Adventures of s/v Tybee Time

Exciting News

2011-08-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here it is the second week in August and lots of stuff has happened since I last blogged. I knew that last posting things were being set into motion but I didn't want to jinx us by saying anything to anyone. For a couple years now Dirk & I have tossed around the notion of getting a bigger, blue water boat so that we could make a longer journey into the Caribbean in more comfort. We looked at so many boats and decided between a couple that we liked. We of course had some must haves, some would like to haves and things that just wouldn't work for us. We of course knew too that in order for us to move up that we would have to sell our Tybee Time. As much as we hated to as she has been an incredibly boat for us, we would have to make that leap. Once we made it to Merrit Island we put her on the market for sale by owner and began the task of moving off of her. We realized it would be difficult to show the boat while living full time with a cat on board. Thats where my sister came in and allowed Dirk and I along with Capt Butters to move into her mother in law apt. It is amazing how much stuff we took off of Tybee and she actually gained 4 to 5 inches of waterline once we were done.

Can you believe all this came off of our 40 foot Tybee Time?

This whole time we are keeping our eyes open for boats to go see as we are in an area that has quiet a few to offer. I had spotted a boat that we liked still on the market from last year and wondered if it was still available. It was on the West coast of Florida and we called the owner and set up a time to take a look see. After the initial viewing we decided to think about it, crunch numbers and make an offer, all depending on outcome of the survey of course. While on the other side of the state Tybee Time was sparking some interest and we got an offer on her just 3 weeks after listing. Of course than the waiting game is on....waiting on surveys, waiting on price adjustments, waiting on counter offers, and the whole while we are doing the same on the other boat. We ended up closing on the new boat and within a couple days closing on Tybee Time. Whew, what a hassle but it couldn't have worked out any better. The timing was perfect.....We ended up selling Tybee Time to a wonderful couple who will be taking her to North Carolina. Her name will be changed and she will begin her new life with them. I can only hope she brings them half of the joy that she has brought to Dirk and I and feel that she will be loved and cared for as she was with us. As we were putting final paperwork on board her the other day we walked around her once more talking of memories with tears in our eyes. Tybee Time has been a huge part of Dirk and I's life for 4 years now and she is not only a "boat" but part of us. She has carried us to beautiful islands, allowed us to catch many meals and protected us in even the worst of seas. She will be missed.....

As we said goodbye to Tybee Time

On the other hand, we now have our new boat that will keep us busy to say the least for at least a couple months. Once we pulled her for the out of water survey we told them to block her and once we finalized the paperwork they could begin work. I have started a new blog for her and have posted the first one already. We would love for you to follow us as so many of you have done in the past. The new link is http://www.svrenegade.blogspot.com/ . She is a 1987 47 foot Vagabond with so many features that we were looking for in a new, old boat.

Our new boat s/v Renegade

so join us as we begin a new adventure and chapter of our lives filled with refits, travels and information. We are so excited about starting this new adventure and can only hope the memories of Tybee Time and the life she provided us will never fade.

Back in the USA since June 11

2011-07-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yea, yea, yea, I know I'm a slacker. Once we arrived back in the USA I slipped into mega lazy mode. I think a big part of my laziness stems from the fact that we didn't want to come back. We had 5 wonderful months filled with fishing, conching, spearing, and snorkeling. We had friends and family visit and were able to show them so many wonderful and beautiful places and we ran into several friends made last year. We also made so many new ones that I'm sure we will stay in contact with for some time. Cant wait for the day that we turn south rather than west when leaving the Bahamas for points further into the Caribbean. Once we had gotten to Bimini on the 7th of June there was a couple days of nasty winds so we stayed put taking the time to rest up, do laundry and do a little beach walking.

Shipwreck of the Gallant Lady on Bimini

Early on the 11th we bid farewell as we slowly motored out the channel with predictions of light to moderate winds predicted. Of course our luck wasn't having any of that and a couple hours in, the winds picked up along with the seas. Our course was set northwest heading for the West Palm Beach inlet. Of course the winds changed a bit coming out of the northwest which put us on an uncomfortable up and down bucking into the waves. 25 knot average wind speed with waves 6 to 8 feet keep us soaked once we slightly changed course for a more comfortable ride. On a couple of occasions we had waves come over the side that completely soaked me from head to toe, not the happy ending to our trip we wanted. About 11 hours later, because of the altered course taken we finally entered the inlet and anchored in just about the same spot we anchored 5 months earlier while waiting on weather to cross. Dirk went and checked us into customs and we settled into 2 days of sleep and relaxing before heading north on the ICW. We had decided that Titusville would be a nice place to spend the summer and it wasn't too far up the ICW. After getting an e-mail from friends we met while in the Bahamas we opted for Harbortown Marina on Merritt Island which is right off the Barge canal and 20 minutes from the Atlantic. It took us a couple days to get there and decided we really like it. Its very convenient in terms of location with a good price and they don't charge a live-a-board fee that so many marinas charge these days. Restaurant on the premises with great food and reasonable prices, cheap laundry, clean bath houses and a nice pool. So if anyone is in need, check it out. We decided that for the summer we needed to get lots of things done so we had to break down and purchase a used car to get us around. Seems weird cruising down the interstate at 70 MPH after spending so many months going 5 MPH in the boat. I have a sister that doesn't live far away and she has graciously opened her mother in law apartment to us anytime we want to use it. We have taken her up on it and have enjoyed the ability to shower without walking up the dock fighting no see ums and mosquitoes. Sleeping in a real bed has been great and I still find myself reaching for the hand pump to flush the toilet. So we are settling in for a busy summer taking the time to lots of nothing and enjoying the company of my family. Hoping that once I get back into some kind of rhythm that I will be posting on a regular basis. Till next time....

Family, Friends, and Fun

2011-06-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog but we have been busy with guest and showing them the beauty and wonders of the Exumas. First we had Dirk’s mom Anke in for almost 3 weeks travelling as far up the Exuma chain as Allens Cay to view the Iguanas, and then we turned south again to travel back to Staniel Cay where she was due to fly out on the 17th. Dirk & his mother Anke

On the 18th we had friends Mike & Denise we met while docked in Wilmington for the summer come visit for 10 days.

Here is Mike with one of the two Mahi Mahi he caught while visiting. He is one happy camper....
Dirk with Denise enjoying a mid morning Mimosa

So as not to repeat myself I will give a highlight of where we went and did at each place. After leaving Emerald Bay close to Georgetown we hit Galliot Cay, Staniel Cay and then we stayed a couple days at Compass Cay so we could enjoy the Pipe Creek area which turns out this season to be one of our favorites.

Anke enjoying the beauty of the Pipe Creek area

A huge hermit crab we found
A honeycomb cowfish i spotted while snorkeling in Pipecreek

And here is a pretty pink-tipped sea anemone

We took the dinghy over to Compass Cay Marina and docked for an $8.00 per person docking fee. This allows you the use of the trails and beautiful beach front that faces the Exuma Sound.

The beautiful Exuma Sound beach at Compass Cay

They also allow you to swim with the many nurse sharks that they have claimed as pets and thus have them named.

Anke & I petting the sharks

Me swimming down to pet these very docile guys

You are allowed to snorkel the entire marina area and I was surprised how many coral heads and beautiful fish there were lurking under the yachts docked there.

A very pretty queen triggerfish finds us lurking about his coral head. He better be glad he is in a no fishing spot as these babies are fantastic to eat.

From Compass we went to Warderick Wells, grabbed a mooring ball in the north mooring field, snorkeled the reef and walked the trail to Boo Boo Hill where we added Ankes name to our boat sign and where Denise & Mike made their own sign to add to the pile.We were also visited by these beautiful little birds called Bananaquits that will come and eat sugar right out of your hand.

Anke enjoying the company of a hungry bird

We also found that during breakfast they would come sit on the table trying to steal your muffins and sip your coffee. Sometimes we had four at a time and even had a brave one fly below to see what he could grab from the galley.
From Warderick we hit Normans Cay which is another favorite of ours as it has the drug plane that crashed that you can snorkel and its full of wonderful fish always ready for someone to toss some food to them.

Plane from the top side

View of whats left of the cockpit

Side view

There is also a place we call sand dollar beach as you can pick up so many sand dollars in such a short amount of time if you snorkel. It’s like a grave yard for them and the white shells are just lying strewn along the white bottom. Anke was excited about this as she loves finding them and wanted to take some home with her to decorate her Christmas tree with. Right across the anchorage there is “Palm Tree Island”, basically a tiny island that has a single Palm Tree growing on it.

Someone has put a memorial for two fellow sailors there and placed a bench so you can just sit and enjoy the scenery.

Here Dirk is being the good son and fanning mom

Normans Cay is also the home of the Beach Club, formally McDuff’s Restaurant. This is the only place you can get a meal for several Islands. The atmosphere is cozy with old worn wood tables and chairs and the owner works and mingles with the guest with a wonderful staff of friendly people. I don’t mind paying $18.00 for a burger when you can have it in such a cozy place. Anke, Denise, and Mike all seemed to enjoy themselves here. Dirk & Mike enjoying the porch atmosphere after dinner watching the sunset

From Normans its just a short hop to Highborne Cay which is where we stopped to fuel up and top off our water tanks. Anytime you can get fuel and water you do, even if it means going another hour or so out of your way. From there we headed back south to Staniel Cay which is a good anchorage to hang out in. You can anchor at Big Majors, ”Pig Beach” where you can take your scraps of food to feed the several large and other assorted sized Pigs. They can get pushy from time to time but in general are fairly docile.

Dirk feeding some of the big ones

Denise petting one that is laying in the water keeping cool

Also around the corner in front of the yacht club there are several anchorages which make it handy to get into town and it’s very close to Thunderball Grotto which provides beautiful snorkeling with fish that come out of the woodwork looking for food.

Inside Thunderball Grotto

Dirk & Anke resting on the wall of the grotto

Many people bring food for them so they are use to being hand fed and are not afraid of you. I usually take boiled rice which they seem to love and a lady gave Dirk a hot dog to feed them with. Can I say they love hot dogs but it’s a little unnerving to hold the hot dog and have these fish, some with very sharp teeth fighting for their piece. Even the queen angel fish and parrot fish were game for the dog along with many sergeant majors, snapper,and assorted other fish I don’t know the name of. We visited it several times and got lots of great photographs. So as I said, Anke, Dirk’s mom stayed almost 3 weeks and one day after she left we had Mike & Denise for 10 days.

The Staniel Cay airport, yup that's it, no gift shops or food courts here

After they flew out it signaled it was time for us to start heading to the states. Unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t quiet have that in her plans yet. So we sat at Staniel thinking we would wait for the mail boat to come in before leaving so we could re-provision some things before heading north. There was a strike recently with the mail boats once fuel got to be too much. Apparently the government doesn’t want to pay them what it cost and from what I understand it takes about $8.000 a week in fuel for the boat. So now the boat doesn’t come once a week, it is now every 10 days. For one thing the stores here are not like the ones you find back in the states. The blue building on top of the hill is the grocery store as the sign reads. That's how you find it.

They are very quaint with the minimum of supplies so when the boat doesn’t come in, well there is nothing to buy. So the mail boat was supposed to come in on Friday and we waited. Friday we called Isles General and asked what time the boat would be in only to be told that the crane was broken on it, and it was still in Nassau. Hummmm, were not waiting for it to be fixed, so we decide to take off the next day and head north. We were gonna stop at Compass Cay again so that Dirk could fill up on conch there but then we decided to skip it and continue on up to Warderick Wells where we took a mooring ball in their south mooring field by Emerald Rock. The next morning we headed up to Normans Cay to anchor. The winds were fairly strong so we wouldn't be going over to the Beach Club tonight for our last Cheeseburger in paradise. Oh well, next year. The following morning Dirk decided this was the last chance for conch so we loaded in the dinghy and headed through the cut where he always finds conch. The winds and waves were fairly rough but he kept at it and after only finding one we decided to go to a location that Rick from s/v Naked Lady had told him about. Every time he dove down he came up with one in each hand, so we spent the next half hour hunting and when he would find a big one, one smaller would be put back as you are allowed only 6 per boat at any one time. When he was happy that he found the 6 largest, we went back to the mother ship and he set about cleaning them as several stingrays were happily under the boat gathering up the scraps as they went overboard. Upping the anchor the following morning we headed up to Highborne Cay where we filled up on the last of the water and fuel we would get before heading out. We also purchased coffee creamer and eggs for $7.00 a piece. And that was a small creamer and only one dozen eggs.Our plan at first was to head to Morgans Bluff in Andros than to Bimini from there. Plans change as does mother nature and we sat in Highborne for about 2 days before we caught a decent weather window. We were finally able to pull out of Highborne at 5am the following day and traveled throughout the night deciding to make it a long trip and head directly to Bimini as our weather window had gotten shorter. After 26 long hours we finally pulled into Alice Town Bimini but not without bumping bottom first going into the not so well marked channel. Apparently were not the first from what we hear and the channel is actually a bit different than marked. Now we know... So the next leg of the journey will be written once we get back to the states. Till then we will enjoy a few days here in Bimini exploring this small island and again waiting on weather.

Goodbye to George Town

2011-05-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

So on May 2nd we decided to pull anchor and say goodbye to George Town and head to Emerald Bay Marina. There was weather coming in and we wanted to move on so that we wouldn’t get stuck for another week there as Dirk’s mom was on board and we wanted to travel and island hop with her. We radioed ahead to another boat that we knew had left that morning to ask about the winds and the sea state as you must travel the Exuma Sound up to a cut into the much more protected banks. He stated that getting out of the cut was a bit rough but once you get out there it was very doable. We prepped the boat and headed out prepared for a short trip north with fishing lines at the ready. We prepared Anke that the cut we would be heading through would be rough but it was okay and not to be frightened. I asked if she would like a Dramamine and she said no she would be fine. We headed to the cut and indeed it got rough with water coming over the bow and the boat rocking and bucking giving everyone a rocky ride. Once we raised the sails and set our course Dirk put the fishing lines out to see if he couldn’t catch dinner. It was only to be a short ride up so we hoped we wouldn’t scare Anke too much as it was a bit rougher than even we like but we would not let on to that fact. It took us a bit to set the sails to get the smoothest roughest ride in the 15 knot winds and 5 to 6 foot seas. Uummmm, not fun but we kept the smiles going for mom’s sake. The seas were too rough for the auto pilot to keep up with it so one of us had to hand steer at all times. While Dirk was on the wheel two lines snapped at the same time signaling fish on. I took over and Dirk ran to the one hand line and began pulling it in as I tried to keep the boat under control, keep mom sitting down and try to keep me standing up. The other line would just have to wait. Dirk managed to get the fish which turned out to be a Mahi Mahi up to the boat but he needed my assistance to get it aboard as he was doing all he could to maintain his balance. I asked his mom to take over the wheel and finally convinced her all she had to do was to hold the wheel in one position and not allow it to go the other direction as the seas and wind were trying to bring us around windward. After trying several times to net the fish in we gave up and tried the gaff again. Our gaff is a bit too short to reach way over the boat and down to the waterline and you don’t want to try and haul the fish on board as we find Mahi are notorious for shaking loose and getting free. Finally after many attempts Dirk was able to gaff it and get it on board wrap it in a shower curtain to try and keep the blood from getting everywhere as I sprayed Brandy into its gills. Finally Anke said, “please take the wheel” So I took over once again as I told Dirk it was time to get the lines in so we could get into the marina and out of this mess. While the battle with the fish was going on the other fish had his opportunity and took it to leave the scene. Just as well at this point I’m thinking. As Dirk is pulling in the lines we realize that we have a line under the boat snagged. It’s not budging and we fear that it is wrapped in the prop. Usually as we catch a fish I will put the boat in neutral till it’s all over before continuing on. Somehow though this one line was in the prop and Dirk needed to go below and cut it free. He went below and changed his shorts as mom says “what is he doing?” I looked at her and said “You don’t want to know” When she saw him tying the line around his waist to keep him attached to the boat I saw her face and she was not a happy camper but there was nothing we could do. It had to be done. I had turned the boat into the wind to stop the forward motion as the sails were still up but in this position we were beating into the waves and it was incredibly uncomfortable so I turned the boat but then we were going too fast for Dirk to be under the boat. I thought we needed to drop the sails but Dirk decided against it so I ended up turning back into the wind and the boat once again began beating into the waves. Now I had to worry about Dirk getting beat in the head by the hull while he was cutting the line off the prop in water over 1000 feet deep. My fun meter is pegged as I’m trying to make sure the boat is under control, mom stays seated and Dirk stays safe. After a couple tries of unwrapping Dirk finally just cut the line loose and climbed back on board. By this time Anke was so stressed she was feeling queasy and ended up losing breakfast. It was time to get the heck outta dodge and get into a sheltered marina. Soon we were tied to a dock and I was trying to give mom a glass of wine to calm her nerves. Once we got settled in Dirk took the fish to the cleaning station and packaged it up for the freezer leaving enough out for dinner as Anke and I hit the showers. Ah, a real shower once again…..Back at the boat Dirk prepared dinner with fresh Mahi and we finally settled mom down with a glass of wine. Mother and son with the catch of the day as she is smiling to be on land once again.

