rising again but no, we (or should I say Bogie) ended up dragging that dang boat again.
Dale's a Bogart fan. As a result, he started telling me that he was reminded of the African Queen movie. Apparently, Bogie's character had to get out of the boat at some point, sling the tow rope over his shoulder and drag the boat through the jungle (he didn't tell me what Katherine Hepburn was doing during all of this but I'll bet she wasn't being quite). So there we were, stomping though a creek in sand that sucked the shoes off our feet when we stepped wrong. Dale with the tow rope slung over his shoulder, dragging the dink through the shallows and me slogging along behind him looking for even shallower water to wade through, not laughing when he got stuck feet first, and thinking that I bet James (our son) has to do this sort of thing in BUDS (Note to James: a two foot tide can have a drastic effect on the outcome of the mission). I got up close and personal with porcupine fish, sand crabs, mangrove roots, and things I probably don't want to know about. When there was enough water to float a ways, Dale got on the front of the dink to counterbalance me and the African Queen's engine hoisted almost out of the water which made it sound even more of the putt putt the Queen was famous for.
As you can see, we made it back. The dark clouds passed north of us. All fingers, toes and shoes are present and accounted for. Bubba did a good job making sure the boat stayed where we left it and I'm positive we'll both sleep very well tonight.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Norman's Cay, Bahamas
24.36.114N
76.49.290W
What a perfect ending to the day. There is no wind. The sea is smooth for as far as you can see,. The sun has set and the high clouds are reflecting the red of the sunset into the water so that it appears on fire. Natalie Cole is playing softly on the stereo. A light dinner was served in the cockpit and we're the only boat in the anchorage.
We started our day rather late as I had stayed up until 4 am consumed with a book; Angels and Demons. Michelle, I believe you would enjoy it as it was a thriller based upon a search for clues in artwork, specifically the statues and fountains of Gianlorenzo Bernini, throughout Rome. Once I grabbed a couple of hours of sleep, we spent the rest of the day exploring the various coves and inlets around Norman's and found the caves. There really wasn't much to the caves. The largest of the three appeared to have collapsed. We didn't bother trying to explore them any further since they were surrounded by very sharp coral outcroppings and our dink is inflatable and doesn't do well with pokey parts. We snorkeled the areas around our boat for a while and then consulted our charts regarding entering the Exuma Land and Sea Park tomorrow.
24.36.114N
76.49.290W
What a perfect ending to the day. There is no wind. The sea is smooth for as far as you can see,. The sun has set and the high clouds are reflecting the red of the sunset into the water so that it appears on fire. Natalie Cole is playing softly on the stereo. A light dinner was served in the cockpit and we're the only boat in the anchorage.
We started our day rather late as I had stayed up until 4 am consumed with a book; Angels and Demons. Michelle, I believe you would enjoy it as it was a thriller based upon a search for clues in artwork, specifically the statues and fountains of Gianlorenzo Bernini, throughout Rome. Once I grabbed a couple of hours of sleep, we spent the rest of the day exploring the various coves and inlets around Norman's and found the caves. There really wasn't much to the caves. The largest of the three appeared to have collapsed. We didn't bother trying to explore them any further since they were surrounded by very sharp coral outcroppings and our dink is inflatable and doesn't do well with pokey parts. We snorkeled the areas around our boat for a while and then consulted our charts regarding entering the Exuma Land and Sea Park tomorrow.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Norman's Cay, Bahamas
24.36.114N
76.49.290W
With winds out of the east at 15-20 kts., we sailed from Highbourne to Norman's in about 2.5 hours. You bet cha man. We sailed! We put those white flappy things up and hauled booty all the way. At one point we were surging through pale to medium emerald green waters at 7.5 kts. No problem discerning where the sky and sea met yesterday. I really haven't figured out why one day the waters are a decisive green and others its more of a turquoise when both days are clear and blue and the bottom is sandy. We had to dodge coral heads working our way into the anchorage but at high noon on a clear day, it was no problem.
Once anchored, we took the dingy around to the interior of the island and located what was left of the plane that was so visibly pictured in the guide. These days the exposed portion is just about gone, however the portion underwater seems remarkably intact, at least as far as recognizing where the engines and wings were. The rest of dingy ride we spent in very shallow waters. A couple of times we had to break out the oars and row our way out of some pretty skinny water. We had tried to find where the caves that are located here were but finally gave up and decided we needed to bring our chart with us or at least consult it a little better before we just took off next time. McDuff's is no longer here; we saw a sign that reflected that the restaurant is under new management and was supposed to open in late November. I don't know how much more late November they expect but . . . we didn't see anything open. We think we identified what used to be the home of the notorious drug smuggler, Carlos Lehder; it looked pretty abandoned but the runway is still being used on a daily basis so we decided just to gaze from a distance.
Today we took advantage of the blue sky, warm temperatures and windy conditions to do laundry. I remember as a little girl getting my fingers run through a wringer on a neighbor's washer, so today as we did laundry by hand, I was very cautious about poking the clothes through the hand wringer we brought for this trip. Now I can empathize with what my foremothers must have gone through. Wash, wring, wring, rinse, wring, wring, hang to dry; I know Mom, there's supposed to be a second rinse, but I had run out of buckets. Anyway, we had lines strung all of the boat and by the time we were done, we had clothes dancing all over the place and sheets that would slap you in the face if you got too close. By noon, everything was dry, folded and returned to their lockers, including the clotheslines and buckets. I have to admit, I feel it in my back and shoulders tonight. Although this wasn't a difficult task, it wasn't easy either.
We broke out the hammock this afternoon and the rest of the day, we spent reading and relaxing. Tomorrow, if the winds die down, we'd like to go explore the caves (with our charts in hand, of course).
24.36.114N
76.49.290W
With winds out of the east at 15-20 kts., we sailed from Highbourne to Norman's in about 2.5 hours. You bet cha man. We sailed! We put those white flappy things up and hauled booty all the way. At one point we were surging through pale to medium emerald green waters at 7.5 kts. No problem discerning where the sky and sea met yesterday. I really haven't figured out why one day the waters are a decisive green and others its more of a turquoise when both days are clear and blue and the bottom is sandy. We had to dodge coral heads working our way into the anchorage but at high noon on a clear day, it was no problem.
Once anchored, we took the dingy around to the interior of the island and located what was left of the plane that was so visibly pictured in the guide. These days the exposed portion is just about gone, however the portion underwater seems remarkably intact, at least as far as recognizing where the engines and wings were. The rest of dingy ride we spent in very shallow waters. A couple of times we had to break out the oars and row our way out of some pretty skinny water. We had tried to find where the caves that are located here were but finally gave up and decided we needed to bring our chart with us or at least consult it a little better before we just took off next time. McDuff's is no longer here; we saw a sign that reflected that the restaurant is under new management and was supposed to open in late November. I don't know how much more late November they expect but . . . we didn't see anything open. We think we identified what used to be the home of the notorious drug smuggler, Carlos Lehder; it looked pretty abandoned but the runway is still being used on a daily basis so we decided just to gaze from a distance.
Today we took advantage of the blue sky, warm temperatures and windy conditions to do laundry. I remember as a little girl getting my fingers run through a wringer on a neighbor's washer, so today as we did laundry by hand, I was very cautious about poking the clothes through the hand wringer we brought for this trip. Now I can empathize with what my foremothers must have gone through. Wash, wring, wring, rinse, wring, wring, hang to dry; I know Mom, there's supposed to be a second rinse, but I had run out of buckets. Anyway, we had lines strung all of the boat and by the time we were done, we had clothes dancing all over the place and sheets that would slap you in the face if you got too close. By noon, everything was dry, folded and returned to their lockers, including the clotheslines and buckets. I have to admit, I feel it in my back and shoulders tonight. Although this wasn't a difficult task, it wasn't easy either.
We broke out the hammock this afternoon and the rest of the day, we spent reading and relaxing. Tomorrow, if the winds die down, we'd like to go explore the caves (with our charts in hand, of course).
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Highbourne Cay, Bahamas
24.42.808N
76.49.808W
Today we went to see the iguanas of Allen's Cay. It's just a little north of here and a fairly easy dingy ride from where we are anchored. There were about 20 of them on the beach to greet us and several others scattered along our path to the other side of the island. We had taken some bean sprouts for them to eat but they were more interested in the grapes the other group of people brought with them. They were smaller than I had envisioned them to be but large enough to gain my respect. The ones in Puerto Rico and Cozumel were huge. These were about 6-9" tall and about 1-2' long. After that, we just dingied around the rest of the islands exploring the little inlets and coves before returning to our boat. The wind is making it a little too cool to go snorkeling and we didn't feel like digging out our wet suits quite yet.