Perhaps she wouldn’t recall this day being so bad for her come time to leave and head further north. We would have to travel on the outside one more day before entering the banks and calmer waters. The following day was laundry, shopping, and a nice dinner out in the evening sitting by the pool and overlooking the sound from a restaurant close to the marina. The trip up to Galliot Cay the following day went a lot better as the waves had decreased and Anke could relax a bit. From there we stayed on the inside till we made it to Staniel Cay. That evening at the yacht club there was to be a Cinco de Mayo party so we decided to get dressed and head to town. We ran into several boaters we have met along our travels and enjoyed a buffet of Mexican style dishes. Actually the chips, guacamole, and salsa were the best things to be had that evening but oh well, I didn’t leave hungry. Of course we took mom to see the pigs at Big Majors and actually beached the dinghy this time to get close and personal to them. Here we gave them some food scraps I had been saving for them and as usual they made a pig of themselves……We also took her to snorkel Thunderball Grotto and when she found she had to swim in a cave she was a bit iffy about it. I swear she thinks that Dirk and I are going to kill her yet before she makes it back to Germany. Once Dirk got her into the cave she held onto the wall as she fed the fish boiled rice and had them swimming around her. We both think she had a great time even though snorkeling is a bit rough for her to do seeing as this is only the second time she has done this in her life. Once we got back to the boat we threw the floaties off the boat, tied them to the davits and floated in the calm water reviewing the day’s events. Mornings start early and bed, well bed comes early when you try and fit so much into one day but it’s nice to have your eyes drop before your head hits the pillow. We would take off for points further north the following days but those events will wait until the next decent internet connection which could be who knows when. Seems the blog is getting further and further behind due to internet connections. Could be too that I have gotten a bit lazy but I'm claiming bad internet.That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

George Town Regatta race week

2011-05-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well here it is May 3rd and we survived the George Town Family Island Regatta. Its a week long event that consist of racing, food, music, and drinking. I think some of the people put more energy into the music and drinking part of it than the racing. Boats come from all of the Bahamas and are designed in the style of the old Bahamian skiffs. Here are the skiffs coming into the harbor on the ferry. Photo compliments of Irina on Auriga

The boats line up and set anchor waiting on the race to begin and when the gun is fired they must pull anchor and sail away. On some of the boats they allow the cruisers to become part of the crew depending on how much ballast they need due to the wind.

Here is Tida Wave that won overall in the A class with one of our cruiser friends on board

Here is the sailing skiff Anna Nicole from Freeport. She most of the time came in last but the crew had fun.

Almost a tangle of boats
On the days we watched there wasn't so much wind and still there were about 11 people on board.

In town the folks built what are called shacks all along the water front the week before. I think if you had enough liquor in your home you could bring it out and call it a bar. The typical Bahamian food of peas and rice, mac and cheese, jerk pork and chicken were easily had and were all very good
Conch fritters and Kalik beer, yum
We did go and walk the shacks sampling the fare and while out walking a friend of ours spotted two celebrities. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell were walking down the street checking things out for themselves. Dirk told me to get a pic of him as he walked by Goldie but instead I walked up and asked her if she would mind having a pic taken with him. Thanks Goldie. Dirk with Goldie Hawn. My hubby looks like a happy camper

On the 29th Dirks mom was due to fly in from Germany and arrive at 8:30 that night. We had the taxi pick us up at the market and traveled the 15 or 20 minutes out to airport just for them to tell us the flight from Miami had been cancelled due to weather. Apparently there were several bad storms along the east coast there and no planes were flying in or out. After a 60.00 taxi ride we headed back to the boat to try and get in touch with the airlines to find out when his mom would be arriving the next day, where she was and where she would be staying. We missed a call from his mom saying all the hotels were booked so her and many others were left to sleep on benches and floors till the next day. After a 24 hour flight from Germany I'm sure the last thing she was excited about was sleeping on a bench. Perhaps I would leave it up to Dirk alone to pick his mom up the next morning as we knew she wasn't a happy camper. The next morning she phoned to let us know her flight and she seemed to be in better spirits so we again got the 60.00 round trip to the airport and picked up a tired but grateful to be here mom. Mom in pink waving and happy to be here.
We took her downtown to watch a race and feed her then it was off to the boat to get her settled in.

Thanks goes out to Big Toot for the use of their big dinghy so we could get mom back without getting too wet. As usual she came bearing gifts and goodies of all the wonderful sweets Dirk and I both love.

Ummmmm........She even brought her grand kitty some treats. We spent the evening catching up and letting her take her first dip in the water and planted a nice drink in her hands.Soon after she was ready for bed and fell into bed at 8pm. After getting a good nights sleep we spent the next day catching up and took her on a hike up to the monument for a glimpse of the view and then over to the beach side for a nice long walk.

Tybee Time on the left with our friends on The Abby sailing out of the harbour and our friends boat Big Toot the trawler.

We ended up at the Sand Bar which is a little shack on the beach that serves some very good Bahama Mama drinks.I noticed while Alvin was filling the glasses with the liquor, Dirk stepped between his mom and the bar as he didn't want her to see just how much was going in. Boy, I am here to say the man does not skimp on his drink and after only one we were all put into a smiling mood. We then headed over to St. Frances resort where we usually play poker several times a week and ordered up some lunch along with a nice rum and pineapple drink. Like we needed it, but hey, Anke's on holiday. After lunch we headed to Volley Ball Beach and sat around talking while Dirk played a little volley ball. Boy, you can really tell that cruising season is just about over. Where once there were 9 players on each team there were only 4 or 5. So many folks have gone and so we think it is time for us also. On Monday the 2nd we decided it was time to head north so we pulled the anchor and headed to Emerald Bay Marina where we had stopped on the way down. We have stories to tell but alas that story will have to wait until the next blog.

Life in George Town

2011-04-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

Life here in Geroge Town can be as lazy or as hectic as you would like it to be. On one side of the Elizabeth Harbour is Great Exuma Island where the actual town is located and on the other side is Stocking Island where the beaches are. There are anchorages on either side and usually depending on what you’re doing is where you might anchor your boat. Stocking Island is home to Monument Beach home of the Sand Bar, Sand Dollar Beach and Volley Ball Beach home of the Chat and Chill Bar. Volley Ball Beach seems to be the busiest as on any given day there is dominoes, basket weaving, yoga, cards and well, volley ball being played. You have lots of tourist from the main island that get carted over on the water taxis and us cruisers that anchor right in front of it and dinghy to shore. Activities start at about 9 am with tournament volley ball and yoga and by the time that is done the bar opens and the music begins. Lots of people gather by the volley ball courts to shoot the breeze and watch the games while we watch the tourist turn bright red in an effort to make sure they go home with a tan once leaving in a week. You can take a short walk across the island and hit the Exuma Sound side which is the ocean side to walk on the practically deserted beautiful beaches. Dirk enjoying his life

Beautiful Exuma Sound

Nothing like having a half mile of beach to oneself to contemplate life.

On Monument Beach you can hike up to the monument and take a moment to soak in the beautiful scenery and wonderful turquoise waters below.

Chris & Irina with us overlooking the sound

The view from the monument overlooking Monument Beach

Trails lead all over the island and can give you quiet a work out as some are very steep and some have ropes to aid in pulling yourself up with.

Pull Nancy, pull...

Dirk, Chris, and Irina deciding the path to take

Our mornings usually start right before 8am as that’s when the cruisers net is on channel 68. Here is where you will catch the daily weather as some other poor soul got up at 6:30 to listen to Chris Parker and relays it for us. Then you get the local businesses telling what’s going on for the day as well as activities planned by boaters. People announce who is new in the anchorage and boats departing say their goodbyes. If you choose not to do one of the many beaches for the day you can go into town which is across the harbour and an easy trek on a calm day in the dinghy. If it’s windy prepare to get wet especially if you have several people, lots of groceries, or full water cans in the dinghy with you. As you head to town you must go under a small bridge into Lake Victoria where they have a long floating dock for dinghy’s to tie up to.

The bridge and only entrance to Lake Victoria
Here also is where you can fill up your water jugs for free with RO (reverse osmosis) water.Any time we go into town we take the water cans so as not to have to do any major water runs in one day. Town has just about all the amenities that you’re likely to get in the Bahamas. A decently stocked grocery store although one must get there right after the supply boat arrives if you want a good selection of fruits and veggies to pick through. The typical road side food shacks serving up Bahamian fare and the straw market where the ladies sit around all day weaving baskets and trying to get you to buy something, anything from them. On Wednesday mornings the highlight is the propane truck at 11, or 12, or 1, whatever suits their fancy, no problem mon….Usually boaters arrive early and start the line of tanks forming. On the day we needed a fill, the truck ended up being a couple hours late so us ladies took off to do other errands such as food shopping, buying internet from the pet place not to be confused with Pets Place which is a café. By the time we got back to the parking lot of propane tanks most of the men had dispersed to a little bar across the street for cold beer to fend off the heat. Finally the truck arrived and we were filled and headed on our way.

Tuesdays and Thursdays is Poker at St. Frances resort and we usually head over early so as to eat first. They have very good food and its priced very reasonable. We haven’t missed a day of poker since we have been here and we sometimes get invited to private games on the weekends that are meant for more of the serious players. We haven’t been doing bad at all with one or both of us making it at least to the final table and if we are lucky walking away with a bit of cash in our pocket which usually just paid our entry fee into the game but it’s the entertainment factor and the friends that we are making which makes it a lot of fun. Friday in town usually has a couple things going on to keep the average cruiser busy. Whether its Two Turtles with their barbeque ribs and live band or Fish Fry village which doesn’t exactly have fried fish as we found out. So why do people say they are heading over to the fish fry if there is no fried fish? “No problem mon”…. Sunday is the day for the pig roast on Volley Ball beach which creates a lot of boat traffic here in the anchorage. Pretty much the rest of the time one fills in the day with running errands, napping and trying to figure out your social calendar as there is so much to do. Some days we run so much I long for deserted islands again. This past Saturday was such a day, up at 8am for the cruisers net, 9am Dirk heads in for tournament volley ball, back to the boat, load water cans and selves into the dinghy and head across the harbor into town. Have lunch and help another cruiser with internet, I run to the market for a few quick items as Dirk fills the water jugs, speed back across the harbor, unload the dinghy, put away the groceries, change into bathing suits and hit the beach for fun volley ball at 2:30. After volley ball run back to the boat for a quick shower and head to poker for a private 6pm game. There were two being played that night but we could only make one as on Hamburger beach there was a parrot head party and ARG ( Alcohol Research Group) meeting going on. They were broadcasting Jimmy Buffetts live concert from Tampa as we stood around the bonfire consuming our research materials from ARG meeting. We finally left as the croud was dwindling and crashed. Not every day is that busy and thank goodness its not because I dont think I could keep up. I have to say, if your bored in George Town, its your own fault. The 26th of this month kicks off the Family Island Regatta and should be loads of fun. Already the town is building the shacks that will house all the food, drinks and fun. Its a week long event and should provide many fun times. On the 29th, Dirk's mom flys in from Germany to spend a couple weeks with us so Im keeping busy organizing, restocking and cleaning. So till next time let me get to it.

My pantry under the floor getting organized.

Exumas Part 3

2011-04-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

What was supposed to be 2 days at Emerald Bay Marina turned into three. Wow, this place was great with all its amenities. I spent the better part of one day taking advantage of the free front loading washers and got all the blankets and comforter washed and packed in plastic as we won’t need them anymore this season. We took advantage of the showers as this is the first time to have a real shower since the day we first arrived and stayed in Green Turtle at the marina. I can say mine were 15 minutes minimum with what seemed like endless hot water. When we had arrived here we met up with s/v Evensong that had been here several days waiting on some crew to come in so they could make tracks to Puerto Rico in order to store the boat for the season and head back home. Dirk & Dan spent their last day of lobstering together and ended up with one apiece. Only 2 more days were left in the season and Dirk was hoping for a bigger ending but he wasn’t complaining. We spent as much time with Ruth & Dan as we could before they took off and on the 30th they broke free of the dock and said farewell. With tears in our eyes we wished them fair winds and at least a fist full of water under their keels. As they motored out of the marina we knew we were going to miss them as they had become good friends. After they left, Dirk decided that he wanted to get in one more hunt, after all tomorrow concluded the season and he just felt like there were more out there to be had. Since Dan was gone it was up to me to go with him. I never like him to go on his own as you never know what else he might encounter. We ended up heading a bit down the coast and he found a shallow reef which yielded the biggest slipper lobster he has gotten and a decent spiny lobster. After that all he saw were small ones which would be safe until next year. We then headed back to the spot that Dan and Dirk had hit the day before and I don’t think Dirk was in the water 5 minutes before he popped up with his second biggest of the season. I told him that would be a great one to end the season on but he asked for 5 more minutes. After bagging another within a couple minutes he finally climbed back in the dinghy feeling good that now his season could end. So once we got back to the boat he tallied up the final count and concluded that the final score was 36. Not too shabby if I say so myself. Lucky for us we have the Engel freezer and we have our limit of ten frozen for later consumption. The biggie had a 10 in tail and the small one was right at 6 with the slipper and other lobster falling in between

Here is Dirk getting his photo op with the last catch of the season

On the 31st we decided it was time to head to George Town so we filled up our water tanks which by this time were getting fairly low and gave the boat a quick wash down as it had been some time since we had any rain. Dirk topped off the diesel at $5.40 a gallon and gas at $5.60. Good thing we are a sailboat as I would hate to see the damage some of these power boats do to their accounts to fill up. We pulled out of the slip and headed for points south and ended up anchoring at Monument Beach. The George Town area is supposed to be alive with many daily activities and we wanted to check it out and see what it was all about. Tuesdays and Thursdays are Texas Holdem poker nights so once we set the anchor our first order of business was to see what time this started and where. We got cleaned up and headed over looking forward to be playing once again. We belonged to a poker league back in Alabama and it had been some time since we actually had played in a tournament. It’s a $5.00 buy-in with pay outs to the top 5 players. We had 54 players and it took some time to get my bearings back but soon enough I was feeling comfortable. There were the usual donkeys (people who will bet on anything) and some good players out there. Dirk and I managed to both make it through the first round to color up and after the break it seemed they were dropping like flies. Soon we were down to 10 players and headed to the final table. Yea, I had made the final table but shucks Dirk was out. The pressure was on and after sitting down I realized I was the short stack with the target on my head. I had no choice but to pick a hand and go with it. I ended up with top pair but with a small kicker which gave another player the pot. Oh well, such is life, but it was a nice evening of entertainment and for 5 bucks I’m not complaining. The next day we decided to re-anchor in front of Volley Ball Beach so we wouldn’t have as far to go in the dinghy. View from the boat looking at Volley Ball Beach and Chat & Chill Bar We heard that regulation volley ball started at 1 and fun volley ball was at 2:30. Dirk was hoping to get in on the regulation game and went a little early to see what it would take. One of the guys set out and gave Dirk a chance to play which made him a very happy camper. He fit in well and ended up playing all the regulation games. Once the “fun” volley ball started they wanted me to play but with my carpal tunnel in my wrist I dared not as I knew it would take one hit to cause me a world of hurt. Every day since, Dirk has been heading in to play with the guys and since he is an active type of person he is loving it. There is a bit of a community here with people that come here early in the season and stay in the same spot till it’s time to head back for hurricane season. Every day you see the same people which makes for getting to know people easier. On Sunday they have a pig roast which seemed to bring lots of folks out along with the beautiful weather. The water temp is now close to 80 which makes me a happy camper. We had lost track of Chris & Irina on m/v Auriga once they decided to head north a bit before heading south again so Dirk called them on the phone to make sure all was well. As it turned out they were about 3 miles from George Town and would be meeting up with us at the beach later that day so we could do a little catching up. From left to right is Irina, Dirk, myself, Ruth & Dan from Evensong onboard Auriga one evening

Dirk & Chris onboard Auriga

They will be here for a while along with us so we have some time yet together. We are looking at being in this area till the end of the month perhaps taking a trip here and there to other islands close by. Until then we will continue to relax and enjoy the George Town area. As a follow up on the Panasonic camera that got water inside. We called the company as the camera was still under warranty. We had done some research on the camera and realized many people had the same problems as us as the seals apparently fail and allow for water intrusion. Panasonic has since done away with that model and now have a newer model. We explained to Panasonic that our camera was under warranty but we had no way of shipping it back till we could get back stateside. Could they please make note of our conversation as the camera warranty was up in May and we wouldn’t return until June. We even asked if we could pay full price for the newer model as it fit a little more into what we wanted and once they received our camera back if at that time they could reimburse us for the difference. They were no help saying we had to get the camera back by the warranty date and that I would be receiving a refurbished camera as a replacement, even though they knew them to be faulty. Dirk asked if he could speak to someone in charge as the customer service person had no authority to make any decisions. They told him they would speak to a higher up and get back to us ASAP with an answer. Once we didn’t receive any email reply we decided enough was enough. We found someone to return the camera back to them and they could send the replacement to my sister’s home. They would however not be selling us a new camera now or in the future as we have decided Olympus would be the way to go. It just amazes us that especially these days companies still are so unwilling to work with you. We weren’t asking for anything for free and actually were willing to pay them more money but the reply we got when we finally did get a reply was there wasn’t anything they could do. Well there was something we could do, not buy Panasonic. Lucky for us we were in an area that we had internet and were able to do much online. There was a guy we met in Norman’s that we had dinner with one evening that was heading back to the states in order to take care of some business. He offered to bring the camera back with him in about a week if we had it shipped to his home. That’s yet another reason this lifestyle is great, you can meet someone for the first time and in an hour trust them enough to accept cameras for you and know you will see them again. Many many thanks goes out to Peter on M/Y Journey for accepting the camera and other assorted items we requested my sister send him. If there is anything we can do for you let us know. Also our friends on Auriga had visitors with them and John agreed to take the defective camera with him back to the states and get it sent in before our warranty is up. We owe him many many thanks also as he refused to take any money for his troubles. I’m sure we will see you again and hope to repay you one day. As for my sister Kathy, I don’t think I thank her enough for everything she does for Dirk & I. She handles so many things for us, all with her hectic life she has. Thank You…… So now I am once again with camera. It’s taking a little time to get use to it but I think I will like it. We ended up getting the Olympus Stylus Tough-8010. Has 14 mega pixels, HD movie taking, and can be taken 33 feet under water. Hoping to be showing some nice underwater shots soon. So until next time we will be hanging around here in George Town until the end of the month at which time Dirk’s mom is suppose to fly in for a visit. It’s nice to just relax and do day to day as it happens and with so many activities going on it can actually get hectic. So let me get to it…..