On our dingy ride, we discovered that once again we were the tiniest boat in the neighborhood. The only other sailboat, a 38' Lagoon catamaran, had left in the morning leaving us with the mega yacht that had anchored next to us during the night. This guy brought all of his toys with him; 4 jet skis and 2 go fast boats over 20' for dingies and Dale saw a treadmill on the upper deck. I don't even want to hazard a guess as to how big he might be; I can see that he's four decks tall. At night he looks like a cruise ship. The marina located on Highbourne Cay was also loaded with megayachts. This evening two more pulled in and anchored on either side of us. Dale says he's starting to get an inferiority complex.
Today was also a first for starting up our watermaker. Dale says that it's working as advertised. I'm glad because it looked like he was tearing up the entire salon to expose the various pieces and parts to make sure everything was running properly. Then he was up and down the companionway like a monkey to peer over the side. Water in? Yep. Brine out? Yep. Every once in a while, he'd come up, toss out a bucket of water and scramble back down again. Then after about an hour, he produced a glass of water; whadda think? Yep, tastes like water; boy can you cook! Combine that with the bread I made today, and clearly we won't starve to death.
Tomorrow we thought we might mosey on down to Norman's Cay. I guess during the 70's it was pretty notorious for being the home of some drug lord. Now it's abandoned. I hope it's abandoned; we plan on snorkeling around the plane that crashed into the lagoon.
24.42.808N
76.49.808W
Today we went to see the iguanas of Allen's Cay. It's just a little north of here and a fairly easy dingy ride from where we are anchored. There were about 20 of them on the beach to greet us and several others scattered along our path to the other side of the island. We had taken some bean sprouts for them to eat but they were more interested in the grapes the other group of people brought with them. They were smaller than I had envisioned them to be but large enough to gain my respect. The ones in Puerto Rico and Cozumel were huge. These were about 6-9" tall and about 1-2' long. After that, we just dingied around the rest of the islands exploring the little inlets and coves before returning to our boat. The wind is making it a little too cool to go snorkeling and we didn't feel like digging out our wet suits quite yet.
On our dingy ride, we discovered that once again we were the tiniest boat in the neighborhood. The only other sailboat, a 38' Lagoon catamaran, had left in the morning leaving us with the mega yacht that had anchored next to us during the night. This guy brought all of his toys with him; 4 jet skis and 2 go fast boats over 20' for dingies and Dale saw a treadmill on the upper deck. I don't even want to hazard a guess as to how big he might be; I can see that he's four decks tall. At night he looks like a cruise ship. The marina located on Highbourne Cay was also loaded with megayachts. This evening two more pulled in and anchored on either side of us. Dale says he's starting to get an inferiority complex.
Today was also a first for starting up our watermaker. Dale says that it's working as advertised. I'm glad because it looked like he was tearing up the entire salon to expose the various pieces and parts to make sure everything was running properly. Then he was up and down the companionway like a monkey to peer over the side. Water in? Yep. Brine out? Yep. Every once in a while, he'd come up, toss out a bucket of water and scramble back down again. Then after about an hour, he produced a glass of water; whadda think? Yep, tastes like water; boy can you cook! Combine that with the bread I made today, and clearly we won't starve to death.
Tomorrow we thought we might mosey on down to Norman's Cay. I guess during the 70's it was pretty notorious for being the home of some drug lord. Now it's abandoned. I hope it's abandoned; we plan on snorkeling around the plane that crashed into the lagoon.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Highbourne Cay, Bahamas
24.42.808N
76.49.808W
This is what it's all about. After consulting the charts, we decided that Rose Island (as suggested in our guide) was really an unnecessary step. We exited Nassau from the eastern channel and motored half of our distance across the Yellow Bank without any wind. The Bank was like a pond; 10-20' deep most of the way; not a single ripple for as far as you could see, except of our own wake behind us. When you looked towards the sun you could see the horizon but when you looked away from it, the crystal clear pale green that was beneath us progressed into a white that eventually became the sky. In other words, you couldn't see where the sea ended and the sky began.
Clearly visible below us was a sandy bottom with the occasional tuft of sea grass, fern or small coral head with star fish scattered around like stars in the sky, and small fish gathered around for dinner on the coral. When we approached we could see the fish scatter and it made me wonder about the night we crossed the Bahama Bank. The Bahama Bank was 8-10' deep most of the way; we draw 5.5 feet. Can you imagine the poor fish that cuddled up to a tuft of sea grass for the night, only to be awakened by a winged keel plowing its way at 7.5 kts. through his bedroom at 3 o'clock in the morning?
Dale and I took turns standing on the bow watching what at first appeared to be inky patches in front of us transform themselves into coral heads and then quickly decide if they were shallow enough to go over, or if we needed to go around them, whereupon we'd would point frantically to one side or the other. Even at 6 kts., you approach them rather rapidly.
During the second half of the day the wind picked up, we let out our jib and picked up speed. With the ripples on the water, you couldn't see the bottom as clearly, so with our entertainment obscured and the coral heads behind us, we went back to the cockpit and savored the perfect weather.
We reached our destination of Highbourne Cay just before 4 in the afternoon and anchored below the Batelco tower on the west side as the winds are predicted to clock around and come from the east tomorrow. Right now you can see hundreds of stars and the milky way. The moon hasn't come up yet, so I was surprised to see what appeared to be a moon beam on the water. I called Dale up to see for himself. You see, Mars is so bright tonight, it's casting its reflection in the water. Absolutely amazing. This is what it's all about.
24.42.808N
76.49.808W
This is what it's all about. After consulting the charts, we decided that Rose Island (as suggested in our guide) was really an unnecessary step. We exited Nassau from the eastern channel and motored half of our distance across the Yellow Bank without any wind. The Bank was like a pond; 10-20' deep most of the way; not a single ripple for as far as you could see, except of our own wake behind us. When you looked towards the sun you could see the horizon but when you looked away from it, the crystal clear pale green that was beneath us progressed into a white that eventually became the sky. In other words, you couldn't see where the sea ended and the sky began.
Clearly visible below us was a sandy bottom with the occasional tuft of sea grass, fern or small coral head with star fish scattered around like stars in the sky, and small fish gathered around for dinner on the coral. When we approached we could see the fish scatter and it made me wonder about the night we crossed the Bahama Bank. The Bahama Bank was 8-10' deep most of the way; we draw 5.5 feet. Can you imagine the poor fish that cuddled up to a tuft of sea grass for the night, only to be awakened by a winged keel plowing its way at 7.5 kts. through his bedroom at 3 o'clock in the morning?
Dale and I took turns standing on the bow watching what at first appeared to be inky patches in front of us transform themselves into coral heads and then quickly decide if they were shallow enough to go over, or if we needed to go around them, whereupon we'd would point frantically to one side or the other. Even at 6 kts., you approach them rather rapidly.
During the second half of the day the wind picked up, we let out our jib and picked up speed. With the ripples on the water, you couldn't see the bottom as clearly, so with our entertainment obscured and the coral heads behind us, we went back to the cockpit and savored the perfect weather.
We reached our destination of Highbourne Cay just before 4 in the afternoon and anchored below the Batelco tower on the west side as the winds are predicted to clock around and come from the east tomorrow. Right now you can see hundreds of stars and the milky way. The moon hasn't come up yet, so I was surprised to see what appeared to be a moon beam on the water. I called Dale up to see for himself. You see, Mars is so bright tonight, it's casting its reflection in the water. Absolutely amazing. This is what it's all about.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Nassau, Bahamas
25.04.945N
77.19.364W
Bob & Caron Bass told us, if you want to pamper yourself for a day, go to Atlantis on Paradise Island in Nassau. We did; they were right; but boy it was expensive. You know all of those mega yachts you see at the Miami Boat Show every year? Well, this is where they are; then there's us. We are the tiniest boat at the marina. You can barely see our mast for the triple and quadruple decks of the surrounding boats. Dale kept shooing away the dock boys who wanted to wash our boat for the going rate per foot but Dale pointed to the 'big boys' and said that we didn't have that much to wash. They took mercy on us later when Dale started washing the boat himself and struck a deal for half the cost.
What drew us here was that we wanted to see the aquarium with the glass tunnel beneath the shark exhibit. Impressive. In fact, I was totally impressed with all the architecture and attention to detail in creating a mythological site. My favorite place was the exhibit called "The Dig". (You can find it on the internet (Atlantis) with some pretty neat visuals.)