Exumas Part 2

2011-03-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

After my camera bit the bullet, we went ahead and snorkeled the plane for a bit. Why give up the opportunity to do so and besides Dirk had his video camera to capture some stuff. It was as we had left it last year with the fish being as active and curious as before. We piled back in the dinghy after we were done and headed back to the boat but were distracted and stopped by the sailboat Triumph as Dirk saw he had a wetsuit on and just getting back from a possible hunting trip. As they were talking another dinghy pulled up that knew them, before long we decided to all head into the Norman’s Cay Beach Club, formally McDuff’s for dinner. Before long we were joined by Bob & Ginny from The Abby who we were anchored with in Highborne Cay. We spent the evening getting to know each other over a wonderful dinner and cocktails. Soon it was getting late and we made the trek back across the island to our awaiting dinghy’s and headed home. We waited out the blow in Normans without much excitement. I think only one boat drug but it was caught early and they re-anchored without any problems. The next couple days we traveled to Shroud Cay, Hawksbill Cay, and Warderick Wells in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. This is a no take zone which means no fishing, no conching, and no shelling. The fish and lobster know this and don’t seem at all intimidated or startled by human presence. In Warderick we climbed up to Boo Boo Hill again to update our sign we had left last year with the latest date of visit. We knew it was there as some of our friends further north than us mentioned they had seen it. We found it rather quickly even though it had faded writing and had been moved.

Here is the way we found our sign from last year

I set about going over the writing to darken it up and added our March 15th visit date.

Here I am with part of the signs atop Boo Boo Hill

We found a nice spot to perch it and then took the time to look for our last year’s buddy boats sign s/v Soverign Swan. We found hers also and placed her high atop the pile in a deserving spot. Last year Soverign Swan was destroyed in a marina fire not long after returning to the states. We still remember the good times spent on her with Dawn & Harvey wishing they could be here enjoying the Exumas once again with us. Here is a shot of the mooring field from Boo Boo Hill

After we left Warderick we headed back out to Compass Cay which is basically the first island outside the park. Aaaahh, Dirk was able to hunt once again. Our friends, Irena & Chris from the m/v Auriga were pulling into the anchorage right before us. If you remember, they are a couple we met in Spanish Wells along with s/v Evensong. We had not seen them since, and it was nice to catch up with them finally. The guys were able to hunt and it gave me the time to get some boat chores done. We stayed in Compass for two additional days together before we headed to Staniel Cay on Friday. Stainel is a nice area to anchor around and with an airstrip there it’s a popular pick up and drop off spot for friends and family flying in and out. Auriga opted to go futher south as we anchored at Big Majors Spot which is right around the corner from Staniel. The anchorage had about 60 boats in it and many of them very large motor vessels as the following evening was a big James Bond Party. Anyone having seen the movie Thunderball has seen the area we are in. There is the Thunderball grotto that you can swim and snorkel in with hundreds of fish flocking around as people normally take a bite for them to eat. Around the corner in Big Majors Spot is the “Pig Beach” where the pigs are fed by cruisers scraps and will swim out to greet you on the way in. Our plan was to stay for a couple days as a cold front was suppose to push through bringing with it winds in the 20 to 25 knot range with gust up to 30. s/v Evensong and m/v Auriga were to meet up with us as we were discussing heading over to the Bond party on Saturday. On Saturday Evensong arrived and anchored right next to us. Auriga radioed and said they were staying in Black Point for that evening and would catch up with us the next day. Dirk & I had gone into the Yacht club to check some e-mails and grab lunch, on the way back about 3pm we saw Evensong and stopped by to see what the plan for the evening was. Well one thing led to another, Kaliks were consumed, Ruth made everyone omelets for dinner and we talked well into the evening meeting and having fun with their guest Cindy and Gary that were in visiting. We never did make it to the Bond party but we had front row seats to a fabulous show by the very bright and big full moon. The following day Auriga showed up and we had a couple days to have a reunion. On the 23rd we finally left Staniel and headed south . This would be new to us as last year our furthest point south was Staniel. We made tracks on the outside so as Dirk could throw the lines out and troll. As we left the cut something hit and as Dirk pulled it in he knew it was something small as it wasn’t fighting. As we got it to the boat we realized why. A shark must have attacked him as there was only a head and some entrails on the line. Poor guy…. The only other thing caught that day was a barracuda or two and they got tossed back in. We had heard of Black Point as a great and one of the very few places to do laundry in this stretch of the Exumas. There is also Lorraine’s Café that you always hear cruisers speak of. Auriga joined us in Black Point as Evensong stayed in Staniel one more day due to some bad fuel they had gotten. They would rejoin us the following day after polishing their fuel to clean it. We spent 3 days in Black Point doing laundry, grabbing a few fresh items at the grocery store and eating a Lorraine’s a couple times. Dirk & Chris decided to try their luck lobstering but only small ones were seen. The season was getting short and Dirk was anxious to move on to more promising waters. On Saturday the 26th we decided to move on down to Little Galliot Cay as it looked like a nice anchorage. We threw down the hook and took off in the dinghy for what looked like some promising reefs. I putted around while waiting on Dirk to check out the reef, see it wasn’t anything special then move on. We saw a nice bit of beach near some rocks so I decided to beach comb while Dirk hunted. I spent about an hour walking the beach finding small things here and there, nothing special, but the beach was beautiful and I had it all to myself even taking a few dips in the water which is now getting to a forgiving temperature. I hate cold water…When Dirk came to pick me back up I noticed he had a few antenna sticking out of the bucket. Yea, he had success and he was a happy camper. He proudly showed me his 6 in tail he had gotten, then the lobster with the 8 in tail and when I thought he was done he lifted his fins off of a monster he had hiding in the bottom of the dinghy. Holy cow….I knew my husband was incredibly proud of this baby and photo opps were a must. When we got back to the boat he tried and tried to hail Auriga or Evensong on the radio to tell of his good fortune. Auriga had gone back north to hit some spots missed before and Evensong had left for Emerald Bay to wait on crew to fly in to help them go to Puerto Rico. He was bursting to tell someone, anyone and there was no Internet either, could he survive? Well he managed and the next morning we took off for Rat Cay. Once again as soon as the anchor was set we hit the dinghy and the reefs but today instead of lobster he managed to spear a nice hog fish and a beautiful yet tasty queen trigger fish. On the way back in he picked up 4 conch. Thank goodness he was getting all this fish and lobster as our food stores for meat is nonexistent unless you want to count the pack of hot dogs and chicken legs stowed in the freezer. We were to move onto Emerald Bay Marina the next day as that is where Evensong had gone and we heard very nice things about it from cruisers heading north. As we pulled into the cut we saw very nice floating docks and were directed to our slip where there was someone there to assist with lines. Once tied up we were given a folder with marina and resort information. Dirk was given a quick once over of this way to the grocery, that way to showers, and there is the office, etc. etc. etc. We got the boat settled and headed up to take a look around. Wow, what a grand marina with a lounge outfitted with 2 huge flat screen TV’s, and a pool table. Downstairs was the free laundry and the very nice shower that all you needed to bring was a change of clothes and a towel. All your soaps, shaving creams, conditioners, lotions, mouthwash and even sunscreen was provided. Wow, guess we have been living on a boat too long, this was sweeeeet. So since I have a free Internet signal I will close for now and get this posted. We will move onto George Town tomorrow and I hear that we can get Internet there fairly easy, we shall see.

Exumas part 1

2011-03-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

We awoke on the 8th of March to motionless boat which meant the winds were calm. Today was Dirk’s Birthday and we were really hoping that today would be the day to catch a nice tuna or Mahi Mahi for a well deserved present. At 7:02 we were under way putting the mainsail up in hopes to get a little push from that. As soon as we hit the deeper waters of the Atlantic Dirk put the lines out and we sat back for the waiting game to begin. The winds were light and the seas were so calm in fact that I was able to go below and make a key lime birthday pie for Dirk. Afterward I sat back in the cockpit and read a book which in even moderate conditions I can’t do, due to feeling ill while my eyes are glued to the pages. I got through several chapters with no problems, served lunch and cleaned up the boat some. All the while Dirk sat in the cockpit waiting for the elusive fish. As we were nearing the Exuma Banks the winds and sea conditions started to deteriorate as predicted by Chris Parker, the weather guru. It wasn’t bad but it was beginning to pick up. As Dirk wanted to get the most fishing out of the drop off area we had aimed north of the Highborne cut channel where we would then turn south and ride the ridge down. Basically the banks are very shallow and they drop off very quickly to well over 1000 feet. It seems the best luck we have had is to travel right along the drop off so we did but then that put the winds and waves onto our beam. (Hitting us from the side) This makes for an uncomfortable ride if the waves are of any size. Of course this is the time that buuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the reel on the left side of the boat starts screaming so I pull back on the rpms and just coast in forward gear and start pulling in the hand line on that side so as not to get the reel and that line tangled as Dirk gets the fish in. Next thing we hear is snap. That would be the clothes pin popping indicating there was a fish on the hand line on the other side of the boat. I’m racing around trying to get one line up and then run to the other side pulling in the other line hoping that another fish doesn’t decide to hit the reel we have on that side. Too many fish, not enough hands. As we pull them in, the one Dirk had on leaped out of the water and boy was he good size, unfortunately he decided it wasn’t a good day to die and shook the hook out and got away. To say the least Dirk was upset, but we still did have the one I was reeling in. We got him next to the boat and he was alive with neon blues and yellows, beautiful… Anyone who has never seen a Mahi Mahi in the water while it is excited and flashing is missing out. It’s amazing the intense colors and soon after landing them they turn very drab so photos have to be taken quickly. Unfortunately for us we were not to have any photo ops this day. When we got the fish alongside the boat Dirk was waiting to gaff it and couldn’t get low enough to do so as the fish was fighting for his life. One too many times of head shaking and the lure popped out and off he went. After a string of words I will choose not to write, the boat was silent, it was time to get to the cut and get anchored. We knew that Ruth & Dan from s/v Evensong would be in the anchorage as we had heard from them earlier in the day. We had not seen them since Spanish Wells and were planning on meeting up with them tonight. We made it through the cut and turned right into the north anchorage pulling behind Evensong and dropping the hook in sand so soft it swallowed it up. We settled the boat in and got cleaned up then headed over to Evensong for cocktails. I brought the birthday pie as I thought the more the merrier to celebrate and once they found out it was Dirk’s Birthday Ruth was kind enough to pull some Mahi steaks out of the freezer to throw on the grill. While catching up with them over drinks and conch salad we traded stories and related today's fishing mis adventure. Dinner was served with yellow rice and was outstanding, thanks goes to Ruth and Dan for being so kind. We broke the key lime pie out and Ruth decided that it should be served with some of their fine sipping rum. Uuuummmmm. The winds were out of the east and the the waves and surge made for a very rolly evening for everyone. Well everyone with the exception of the boat, well 95 foot yacht s/v Windcrest that anchored next to us. It made the 45 foot s/v The Abby look like a dinghy. Must be nice to have the crew sail your vessel, maintain it, and your chef preparing meals but would I want to cruise like that all the time? I don’t think so, as most of what cruising is all about is the hands on kinda stuff. All the mishaps one makes. Try changing oil in a rolly anchorage without making a mess, hell for that matter try rolling out of bed on a rolly evening without binging off every bulkhead on the way to the head. Then when you get there, bracing yourself on the wall in front of you as not to fall off the toilet. Who would give that up? Who would want to……The next day Evensong headed back south to Warderwick Wells and we were going to stay put so that we could dinghy up to Allens Cay and see the iguanas. It was a wet and hard ride up to Allens as one must cross over the cut and are subject to the full force of Mother Nature but as soon as we tucked in behind the island and into the cove, the winds died and the water flat. We beached the dingy and by the time we had our feet on the beach the iguanas were headed out to greet us. The iguanas in Allens are the only ones left like them and they remind me of little dinosaurs running amuck.

I laid my bag down on the beach and they ran over to it to see if I had any tasty treasures for them tucked insideHere is the dinghy in the cove at Allens

After visiting with them a bit we headed off from reef to reef with the looky bucket to see what we could see. A looky bucket to us and many others is a must have while cruising as it makes one’s life so much easier. It’s basically a five gallon bucket with the bottom cut out and replaced with plexi glass. It’s great for checking your anchor to make sure your set or to look for conch if you don’t want to jump in. If you’re just puttering around looking at reefs it’s a good way to stay dry yet see the wildlife. We did stop on the way back to the boat at a promising reef and Dirk did manage to snag a small black grouper. After a very bumpy wet ride back we made it back to the boat and called it a day. The following morning we were planning on heading to Normans Cay but first we needed to hit the Highborne Cay marina for water as it would be the last place we could get it for a while and while we were there we topped off fuel even though we really didn’t need it but we have been hearing of places out of fuel so we better get it when we can. Diesel was $4.88 which I didn’t think was bad at all considering, and water has gone up to .50 cents a gallon. When Dirk went inside to pay he checked out the prices of some food items and spotted individually wrapped red bell peppers for $10.90 per pepper, greens ones $5 .80 per pepper. Yes folks you read that right, $10.90 per red bell pepper. I told him at least it ought to have a bow on it. Geeeze, I think we will just have to run out and do without. Our plan was to run down the outside to Normans cut and anchor inside the cut as the winds were due to be coming from the north and this was pretty much the only protected place there to go. We left the marina and headed toward the Atlantic, fishing lines and poles at the ready and once we got to deeper water Dirk put them in for what we were hoping would be the day to catch a fish. We weren’t far from the cut when Dirk was just getting the words “I don’t guess we’re going to get any fish today” out of his mouth when snap, the hand line on the starboard side went off. Dirk ran to start pulling it in as I put the boat in idle and this time grabbed the gaff and the net, this one wasn’t getting away if we had anything to do with it. Dirk got it up to the boat as I was attempting to get the Mahi Mahi into the net, he wasn’t cooperating. Each time I would try to work the net around him he would thrash. Finally after many attempts I got the net over him and had him hauled over the side where at that point it was Dirk’s job to keep him still. I ran for the spray bottle of brandy we keep in the cockpit for this reason. It’s used to spray in the fishes gills and it sedates them and sends them onto bluer waters quickly. Dangit, it had been so long since we had trolled that I had forgotten to refill the bottle and it had evaporated, next line of defense was to grab the fish club and I handed it to Dirk as I quickly left the scene. This is the part I don’t like to see or hear so I walked back to the cockpit with fingers in ears and all I’m hearing is whack, whack, whack, the damn fish will not stop thrashing, so I run downstairs grab the bottle of Brandy hand it to Dirk and tell him just to pour it in his mouth, I don’t care, just do it. He takes a big mouthful and spits it into the gills, I have never seen a fish fight so much but finally he succumbed and we could continue on.
It took a while for Dirk to get the mess of hand lines untangled and back out but not too much fuss later and the lines were set. Dirk than set about the task of cleaning the fish, as we do not have the ability to throw it in an ice chest full of ice and deal with it later. We still had a bit to go and we couldn’t let the fish sit in the sun till then. He measured the fish at 40 inches long, not too shabby if I have to say and it was a bit too long for the cleaning station on the rail so he began to deal with it on the side deck. We were just outside of our way point, the point at which we were to turn and go into the cut, when snap, snap, both hand lines popped at the same time. Dirk began the task of pulling in his side and I mine. I didn’t have any gloves on and pulling in this fish on a hand line was a bit unnerving. All he needed to do was take off running and I was going to have some nasty cuts on my hand. There were the bloody ones that Dirk had on with the last fish but I couldn’t be picky, I threw one on and continued on. I got the Mahi close to the boat and waited on Dirk to get his in so that he might help me with mine. As his got close to the boat a few thrashings and it was gone, I still had mine though and as I held him close Dirk was able to gaff him and get him on board. After the first fish I had decided to refill the brandy bottle and good thing. We sprayed him in the gills and he settled into his final sleep without much of a fight. Dirk measured him and he was 41 inches long, yeah us….
So now we had one fish on the cleaning station with his cleaning just begun and we had another on the starboard deck, we were at our way point in which it was time to turn into Normans Cay. There is a maze of coral heads one much be watchful of so we pulled in the rest of the lines in, put the fish under sheets in the shade of the cockpit to get them out of the heat and sun and headed in. As soon as we got in the channel we pulled to the side inside the cut and threw the anchor out. We would find a final anchor spot as soon as we got the fish taken care of. We hated the thought of them sitting out for too long, so while Dirk set about the task of cleaning fish I set about the task of cleaning the decks from what looked like a murder had taken place. It took me about an hour to get the dried, congealed blood scrubbed from the deck and cabin top. I’m sure there are spots I missed but hopefully come the next rain it will wash it off, if it ever rains. It’s been a very dry cruising season thus far for us. After the fish were filleted, vacuum sealed and put into the freezer we decided to move further to the west and re anchor in a bit deeper water. The anchorage was filling up quickly as there was to be some northern winds blowing through and this was one of the few places close by to go. Once the boat was settled we decided it was early enough to snorkel the plane submerged there. The history of Normans Cay is interesting and the plane was apparently a drug plane that went down there. It has since become a great place to snorkel as the fish are very thick. Last year I had ruined my digital camera in Spanish Wells when our dinghy almost capsized as we were approaching a beach, I learned and purchased a shockproof and waterproof camera. I have really enjoyed the camera and it took beautiful photos above and below water. I jumped into the water to begin snorkeling when the camera flashed twice. I thought I might have accidentally hit something and tried turning it on again, it flashed twice again and went off. Hummmmm, Dirk took it back to the dinghy and opened it up, it had water in the battery compartment…..Long story, my digital camera has given up the ghost and it is less than a year old. Now the fun is to begin of trying to get the old camera back to Panasonic and order in a new camera all when there are no post offices around. Stay tuned for how that all worked out as well as our continued travels. One must post the blog when you get the chance and my chance is now. Till later….

Eleuthera

2011-03-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

We had arrived in Spanish Wells on the 23rd of February and picked up one of the two remaining mooring balls that Bandit the Harbor master had available. Apparently he was a hot commodity as daily the radio would buzz with people hoping to perhaps be the first to grab one if someone would leave. Each morning just like clockwork Bandit would come by at 7::30 and knock on your boat to collect the night’s fees of $15.00. He would usually chat a bit and Dirk chatted about fishing & lobster trying to pull some local fishing knowledge out of him. Not much luck was had but he would keep trying. We finally decided to be smart and pay him for a day in advance; perhaps we could sleep in tomorrow. The next morning, rap, rap, rap, “Good Morning” I peeked out the port hole and said “Didn’t we pay you for two days yesterday?” He agreed we had but “He just thought we would be awake so he stopped by to talk” At this point we had been on the mooring for 5 days and perhaps he felt we had earned some information as he let Dirk in on some spots to lobster. Enough said….Before Bandit was finished making his rounds Dirk had the dinghy loaded and was ready to go. A couple hours later we returned to the boat with 4 lobsters. One of which was the 2nd largest caught by Dirk. Thanks Bandit…. 3 spiny lobster, 1 slipper lobster, and 1 conch was the days haul

While in Spanish Wells we met two new cruising couples, Dan & Ruth from s/v Evensong a beautiful large Catamaran and Chris & Irina from m/v Auriga, a huge trawler. The first evening we met Evensong and got to know each other over sun downers in their very large cockpit. The following evening Auriga came in so we had both couples over to Tybee Time and her cozy cockpit. Evensong provided a fresh conch salad, Auriga a nice chilled bean soup and of course Dirk made up a large batch of conch fritters. One really great thing I like about cruising is the fact you can meet a total stranger, yet feel comfortable enough to invite them for cocktails usually all within a few minutes after meeting them. Everyone has a different story to tell yet at this time we are all writing on the same page. It doesn’t matter how big and fancy ones boat is, how much money one may or may not have but the willingness to learn from each other as we all have the same desire. To grab life and squeeze every last bit of living you can get from it. Have I mentioned before, I love this life?

On Monday the 28th we decided it was time to go so we slipped off the mooring, stopped at Pinder’s market for fuel & water and then we were off. As we pulled away from the dock one of our bumpers came off the lifeline and slipped into the water. Dangit, not so easy just to swing the boat around and pick it up so Dirk slowed back, I took the helm as he jumped into the dinghy, untied it, put the motor down and sped off to retrieve it as I puttered on down the harbor. Soon enough he was back with the bumper on board, Ah….that’s about $40.00 bucks he just saved us. We headed down to current cut and anchored by the beach along with 3 other boats to wait on tide change so we would have the least amount of trouble getting through the cut. It’s not called current cut for no reason. If you don’t time it correctly you can get yourself into trouble as the current sweeping through there can rip. Power boats have an easier time as they have the ability to power through if the current is against them. Sailboats on the other hand just don’t have the ability so we have to wait. Once we made it to the other side we made tracks to Hatchet Bay. We really enjoyed this place last year and the government has about 10 free mooring balls to tie up to as holding in the “pond” as they call it is less than desirable. You may have to provide your own rope as ours came only with the mooring ball and a shackle on top. As Dirk lay on the front of the boat next to the anchor, line in hand, I maneuvered the boat to the ball as he reached down and fed the line through. Wow, first try…As soon as we tied up the boat next to us s/v Katarina who had been travelling with us told us dinner was at six as they had caught a snapper on the trip today. Like I said before, what a great life. At six, us and the other boat that had made the trip to Hatchet all met for sun downers and a wonderful dinner of snapper on the grill, and rosemary potatoes. After a couple bottles of wine we all said our goodbyes and headed home. Sleep came easy as it had been a long day. The two other boats took off the next day to head further south but we elected to stay for a couple more days and wait out the weather we had coming. I knew there was someplace to do laundry and a small market to replenish our fresh veggies at so it would be a productive stop. Last year here for us also scored us lots of pretty sea glass so of course we had to hit the beach. Its quiet a hike across the island down a semi paved road that turns into a dirt road, past the animals grazing at large, which then turns into a path which then turns into, well you get the idea, its a long hike.

We found several nice pieces but it wasn't the jack pot of a beach as it was last year. Oh well, I still scored some nice ones. As we headed back to the dinghy we stopped by Francis & Gina's place, The Front Porch to have a beer. We had met the couple last year and they were great so we wanted to stop in and say hello again this year. They remembered Dirk, said he had that face...We decided to make reservations for dinner the following evening as they will cook whatever it is you want or you can order from a standard menu. We arrived at 6:30 electing to sit on the porch overlooking the bay where a nice table had been set for us. Apparently we were the only dinner patrons for the night, nice....We started off with a Kalik (beer of the Bahamas) while our dinner was being prepared. Dirk had ordered the T-bone and I the chicken. Francis asked how I wanted it prepared and I said " just do what you do". Our salads came out and as everyone that cruises the Bahamas knows, you don't get much fresh produce and greens here. I don't know how, but the salad was made up of several greens and tasted so incredibly fresh. Some of which we saw him picking fresh from his small herb garden. Dinner was served along with incredible broccoli and carrots and to die for rosemary potatoes. Dirk's steak was cooked raw to perfection like he likes it and my plate arrived with an entire half of chicken spilling over the sides. Doesn't look like I will be going hungry tonight. Everything was so incredible we couldn't or didn't want to speak as we were too busy enjoying every bite. After our plates were cleaned we elected to indulge and have dessert which for the evening was homemade cheesecake ice cream atop a homemade mango glaze and covered in a berry reduction sauce. Ummmmm Ummmmm Ummmm we think we are in heaven. All in all we both agreed that this was a five star meal and the best we had ever had. Kudos to Francis & Gina from The Front Porch, if you are ever on Eleuthera it will be well worth the trip to see them. You will not be let down.

The Front Porch from our bow

After six days we decided it was time to make the 15 mile run down to Governors Harbour. Last year when we were here it took us about an hour to anchor the boat as you may find a sandy spot but to get your hook to set is another story. Even the cruising guides note the poor holding as there is about 4 inches of sand covering what they call marl? which is a hard surface your anchor will just slide around on. Not good if you have any notable winds. There are moorings in the anchorage which are government owned but chances of locating them due to nothing being above water is slim to none. As Dirk was in the Dinghy with the looky bucket searching for the concrete block under the water he spied a floating bottle and went to investigate. Lo & Behold someone had attached a bottle to the line thus giving us a way to pick it up without having to dive under to place a line ourselves. Later that evening we are on the Internet and a fellow boater who is now in George Town asked us if the buoy he attached to the mooring was still there. Ha, lucky us, Thanks Chris. We were the only boat besides the locals in the harbor so it made for a quiet evening. The only sounds waking us were the roosters in the early morning hours. The following morning found us making our way to Rock Sound where we were to stage for the crossing to the Exumas the following morning. It was a calm afternoon as we pulled in, the water looking like glass. Dirk headed into town to score some last minute veggies and some fuel for the crossing. Later he came back and said he spotted a restaurant and we would go in for a bite to eat. We got cleaned up and headed into the dinghy dock not having any problems finding a seat as we were the only patrons we selected a table overlooking the harbor and had a wonderful meal along with some Kalik's.

Here is a shot taken from our dining table

Tybee Time against the sunset as we headed home.

The next morning we headed out to Highborne Cay Exuma and that reader is where I will leave off until I am lucky enough to get working Internet once again.

Here, There, and Everywhere

2011-02-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

We returned to Marsh Harbor once the winds decided they weren’t calming down at Man O War and ended up spending a week at anchor there. We took the opportunity to enjoy Valentine’s day at Snappa’s with a meal I didn’t have to cook and enjoyed the sunset casting a beautiful glow on the harbor as we listened to a local artist belt out songs we knew all the words to. There was some final laundry and provisioning to do the following day in preparation of leaving, and on the 17th we topped off of the fuel and water tanks and headed out. We anchored up on the outside of Hope Town so that we could make the run at high tide down to Tahiti Beach the next morning. We had spoken with Kathy & Earl aboard s/v Seeker about the possibility of them coming over to anchor with us so Dirk could take them out to teach them the correct ways of conch trolling as I think they misunderstood just a wee bit our instructions before. So as not to have Earl end up missing fingers or having prop marks on his forehead Dirk explained that one needs a rope longer than 2 feet tied to the back of the dinghy while trolling with a person in tow. It was a successful trip and the guys came back with dinner in the boat. A quick lesson on cleaning and Seeker took off to make it to Man O War for the night as Dirk & I settled into a quiet evening.

Almost a full moon on our anchorage

The next morning we were joined by Ace & Suzie from s/v Ace’s Wild which are also from Panama City FL. We were all planning on attending the Cracker P’s full moon party that evening so we anchored up at Tahiti beach which is a short dinghy ride across from Lubbers Quarters. Once we dropped the hook at Tahiti we made a bee line for the beach to enjoy yet another beautiful day full of sunshine. First order of business was for Dirk to climb a coconut tree, retrieve two green coconuts and make us a coconut and rum cocktail. Rum in a fresh coconut and Tybee Time at anchor behind

After all it was 5 O’clock somewhere. We ended up playing several games of beach Bocce ball which I had never played before but turns out I really enjoyed. A bit of beach combing, and then back to the boat to clean up so we could make it in time for sun downers at Ace’s Wild. We were joined by Jose’ & Bill from Caper who would end up travelling with us for a couple days along with Ace’s Wild and Big Toot. At about 7 we climbed in the dinghy and headed in to Cracker P’s, but first we made a stop at Hobbs and Heidi’s boat m/v Big Toot. We met them last year and had a blast with them so it was nice to meet up with them again. A bit of time getting reacquainted while the full moon rose and it was off to Cracker P’s for what promised to be a good evening. Ace, Suzie and us having a great time

The following morning my aching head told me that we indeed had a good time. There were places to go and things to see so we pulled Tybee Times anchor and headed to Snake Cay followed by Ace’s Wild, Caper, and Big Toot. We were here last year and the entrance to the dinghy trail has a fairly deep hole where spotted eagle rays like to fly around gracefully and feed. We arrived right as the tide was going out and the current was pretty rough but we found if you stayed close to the wall you could swim upstream than drift back, cross over and do it again and again. We didn’t see as many rays as last year but we did manage to see lots of sea life and it made for a great snorkel. one heck of a starfish found by Dirk

A pretty big Lion fish I spotted

The only photo I managed to get of the Eagle Ray

Snake Cay is a nice day anchorage but not so good for the evening because the holding isn’t that great so after the snorkel and dinghy ride through the marsh we headed back to our boats, pulled anchor and sailed across the bay to Tiloo Cay where it was just us four boats in the anchorage. We decided that happy hour would be on Big Toot because they were the only one that had a boat big enough to hold everyone. We all contributed a bit of food and we had a wonderful spread to choose from.

I love sun downer parties

Lots of great conversation led into lots of jokes and eventually led us to playing charades. Some very hard things were played but yet we managed to get them all and the game ended up in a tie. We women showed the men that we couldn’t be beat. We soon found it late and we all soon departed and headed back to our own boats. Tybee Time as the sun went down behind her

The following morning we picked up anchor and headed even further south to Lynyard Cay which is the jump off point for the crossing to Eleuthera. Thanks to Ace's Wild for snapping this great photo of Tybee Time under sail.

We were due to have up to 20 knot winds so Big Toot headed on in to Little Harbor but due to the tides and knowing that we could not get in we elected to stay on the Outside. Dirk, Ace, Bill & Suzie ended up going conching as Jose’ & I decided we wanted beach time. Several hours later they returned with their limit each. It was a good day not to be a conch. Conch trolling, the art of pulling people behind the dinghy to cover lots more ground while looking for conch.

After what seemed to be forever the men returned from cleaning the conch at the beach. Of course a lesson on how to make fritters and conch salad was taken and a nice meal was had. The following morning we pulled anchor in order to make it into Little Harbor on high tide and settled onto a mooring ball right in front of Pete’s Pub.

A bit of cleaning up, and it was off to enjoy a wonderful lunch and to partake in Pete’s signature drink the Blaster. The saying along with the drink name is “Why walk when you can crawl” That about sums that up. After lunch we took a stroll on the beach as it was nearing low tide and I scored several pieces of very nice sea glass which I have been practicing turning into jewelry.

Some pendents for necklaces above

Above is the prized piece of glass that Dirk found for me last year in Hatchet Bay that I turned into a necklace.

Later on we were invited to have dinner aboard Ace’s Wild and Ace said to wear something pirate related as that was the theme. If we didn’t have anything he would hook us up. Well since we have been cruising I have had pirate costumes stashed under the v-berth and so it was time to knock the dust off of them and put them to use. We arrived to dinner with our knives drawn and ready to collect our booty.

It was a fun evening yet again eating our fill. Thanks go to Ace & Suzie for a great meal and conversation.

Of course pirates bring their own conch horns for the evening

The next morning it was time to say good bye as we were heading back to Lynyard Cay and Ace's Wild to Hope Town. What a great fun filled week it had been but it was time to move south and tomorrow seemed the day to do it. Apparently everyone else thought so too as there were about 20 boats in the anchorage. Dirk hit the reefs that afternoon and returned home with 1 lobster and one mangrove snapper and after cleaning the catch we hit the beach for some beach combing and returned home with a nice selection of sea glass. We had an early dinner,watched a video, and turned in early as it would be an early departure for us the following day. Up at 5:30 and having pulled anchor we were underway at 6:02 along with 6 other boats taking off at the same time. Once we all made it out the pass we all settled into our own routines, setting sails and kicked back to enjoy the perfect crossing that it appeared we were going to get. We heard on the radio from the boat in front of us that they had spotted whales off their starboard side so of course we scamper about to see if we can also spot them. There ahead off to the right we indeed saw the spray from the blow holes and once I could get a better look I sorted through my books and think that they were dwarf sperm whales as they can be found in the Abacos quite a bit according to the cruising guide. We weren’t able to get close up to them and wouldn’t dare to anyway. I have seen the video where the whale crashes on deck of the sail boat. No thanks…..It was however our first whale sighting and was cool to see. It was a totally wonderful day with what worked out to be a beautiful sail the whole way with only a few minor adjustments to the sails. Once we started to hit the shallow water of Eleuthera Dirk finally got a hit on one of his four fishing lines he had out and pulled in a small Bonito. He got tossed back and and before Dirk could get all the line out again he got another hit which turned out to be a small shark.It took us a while, but we managed to get him off the line and back into the water without injury to anyone. I didn’t realize sharks went for lures but maybe this one struck before he thought too much. By the time we got him back in the water it was time to pull the lines in as we would be making our turn at Egg Island and into Eleuthera. Nine hours after we started we had arrived. A few of the other boat broke off and headed into Royal Island but us and one other continued onto Spanish Wells where we were to pick up a mooring ball. I'm glad we decided to continue on as Bandit, the mooring ball operator only had two balls left and we and the other boat got them. Sleep came early and easy that night and we awoke to beautiful skies, warm weather and are now anxious to continue south. We will be here for a couple days then head on down to Hatchet Bay. We enjoyed it there last year and are looking forward to going back. In the mean time we continue to meet lots of new cruisers and make new friends.

Island hopping and lobster hunting

2011-02-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

On the 30th of January we finally left Green Turtle and headed towards the Whale. The whale is a area of the Abacos where one must exit into the Atlantic ocean for about 30 minutes only to veer back into the banks at Great Guana. Unless you have a very shallow draft vessel you don’t attempt the inside but there are several conditions that make the whale a place you want to wait for calm or calmer weather for as there are several reefs that one could get washed onto if not careful. Also if it is rough than it makes for an unpleasant ride. Hey were not here to win any races so we get there when we get there. On the day we picked to proceed through the whale it couldn’t be better, well it could have been if we would have gotten any kind of bite on the lines we threw out. Oh well, maybe on our way down to Eleuthera we may get lucky as there is really no fishing to be done on the banks due to it being so shallow. We ended up in the anchorage outside of Grabber’s,

Sunset from Grabbers beach

a local hangout for cruisers, put the hook down and headed up to Nipper’s for their Sunday pig roast. It’s another local hangout painted shades of pinks, blues, yellows,and greens overlooking the Atlantic with the beautiful shades of water the Bahamas are so famous for.

View from the top of Nippers

They also have the famous frozen Nipper that will soon make you want to get up and dance. No wonder these places are always so festive, the states need to take lessons from the Bahamians on how to make a drink. They definitely do not skimp on the good stuff…..So after partaking in the all you can eat pig roast we walked the beautiful white sand beach to try and walk a bit of it off before returning and having maybe a few too many of those frozen Nipper’s, They do sneak up on you….The next day we hung around the boat doing some neglected chores, I mean who wants to clean when paradise beckons…and later we took a long dinghy ride over to Spoil Cay,aka Shell Island and found several very nice shells.

On Tuesday Dirk was chomping at the bit to go hunting so we headed out to some reefs and he was more than happy to bag one. On Wednesday we were going to head to Marsh Harbor as we needed to do some re provisioning but not before Dirk took one more look at some promising reefs he had seen the day before. A few hours later he returned with 3 lobsters and a big grin,

he was happy and I was glad. We soon shoved off and made the uneventful trip into Marsh Harbor, set the hook down in almost the exact spot as last year and called it a day. I was surprised to find out that Marsh Harbor now has a new grocery store which upon entering made me feel like I was back in the states. I was so excited with only expectations of finding what I could and making due as is so often the case in the Bahamas. You get what you get and be happy you got it at all. Upon entering I saw every fruit and veggie one finds in the states but also some others that I had never seen before. I spent lots of time up and down the aisles looking at the stuff I was familiar with and daring to try some of the local products. I may be wrong but I think that some of the prices have actually gone down, yes I said down since last year when we were here and lots of the items were very compatible to prices back home. I bought a bag of coleslaw for $2.19 And a large 46oz size of pineapple juice for $ 2.59, a 2 liter of tonic water was $1.89, canned corn on special .79 cents a can and I got tostitoes for 1.99 a lg. bag. Usually chips run 6 to 7 dollars a bag here so we don’t eat them once we run out of what we brought with us. To top it off, no sales tax....Wow. So I stocked up on what I could and hit the liquor store on the way back. I learned last year that beer here is outrageous at about 46.00 a case, but liquor is cheaper than the states, even the name brands. We carry beer from the states where we can fit it in but once it’s gone, it’s gone. Laundry was done the following day and then we took off for the quaint island of Elbow Cay and Hope Town. We grabbed a mooring ball as there is no anchor room and settled ourselves in for a couple days. Super Bowl Sunday we headed out to do a little hunting at the reefs, I say we, Dirk does the hunting as I sit and sun in the dinghy reading or doing whatever. He was happy at the end of the day as he bagged 3 more lobster and 5 conchs. Back to the boat to clean the catch and then over to Harbors Edge Restaurant to watch the game. Neither of us had a favorite team as we really aren’t into football much but it was something to do for the evening. After the slightly disappointing half time show we went back to the boat and turned in early. Monday was a lazy day beach combing and later we had Carol & Dave from s/v Zydeco over for some fresh conch fritters. Carol and Dave use to be our dock neighbors several years ago in Panama City when we still owned our power boat before we saw the light of sailing. They have finally broken free to travel this year and we have run into them on every island we visit which is not unusual at all. You run into the same folks over and over again which makes this lifestyle great. The next day it was calm and Dirk wanted to try his luck again at the reefs taking a single hander along with him that had wanted to go. For those of you non sailors, that means someone travelling alone. I have to give those people credit for having the courage to leave the safety of their dock, travel across the Gulf Stream to explore and travel all by their selves. Normally it is men but on occasion you do find a woman. So Dirk took this guy John out to show him how to find lobster and conch. John didn’t find any but Dirk came back with the biggest one he has gotten so far. The tail alone measured a little over 9 inches. After many photos of his trophy he was vac u sealed and put in the freezer for later consumption.