In the Dig, you walk down stairs to caverns that have sides to various aquariums along with pretend artifacts. It was these pretend artifacts that were so very creative. Dive suits, lanterns made from huge trumpet sea shells, designs of corals making the railings, shields, urns and ruins of temples were in the aquariums, waterfalls and of course the gardens surrounding all of it. It was all fascinating. Even the stucco walls had imprints of sea shells imbedded into it.
The 'marina village' was comprised of all of the boutiques you would find at the finest resorts in Las Vegas and the service everywhere was the best we've ever had. Since it was Thanksgiving, there were no reservations remaining for dinner. So, we dined at one of the nicer restaurants at the bar. Same food, just higher chairs and we got to talk with the wait staff. Probably a lot more entertaining than sitting in the dining room surrounded by families reminding us that we weren't with our own. We reminisced that we'd had at least one child at home with us always. Being away from our family is the very worst part of this sabbatical. I think that we are a very close family and the holidays are tough.
Tomorrow we will head to Rose Island to pre-stage our entry into the Exumas. The really neat thing about being the tiniest boat in this marina, lots of turning room! No problem, mon.
25.04.945N
77.19.364W
Bob & Caron Bass told us, if you want to pamper yourself for a day, go to Atlantis on Paradise Island in Nassau. We did; they were right; but boy it was expensive. You know all of those mega yachts you see at the Miami Boat Show every year? Well, this is where they are; then there's us. We are the tiniest boat at the marina. You can barely see our mast for the triple and quadruple decks of the surrounding boats. Dale kept shooing away the dock boys who wanted to wash our boat for the going rate per foot but Dale pointed to the 'big boys' and said that we didn't have that much to wash. They took mercy on us later when Dale started washing the boat himself and struck a deal for half the cost.
What drew us here was that we wanted to see the aquarium with the glass tunnel beneath the shark exhibit. Impressive. In fact, I was totally impressed with all the architecture and attention to detail in creating a mythological site. My favorite place was the exhibit called "The Dig". (You can find it on the internet (Atlantis) with some pretty neat visuals.)
In the Dig, you walk down stairs to caverns that have sides to various aquariums along with pretend artifacts. It was these pretend artifacts that were so very creative. Dive suits, lanterns made from huge trumpet sea shells, designs of corals making the railings, shields, urns and ruins of temples were in the aquariums, waterfalls and of course the gardens surrounding all of it. It was all fascinating. Even the stucco walls had imprints of sea shells imbedded into it.
The 'marina village' was comprised of all of the boutiques you would find at the finest resorts in Las Vegas and the service everywhere was the best we've ever had. Since it was Thanksgiving, there were no reservations remaining for dinner. So, we dined at one of the nicer restaurants at the bar. Same food, just higher chairs and we got to talk with the wait staff. Probably a lot more entertaining than sitting in the dining room surrounded by families reminding us that we weren't with our own. We reminisced that we'd had at least one child at home with us always. Being away from our family is the very worst part of this sabbatical. I think that we are a very close family and the holidays are tough.
Tomorrow we will head to Rose Island to pre-stage our entry into the Exumas. The really neat thing about being the tiniest boat in this marina, lots of turning room! No problem, mon.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Bird Cay, Bahamas
25.23.874N
77.48.429W
As you can see, we made the big move last night/this morning. The anchor was hoisted at midnight and we were already negotiating our way to our path to the next island when the wind indicator pegged 30 kts. We made a quick decision that since it was pretty much dead astern of us, we'd just throw a couple of reefs in the sails and keep going rather than trying to fight our way back and anchor again. It was the right one, as we turned a 16 hour trip into a 13 hour trip with speeds of 7.5-8 kts. most of the way. It wasn't bad either. As long as it was astern, we really never felt it. We were also the only ones out there until morning when we saw a local coastal freighter slogging his way up wind.
We arrived at Bird Cay at 1:00pm with lots of sun straight up so that we could negotiate the reefs and coral heads. Tonight we're snug on the east side of the island so the west winds can howl all they want and it won't bother us at all. After making sure our anchor was securely set, we dingied over to Whale Cay and explored what appeared to be an abandoned lighthouse. It's stark white color was the perfect contrast to all of the aquamarine and neon turquoise of the surrounding waters. I took a couple of pictures to send to Kenny, our artist brother.
Dale has been more attentive today than usual; he was feeling bad that he had forgotten that it was my birthday. Actually, he knew my birth date, he just didn't know what today's date was. We had been talking about going to Nassau tomorrow and that we'd celebrate my birthday there and, if we liked it, stay for Thanksgiving. That was my first clue that he didn't know what day it was. Being the devious person that I am, I didn't bother to correct him either. He figured it out when he downloaded the weather information for tomorrow. He had lost yesterday, since it was spent idling away waiting for weather. He consoled himself by saying that he was sure I could find some small bauble in Nassau to make up for it. Hummm. Let me see. I'm sure I won't be able to find a small bauble in Nassau . . . but I could try.
25.23.874N
77.48.429W
As you can see, we made the big move last night/this morning. The anchor was hoisted at midnight and we were already negotiating our way to our path to the next island when the wind indicator pegged 30 kts. We made a quick decision that since it was pretty much dead astern of us, we'd just throw a couple of reefs in the sails and keep going rather than trying to fight our way back and anchor again. It was the right one, as we turned a 16 hour trip into a 13 hour trip with speeds of 7.5-8 kts. most of the way. It wasn't bad either. As long as it was astern, we really never felt it. We were also the only ones out there until morning when we saw a local coastal freighter slogging his way up wind.
We arrived at Bird Cay at 1:00pm with lots of sun straight up so that we could negotiate the reefs and coral heads. Tonight we're snug on the east side of the island so the west winds can howl all they want and it won't bother us at all. After making sure our anchor was securely set, we dingied over to Whale Cay and explored what appeared to be an abandoned lighthouse. It's stark white color was the perfect contrast to all of the aquamarine and neon turquoise of the surrounding waters. I took a couple of pictures to send to Kenny, our artist brother.
Dale has been more attentive today than usual; he was feeling bad that he had forgotten that it was my birthday. Actually, he knew my birth date, he just didn't know what today's date was. We had been talking about going to Nassau tomorrow and that we'd celebrate my birthday there and, if we liked it, stay for Thanksgiving. That was my first clue that he didn't know what day it was. Being the devious person that I am, I didn't bother to correct him either. He figured it out when he downloaded the weather information for tomorrow. He had lost yesterday, since it was spent idling away waiting for weather. He consoled himself by saying that he was sure I could find some small bauble in Nassau to make up for it. Hummm. Let me see. I'm sure I won't be able to find a small bauble in Nassau . . . but I could try.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Gun Cay, Bahamas
25.35.959N
79.17.838W
We're still here - putting amps in the can. When we got up at midnight, we turned off the anchor lights, turned on the instruments and went topside to check out the howling wind. Thirty knots. We turned off the instruments, turned on the anchor lights and went back to bed. Apparently everyone else in the anchorage thought the same thing, since we're all still here.
We're being held captive by a Nor-easter that brought cooler temperatures to the area. We noticed that our neighbors are all wearing their coats but with our enclosure, we're pretty comfortable. We spent the day reading, playing marathon Cribbage, Dale studied his weather books and I watched one of the other boats work on their sails then practice various points of sail with them reefed.
At one point during the day, Dale came up the companionway and said "Hi! My name is Dale and I'm a amp nazi. I hadn't said anything but he'd been jumping up every half hour or so scrambling down the stairs to check to see how many amps the wind generator or solar panels were putting out. Then he'd reappear pumping the air with his fist declaring so many with the wind generator and so many with the solar panels. It didn't matter though. After I ran the refrigerator for a half an hour, it'd drain them out again. He seemed satisfied that we can run everything (except the refrigerator) without thought with just the wind/solar power; the refrigerator, however, needs to be regulated carefully.
All and all a pretty quiet day. Tonight the winds are supposed to subside a bit and clock back around to the west, so we'll try to exit our staging area again tomorrow.
25.35.959N
79.17.838W
We're still here - putting amps in the can. When we got up at midnight, we turned off the anchor lights, turned on the instruments and went topside to check out the howling wind. Thirty knots. We turned off the instruments, turned on the anchor lights and went back to bed. Apparently everyone else in the anchorage thought the same thing, since we're all still here.
We're being held captive by a Nor-easter that brought cooler temperatures to the area. We noticed that our neighbors are all wearing their coats but with our enclosure, we're pretty comfortable. We spent the day reading, playing marathon Cribbage, Dale studied his weather books and I watched one of the other boats work on their sails then practice various points of sail with them reefed.
At one point during the day, Dale came up the companionway and said "Hi! My name is Dale and I'm a amp nazi. I hadn't said anything but he'd been jumping up every half hour or so scrambling down the stairs to check to see how many amps the wind generator or solar panels were putting out. Then he'd reappear pumping the air with his fist declaring so many with the wind generator and so many with the solar panels. It didn't matter though. After I ran the refrigerator for a half an hour, it'd drain them out again. He seemed satisfied that we can run everything (except the refrigerator) without thought with just the wind/solar power; the refrigerator, however, needs to be regulated carefully.
All and all a pretty quiet day. Tonight the winds are supposed to subside a bit and clock back around to the west, so we'll try to exit our staging area again tomorrow.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Gun Cay, Bahamas
25.35.959N
79.17.838W
Today we moved to a staging anchorage on the east side of Gun Cay which is about a mile east from the edge of the drop off into the Gulf Stream. Only an hour away but an hour closer and a lot easier to leave when we cross the Great Bahama Bank to Chubb Cay. After making sure our anchor set securely, we went snorkeling the rocks around Gun Cay. We saw a good sized manta ray, a good sized turtle hiding under a ledge and a good sized barracuda hanging around our dingy when we swam back. We also saw lots of smaller fish and tons of really tiny aquarium sized fish. No lobster; no sharks.
We had no sooner washed off and put the dingy back in its davits when the wind picked up to 20-25 kts. followed by the occasional shower. The rain we used to swab down the deck. Then we sat back and watched the waves build on the Gulf Stream side of the Cay crash down on the little spit of land that protected us from nature's rath. It was amazing that a skinny little piece of land could provide so much shelter. The wind is howling but we're barely rocking. There are presently 4 other sailboats and 1 trawler along this same side. I'm sure that we're all watching the ketch on the other side battling to get safely behind the island. There's not much any of us can do but watch, wait and pray that he makes it. Taking a dingy around to that side wouldn't be a wise decision.
Since we've already cleared customs, we'll leave tonight about midnight to cross east across the Bank and go on to anchor behind Bird Cay which will give us a better angle into Nassau. From our latest weather download, we think that we'll still have the strong SW winds most of the night but they should help push us along and cut down on the 16 hour trip we estimate it'll take us without them.
By the way, the ketch and his buddy boat, made it. His fun isn't over though. He's already dropped his anchor once and dragged about what looked to be a mile. Now he's making another run.
25.35.959N
79.17.838W
Today we moved to a staging anchorage on the east side of Gun Cay which is about a mile east from the edge of the drop off into the Gulf Stream. Only an hour away but an hour closer and a lot easier to leave when we cross the Great Bahama Bank to Chubb Cay. After making sure our anchor set securely, we went snorkeling the rocks around Gun Cay. We saw a good sized manta ray, a good sized turtle hiding under a ledge and a good sized barracuda hanging around our dingy when we swam back. We also saw lots of smaller fish and tons of really tiny aquarium sized fish. No lobster; no sharks.
We had no sooner washed off and put the dingy back in its davits when the wind picked up to 20-25 kts. followed by the occasional shower. The rain we used to swab down the deck. Then we sat back and watched the waves build on the Gulf Stream side of the Cay crash down on the little spit of land that protected us from nature's rath. It was amazing that a skinny little piece of land could provide so much shelter. The wind is howling but we're barely rocking. There are presently 4 other sailboats and 1 trawler along this same side. I'm sure that we're all watching the ketch on the other side battling to get safely behind the island. There's not much any of us can do but watch, wait and pray that he makes it. Taking a dingy around to that side wouldn't be a wise decision.
Since we've already cleared customs, we'll leave tonight about midnight to cross east across the Bank and go on to anchor behind Bird Cay which will give us a better angle into Nassau. From our latest weather download, we think that we'll still have the strong SW winds most of the night but they should help push us along and cut down on the 16 hour trip we estimate it'll take us without them.
By the way, the ketch and his buddy boat, made it. His fun isn't over though. He's already dropped his anchor once and dragged about what looked to be a mile. Now he's making another run.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Cat Cay, Bahamas
25.33.197N
79.16.677W
Land Ho!! We made it! and even had time for a donut run. We pulled chocks at 2:30 am and crept through the shallow depths leading the way to the ocean. We had some clouds but still could see the 3/4 moon and a few stars. Our chart showed a couple of unlit markers but we had plenty of light to see them from the light of the moon. We also could see that we were in for another cruise ship tango for a few miles with all of the incoming and outgoing ships from Government Cut. At one point we were dodging 4 cruise liners and 4 container ships at the same time; you go here, I go there, another behind me and dip, two, three, four.
The only rough part of the trip was pretty much right at the beginning. We had an easterly swell and probably 3-5' seas on top of that. After that, it was a piece of cake. Five or 6 hours later, the middle of the Gulf Stream was probably less than 2' with more of an northerly swell. Another thing we did differently was instead of just plugging in a waypoint and charging to it, Dale plotted a course and we used the chart plotter to make sure we were on course, which we were. This is apparently a more direct method of traversing a strong current.
We had already spotted land when we saw what appeared to be a white donut in the water off to our starboard beam. Time for a man overboard drill!. It was one of those inner tube shaped inflatables that had obviously escaped its owner. So we diverted course, scooped it up and put it on the back deck. This thing is the size of a tractor tire but clear, I guess so that you can see into the water below. Dale figured it was some sort of omen but we're not sure of what. The first time we had ever traveled to the Bahamas, we found an inflatable dragon heading out of the Sea of Abaco and rescued it. We dig it out from time to time to ride around on it and have a blast. I think Fred and Geri have it now.
We arrived in Cat Cay at 1:30pm. Unlike the Abacos, when approaching the Bank near Cat, you come up on it, and boop, there's land. Cat Cay is a private island so you're limited as to where you are allowed to go but there is a marina that lets passing boats clear in and spend the night if they want. Tomorrow we'll head out to an anchorage where we'll once again hit the rack early and rise before dawn to travel approximately 80 miles to our next point.
When we were cleaning up the boat from our passage, I asked Dale why he was putting away the jacklines and harnesses. He said that if we fall overboard now, we can walk to shore. Believe it or not, this end of the Bahamas seems to be even more shallow than the Abacos. The average depth appears to be 8-10 feet everywhere but the 'Tongue of the Ocean', where its a tad deeper at up to 12,000'. I doubt he'll mind wearing his life jacket then.
25.33.197N
79.16.677W
Land Ho!! We made it! and even had time for a donut run. We pulled chocks at 2:30 am and crept through the shallow depths leading the way to the ocean. We had some clouds but still could see the 3/4 moon and a few stars. Our chart showed a couple of unlit markers but we had plenty of light to see them from the light of the moon. We also could see that we were in for another cruise ship tango for a few miles with all of the incoming and outgoing ships from Government Cut. At one point we were dodging 4 cruise liners and 4 container ships at the same time; you go here, I go there, another behind me and dip, two, three, four.
The only rough part of the trip was pretty much right at the beginning. We had an easterly swell and probably 3-5' seas on top of that. After that, it was a piece of cake. Five or 6 hours later, the middle of the Gulf Stream was probably less than 2' with more of an northerly swell. Another thing we did differently was instead of just plugging in a waypoint and charging to it, Dale plotted a course and we used the chart plotter to make sure we were on course, which we were. This is apparently a more direct method of traversing a strong current.
We had already spotted land when we saw what appeared to be a white donut in the water off to our starboard beam. Time for a man overboard drill!. It was one of those inner tube shaped inflatables that had obviously escaped its owner. So we diverted course, scooped it up and put it on the back deck. This thing is the size of a tractor tire but clear, I guess so that you can see into the water below. Dale figured it was some sort of omen but we're not sure of what. The first time we had ever traveled to the Bahamas, we found an inflatable dragon heading out of the Sea of Abaco and rescued it. We dig it out from time to time to ride around on it and have a blast. I think Fred and Geri have it now.
We arrived in Cat Cay at 1:30pm. Unlike the Abacos, when approaching the Bank near Cat, you come up on it, and boop, there's land. Cat Cay is a private island so you're limited as to where you are allowed to go but there is a marina that lets passing boats clear in and spend the night if they want. Tomorrow we'll head out to an anchorage where we'll once again hit the rack early and rise before dawn to travel approximately 80 miles to our next point.
When we were cleaning up the boat from our passage, I asked Dale why he was putting away the jacklines and harnesses. He said that if we fall overboard now, we can walk to shore. Believe it or not, this end of the Bahamas seems to be even more shallow than the Abacos. The average depth appears to be 8-10 feet everywhere but the 'Tongue of the Ocean', where its a tad deeper at up to 12,000'. I doubt he'll mind wearing his life jacket then.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Key Biscayne, FL
25.40.613N
80.09.800W
Gamma! Gamma? We don't need no stinkin Gamma! Just as we made the decision that it's now or wait for another week, Gamma makes an appearance. It didn't matter to Dale, there was a window and he wasn't going to miss it.