Here is Butter's checking out Mr. Lobster

We can’t eat lobster every day now can we? So the following day we headed to Man O War with the idea of staying a couple days but Mother Nature had other plans. That evening the winds picked up and we had a pretty rolly night with no let up in the winds for a couple days in sight so it was back to Marsh Harbor to seek some shelter. We have been sitting here for about a week now planning our next move which should be tomorrow. Looks like we may head out of here and head to Tahiti Beach and perhaps Friday catch the Cracker P’s full moon party than make tracks to Little Harbor and wait for a window to head on down to Eleuthera. Once we arrive there the Internet will be less than grand so I will update when I can.

Green Turtle & Manjack Cay

2011-01-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

Well after arriving, getting checked in and heading into the Green Turtle Club marina I stepped on land for the first time in about a week.

Here I am hoisting the Bahama courtesy flag

We all took long hot showers, changed and headed into the Tipsy Turtle bar for a sun downer celebration.After indulging in 3 signature Tipsy Turtle drinks apiece we finally decided that dinner needed to come next. We headed out to the porch where we had the 1st conch of the season served in conch fritters and each one of us ate some of the best burgers we had had in a long time. Ummm maybe it was because it was the first meal I didn’t have to cook in a while or maybe it was the turtles, but man was it good. Off to bed for an early night and up early to get some laundry done before we took off. 4 tokens costing $17.00 got me 2 loads of wash and 2 loads of dry, gee it’s good to be back but I can’t wait till it warms up some and we can live in swim suits. While Barbara and I did laundry the men were back on the boats refilling the fuel and water tanks and once we were done we pulled out of the dock and headed to the outside of Green Turtle to anchor for a couple nights. The above photo was taken next to the boat at the dock, look at that clear water..

We of course took the tour of New Plymouth visiting the local shops, stopping for lunch, and getting a few groceries bought. Dirk & Klaus took the dinghy out one day to the reefs to snorkel and hunt while Barbara and I took the time to beach comb and relax.

How relaxing is that...

First day out and Dirk got his first two lobsters of the season.

On the 18th we headed to Manjack Cay for a couple days of beach combing and snorkeling. The water it turns out is just a bit chilly to be in for any length of time for me but Dirk is just fine with it and goes at it every chance he gets. A squall came through the anchorage the next morning and we drug anchor for about 20 feet before it reset itself. Now mind you in all the years we have owned Tybee Time we have a great record of never dragging. Manjack is a great anchorage but really only in calmer weather. We knew this from last year and we weren’t due to have any type of weather. Oh well, Mother Nature plays it her way. We were actually okay where we had reset but decided we felt safer a bit farther away from the rocky walls that were now about 60 yards behind us now so we picked up anchor and moved to a different spot. This evening we would need to head back to Green Turtle as a cold front was due to blow and we preferred to be on a mooring ball in the harbor for that one. First however we decided to check out the reefs one more time and indeed came back with 2 more lobsters. We then pulled anchor and headed back to safer waters. That night the cold front came in and brought with it some hefty winds. At one time we recorded 40 knots as it heeled the boat enough to toss some things out of the shelves. Whew, I’m glad we are on a mooring but now we have to worry about the people anchored around us and hope they don’t drag. The next morning it seemed everyone was pretty much in the same place which was where they stayed due to a rough day predicted again. Seems there is about 2 to 3 days of settled weather and then 2 days of cold front so it’s out to the anchorage for a few and into the harbor for a few. We have been checking out the reefs and the various beaches here in Green Turtle quite a bit. My beach combing has paid off with the find of many sea beans, sea biscuits and sea glass. Brown hamburgers, red hamburger, various hearts and other types. Some look rough but I read that I can polish them up

I’m a happy camper and Dirk to date has bagged 9 lobsters, most of which end up on our plates a couple hours after spearing. I'm not complaining though, would you? Dinner one evening consisting of lobster cooked on the grill with garlic, butter, and Lemon with sauteed summer squash with garlic and onion and rice pilaf. Not eating too shabby....

Yesterday we moved back out to the anchorage and bid our buddy boaters Klaus and Barbara on s/v Klabara farewell. They have decided to take a mooring ball and stay in Green Turtle for the duration of their time here as they have to be back in the states the end of next month. This gives them time to relax and explore the island at a snails pace and that's what its all about. We will miss them dearly as they have been great buddy boaters and have become dear friends. We wish them safe travels on their way back to the states. As for us, we continue on south staying out in the anchorage for a couple more days before heading south through the whale and on to Great Guana, home of Nippers and Grabbers and more beautiful beaches.

Bahamas

2011-01-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

Day after day we watched the weather on various web sites, sail flow, passage weather, NOAA and every time we could manage to get up early enough, we would tune in the SSB (single side band) to catch the weather guru Chris Parker. Weather windows opened, and then they closed. Anyone that has made a crossing can pretty much agree in my opinion that it’s not the crossing but the waiting that is more nerve wracking. Well, it’s pretty close anyway after sitting here recalling some past crossings we have made. Our buddy boat Klabara is also anxious as this will be their first crossing and time is getting short for them as they must be back in Florida by the end of February to return to Canada. For their sake we hoped it would be soon. Things were coming together, the boat was about as provisioned as it could be without completely losing our waterline, the fuel tanks were full, water topped off and to boot Chris Parker said that Tuesday would be a go for the crossing. Although it would be a short window we would jump on it. The last of items were checked off, lee cloths were attached so we could keep items contained in case it was a rough crossing, V Berth, aka garage, tied down,

meals prepared so all I would have to do is re-heat them, jack lines, harnesses, life vest and ditch bag laid out. It was to be an early morning. Sleep was hard to come by but 2:20 found us way too easy in my opinion. Coffee was prepped and we pulled anchor with a takeoff time of 3:10. Our anchorage was very close to the inlet so we didn’t have far to go in the dark finding our way past the channel markers to get into the ocean. As predicted, the winds had calmed down from the day before and the seas were 3 feet or less. All good in our book….The plan was to go straight east till we hit the Gulf Stream than take a heading of 085 and head for Little Bahama Bank, north of Memory Rock. From that point we headed to Great Sale which would be our anchorage for the night. Travelling in the dark is never fun even with radar; we were happy that we had no issues and were glad to see the light hit the horizon in the morning. We hit the Little Bahama Bank eight and a half hours later glad as usual that it was over although we still had another eight and half to go.

You can see the line of lighter water which indicates you are on the banks

As the light was beginning to fade on the banks it became foggy which is unsettling to travel in but we had to continue on with nowhere to stop.

Our first Bahama sunset on the banks

We could have anchored on the banks but like I had said the weather window was to be a short one and sometime early morning the winds were due to pick up and being anchored on the banks with strong winds is something I don’t want to deal with. Once again our radar was saving our butts and we appreciated it. As we approached Great Sale we saw a few lights emerge out of the fog of other boats anchored. There were only 4 others anchored so we had no trouble finding a place of our own to throw our own anchor out. So seventeen and a half hours after we left West Palm Beach we were anchored in the Bahamas ready to begin another cruising season. A few things were put away and very soon after that sleep was on the agenda. We decided to stay put here in Great Sale until Thursday as the winds are predicted to blow pretty steady all day. On Thursday morning Chris Parker said the winds would still blow but not as bad as the previous day. They were supposed to be15 to 25 out of the north and it’s not the best to travel in but we needed to move on. And move on we did with our sights set at Crab Cay. It was a long day with most of it spent heeling and getting splashed with salt water over the side. What I wouldn’t give for a full cockpit enclosure right now. It was 66 degrees out of the wind and it seemed like a lot less in it. By the time we set the hook it was all I could do to whip up a little bite to eat and haul myself to bed as there was to be more of the same in the morning. Friday we pulled anchor at at about 8:30 with Green Turtle in our sights as we have yet to check into the Bahamas. By lunch we anchored off the government dock and Dirk went into customs to get the paperwork done. I will add what I have found out regarding the length of stay that can be gotten right now. There have been numerous reports of cruisers this year only receiving a 30 day cruising permit at a time. At the end of that time you must go back to customs to request another. It seems like anywhere that every customs office makes its own rules up depending on how they are feeling for the day. Our buddy boat and we both received 90 days so at that time we will request another 90 and continue cruising. We then pulled anchor and headed into White Sound to grab a slip at the Green Turtle Club Marina. After checking in the first thing on the agenda was to grab a nice hot long shower. We will go grab a meal later as the marina special right now is that whatever you eat or drink gets deducted from your slip fee. Sounds good to me but remember, we are in the Bahamas now and it won’t take too long to run that tab up. So now this is the start of our new adventure. Time to quit running every day, take a breath, sit back, relax and enjoy. Just hope the weather decides to be Bahama weather rather than what our friends are experiencing back home right now.

Finally broke the bonds of Vero Beach

2011-01-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

Vero certainly was a stop that we wanted to make but we really didn’t have intentions of staying as long as we did. But then I don’t think many people do, it just happens. As I had said before, Vero is actually very cruiser friendly with the availability of getting what you need where you need. The bad thing however is sometimes it makes shopping too easy, thus spending money like it was burning a hole in our pocket. Let’s just say that it was time to move on as it was becoming too expensive to be here. We spent Christmas along with our friends Barbara and Klaus from s/v Klabara on board Tybee Time. I made a glazed ham along with the corn casserole I had been craving for some time. Klabara brought over red cabbage, dumplings with wonderful gravy and I made a nicely spiked rum cake for desert. We were gonna head to the boaters lounge for drinks and conversation with the other boaters but it had soon turned dark and had gotten too cold for any of us to want to brave the dinghy ride to do so. So instead we stayed here, drank warm gluehwein and watched a Jeff Dunham special. The weather had been cold and it was getting colder. Isn’t this Florida? Lucky for us we had bought that heater, but my goodness were we going through some propane. Your kind of limited as to how much you can buy, by the amount you can carry. Any boater knows that buying it from West Marine will put a major dent in the cruising kitty but the only other places were Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart which required switching buses and a longer commute. A few times we just bit the bullet and handed the money over to West Marine. Several nights we saw temperatures in the 20’s which didn’t allow the days to warm up too much. We spent our evenings keeping busy playing cards,

eating, and watching several movies we had purchased just for this reason. So with no weather to travel we stayed put and celebrated New Years Eve also in Vero. New Years day we looked at the weather and decided we needed to head south and so the following morning we paid our dues to the marina, untied ourselves from Klabara and slipped off the mooring ball. As we hit the south end of the mooring field Dirk blew the conch horn to say farewell to some new friends made, Kathy & Earl from s/v Seeker.

I have been in touch with Kathy for quite some time now as they own a 39 O’Day and well you tend to know others that own the same boat as you. I’m sure we will cross paths again as they are headed the same direction soon. We made our way to Jensen Beach Bridge and spent the first night in a long time anchored, and un-rafted. The following day we headed to West Palm Beach and it was what seemed like the land of bridges. When we left West Palm in June we had traveled the outside, I now know why. There are several fixed bridges that we could go under no problem but then you have 3 bridges that open on the half hour and one that is quarter after and quarter till. Well these bridges are situated so that when you go through the first one you have to race to get to the next and so on. If the bridge tender is late in opening or you have a current working against you, you may not make the next bridge, thus causing you to wait 30 minutes for the next opening. It’s not like you can pull over and park your boat while waiting, usually you have numerous fishing, pleasure boats that can make it under zipping past you left and right as you sit in the middle of the channel turning circles. It can be quite the nail biter at times and mentally wears you out. At least it does me and a lot more other boaters I have talked to. Finally we made it through all the bridges and picked our way to the south anchorage past the inlet and threw the hook out.Hopefully this will not be our home for long as we wait for the magical weather window in order to cross over the Gulf Stream and make it back to the Bahamas. The one nice thing here is that the weather has been warmer and we wore shorts for the first time in a long time. The water is clear enough that you can see the bottom so Dirk took advantage and dove in to clean the bottom of Tybee Time of all the slime build up from just sitting all that time. Unfortunately when he went down he noticed that our prop shaft zinc was missing, not good. The zinc on a boat is a chunk of lead used as a sacrificial metal to protect the exposed metals such as props, through hulls and so forth from being destroyed and eaten by stray current in the water. It’s difficult to explain if you’re not knowledgeable about how electrical current works on your boat when it’s plugged into shore power. Bottom line is that if your zinc is gone the current attacks the good stuff. How and when it came off, we don’t know but we had put a new one on in July when we had the boat hauled in Beaufort, NC. So the zinc was gone and our prop took the abuse. Dirk noticed the blades of the brass prop were beginning to have the edges eaten away. It wasn’t enough to cause any problems yet as it had been a while since we had been in a marina for any length of time but we felt we needed to get a spare prop and prop puller before heading to the Bahamas. Lucky for us we found a company in Washington State that could make it and ship it same day so that we could receive it the next. All the others were several hundred dollars more and wanted six weeks to get it in. Leave it to Dirk, he knows how to shop around. So now we sit, hopefully not too long here and wait along with several others for the weather to cross. Hopefully the next post you see is great news saying we finally made it.

Thanksgiving in Titusville and onto Vero Beach

2010-12-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

Titusville was to be our next stop and since we had been running everyday for several days we decided to take a break for the Thanksgiving holidays. The Titusville municipal marina was having a special of pay for two days get the third day free. Hummmmm, free is always good in our book so we took advantage of it and docked for three days enjoying the availability of long hot showers and of course catching up on some laundry.Above is Klabara & Georgia E following us as we had just passed under the Haulover Canal right before Titusville

Everyone took advantage of the water and used oil drop off to do much needed oil changes and boat wash downs. This past summer we had stopped here for fuel on the way north but had anchored up instead of docking. So far as a ship store goes they have a fairly good selection and their prices are very reasonable. Plus the staff was friendly and helpful which is always a plus in our book. The manatees seemed drawn to this place and on any given day you would see several just lounging about or positioned next to a boat washing down hoping to get some fresh water runoff.
They afforded our Canadian buddy boater friends a close up look at something only seen in photographs or at a distance before. The sad fact is that a few of the manatees seen day after day were covered with scars caused from a too close of an encounter with a boat. One actually had an open wound that was severely swollen and looked to be very painful.Thanksgiving day we were picked up By Dawn & Harvey whom we had met in March in the Bahamas on board S/V Sovereign Swan. We traveled together from the Abacos through the Exumas until we parted company in June to head back to the states. Sadly about two weeks after they returned to the states Sovereign Swan was destroyed in a fire caused by a neighboring boat. They are both still very distraught as they had put so much love and work into her. She was a gorgeous boat and we have many fond memories of times on board. Dawn & Harvey were kind enough to drive to Titusville to pick us up and take us to their church where we joined other folks and boaters that had no family around. The spread was incredible and if you left hungry it was your own fault. No one was allowed to leave without hauling a plate or two back with them. After cleaning up Dawn and Harvey drove us back to the marina and joined us aboard Tybee Time for a nightcap.Dawn left us with an incredible rum cake that she had baked and it didn’t have much chance on our boat of hanging around for too long.
On Friday we decided to head to Eau Gallie where we anchored for a quiet evening, than onto Vero Beach the following day. Dirk and I had passed it last year as we had to make tracks north, but we had heard so many great things about this place that we wanted to make a stop for a couple days to re-provision and do some other odds & ends. I had heard they raft you with other boats on the mooring balls but I had only seen rafting while at anchor, this should be interesting….We were going to be separated all on different balls with different folks until we spotted an open ball. We were then redirected to all take that ball. Dirk and I picked up the mooring first and readied bumpers on both sides of the boat with some additional lines. Klabara came in second along our port side and we did a quick job of securing them and then set about the task of having Georgia E come along our starboard side. After about a half hour we were all secured to the mooring ball and all secured to each other. Here all of us buddy boaters rafted together, not too far to go when you want to visit.

We are situated very close to a mangrove isle where daily we have an osprey sit upon his or hers tree and feed upon its catch. While here so far we have had s/v Ultra yet again catch up with us and also s/v Snoopy stayed a few days which allowed us to play catch up with them. The last time we had seen them was when we were in Wilmington. We also have finally met Kathy & Earl from s/v Seeker which is a 39 foot O’day. We have talked for about a year on facebook but have never caught up with each other in person before. Great is this lifestyle.....We have also realized why they call Vero Beach Velcro Beach, it grabs hold of you and well, it doesn’t like to let go. What was supposed to be a few day stop here has turned out to be almost a month. This town is very cruiser friendly as the public bus comes right to the marina so you don’t have far to walk and has stops right outside Wal-mart doors as well as the mall, West Marine, and a lot of other places us cruisers need to go. Your only limited by what you can pack mule back on your body. I have found I can really carry a lot of weight when I have a problem deciding between on what I want and what I really need. We will have to rent a car here one time in order to get the heavy & bulky items, plus we need to get kitty to the vet for his health certificate signed for the Bahamas. Ah, the health certificate….That’s another story..Last year I made the mistake of waiting till the last minute and ended up paying $50.00 to fed- ex the info in and get the paper fed-exed back to me. This year I took care of sending the paper work in with my $10.00 processing fee in early. Come a month later I had not received anything so we phoned the office up and after a few calls they were able to locate our stuff saying we should have received it already. Hummmmm, so they said since we had not that they would fax it to us which they did. About a week and a half later I received the original paper work they sent postmarked the same day in which we called. Hummmm, I think someone dropped the ball on that one but no biggie, at least we have it now. Note to self, next time send it out early and pay the extra five bucks to have it faxed back. Maybe there won’t be any problems then. On another note, it has been very cold here. We actually dropped into the 20’s a couple nights in a row which unfortunately caused a fish kill. You know the water has to be cold to do that. We did end up buying a Mr. Heater which is a small portable propane heater designed to be used indoors. I have to say it has been a lifesaver as we have no heat when we are not on a dock. Were hoping that soon we can put it away and break the shorts back out. There has only been one good window for crossing over to the Bahamas lately and we elected not to take it instead waiting on the next one. Klabara also elected to stay but Georgia E had to take it as they had guest coming into Marsh Harbor over Christmas. A couple days later we heard from them as they made it to Green Turtle where they checked in. So now we sit, enjoy Christmas and hope that perhaps soon there will be a window opening up in order for us to make tracks ourselves. Till next time...