This morning as we pulled out of our slip and into the very narrow little channel leading in, the wind piped up to 22-24 kts. I suggested going back to the slip and wait until the squall passed by. Dale wondered why. I gave him the wheel. If we're going to run aground, I would prefer if he's at the helm; that way I don't get yelled at regardless of what happens. We managed just fine.
We crossed the Biscayne Bay and went down by Stiltsville (just to say that we've seen it) and then pulled into No Name Harbor. It's a great little anchorage in a park area at the very southern end of Key Biscayne. There were 3 sailboats and probably 6-9 powerboats anchored during the day, right now there is just enough room for the 4 sailboats left to spend the night on anchor. This gives us great pre-positioning prior to jumping across the ditch.
Throughout the afternoon, Dale set up his fishing rods so that he can troll across the bank when we come up on it. With the thought of a possible hurricane or tropical storm bearing down on us, I was consumed by the weather. I know that we have about a 24 hour window in which to cross and we only need about 12 hours to do it (worst case scenario). We've also chosen the shortest route we've ever used to cross the Gulf Stream and we've been in worse seas than what is predicted but I was nervous about Gamma; talk about a door being slammed after you leave. After dinner tonight, we turned on the tube to catch the latest news just in time to hear them saying that South Florida was breathing a sigh of relief and had dodged this one. I never did catch what had happened, I'm just glad that it's not chasing after us. We're heading to bed early for a 2:00am start. Wish us luck and say a prayer. Once again, we're off.
25.40.613N
80.09.800W
Gamma! Gamma? We don't need no stinkin Gamma! Just as we made the decision that it's now or wait for another week, Gamma makes an appearance. It didn't matter to Dale, there was a window and he wasn't going to miss it.
This morning as we pulled out of our slip and into the very narrow little channel leading in, the wind piped up to 22-24 kts. I suggested going back to the slip and wait until the squall passed by. Dale wondered why. I gave him the wheel. If we're going to run aground, I would prefer if he's at the helm; that way I don't get yelled at regardless of what happens. We managed just fine.
We crossed the Biscayne Bay and went down by Stiltsville (just to say that we've seen it) and then pulled into No Name Harbor. It's a great little anchorage in a park area at the very southern end of Key Biscayne. There were 3 sailboats and probably 6-9 powerboats anchored during the day, right now there is just enough room for the 4 sailboats left to spend the night on anchor. This gives us great pre-positioning prior to jumping across the ditch.
Throughout the afternoon, Dale set up his fishing rods so that he can troll across the bank when we come up on it. With the thought of a possible hurricane or tropical storm bearing down on us, I was consumed by the weather. I know that we have about a 24 hour window in which to cross and we only need about 12 hours to do it (worst case scenario). We've also chosen the shortest route we've ever used to cross the Gulf Stream and we've been in worse seas than what is predicted but I was nervous about Gamma; talk about a door being slammed after you leave. After dinner tonight, we turned on the tube to catch the latest news just in time to hear them saying that South Florida was breathing a sigh of relief and had dodged this one. I never did catch what had happened, I'm just glad that it's not chasing after us. We're heading to bed early for a 2:00am start. Wish us luck and say a prayer. Once again, we're off.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Dinner Key, FL
25.43.546N
80.14.010W
Have you ever noticed how things look different at night? Last night when we pulled in, we picked a spot on the chart and pulled in until Dale called back saying that it looked like we were getting too close to shore. This morning we woke up to find ourselves about a half mile from shore. In any event, no one woke us up to tell us to move and the water wasn't clear enough for us to tell if we were in grass or not, so . . . no harm, no foul.
We moved on about mid-morning across the Biscayne Bay down another very narrow channel to Dinner Key Marina. When asked about fuel, they told us we could get fuel at the marina next door. We tried hailing them on the radio, then tried calling them on the telephone; with no answer we decided to motor on up and hope the fuel dock was open. We were in luck! No one was there, but we could hear the rumble of a cigarette boat coming from a different direction. Sure enough, a bright yellow go fast boat approached from a different channel and zoomed in to the fuel pier. The nerve! That's alright there was room for more than one boat. But NO! another go fast boat came, then another, and another. At least 6 of these noise makers came zooming up and cut in front of us creating a circle into the fuel pier and then back out. The attendants at the fuel pier were handing out cards to them and waving flags in a fashion that we just couldn't fathom. What to do? We got into the circle with them and circled up to the pier and said that we needed fuel. Unfortunately, we had stumbled into a poker run and were told to come back at another time. Think we could just cycle out? Heck no! There were now 20-30 of these monsters circling around us and we had to cross their lines to get back to our marina. With much nashing of teeth (I'm sure from both sides) we finally crossed back to our marina and easily slid into our slip.
We plan to stay here for a couple of days. There's a laundry and internet connection right on location and we can have our mail forwarded to us here overnight. Also, we're plugged into electricity, so I might get some more sewing done. No rest for the weary; or last least for those who still have projects to complete.
25.43.546N
80.14.010W
Have you ever noticed how things look different at night? Last night when we pulled in, we picked a spot on the chart and pulled in until Dale called back saying that it looked like we were getting too close to shore. This morning we woke up to find ourselves about a half mile from shore. In any event, no one woke us up to tell us to move and the water wasn't clear enough for us to tell if we were in grass or not, so . . . no harm, no foul.
We moved on about mid-morning across the Biscayne Bay down another very narrow channel to Dinner Key Marina. When asked about fuel, they told us we could get fuel at the marina next door. We tried hailing them on the radio, then tried calling them on the telephone; with no answer we decided to motor on up and hope the fuel dock was open. We were in luck! No one was there, but we could hear the rumble of a cigarette boat coming from a different direction. Sure enough, a bright yellow go fast boat approached from a different channel and zoomed in to the fuel pier. The nerve! That's alright there was room for more than one boat. But NO! another go fast boat came, then another, and another. At least 6 of these noise makers came zooming up and cut in front of us creating a circle into the fuel pier and then back out. The attendants at the fuel pier were handing out cards to them and waving flags in a fashion that we just couldn't fathom. What to do? We got into the circle with them and circled up to the pier and said that we needed fuel. Unfortunately, we had stumbled into a poker run and were told to come back at another time. Think we could just cycle out? Heck no! There were now 20-30 of these monsters circling around us and we had to cross their lines to get back to our marina. With much nashing of teeth (I'm sure from both sides) we finally crossed back to our marina and easily slid into our slip.
We plan to stay here for a couple of days. There's a laundry and internet connection right on location and we can have our mail forwarded to us here overnight. Also, we're plugged into electricity, so I might get some more sewing done. No rest for the weary; or last least for those who still have projects to complete.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Key Biscayne, FL
25.41.693N
80.10.770W
OK, so I'm a wimp. Last evening after writing my last entry, we watched some local Lake Worth TV and weather. It appeared as if there was a change in the weather. Dale confirmed this with the marine broadcast weather and sure enough, if we stayed close to the coastline, we could transit down the coast instead of the ICW. We hurriedly secured the boat, brought the dink up on the bow, brought out our jacklines, tethers, harnesses and lifejackets, plugged in a couple of waypoints and went to bed early thinking that we would leave at 2-2:30am to allow time to transit to Miami.
Unfortunately, at about 11pm, the wind picked up and lines were slapping loud enough to get us out of bed, find the offensive noise, and silence them. About midnight it was howling enough for us to check the wind gages; 15 knots; just as it was predicted but dreadfully noisy. One-thirty am it started raining; again, up and close all of the windows. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether this was a good idea or not, considering it was a new channel to us and it was really "blowin' a hooley". About this time Dale (tired of me getting up every half hour or so) said to forget it, we'd wait until the sun came out then take a look at the sea state. So back to bed we go. This time I slept.
I woke up about 6am; not from the noise but from the silence. OK let's go! We were underway by 6:20am, along with 2 other sailboats. What a great sail. Two to four foot seas with a fairly steady 15 kts on the beam. We motorsailed at between 6 and 7.5 kts all day. Unfortunately, my hastily chosen waypoints proved to be more conservative than needed and we probably wasted an hour or more going out to the 3 mile offshore line. The other two sailboats left exactly at the same time as we did but arrived an hour or more earlier in Miami because they stayed in closer than we did. They had light to anchor by. Due to the time change and my lack of adventure, we didn't.
We were able to come into Government Cut and weave our way through the bridges and the very narrow channel into Biscayne Bay before we ran out of light. After that, we picked a likely area to anchor from the chart and slowly worked our way to it. There is another boat in closer to shore here, but I'm a little nervous as to what the morning light will show. I remember that there was a lot of controversy awhile back about where boaters could and could not anchor in South Florida. I also remember that there were fines and penalties for anchoring in sea grass. Hopefully the chart is correct and tomorrow's light will show that we are anchored in mud. At any rate, I rather half expect to be wakened during the night by the local justice merchants telling us we're in the wrong area.
This evening's weather broadcast suggested the break we're looking for to cross the Gulf Stream will come this weekend. Friday is OK but Saturday and Sunday look better. We're aiming for Saturday at the moment. Tomorrow and Friday, we'll fuel up, run by the grocery once more and maybe a quick trip to the laundry, if I can find one. Let's hope tonight will be quiet . . . and without visitors.
25.41.693N
80.10.770W
OK, so I'm a wimp. Last evening after writing my last entry, we watched some local Lake Worth TV and weather. It appeared as if there was a change in the weather. Dale confirmed this with the marine broadcast weather and sure enough, if we stayed close to the coastline, we could transit down the coast instead of the ICW. We hurriedly secured the boat, brought the dink up on the bow, brought out our jacklines, tethers, harnesses and lifejackets, plugged in a couple of waypoints and went to bed early thinking that we would leave at 2-2:30am to allow time to transit to Miami.
Unfortunately, at about 11pm, the wind picked up and lines were slapping loud enough to get us out of bed, find the offensive noise, and silence them. About midnight it was howling enough for us to check the wind gages; 15 knots; just as it was predicted but dreadfully noisy. One-thirty am it started raining; again, up and close all of the windows. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether this was a good idea or not, considering it was a new channel to us and it was really "blowin' a hooley". About this time Dale (tired of me getting up every half hour or so) said to forget it, we'd wait until the sun came out then take a look at the sea state. So back to bed we go. This time I slept.
I woke up about 6am; not from the noise but from the silence. OK let's go! We were underway by 6:20am, along with 2 other sailboats. What a great sail. Two to four foot seas with a fairly steady 15 kts on the beam. We motorsailed at between 6 and 7.5 kts all day. Unfortunately, my hastily chosen waypoints proved to be more conservative than needed and we probably wasted an hour or more going out to the 3 mile offshore line. The other two sailboats left exactly at the same time as we did but arrived an hour or more earlier in Miami because they stayed in closer than we did. They had light to anchor by. Due to the time change and my lack of adventure, we didn't.
We were able to come into Government Cut and weave our way through the bridges and the very narrow channel into Biscayne Bay before we ran out of light. After that, we picked a likely area to anchor from the chart and slowly worked our way to it. There is another boat in closer to shore here, but I'm a little nervous as to what the morning light will show. I remember that there was a lot of controversy awhile back about where boaters could and could not anchor in South Florida. I also remember that there were fines and penalties for anchoring in sea grass. Hopefully the chart is correct and tomorrow's light will show that we are anchored in mud. At any rate, I rather half expect to be wakened during the night by the local justice merchants telling us we're in the wrong area.
This evening's weather broadcast suggested the break we're looking for to cross the Gulf Stream will come this weekend. Friday is OK but Saturday and Sunday look better. We're aiming for Saturday at the moment. Tomorrow and Friday, we'll fuel up, run by the grocery once more and maybe a quick trip to the laundry, if I can find one. Let's hope tonight will be quiet . . . and without visitors.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Lake Worth, FL
26.45.308N
80.02.688W
Today's trip from Hobe Sound to Lake Worth was uneventful. Five bridges (one - very narrow due to a barge parked underneath it) made the trip one of those 'hurry up and wait' types. The houses along the way kept me entertained. There would be regular houses, next to some rather humble ones, which were right next to mansions. Each mansion appeared to be in a contest with its neighbor for size, shape, style, grandeur, pool, fountains, statues, gardens and of course, boats which themselves vied for size, shape, style and grandeur. Dale and I wondered what these people could possibly do for a living to earn so much.
Another observation along the way was that although Hurricane Wilma's eye crossed over the ICW at Jupiter Inlet, the more destruction we've seen the farther south we've traveled. Lake Worth itself has more than a few sunk or beached boats along its banks. Huge oak trees were seen toppled in more than one yard. We've also heard that Wilma also went across and did quite a number on the Abacos (the upper Bahamas).
We'll probably stay a couple of days here as the weather/sea state just isn't cooperating. Although the days are pretty, the wind against the Gulf Stream current is really kicking up. When we see a trend towards a break in the weather, we'll hoist anchor and motor on down to Ft. Lauderdale for a quick exit and fairly short hop across.
26.45.308N
80.02.688W
Today's trip from Hobe Sound to Lake Worth was uneventful. Five bridges (one - very narrow due to a barge parked underneath it) made the trip one of those 'hurry up and wait' types. The houses along the way kept me entertained. There would be regular houses, next to some rather humble ones, which were right next to mansions. Each mansion appeared to be in a contest with its neighbor for size, shape, style, grandeur, pool, fountains, statues, gardens and of course, boats which themselves vied for size, shape, style and grandeur. Dale and I wondered what these people could possibly do for a living to earn so much.
Another observation along the way was that although Hurricane Wilma's eye crossed over the ICW at Jupiter Inlet, the more destruction we've seen the farther south we've traveled. Lake Worth itself has more than a few sunk or beached boats along its banks. Huge oak trees were seen toppled in more than one yard. We've also heard that Wilma also went across and did quite a number on the Abacos (the upper Bahamas).
We'll probably stay a couple of days here as the weather/sea state just isn't cooperating. Although the days are pretty, the wind against the Gulf Stream current is really kicking up. When we see a trend towards a break in the weather, we'll hoist anchor and motor on down to Ft. Lauderdale for a quick exit and fairly short hop across.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Hobe Sound, FL
27.05.350N
80.08.259W
We've enjoyed our visit with Bob & Caron for the past couple of days. We've picked their brains on where to go, what to see and where to stay in the Exumas (as they spent a few years exploring the Bahama Islands), enjoyed some Painkillers, helped them move furniture while they chauffeured us "just down the road" to either Stuart or downtown Hobe Sound to run errands but which also allowed us to witness for ourselves the destruction from Hurricane Wilma in South Florida. Still, the holidays are coming and Caron is already stressing over a houseful of relatives coming for Thanksgiving dinner, so we'll say our goodbyes and cast off tomorrow morning on the tide so that she can devote her undivided attention to family, as it should be.
The weather still hasn't opened up for us with the forecast predicting 6-8-10' waves in the Gulf Stream but we'll start down the ICW to Lake Worth for a couple of days and then on to Ft. Lauderdale until things clear up. Not to worry; we've never taken chances before and have no intention of starting now. So once again, we're off! From this point on though, everything is new.
27.05.350N
80.08.259W
We've enjoyed our visit with Bob & Caron for the past couple of days. We've picked their brains on where to go, what to see and where to stay in the Exumas (as they spent a few years exploring the Bahama Islands), enjoyed some Painkillers, helped them move furniture while they chauffeured us "just down the road" to either Stuart or downtown Hobe Sound to run errands but which also allowed us to witness for ourselves the destruction from Hurricane Wilma in South Florida. Still, the holidays are coming and Caron is already stressing over a houseful of relatives coming for Thanksgiving dinner, so we'll say our goodbyes and cast off tomorrow morning on the tide so that she can devote her undivided attention to family, as it should be.
The weather still hasn't opened up for us with the forecast predicting 6-8-10' waves in the Gulf Stream but we'll start down the ICW to Lake Worth for a couple of days and then on to Ft. Lauderdale until things clear up. Not to worry; we've never taken chances before and have no intention of starting now. So once again, we're off! From this point on though, everything is new.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Hobe Sound, FL
27.05.350N
80.08.259W
Finally! We're in Hobe Sound tucked snugly behind Bob & Caron's beautiful home rafted next to Toucan Dream, our sistership.
The part Dale had been waiting for in Ft. Pierce finally arrived and we made preparations to leave Friday morning. We left at 9am and slowly motored down the ICW to Hobe Sound arriving about 1:30pm (bumping ground only once when we tried to pull off the road at Pecks Lake - which goes from from 30' to 2' in as many feet.) Since Caron had told us that we needed a high tide to enter their canal, we kept going down past their canal to the next bridge, slowly returning against the current and entered their canal about 2:40pm to the welcoming committee from Done Reach (their unofficial name for their back yard.) It was great to see them again.