A Tad Bit of Catching up to do

2010-12-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

I agree, I have been a slacker and thus have fallen behind on the blog. I have tried to catch you up a little bit but still working on getting you current. Since the weather has turned cold and nasty we shall be staying put for a while and hopefully will afford me the opportunity to catch up all the way. So here goes...

We left Wilmington Island on the 8th of November and anchored that evening in Big Tom Creek. The following day we made it to South River and put the anchor down in a deserted area. The only thing negative we heard about this area is that you have lots of shrimpers going out to and returning from the sea, so we decided once the sun went down to turn our cockpit lights on just to make sure we were seen in case anyone came in or left in the dark. That evening we were greeted by a beautiful sunset,

and an early morning departure was put off for an hour due to fog so thick we couldn't see the shore line in front of us.Once we did get underway we made our way to St. Simons and anchored in the anchorage in front of the Morning Star Marina. We knew that S/V Ultra would be there as we had been in contact with them the previous day. We have been running into JoAnne and Bill since before we left Panama City last year when they were transients at our marina. Melissa the dock master from the marina had gotten to know them and loaned her car out so we could do some shopping and sightseeing around the city on Veterans Day. We ended up at the water front by the lighthouse where they were having a ceremony in honor of the Veterans so we hung around there a bit before wandering off to do some sightseeing and re-provisioning.

We also took the time to head out to the airfield as they had the Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress on display. We got there just in time to see her taxi down the runway and take off so it was nice to see history right before us. I have to say, she is an impressive aircraft.

Here we are, JoAnne & Bill and Dirk & myself

The following day we bid farewell yet again to s/v Ultra and made our way to Cumberland Island where we spotted a couple of the wild horses grazing as we were entering the anchorage. We were suppose to head into Fernandina onto a mooring ball but they were booked so we opted for an anchorage instead.Guess everyone enjoys the Fernandina area and many stay several days for R&R. That was our plan...The next morning we called ahead and they said there was a mooring coming available at about 11am, perfect as we would be arriving just about that time. We headed to the fuel dock to fill up diesel and top off the water tanks and ended up having to sit and wait as the person on the mooring ball was having problems and couldn’t leave. They assured us they would find a spot for us, just to hang out for a bit and they would accommodate us. We sat on the docks chatting with other cruisers which always seem to be the norm anytime we hit land. We really wanted to see Fernandina since we had been through this past summer. It was so pretty but we didn’t have the time to see it before. This time we stayed four days catching up on some much needed dirty laundry, walked the town and saw the sights, and met several new cruisers that I’m sure we will see again along our travels. On the 17th we finally let go of the mooring ball and said goodbye to Fernandina with an anchorage just north of the Sisters Creek Bridge in our sights. Above is a little sea bird that decided to catch a ride with us for a while.....
It was to be a short day so we were pretty sure we would be the first to be at the anchorage which is the way I like it. It’s a small anchorage so we were able to pick our way around until we found the best spot and dropped the hook. Later on two other boats came in and anchored one in front and one behind us. We all had the same idea of catching the bridge at the same time in the morning as they were I think only having one opening in the morning due to some maintenance issues so we had to make it through or be stuck. The following morning the boat anchored in front of us goes to pick up its anchor and ended up fouling its prop on its buoy line. So now the boats anchor is off the ground, the prop is fouled so it cannot move under power and there is a current quickly dragging the boat toward the bridge. I told Dirk I didn’t know whether to get my video camera or get on the radio and alert them of the impending disaster. Dirk grabbed the radio and told them if they had a second anchor they better deploy it now as they were headed for the bridge, the owner looked back and did a double take before running to the front and tossed his second anchor over which lucky for him was ready to go. We in the mean time were getting our anchor up just in case we needed to assist but the second anchor caught and stopped him before he went too much further. Poor guy ended up diving over the side to un foul his prop in water that was about 68 degrees. And to boot, it was a cool morning, poor guy. That's not the way I want to start my morning.We ended up getting through the bridge and made our way to St. Augustine where we took a mooring ball on the north side of the Bridge of Lions. We ended up meeting the boaters face to face and spent the first evening at a little place close to the marina called OC Whites getting to know each other over a couple beers at happy hour. Of course joking about the fact that one day you are the entertainment, one day you are entertained. Today they had been the entertainment. Klaus & Barbara have since become good friends along with Stu & Tony which were on the other boat anchored with us that day by the bridge. Dirk & I took a couple days and did the tourist thing walking around town, visiting the various shops and snapping many photos of the great architecture that the town has to offer.

We were due to leave on Saturday morning but decided to stay when we learned that they were doing the lighting of the city Saturday evening. What’s one more day when you have no place to be? We ended up going to the lighting ceremony with our new friends Klaus & Barbara from s/v Klabara and Stu & Tony from s/v Georgia E along with John & Nora from s/v Saber Tooth.

The city was lit and Dirk and I went and grabbed a bite to eat then headed back to the boat for a good night’s rest as we had an early departure the following morning.

Here is St. Augustine from our mooring ball that evening.

Today would be Georgia E’s time to entertain us and she did a good one. Actually it wasn’t so much entertainment as it was nerve racking. There is a place on the ICW called Matanzas Inlet that has been a source of frustration for many a boater as it shoals in a lot of the time. One does their best to listen to other boaters transiting ahead of them in order to get the best take on depths. We headed through staying close to shore and the red buoy as suggested, calling out depths to the two boats following us. We draw close to 5 feet with Klabara drawing close to that and Georgia E drawing 6. Hummmm we bumped once which wasn’t going to be nice for them. Before we knew it they were aground and we still had an outgoing tide which meant we had to unground them or they would be stuck for hours. Dirk managed to get the dinghy off the davits as I kept the boat steady in the skinny channel and went to retrieve Georgia E's anchor to try and kedge off. This would entail Dirk taking their anchor out to some spot in deeper water, drop it and hope it catches as they begin to pull it in and hopefully pull themselves off the sandbar. No such luck, they were stuck. A passing motor yacht about 65 feet long offered to try and pull him off so Dirk did the work of transferring lines back and forth as both Klaus and I did our best staying inside the channel counteracting the current to stay close. It was a struggle but Georgia E finally was able to be pulled free. Geeeeeze, what next? Since the area between St. Augustine and Daytona has anchorages so few and far between we elected to take a marina in Palm Coast for the evening. The three of us travelling together got docked and met on s/v Klabara for sun downers and to discuss the next day’s adventure. Early to bed and early to rise for the next leg of the journey down to Daytona where we anchored in a somewhat crowded but big anchorage. My sister was in the area so we took the dinghy to the nearest dock and met her along with two of my nieces and went out to dinner to try and do some catching up. She is also our mail collector so we were greeted with many pounds of magazines and mail to go through. Yippie... We only had a few short hours to visit but it is always better than not seeing them at all. Big thanks go out to Kathy for taking her time to drive and meet us, we really appreciate how you take care of us. So folks, that's enough catching up for right now. Don't want to bore you to complete tears and hoping that soon we will be within those Bahamian waters.

Making slow tracks but still moving south

2010-11-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

It’s been a couple weeks now since we have returned to cruising and it feels great. We have been taking our time and “smelling the roses” so to speak on our way south. After leaving Southport NC we basically made short day trips down the ICW ( Intracoastal Waterway) including Bull Creek on the Waccamaw River which is where we anchored on the way North last July. Beautiful little anchorage in the middle of nowhere where it’s just you and nature. As we pulled into our anchorage the fog was beginning to fill in the river and the owls were filling the evening with hoots and chatter of their own. We than found ourselves in Charleston Harbor and anchored there with mixed feelings on doing so. We had heard the current was bad and the bottom was littered with stuff to get snagged on. We didn’t have any problems with the current as our anchor was set well but as we were pulling in the anchor the next morning to leave we indeed got snagged on something. Dirk managed to get us un-snagged and we were on our way once again. A couple days later we found ourselves in Beaufort SC where we were joined by Vickie & Squeek from s/v POW MIA and Ron & Teresa from s/v Last Dance. They are cruisers and friends we met last year in Key West so we decided to stay a couple days and get some R&R in.

Ron's cousin Laurie & Randy from M/V Waistin' Aweigh joined us at Hemmingways

Here is Dirk with Squeek & Ron

We ended up frequenting a little place called Hemingways that was very cruiser friendly with a great staff. After two days our friends decided to move on and Dirk and I decided to stay put for an additional day to do a little shopping. We missed this stop on the way up but glad we made it this time as it’s a pretty little town. On Wednesday we had made reservations at a marina on Wilmington Island GA which is right next to Tybee Island. We planned on staying about a week here as this is where Dirk & I met and where Tybee Time got her name. We also have great friends there so it provided us some time to get off the boat and we spent the weekend living on land. We docked at a little place called Hogan’s Marina which is located on Turner Creek. The staff was incredible always asking if they could do anything to help. Bubba the owner was very accommodating and we would definitely go back there. The week ended up flying by and we had a great time as usual with Mac & Margie on the island.

Big thanks goes out to them for all they did for us while we were there and the hospitality they always extend to us. Tonight we find ourselves in yet another quiet anchorage void of other boats which surprises me due to the amount of boats we see traveling every day. Guess we are lucky with our picks….The weather had turned cold with breezy days causing us to wrap up tight trying to stay warm. This signals it is time to move even further south. So we travel, and enjoy, and look forward each day to new surrounding and adventures.

TYBEE TIME ON THE MOVE ONCE AGAIN

2010-10-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Tybee Time and her crew are once again on the move after months of sitting here and there. I really didn’t mean to leave everyone hanging but it seemed once we were idle so was my brain. When I last left you we were traveling up the ICW heading north. We made it up as far as Beaufort NC and found ourselves at a boat yard right on the ICW deciding to have a past issue repaired and Dirk decided that while we were pulled to go ahead and redo the bottom paint, replace the cutlass bearing and tighten the strut. The last time the bottom paint was done was in Panama City before leaving last year in November. I have to say that the Trinidad SR hard bottom paint held up very well for us and although it still looked good it was time to redo it. Other odds and ends were done while we were on the hard for 22 long hot days in July. We were very happy with Bock’s Marine. Very reasonable prices, shower and laundry facilities, a courtesy car, and they allowed you to stay onboard while doing work. Plus they have a great crew of people working for them, and we would defiantly recommend them to anyone. After leaving there we headed back south to Wilmington NC where we were given the use of a slip from a friend while his boat was being hauled for repairs. Lots of family time was had getting to know the nephews and niece again as Dirk’s Dad and other family live there. We also met another couple that sail on a smaller O’Day and fast became very close friends. What was supposed to be a few weeks there turned out to be almost seven. It was nice though as we were able to schedule doctor and kitty vet appointments, something that is hard to do while traveling all the time. We also visited with a couple boaters whom we have met along our travels such as Frank & Debbie from s/v Denali, Jon & Milane from s/v Snoopy, and Bill & Joanne from s/v Yacht Ultra whom we first met in Panama City before we left and now we find ourselves running into in the oddest places. So good to see everyone and we know we shall see you again. Small world this cruising community is and I like it…..We both want to extend special thanks to Christian for the use of his slip, what a great help that was, also to Dirk’s Sister Tammy for the use of her vehicle the entire length of our stay. I forgot what it was like to hop in a car at a whim and go where you want. Also want to thank Mike & Denise for showing us the hospitality that they did from the beginning of our friendship, we hope you keep that dream alive and can’t wait to see it happen for you. I know we will see you out there cruising yourselves one day. After doing some last minute provisioning we left Wilmington on the 22nd and made a short trip to Southport about eleven miles south. Denise joined us for the trip and hubby Mike joined us later in the evening and we had a final weekend at a dock. Today finds us about a day from Charleston SC and it feels great being on the water moving again. You can really tell it’s that time of year as the great migration of boaters is heading south. Our plan is to stay on the ICW taking our time and enjoying life as it comes at us. We have not yet decided how far south we will be going before we make the jump back to the Bahamas again. Much will depend on Mother Nature and how cold she will make the winter for us. So please join us again for yet another cruising season and we hope that it sparks some interest and desire to get out there for yourselves. Give us a couple days and I will post the latest.

What we have been up to

2010-07-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well here it is the 8th of July and we still find ourselves in Florida, although much further north. We stayed in Riveria Beach for longer than we would have liked and began getting bored. Between having a huge case of laziness that grabbed both Dirk and I and the fact that we weren't sure what our next move was we were destined to sit and wait till the urge to move hit us. After a month of sitting on a dock with A/C, laundry on site and the Tiki Hut with killer drink and food specials we finally decided to cut loose and head north. On June 30 we pulled out of the dock and headed out the Lake Worth Inlet and traveled up the coast to the Fort Pierce Inlet. We found a small anchorage with one other boat in it and threw the hook out and called it a day. The following morning the winds were suppose to be non existent so we decided to do a day inside on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). We put in approximately 40 miles under our keel and landed right on the south tip of Merritt Island in Eau Gallie and found the anchorage to be empty. That's nice....A quiet evening and then up early to begin again this time getting to Titusville while timing bridges. We pulled into the Titusville marina to fill up with diesel and water then headed back out to the anchorage and threw down the hook. With views of the Kennedy Space center this must be a great anchorage to see a shuttle launch from. Of course it was up early again, and as we passed through the Haulover canal leaving the Indian River to Mosquito Lagoon it was such a pretty area. The fishing must be wonderful here as there were so many people out and about. As you go through the canal its very narrow and you are only a stones throw from shore.

The lagoon runs a long way and ends up narrowing down into a very tight channel as it runs past homes with docks and piers so close at times its scary if there is traffic coming at you. And this being the 4th of July weekend there was plenty of traffic. Both Dirk and I commented we have never seen so many dolphins or manatees in one area, they were everywhere and its nice to see them flourish here. I think we saw over 50 dolphins that day with about a dozen manatee sightings. Then we passed this guy in his "Earth Ball", he was actually putting down the ICW in what looks like his homemade floating home. Looks like he has everything he could need on board. Later that evening we threw the hook out in Daytona Beach and settled in for a quiet evening. July 4th we took off for St. Augustine and arrived in plenty of time to set the hook in the anchorage right downtown. One thing we forgot to take into account was that St. Augustine was putting on a fireworks display and the anchorage was full. We did find one spot to fit into with no problem but had the winds shifted that evening we would have been sitting on a shoal and that wouldn't have been too nice. We tried scooting up a bit but still no good as there was this boat or that boat that would have been to close so we decided to try going on the other side of the bridge and we could catch the last opening before the fireworks but someone said they weren't allowing anymore boats to anchor there and we didn't want to take a chance of getting stuck on the north side of the bridge with no where to anchor. The decision was made to backtrack about a mile and a half back to the anchorage we had seen on the way up. It was in southern part of St. Augustine so we didn't get the nice display of fireworks but there were other displays being set off everywhere you looked in the horizon. I think we were both too tired to enjoy them anyway and we threw some chicken on the grill, toasted the 4th with a cold one then headed to bed. We had to get up extra early the following morning as we had a long day ahead of us. We were aiming for a little anchorage just north of the Fort George Island close to the St. Johns River. For this being a Monday the holiday traffic was still horrible. I guess lots of people had a three day weekend which is great for them but not so nice for us when you see nothing but power boats and jet skies zipping in and out. I don't think we saw more then 2 or 3 sailboats out this day. Once we arrived to the anchorage we saw right away that it just wasn't going to do. Apparently this is the main channel to Ft. George Island and this is where everyone was in such a hurry to get to. It was like a major freeway with boat traffic and also once we looked at the depths we thought we would be too close to the channel for comfort as the depth would make it impossible to swing. Plan B, we pulled out the charts and saw the next available place to anchor was about an hour and a half north. Gee this had already been a long day and it was just getting longer. I decided to whip up something to eat while Dirk got us back underway as we were both hungry and tired. By the time dinner was cooked, eaten, and cleaned up we had arrived to our destination by Amelia Island. We dropped the hook in about 9 feet of water right next to the marshes and settled in for an early evening yet again. Tomorrow would be a very short day for us with only a few miles to our next stop. No alarm was set so we could sleep in, but after getting up so early the last couple days my eyes were open at daybreak. Dang it, I hate that...Dirk did take the opportunity to sleep in as I busied myself making coffee and playing a bit on the computer. Finally he was up and ready to go. As he is pulling in the anchor I'm behind the wheel and suddenly we were sitting in 4'8" of water. We draw about 5'. We managed to back her off and got back into the channel headed north. Not 2 minutes after being well inside the channel with Dirk at the wheel we are suddenly sitting in less than five foot of water. We both look at the channel markers, yes, we are well inside with what should be plenty of water. Apparently there has been a bit of shoaling between Red markers 34 and 32 so if you are heading that direction take note and stay toward your green markers. We weren't the only ones that noticed as there was another boat that had to hug us in order not to ground themselves. Granted we were on low tide heading to high but in the channels there should be plenty of water. So with only about a 2 hour day we picked up a mooring ball in Fernandina Beach. Not bad for 15 bucks a day and there is a very nice section of town with plenty of restaurants and shops to be had. This would be the first time since we left Riveria Beach that we have been off the boat. We have been here a few days resting and taking it easy. Tomorrow were gonna head off and restock our pantry before heading further north. Maybe if I'm lucky I wont let so much time lapse before posting again.