Their house has finally completed the construction phase and they are now busy furnishing it in a South Florida/Key West motif; aguas, blues and bright pastels. What they can't find, they make! Bob is currently finishing their dining room table made from 100 year old heart of pine timber recovered from an old turn of the century sharecropper house; it's beautiful already, so I can imagine what it will look like completed.
We enjoyed a hearty meal of catfish and shrimp reminiscing about days past and plans for future endeavors. We hope to sit down with them tomorrow with charts in hand and hone in on the specifics of where to go and what to see in the Exumas.
27.05.350N
80.08.259W
Finally! We're in Hobe Sound tucked snugly behind Bob & Caron's beautiful home rafted next to Toucan Dream, our sistership.
The part Dale had been waiting for in Ft. Pierce finally arrived and we made preparations to leave Friday morning. We left at 9am and slowly motored down the ICW to Hobe Sound arriving about 1:30pm (bumping ground only once when we tried to pull off the road at Pecks Lake - which goes from from 30' to 2' in as many feet.) Since Caron had told us that we needed a high tide to enter their canal, we kept going down past their canal to the next bridge, slowly returning against the current and entered their canal about 2:40pm to the welcoming committee from Done Reach (their unofficial name for their back yard.) It was great to see them again.
Their house has finally completed the construction phase and they are now busy furnishing it in a South Florida/Key West motif; aguas, blues and bright pastels. What they can't find, they make! Bob is currently finishing their dining room table made from 100 year old heart of pine timber recovered from an old turn of the century sharecropper house; it's beautiful already, so I can imagine what it will look like completed.
We enjoyed a hearty meal of catfish and shrimp reminiscing about days past and plans for future endeavors. We hope to sit down with them tomorrow with charts in hand and hone in on the specifics of where to go and what to see in the Exumas.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Ft. Pierce, FL
27.28.139N
80.19.509W
Is nothing ever easy? We've spent the last couple of days tracking down pieces and parts to both the windless and alternator. Thank heavens Dale had searched the items down in a couple of ways; both plan B's had been implemented by the time we were informed that our original arrangements were not going to be fruitful. The shortened version is that both parts had to be ordered and mailed to us.
We've spent the reminder of the time just doing regular stuff like walking to West Marine everyday, laundry, sprucing up the brightwork, reading (The Five People You Meet in Heaven is definately the two tissue type), paying bills, fueling up (the entrance to Harbortown showed 12-14' all the way in for those of us who had to wait for high tide last year) and calling Bob & Caron to tell them that we can't make it today; maybe tomorrow.
At this point, we know that our weather window is closing at the end of the week and we'll be forced to find a safe harbor until another opens. The canal behind Bob & Caron's should do nicely for a day or two; we don't want to wear out our welcome. Then on to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami!
27.28.139N
80.19.509W
Is nothing ever easy? We've spent the last couple of days tracking down pieces and parts to both the windless and alternator. Thank heavens Dale had searched the items down in a couple of ways; both plan B's had been implemented by the time we were informed that our original arrangements were not going to be fruitful. The shortened version is that both parts had to be ordered and mailed to us.
We've spent the reminder of the time just doing regular stuff like walking to West Marine everyday, laundry, sprucing up the brightwork, reading (The Five People You Meet in Heaven is definately the two tissue type), paying bills, fueling up (the entrance to Harbortown showed 12-14' all the way in for those of us who had to wait for high tide last year) and calling Bob & Caron to tell them that we can't make it today; maybe tomorrow.
At this point, we know that our weather window is closing at the end of the week and we'll be forced to find a safe harbor until another opens. The canal behind Bob & Caron's should do nicely for a day or two; we don't want to wear out our welcome. Then on to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami!
Monday, November 07, 2005
Ft. Pierce, FL
27.28.139N
80.19.509W
Today was spent running errands. Scott and Heather from Scott Free had been loaned a car from some of their friends in the area and offered to let me tag along as they did their errands. I was able to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables and some items at West Marine. When we returned, we shared a nice lunch at the restaurant and learned from Dale that the mechanic believed we needed a larger pully on our alternator. Dale had also torn the windless apart and felt that we needed a spacer to push the gears a little closer together. From my ride around town, I knew that we were within walking distance of the West Marine and could shop for the needed parts fairly quickly. We'll take a little walk tomorrow.
Right now we are enjoying a beautiful sunset in which the clouds divide the sky into layers of color. Below the clouds, the sky is a true blue; above the clouds, the sky is lavender. Dale just called me to join him in the cockpit saying that the evening's entertainment had started. Which means that the anchorage is starting to fill up with other boats . . . and anchoring, of course, is a spectator sport.
27.28.139N
80.19.509W
Today was spent running errands. Scott and Heather from Scott Free had been loaned a car from some of their friends in the area and offered to let me tag along as they did their errands. I was able to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables and some items at West Marine. When we returned, we shared a nice lunch at the restaurant and learned from Dale that the mechanic believed we needed a larger pully on our alternator. Dale had also torn the windless apart and felt that we needed a spacer to push the gears a little closer together. From my ride around town, I knew that we were within walking distance of the West Marine and could shop for the needed parts fairly quickly. We'll take a little walk tomorrow.
Right now we are enjoying a beautiful sunset in which the clouds divide the sky into layers of color. Below the clouds, the sky is a true blue; above the clouds, the sky is lavender. Dale just called me to join him in the cockpit saying that the evening's entertainment had started. Which means that the anchorage is starting to fill up with other boats . . . and anchoring, of course, is a spectator sport.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Ft. Pierce, FL
27.28.139N
80.19.509W
Friday night we took the dingy in to join Fred & Geri and Gerry & Nicki for dinner at the A1A Alehouse in St. Augustine. I suppose you could say we couldn't quite let go to our long time friends with whom we had always shared our sailing adventures. After a healthy meal and too many desserts, they walked us back to our dingy and shoved us off.
Saturday, 11/06/2005, was a beautiful day. We rose early to secure our home for travel in the ocean and hoisted anchor at 10 am with our new friends, Heather and Scott on the s/v Scott Free. Most of Saturday was about as bland as you can get with regard to wave action. In fact at one point. Dale and I were describing the ocean as having an oil-like sheen appearance to it as it was so calm. (Geri, you would have bored to tears.) (Kenny, you would have gone nuts trying to capture the reflective colors. It reminded me of one of the Terminator movies where the one robot is made of a liquid metal. Blues, greys, whites undulating together - absolutely amazing.) Cats' paws could been seen coming for miles.
That was until we came closer to Cape Canaveral. Then, of course, it started rolling. Not violently or anything. Just enough to stir up the tanks and clog a fuel filter. I guess it had to happen sooner or later. However, the rolling action lasted all night and into Sunday. During the night we had some rain and danced with only one other vessel, a tug heading northeast while we were heading south. Thank heavens Heather on s/v Scott Free has more radar experience than I and was a good source of information when I didn't want to wake Dale during the night.
Sunday was calm but an eastern swell kept us rolling throughout the day. We had 5-10kts of a North wind dead astern and the wave action was still less than 3 feet. (Gerry, I know you would have urged us to use the spinnaker but remember, we were in the ocean and we had the dink up on the bow. If we'd known that it was going to last the entire day, it might have been worth the effort to pull it out. Then again, hind sight is always 20-20 so we motored the entire way.)
We arrived in Ft. Pierce around 2:30 pm and anchored outside of Harbortown Marina. They still have not dredged the entry and now the slips are silted in to the point where we cannot get our 5 1/2 ft draft inside to the marina itself.
We were able to contact Bob & Caron and plan on visiting with them after Dale has a mechanic look at the alternator. He's not comfortable with the the fan belt issue; it works beautifully at 2000 rmp but starts to heat at 2500 or if we try to run the refrigerator at the same time. He also want to tear apart the windless to see if there are any worn gears as it has started to slip periodically.
Right now, we figure we'll be in the Ft. Pierce area for a few days as the weather window appears to be closing at the end of the week. My telephone shuts down tomorrow but Dale's will still be active until we actually leave the country.
27.28.139N
80.19.509W
Friday night we took the dingy in to join Fred & Geri and Gerry & Nicki for dinner at the A1A Alehouse in St. Augustine. I suppose you could say we couldn't quite let go to our long time friends with whom we had always shared our sailing adventures. After a healthy meal and too many desserts, they walked us back to our dingy and shoved us off.
Saturday, 11/06/2005, was a beautiful day. We rose early to secure our home for travel in the ocean and hoisted anchor at 10 am with our new friends, Heather and Scott on the s/v Scott Free. Most of Saturday was about as bland as you can get with regard to wave action. In fact at one point. Dale and I were describing the ocean as having an oil-like sheen appearance to it as it was so calm. (Geri, you would have bored to tears.) (Kenny, you would have gone nuts trying to capture the reflective colors. It reminded me of one of the Terminator movies where the one robot is made of a liquid metal. Blues, greys, whites undulating together - absolutely amazing.) Cats' paws could been seen coming for miles.
That was until we came closer to Cape Canaveral. Then, of course, it started rolling. Not violently or anything. Just enough to stir up the tanks and clog a fuel filter. I guess it had to happen sooner or later. However, the rolling action lasted all night and into Sunday. During the night we had some rain and danced with only one other vessel, a tug heading northeast while we were heading south. Thank heavens Heather on s/v Scott Free has more radar experience than I and was a good source of information when I didn't want to wake Dale during the night.
Sunday was calm but an eastern swell kept us rolling throughout the day. We had 5-10kts of a North wind dead astern and the wave action was still less than 3 feet. (Gerry, I know you would have urged us to use the spinnaker but remember, we were in the ocean and we had the dink up on the bow. If we'd known that it was going to last the entire day, it might have been worth the effort to pull it out. Then again, hind sight is always 20-20 so we motored the entire way.)
We arrived in Ft. Pierce around 2:30 pm and anchored outside of Harbortown Marina. They still have not dredged the entry and now the slips are silted in to the point where we cannot get our 5 1/2 ft draft inside to the marina itself.
We were able to contact Bob & Caron and plan on visiting with them after Dale has a mechanic look at the alternator. He's not comfortable with the the fan belt issue; it works beautifully at 2000 rmp but starts to heat at 2500 or if we try to run the refrigerator at the same time. He also want to tear apart the windless to see if there are any worn gears as it has started to slip periodically.
Right now, we figure we'll be in the Ft. Pierce area for a few days as the weather window appears to be closing at the end of the week. My telephone shuts down tomorrow but Dale's will still be active until we actually leave the country.
Friday, November 04, 2005
St. Augustine, FL
29.53.762N
81.18.589W
Our trip down the ICW from Jacksonville to St. Augustine was painless. Both the Atlantic Street Bridge and the Beach Street Bridge were transited without pinging our antenna, so we'd timed our departure well. A couple of alerts were issued by passing boaters regarding floating logs in the channel which we were able to identify and avoid. The rest of the trip Dale and I took turns sprucing up the brightwork or washing down the gelcoat during our off watch time.
We arrived relatively early in the afternoon at 2:30 pm and elected to anchor on the north side of the Bridge of Lions in the soft mud. Soft, is the key word. It took two attempts before the anchor set. Then when it did, we did octoflugerons around it as the wind and current were opposed to each other. After a couple of hours of watching to make sure that we weren't going to drag or bump into anyone else, we relaxed.
Right now, it appears that we have a window to head south on the outside for tomorrow. We've made contact with Scott Free, another boat heading to Ft. Pierce, and hope to stay within radio contact with them during the transit. We'll leave on the outgoing tide and hope to make landfall in 24 hours. Our first night at sea; always as fascinating as it is frightening.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Jacksonville, FL
30.23.75N
81.30.390W
Our first day officially away started quite early in order to complete a practical joke that began 3 years ago. (B&C, the deed was done as per your instructions. No one will ever guess who was behind the dastardly deed.) Fond farewells were wished to those who were up and about and we returned to our boat to secure what we could and raise anchor. At approximately 8:30 am, the sailing vessel Gypsy Palace and her motley crew sounded air horns, dropped our leis in the river, and departed our home. We had no sooner crossed under the Buckmann Bridge (approximately 1/2 hour later) when alarms sounded and the sweet smell of a disintegrated fan belt assaulted us. Dale has become quite adept at changing these under pressure, so we were quickly back under power and the remainder of our first leg was uneventful.
We now sit at Back River under clear blue skies, being entertained by a pod of dolphins, poised to begin our adventure. We anticipate a predawn departure down the ICW tomorrow, which is always an adventure in my book.
30.23.75N
81.30.390W
Our first day officially away started quite early in order to complete a practical joke that began 3 years ago. (B&C, the deed was done as per your instructions. No one will ever guess who was behind the dastardly deed.) Fond farewells were wished to those who were up and about and we returned to our boat to secure what we could and raise anchor. At approximately 8:30 am, the sailing vessel Gypsy Palace and her motley crew sounded air horns, dropped our leis in the river, and departed our home. We had no sooner crossed under the Buckmann Bridge (approximately 1/2 hour later) when alarms sounded and the sweet smell of a disintegrated fan belt assaulted us. Dale has become quite adept at changing these under pressure, so we were quickly back under power and the remainder of our first leg was uneventful.
We now sit at Back River under clear blue skies, being entertained by a pod of dolphins, poised to begin our adventure. We anticipate a predawn departure down the ICW tomorrow, which is always an adventure in my book.
Jacksonville, FL
30.23.75N
81.30.390W
Our first day officially away started quite early in order to complete a practical joke that began 3 years ago. (B&C, the deed was done as per your instructions. No one will ever guess who was behind the dastardly deed.) Fond farewells were wished to those who were up and about and we returned to our boat to secure what we could and raise anchor. At approximately 8:30 am, the sailing vessel Gypsy Palace and her motley crew sounded air horns, dropped our leis in the river, and departed our home. We had no sooner crossed under the Buckmann Bridge (approximately 1/2 hour later) when alarms sounded and the sweet smell of a disintegrated fan belt assaulted us. Dale has become quite adept at changing these under pressure, so we were quickly back under power and the remainder of our first leg was uneventful.
We now sit at Back River under clear blue skies, being entertained by a pod of dolphins, poised to begin our adventure. We anticipate a predawn departure down the ICW tomorrow, which is always an adventure in my book.
30.23.75N
81.30.390W
Our first day officially away started quite early in order to complete a practical joke that began 3 years ago. (B&C, the deed was done as per your instructions. No one will ever guess who was behind the dastardly deed.) Fond farewells were wished to those who were up and about and we returned to our boat to secure what we could and raise anchor. At approximately 8:30 am, the sailing vessel Gypsy Palace and her motley crew sounded air horns, dropped our leis in the river, and departed our home. We had no sooner crossed under the Buckmann Bridge (approximately 1/2 hour later) when alarms sounded and the sweet smell of a disintegrated fan belt assaulted us. Dale has become quite adept at changing these under pressure, so we were quickly back under power and the remainder of our first leg was uneventful.
We now sit at Back River under clear blue skies, being entertained by a pod of dolphins, poised to begin our adventure. We anticipate a predawn departure down the ICW tomorrow, which is always an adventure in my book.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Orange Park
N30.08.768
W81.31.960
Well, we're off!! I was able to say goodbye to those I have worked with for the last 8 years today at a retirement party for our office manager, Reva Holder. We said our goodbyes at Whitney's Marina (particularly Bob, Steve, Carol and Sue, who were kind enough to witness our Wills at the last minute.) We also want to thank each and everyone of our marina mates who came to our farewell party earlier in the month to wish us a bon voyage. We have displayed some of our gifts, carefully packed away others, and completely consumed the rest.
A special thank you to Fred & Geri for volunteering to sell our car and to Gerry & Nicki for taking care of multitude of other things I've forgotten until now.
Wish us well!
N30.08.768
W81.31.960
Well, we're off!! I was able to say goodbye to those I have worked with for the last 8 years today at a retirement party for our office manager, Reva Holder. We said our goodbyes at Whitney's Marina (particularly Bob, Steve, Carol and Sue, who were kind enough to witness our Wills at the last minute.) We also want to thank each and everyone of our marina mates who came to our farewell party earlier in the month to wish us a bon voyage. We have displayed some of our gifts, carefully packed away others, and completely consumed the rest.
A special thank you to Fred & Geri for volunteering to sell our car and to Gerry & Nicki for taking care of multitude of other things I've forgotten until now.
Wish us well!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Orange Park, FL
N30.08.768
W81.41.960
We're off the dock! That's always the hardest part (according to those who have gone before us.) We've only anchored in front of the dock but it will make it easier to hoist the anchor and leave without any additional stress. We have a few last minute items to take care of tomorrow but plan to start making our way out of the St. John's River and most likely, down the Intercoastal Waterway towards St. Augustine Thursday morning.
N30.08.768
W81.41.960
We're off the dock! That's always the hardest part (according to those who have gone before us.) We've only anchored in front of the dock but it will make it easier to hoist the anchor and leave without any additional stress. We have a few last minute items to take care of tomorrow but plan to start making our way out of the St. John's River and most likely, down the Intercoastal Waterway towards St. Augustine Thursday morning.
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