Back in the U.S. and hit by a big case of lazy

2010-06-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Our poor Bahama flag is showing some wear. This has been used exactly once and I guess will need to be replaced next season.

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but in the last legs of our adventures in the Bahamas we didn't have Internet and since we have been back on U.S. soil I have been hit by a case of the lazies that wont let go. What got us from there to here is as follows...

On Wednesday the 25th of May, just one full day after coming back from my brothers wedding it was decided we would start making tracks back to the states. We decided on Compass Cay as we had bypassed it on the way down to Staniel before and after a bit of a confusing entrance into the cut we tucked in behind one of the islands and dropped the hook. We had taken the outside passage from Staniel up to Compass in hopes of perhaps landing another Mahi Mahi or even a Tuna. No luck, as the only fish willing to take our bait on this day was a spanish mackerel and a barracuda and both were released back. Oh well, we tried. We anchored with one other boat, Snoopy which we had seen on several other occasions and we stayed in radio contact on a couple runs on the outside. Dirk and him ended up conching that afternoon as I stayed on board doing a bit of housekeeping. Later that evening we had s/v Denali pull up and anchor behind us. We had first met Frank & Debbie in Ft. Lauderdale as we were waiting for weather to cross in February. Actually Dirk had run into them while In Staniel and now we had met up again here in Compass. We keep saying what a small world it is and it seems that everyone we have met we re meet or meet someone who knows them. On Wednesday we took time to go exploring the Pipe Creek area, do some snorkeling and ended up having Denali over to the boat for sundowners before we had to say good bye the following morning. Dirk snorkeling Pipe Creek area, look at that water

Another deserted beach we found in Pipe Creek

On Thursday we made a short hop up to Warderick Wells and this time we anchored out by their south mooring field as the weather and the winds were all good. We took the time to snorkel a few coral heads which we had missed before due to the winds then called it an early evening. Me checking things out

A little grouper

The following morning we headed up to Highborne Cay and anchored almost in our exact same spot as before according to our GPS. We spent two days here prepping the boat to travel the approximate 75 miles to Morgans Bluff on Andros Island. Stowing items, stocking up on fuel and water, and cleaning the decks which had accumulated all sorts of snorkel gear and shells. We did find the time to snorkel some reefs and Dirk did come home with a queen trigger fish for dinner one evening. If lobster season was open this one would have been dinner. At least we know where she will be waiting next season for us. See her laughing at us...

Just a pretty fan

On Sunday the 30th we took off shortly after day break along with s/v Snoopy and started our long day. We soon left Snoopy behind as they decided to head south a bit in hopes to catch a better wind angle. I busied myself hand washing some clothing which always seems to take twice as long as it should. It had been since Hatchet Bay in Eleuthera that I had done any laundry and I was running low on some essentials. One thing to note about laundry in the Exumas, its hard to come by. I hear Black Point has a Laundromat and than of course George Town. We didn't make it to either....If your lucky you can ask around the small towns for one of the local ladies and you may find someone willing to do it for a mere $10.00 for washing, then its hung on a line to dry. That is, it will dry if there isn't 98 percent humidity which seemed to be the case the last couple weeks. So by now I had quiet the laundry piled up of mostly towels and sheets as we were trying to wear our other clothing over and over till it finally protested enough to throw up the white flag. It was a long day but we finally hit the channel to Morgans Bluff and found a spot to throw the anchor down once we hit the cove. Our plan was to leave the next morning and head out to Hen & Chickens which Is north of Bimini then make the jump from there over to the coast of Florida somewhere the following day. We still had not seen Snoopy yet and the last radio contact with them had them about 3 hours behind us. We found out the next morning that they didn't get in till after midnight to the anchorage so we weren't too much in a hurry to get moving as it wasn't due to be too bad of a day for us and we wanted to let Snoopy get some rest. We pulled out about 10:30ish and headed west with about 75 miles to cover this day. The winds were coming out of the east so we had the wing on wing configuration going getting a nice push from behind.I believe we were due to get to Hen & Chickens which is basically a couple small isles about 1 am giving us a fairly long day but doable.We had talked about anchoring on the banks, getting a couple hours sleep then picking up the next morning. Once we arrived there the waters were just a bit too rough to imagine anchoring out and it wasn't too bad of a ride, we would make the push for the east coast tonight. Snoopy was in agreeance with us and we also had one other boat traveling close to us that was heading to Miami so there would be at least three of us out there just in case. We were about an hour and a half ahead of Snoopy into the Gulf Stream and the waters had gotten a bit rolly, there were thunderstorms popping up on the radar and our auto pilot decided to give up the ghost. We were gonna be in for a long night. We got a radio call from Snoopy saying they were stopping, with the night they had before and the conditions that were building they decided to stop in Bimini and rest before heading on. We wished we had done that also but decided to push on. As I hand steered Dirk started disassembling the auto pilot and discovered the belt was tearing and so it was not grabbing. Now to find the extra we had on board. Somewhere.....After tearing everything apart he still could not locate it so he had the idea to get some sail thread and sew the belt back together. It has a couple metal threads running through it so it had not totally broken but the rubber was gone. After a few minutes he put it back together and lo & behold we had auto pilot back up and steering for us. That was a relief, I can't imagine hand steering all night long. Through out the night, and it was a long one, we dodged thunderstorms that seemed to follow us. Dirk says the Serius weather that we have paid for itself that night due to all the good information it gave us. It shows where lighting strikes are happening, the wind speeds, direction of travel with the radar satellite overlay. We ended up taking the sails down as some of the storms looked pretty nasty and we didn't want to wait too late to bring in the sails. Especially the spinnaker pole as we had broken one bracket this season already. At some points we were actually going against the gulf stream only getting .8 knots, yes .8 of speed. After a somewhat nail biting night we finally started having daylight and we could now see what the radar was seeing with the storms. Not pretty....We were only a couple miles off the Florida coast, yet Mother Nature was not letting us get there without a fight. Soon we decided that we would have to bite the bullet and take a chance with one of the storms as they were all closing in around us. We were just hoping there wasn't any lighting. At least the seas were following which means we were taking the waves from the rear which is a lot nicer and safer then taking then from the side or front. We trudged through the storm with our foul weather gear but still managed to get soaked. As we were entering the Lake Worth Inlet the rain stopped and the sun came out. It felt like we had just won a game and wwere being rewarded with fair weather in order to get through the last 15 minutes or so. We had called ahead to the Riviera Municipal Marina and had a slip reserved for a couple days to catch up on sleep and laundry before planning our next move. It's situated by Palm Beach and is right in front of Peanut Island which we heard is a happening place on the weekends. We eased into the slip, tied up and plugged in A/C which is something we had not had in some time. Finally the boat would be able to dry out a bit. We hit the showers and I found the last set of clean sheets to put on the bed. I put the shade covers on all the hatches as Dirk called the coast guard and got us cleared back into the states. We then ran up to the Tiki Restaurant and had a quick meal as we had not eaten in many hours, headed back to the boat and climbed in bed. It wasn't until 14 hours later when we finally emerged again finally feeling rested. It took us about 25 hours all in all to make the trip back and I forgot to mention that a few miles out the patch that Dirk had done on the auto pilot finally gave out. When he looked for the belt again he actually found it right in the cockpit lazerette right on top. Hummmmm guess when you are tired its easy to over look things. We haven't decided yet to head south back to Key West or to head north. We have decided to stay here a bit just to get our bearings back and deal with some items we have in the works. We shall keep you all posted with our next move. We are missing the Bahamas already and looking forward to our next cruise.

Swimming pigs, grottos, and flights home

2010-05-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

On the 15th we headed to Big Majors and tucked in behind the island with the pig beach slightly to the right of us. Soon we were off to the beach to see what trouble we could get into with the pigs as we heard they can be slightly aggressive when it comes to food and will try and climb into the dinghy if you dare get close enough where they can touch bottom. I had a few veggies that had seen better days so I had been saving them plus some scraps of other things for this occasion. We only had one pig come and greet us but I know I had seen about four on the beach a while ago. Oh well one pig is easier to deal with then having to fend off four. As soon as he/she knew we were headed that way it waded out and began its swim out to us as I kept telling Dirk not to get too close.

A face so sweet

It seemed to like the celery I had selected for it and was eager for yet another bite.
Treading water waiting for another bite

Once we realized the pig was tiring from treading water we figured it was safe enough to travel closer to shore. No sooner did we get within distance that the pig could walk it tried to climb up the dinghy in search of more food.

Soon the food was gone and we headed back to the boat where we had a relaxing evening and called it an early night.
The following day we joined Dawn and Harvey from s/v Sovereign Swan as they took their dinghy ride to pig beach as I found a few more food scraps that were destined for the trash. They didn’t heed the warning and headed right up to the beach. As soon as they were close enough the pig decided to ambush and Dawn ended up just throwing all the food at once as Dirk and I sat back taking photos.
After that we decided to head over to Thunderball Grotto which is a cave in which you snorkel into at low tide as it opens up into a beautiful grotto. Apparently this setting was used in the James Bond film Thunderball. The fish are very friendly and I was prepared with a bag of freshly boiled rice which they gladly accepted. Dirk took the underwater video and we got some great footage of the fishes. This was an area I wanted to revisit once I got my new camera with the underwater feature that was waiting state side for me. If you recall I had destroyed mine in Spanish Wells when the dinghy almost flipped several weeks back. I spent the next several days packing and getting the boat set for Dirk while I was to attend my brother’s wedding in Oklahoma City on the weekend. Thursday morning Dirk dinghied me and my bag up to Isles General store dock and we walked over the bridge to the airfield/ parking lot and waited. The terminal is an outdoor pavilion, that’s all it is. Dirk and waited and waited as my flight was due to leave at 9am. Finally about 9:30 someone shows up in a golf cart and it’s the lady there to take my ticket as a few other people trickle up. About 10am my flight arrives, good thing I had a long layover in Nassau. It is a nine seater plane, 10 if you count the pilot and it was a full flight. I was extremely nervous as I had never flown in such a small aircraft and as it taxied and used as much airstrip as was allowed I knew why. Before long I was busy looking at the islands that by now had become familiar as we had traveled the chain. Thirty five minutes later and we landed in Nassau and I was already home sick for the boat, my husband, and kitty that I left behind in paradise several islands down. Nassau reminded me too much of the states and somehow I knew at that point that traveling was what I wanted to do for as long as I could. From Nassau I found myself in Atlanta and as usual with delays I arrived at my destination an hour late. If it weren’t for those complimentary .42 oz size of mini pretzels they so graciously passed out I might have been upset. A very quick weekend flew by and in the end I gained a new sister in law, another beautiful niece, and a very happy brother. After the wedding Saturday night we got back to the hotel and settled in about midnight, a nap and then it was up at 3:30 am to make it for the 5:30am flight back to Atlanta. Less than an hour layover and it was off to Nassau where I was sure my bag would not meet me but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it come down the baggage ramp. Two hour layover then a packed flight on that nine seater back to Staniel Cay, but we had to first fly past it to go into Blackpoint and Farmers Cay. I took the opportunity to take some photos of the islands that we had visited with my new camera.

My view of the pilot & passanger in the co pilot seat

A view of our anchorage, We anchored right in front of pig beach which is the beach to the right. Tybee Time is down there somewhere
Staniel Cay air strip on our approach

After three takeoffs in the tiny plane I was ready for the final landing which was about 2:30. Yippie, I was back in paradise with my family once again. We had dinner at the yacht club in the evening with a couple we had met in Ft. Lauderdale way back when we were waiting to cross and once back to the boat I fell into bed exhausted from lack of sleep and travel. The following morning we decided to try out the new camera I had gotten as it has an underwater feature on it so we went back to Thunderball Grotto to snorkel that again. As usual, it was beautiful and we tried out the camera and found that for the price we were happy.

Dirk heading for the entrance of the cave
Right inside the entrance looking out

the view once inside the cave and looking up

The pretty sun rays flooding down into the water A queen angel coming to say hello

Anther shot of the queen angel

On Tuesday morning we decided that it was time to leave Staniel Cay and unfortunately we are not heading any further south this season. The trek north was to begin today so we headed up to Compass Cay as we had passed it up on the way down. We shall leave here tomorrow, destination not yet known. Our plan thus far is to head up towards New Providence then hop to the Berry Islands or Morgans Bluff on Andros Island. From there we will travel across the banks, hit Bimini and then make the decision of what part of Florida we will aim for. We hate that the season has ended for us, but there are a few things back in the states that need our attention. We will be back as we have fallen in love and look forward to traveling to further points south. Heres hoping you stay tuned for more updates as soon as we hit the states.

Exuma Land & Sea Park

2010-05-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

On the 9th we decided to head down to Shroud Cay which is the first big Cay in the Land and Sea Park. The Land and Sea Park is a marine protected area where no fishing, spearing, and shelling are observed. Basically nothing alive or dead can be removed. It’s a 176 square mile area and covers 15 large islands and a lot of smaller ones which means the guys will have to put their hunt and gather mode away for a while. We dropped anchor in about 9 feet of water so clear it looked like we stopped in a swimming pool. No problem seeing the anchor here…..

Looks like a swimming pool

Wow, check out this water, so clear you can see the anchor chain

We piled in the dinghies and headed to the north end of the island to Sanctuary Creek which is a winding shallow creek that eventually dumps you out to Driftwood Beach. We all keep saying “How can this get any prettier” but somehow it does. What met us at the end of the creek was an incredible sight with water yet again so beautiful it it’s hard to describe.

The end of the channel we followed

On the other side of the channel with dinghies beached

We made our way up the hillside to Camp Driftwood which once was used by drug agents in the 80’s to spy on aircraft flying from Norman’s Cay. Today it is only a marker showing the spot but it affords an incredible view of the eastern shore and the creek.
Beautiful view of the beach below

Another view from the top of Camp Driftwood

We made our way back through the creek and stopped along all the coral heads to snorkel on the way back to the boats seeing lots of queen angel fish, queen triggerfish, snapper, grouper, lobster and blue tangs. We did see a nice size nurse shark asleep under a coral head and Dirk had fun corralling a barracuda my direction and landing me back in the dinghy. I have never heard of a barracuda attacking a person but I don’t want to be the first either. We got back to the boat cleaned up, ate and retired early to bed.
On the 10th we pulled anchor shortly after breakfast and headed to Warderick Wells Cay which is the headquarters for the Exuma Land & Sea Park. We decided this would be a good place to be with the winds that were due to hit us the following day as we would be on a mooring ball. It is a beautiful area with a channel winding its way through sandbanks that are dry during low tide. In fact during low tide we can jump off the back of the boat and in a couple of strokes be on shore. There are several trails to hike that wind around the island taking you to blow holes, beaches and the famous Boo Boo Hill. We had been looking on our travels all along for that perfect piece of driftwood that we could put the boat name on and leave on the hill, finally finding one at Normans Cay.

This way to Boo Boo Hill

Here is the sign I made for Boo Boo Hill

We made the hike up the hill and what a spectacular view awaited us. Looking back over Exuma Sound the water was angry with white caps and waves as the winds were blowing a good 18 to 20 knots. The view of the park interior was beautiful and we took this time for photo opps of the boat.

We looked through the pile of driftwood looking for familiar boat names and spotted several that we have met along the way then ended up finding a nice place to nestle ours to leave so we might be granted fair weather and safe travel.

Here, I found the perfect spot Dirk making sure the sign is good

We then traveled down the trail to the blow holes and noted the tide was still too low for there to be any action so we would have to return as the tide was higher. After the hike Dirk & I decided to go for a snorkel at a couple coral heads inside the mooring field called The Rangers Garden. Unfortunately with the winds being so strong for several days and the current being very strong the clarity of the water wasn’t that great and I soon found myself tiring from fighting the current so we headed back to the dinghy and back to the boat. We ended up jumping off the back of the boat, walking the sand bar and playing in the sand like two children at the beach for the first time. Soon the tide was coming in and the sand bar began getting smaller so we swam back to the boat, cleaned up, ate, and called it an evening.
This is us in relation to the sand bar behind us

And one more

The following day we decided to give the Rangers Garden snorkel another try during slack tide. This time it was a lot easier and seemed to be a bit clearer. I bet on a calm day this would be a beautiful little reef to see as there were several huge lobsters just hanging out in plain view. Guess they know that it’s a no take zone and have no fear of humans eyeing them. There was also a huge black grouper hanging out big enough that if he made any sudden moves I would have walked on water to get away. There were also several very large gray angel fish, tangs, and snapper. We got cleaned up and hiked back up to the blow holes where this time we got to experience the blast of warm sea air that met us as you look down into the hole. Better hold on to your hat for that one. Today is the 14th and we have been here now for four days waiting on the winds to die a bit so we can head further south. We were suppose to take off today but decided to wait one more day due to the winds being around 23 knots gusting to 28. Not exactly the best winds to sail in especially when they are coming out of the direction in which we want to travel. Also neither s/v Sovereign Swan nor us got much sleep last night due to the major rocking and rolling we were doing all night. . It was a lazy day on board doing minor chores, reading, playing on the computer and in the evening we had sun downers in the cockpit as we watched about 4 good sized Black Tip or sand sharks, can’t be sure but Dirk feels they were black tips hanging out under our boat. Dirk stood on the swim platform with the looky bucket which is basically a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out and replaced with plexi glass. Most cruisers we know own one and they are great for checking the anchor or looking at reefs before diving in. Anyway Dirk would slap the water with the bucket and they would swim by to take a look see as we would be taking a look see at them. We were both trying to look and I was trying to take photos through the bucket but could never get a good shot. Dirk finally went below and returned with the underwater video camera, hung over the back and videoed them. Wonder why they picked our boat, perhaps our location and the tidal currents? Hummm ever since we have been here we have been having nurse sharks, eagle rays, barracuda, and now these guys hanging out, and to think we were swimming off the back. Yikes…. Perhaps tomorrow will be better and we can make it down to Big Majors Spot which is right next to Staniel Cay. We have to make it there in a couple days as I am due to fly out of Staniel for a wedding next week and still need to deal with some laundry, groceries, and Flamingo Air before I go.

What's a gal suppose to do with no internet

2010-05-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in post, but we have now reached an area of the Bahamas that has little to no internet. I am trying to cover a long span in time so forgive the long post. I believe I last left you all in Hatchet Bay

We decided to stay one additional day at Hatchet bay due to the winds and seas. Dawn, Harvey, Dirk and I decided to do some poking around town. We found an internet café/ lunch spot right on the sound and had some wonderful hamburgers and home fries for lunch. Afterwards we decided to take the hike across the island to visit the Atlantic side to check out the beach. Dawn and I both love beach combing, hunting for sea glass, sea beans, and new pretty shells. It was quiet a hike and on the way we came across two baby goats that I guess got separated from the group.

They run wild on the island and we felt so bad leaving them but we had to. Once we were off the main road we followed a rocky road up and around till we could see the vivid blue of the Atlantic. We made it, and when we hit the other side we knew it was worth the hike. The beach itself was not very pretty as with most beaches I find here in the Bahamas, unfortunately they are not maintained and have so much garbage that has swept up from the ocean on them. It was a rocky shoreline and I guess not too many people visit because there was so much sea glass that Dawn and I knew we would be a while. It’s still a trick to find a really nice piece large enough and tumbled enough to be worthy of jewelry but there were too many pretty pieces not to take them. Greens, amber, clear, and browns were found all over but we also found blues, pinks, turquoise, and even red. Dirk found the prized piece for the day which was a perfect piece of this beautiful turquoise or cyan colored one.

Here is what we collected for the day

These are my best pieces of the day

He also combed the beach for sea beans which we have had no luck with but on this day he found 4 of the hamburger beans and one heart. Wow, I was so excited, what a find.

Some beans actually float all the way from Africa to find their way here. After we were loaded down we hiked back to the harbor and stopped in at the Front Porch for an ice cold beer and to show off our prize finds with the other cruisers. Early the next morning I decided to do laundry before we were to head out and found a little Laundromat right next to Da Spott that we had gone to a few days back. I guess it was a Laundromat; there was a kitchen on one side and a room with a few working washers and dryers on the other. You tell the lady in the kitchen cooking how many washers you need and she reaches inside the washer to start them as the coin slots don’t work and don’t look like they have worked in years. If the washer filled you were lucky, one of mine did not and a bucket was filled from a spigot and used to fill the washer. All the while you smell these wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen in the next room, women coming in a visiting, me hearing the latest gossip, or at least what I can make of it. Guess this is doing laundry in the islands….When the clothes were done she would direct you to the working dryers and once again reach her hand inside to start the cycle. It took me about twice as long for washing and drying but it was only 13.50 for 3 loads and I’m not complaining because now I have clean clothes and hey, aren’t we now on island time? No hurry mon…..The clean clothes were stowed and the boat was readied to make the couple hour trip down to Governors Harbour. We dropped away from the mooring ball and I took her out of the cut which was very iffy coming in through as it was rough and the cut is very narrow. Today thank goodness it was calm but it is still nerve racking having to thread your boat through two cliffs on either side of you.
Here I was just exiting the cut

It was a nice uneventful motor sail down to Governors Harbour. We anchored as we heard the free government mooring balls were not to be trusted so we didn’t want to take the chance. One must look for a sandy spot in all the grass in which to drop anchor so it took us a bit but finally got the boat settled. Us, Sovereign Swan and Mary Helen and Harvey from s/v Gone Away all decided to head out for dinner and found a nice place that had a great club sandwich. Why is it food always taste so good when you are starving? Back to the boat for an early night and the next morning we decided to once again check out the town before heading to our next destination. Governors Harbour seems different then the other places we have visited here. It was the first capital of the Bahamas so it has these very pretty colonial homes in colorful hues of blues, pinks, and greens.

The view of Tybee Time in Governors Harbour as we were climbing up the steep 142 foot hill

Of course we wanted to check out the beach but in order to do that one must make the hike up the 142 foot hill. They claim you hardly notice the walk as you have so much to see on your way up. Believe me, we noticed, but we were determined to get to those pink sand beaches on the other side. After what felt like an eternity we finally made it. It was a beautiful beach, not the pink hues we were expecting and not even one shell was to be found, let alone any sea glass. Just very fine sand which made for a nice stroll. Once again, back on board we readied for the short trip down to Rock Sound Harbour which would be our staging spot for getting to the Exumas. Rock Sound is a pretty anchorage but I found that if you were to be stuck here for a while due to weather it’s not very cruiser friendly. The guide book states there is good free water at the docks which we found not to be true. I asked about it and the guy told me that the faucet I guess was removed because the water is so salty the towns people won’t even drink it. We would have to buy water out of 5 gallon bottles or pack it from further into town. Gee, I wish I had known that as I would have stocked up in Governors Harbour where there was free good water to be had from the library spigot. From here on out it would be 30 to 50 cents a gallon. The one good thing we found was internet finally. Although not cheap, $10.00 for 24 hours but it was internet. Something we had not had for a while and something we needed so we could take care of some business. We ended up taking a tour through town but was really not impressed as many homes were either in very bad disrepair or looked as though they had been through one hurricane too many and needed to be torn down. We did find a blue hole on the interior of the island which had quite a few sea turtles and fish. Lots of gray snapper and grouper hanging out waiting on food to be dropped over the side. There is a park there and I guess a lot of the locals come by and feed them on a regular basis so they sit and wait. We took some old bread and they seem happy to take it. Walking back to the boat we were gonna stop at a market and deli we saw on the way in to pick up a few items but of course they were closed when we got there. Must be that island time again… There is a fairly decent sized grocery that our buddy boat went to but they said they were very expensive. You had to walk to it but the store would give you a ride back to the dock. I opted just to wait as the guide book said there was a decent grocery on Highborne Cay and that’s where we were headed next. So it was back to the boat for some more internet, early to bed as we had a long trip ahead of us the next morning.

Rock Sound Harbour sunset

EXUMAS Finally
We awoke to a beautiful morning and readied the boat for a 7-8 hour passage across to Highborne Cay Exumas. We were predicted to have a tail wind pushing us along so Dirk readied the spinnaker pole so we could do the wing on wing configuration with the sails. Basically pushing the main sail all the way off one side of the boat while pushing the jib out on the other side. This in effect gives you a lot of sail area to be pushed along from behind. As we were leaving Rock Sound that is what we had so we sailed along till we got to our next waypoint, we then had to turn a bit south to maneuver through some shallows and corals, so we pulled in the pole. Once we were about to round the island we expected the wind to be the same as it was so Dirk was setting up the pole once again so we could settle into our crossing of the Exuma Sound to Highborne Cay. I won’t go into the ugly details but we ended up snapping off the bracket that holds the pole to the mast and had a bit of a battle getting it back onboard and the boat stopped without having to do the man over board drill at the same time. Time for a time out….Well the winds ended up giving us a beam reach just about the whole way rather than the tail wind we were predicted. It was a bit of a rolly ride at times but the cat did very well not getting sick once. Being in such deep water for a change we and Sovereign Swan decided to test out the fishing. Harvey from Sovereign Swan landed a 20lb Mahi Mahi so Dirk was now in a race to get one. Finally Fish on…..and as Dirk was reeling it in the Mahi jumped into the air and right off the line. Dirk was indeed not a “happy camper” as the day just wasn’t meant to be a good one all around. The best part of the day was that we were now in the Exumas. We entered the Highborne Cut, found the anchorage, and dropped the hook. We were whipped and frustrated so even before the sun hit the horizon we were in bed. Tomorrow had to be a better day, we were in the Exumas….Monday we got up with a new outlook and faced the day head on looking for adventure. We took the dinghies up to Allens Cay and Leaf Cay to find the iguanas that inhabit the islands. We beached the dinghies and headed ashore.

Here are the beached dinghies at Allens Cay

Right away you could see evidence of them as there were footprints and tail prints yet no iguana was to be found. We followed the path across the island and came to a cove on the other side. Pretty soon they were coming out of everywhere coming very near as they don’t seem at all scared of people. Actually they come looking for handouts from those that didn’t forget the veggies on the boat. Dangit…

Out of nowhere they came looking for handouts

Here Dirk is trying to make friends with a big one

After many photo opps with the iguanas we headed to the beach to see what we could see. It’s a pretty beach but if you want to beach comb there is nothing to be found. Oh well….We then headed out to a cluster of coral heads, jumped overboard for a swim and a snorkel, than Dawn and myself laid out in the dinghies catching some rays as the men went into hunt and gather mode. Coming up empty handed we headed back to the boats and cleaned up and headed into the marina on the island as s/v Gone Away was there and we wanted to check out the grocery store that the guide books says is a good place for fruits, veggies, and frozen meats. I know I said before that if you need it buy it, but if you are leaving the Abacos or Eleuthera to get here, buy it before you come here. Needless to say I didn’t buy any of the veggies I needed as I didn’t want to pay $6.00 for one head of broccoli, $2.40 for 1, yes 1 apple or lettuce for $8.95 and a dozen eggs for $6.50. Chicken was 7.95 a pound, milk 8.95 for a half gallon and a can of artichoke hearts could be had for 10.95. Wow, I understand having to ship everything in but these people have a monopoly and I guess they can charge what they like. Well I just will have to do without for a while and get creative with the spices onboard. After sticker shock we headed to the end of the docks where the fishermen were cleaning their catches which was piles of Mahi Mahi. Off the docks waiting for the scraps were several large nurse sharks and rays along with some other fish all hoping to get a bite before the seagulls swooped in and took it. After a bit we headed over to S/V Long Gone and had a nice cold drink and some welcomed snacks Mary Helen and Harvey put out. Dirk and I took off after a bit as we knew our kitty was tapping his toes waiting to be fed himself and I was cooking dinner tonight for the four of us. Harvey had given us some Mahi that he had caught the day before and Dirk grilled that up while I whipped up some rice and some sautéed summer squash with garlic and onions. Again it was an early evening but this night was because it was a full day of sun and activity. Tuesday was a bit calmer on the winds and waves so we decided to take the dinghies back up to Allens and Leaf Cays to do some snorkeling on the reefs that were too rough the day before. Dirk and Harvey of course hit the water in hunt and gather mode and I just try to stay out of their way while looking at the pretty corals and fishes all the while keeping a look out for any large critters that might send me scurrying back to the dinghy. A couple snapper and one trigger fish were speared and we were wiped out from the sun and snorkeling so we headed back to the boats to clean up. Dirk cleaned the fish while I tidied up hanging up and laying out the wet stuff to dry. We have been having several large remoras hanging out under the boat and as Dirk would throw in scraps they would dart around barely catching it before the seagulls came in for a pick up. For those that don’t know, a Remora is one of those fish you see stuck to sharks, rays, and other large fish catching a free ride and free morsels of food when they can. These were about 2 feet long so I can’t imagine what fish they stick to. I looked up and saw a very big nurse shark gently gliding our direction and was guessing he wanted his share of the fish scraps. He was almost the length of our dinghy which is a little over 10 feet. Although I am not worried about nurse sharks as I don’t think they can eat a person, huuuuummmmm, can they? I still wouldn’t jump over board to swim with it and if one that size is right under our boat in 8 feet of water how many other types of sharks are also close by. Dinner this evening consisted of grilled fish, over rice with a red curry sauce served with a carrot salad Dawn put together. After dinner we watched a movie we borrowed and headed to bed tired from the day’s events. Wednesday we got up, listened to the weather and checked out the tide table so we could see when we could get to the marina for fuel and a water fill up. There is a narrow cut and if you catch it at the wrong time it can be quiet rough and dangerous for a sailboat as you need the power to keep from being pushed onto the rocks. Everything looked good so we pulled anchor and headed in topping off our diesel and gas cans and taking on 80 gallons of water at .50 cents a gallon. Not too bad, we filled up last in Marsh Harbor 18 days ago so we figured we are using about 4 gallons a day. Try doing that at home…..with two people, dishes, and basic hygiene. We pulled out of the marina as 2 spotted eagle rays were gliding in and traveled about a mile south to anchor in another spot that perhaps was not as bouncy as the last couple nights have been. We tucked in between a couple cays that are not named on the charts but there were plenty of coral heads close by ready for inspection and inspect Dirk & Harvey did. We came back with several yellow tail snapper, gray snapper, and grunt cooked some up for a quick dinner and headed to bed early.

Normans Cay, Fish On
This morning we decided to head on down to Normans Cay which the guide book says was once under the unfriendly control of drug lord Carlos Lehder and is suppose to be a beautiful place with lots of snorkeling opportunities. A couple of errands were done and about 12pm we decided to make the trip down. Our buddy boat elected to travel on the banks taking the inside route and at the last minute we decided to go on the outside with hopes of catching that elusive Mahi. I was on the helm and Dirk was busy setting up lines and poles so that we could troll the drop off where the fisherman have been racking up with them lately. Right as we passed the drop off one of the lines started screaming so I took Tybee to idle so Dirk could get his fishing on….All the while I am praying for the fish to please stay on the line. Dirk was reeling and reeling then the line went slack and he thought he lost it. As were looking we see the fish is indeed on the line but there is a shark after the fish now. Poor thing, it was getting it from both ends. Dirk still reeling trying to keep the fish from becoming the shark’s meal, he finally gets it alongside the boat and with the shark on its tail; Dirk gaffs him and gets it aboard. Indeed it was a Mahi and indeed the shark did get a piece of it. The slack Dirk felt was when the shark bit the Mahi’s tail off so he had no fighting power.He didn’t get much, just fin and bone. It measured 45 inches tail less and weighed in at 25 pounds, not too shabby. Dirk with his Mahi Mahi lacking the tail that the shark took

As we traveled the rest of the way Dirk cleaned the fish and got some very nice steaks out of it. Now he was a happy camper…..We found our way into the Normans Channel and was a bit uncertain of how it would go due to it being a very narrow channel and you can see the sand bars left and right. At one point we weren’t sure of the direction and ended up coming to an abrupt stop. Good thing we were going very slowly and it was a sand bottom as we were able to back right off of it and turn back till we could get our bearings. Dirk radioed any boat in the anchorage for some info and was told the best route to take and before we knew it we had gotten through. Whew, that was fun….As we turned north to the anchorage we were heading for we saw s/v Sovereign Swan already anchored with their hammock hung taking it easy. We dropped anchor and first thing we did was to dinghy over to a reef we spotted on the way in. Finally the water has gotten comfortable enough not to have to wear a wetsuit at a comfortable 82 degrees. Dawn and Harvey had invited us for dinner and as we sat in the cockpit eating and watching the sun set we were busy discussing the next day’s plans. Friday we awoke to yet another gorgeous day and Dirk prepared himself some breakfast of seared Mahi with wasabi. I on the other hand elected to fry up some day old rice with sesame oil and a little Thai seasoning. I know it’s an odd breakfast but it sounded much better then grits again this morning. After breakfast we spent some time cleaning up the boat from yesterday’s trip and then we all headed into MacDuffs grill for lunch. .

Harvey, Dawn, Dirk, and I at MacDuffs toasting another day in paradise

It’s the only thing really on the island besides a small airfield that sits directly behind the restaurant. The food was good but a bit pricey. But then again its the only thing on the island...The restroom we were told was under the umbrella, okay….go out and sure enough there is a crude open air type bathroom with an umbrella as a roof, walls that are made of lattice to allow the vines and plants access and a door that is nothing but the bamboo type beads hanging down. It surprised me that it had an actual flushing toilet and a sink with running water and a vase of pretty flowers sitting on the counter.

Had to show the toilet

To let someone know you were in it as you passed the tree branch there was a sign that you flipped to occupied. Dawn refused to use it but I thought it was charming. We then set out in the dinghies and headed over to the plane that had crashed in the days when the island was being used as a drug haven. Guess the pilot didn’t quite make the airstrip. The plane lies in about 10 to 15 feet and some of it is visible above the water. It is full of life and the fish must be use to being fed as they would follow you around and almost let you touch them.

The plane that we snorkeled. Its a lot bigger than it looks and sits in about 12 to 15 feet of water
A small island across from the plane, if you look real close I am under the palm tree

We spent about 30 minutes snorkeling there and then took off in the direction of what appeared like a good beach. We landed the dinghies and walked across a small sand dune. We were in paradise; this is the Bahamas we have been looking for. What met us was a crescent shaped cove of white sand and water so clear that if you tried to describe it you wouldn’t be able to find the right words to do it justice.

Dirk snorkering the cove

It was incredible and we couldn’t stop saying how beautiful it was. A bit of beachcombing and another dip in the water then we were off to the next beckoning beach. We ended up on Boot Cay with its big stretch of beach with meets with a rocky ledge that in turns leads to a cliff of scattered palm trees. Tons of sand dollars were found and hopefully I can manage to not break them all before we get back. Of course they were the dead ones as we do not take anything that is living just to have. It was really odd as they all ended up in this one spot, must be the way the waves and tides wash them onto the island. After a full day of fun and sun we decided to call it a day, and as the sun set Dirk munched on more seared Mahi and I sat writing the blog wondering when I would once again get internet in order to post it. Saturday we were going to scoot on down to Shroud Cay but instead decided to stay one more day here exploring. Dirk dug out the underwater housing for the video camera as we have hardly videoed anything, we thought it about time. We decided to head back to the plane as we thought it would be pretty to video. I was going to throw out some old cooked rice from the fridge but decided to take it with me in a zip lock to see if the fish would go for that. I have heard of people feeding them cat food and frozen peas before but never cooked rice. We hopped over the side and headed to the plane where I was met by a few curious sergeant major fish just checking me out and once they saw the bag of rice they called all their buddies. I was instantly surrounded as I released some rice and they knew no fear after that. So now I know a good cheap food the fish seem to love. About a half hour was spent feeding and videotaping all the inhabitants then it was off to explore the beaches we missed yesterday. By 3pm we were all tired, hungry and sunburned so we called it a day. Of course on the way back we had to stop in some grass patches so Dirk could check out some conch. Sure enough he collected five and then headed home where an easy dinner of hotdogs on the grill were eaten, showers taken and sunburns soothed. So I will continue to write and save till the day when we have internet once again.

Spanish Wells & Hatchet Bay

2010-04-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Dirk and I decided to get off the boat and poke around town a bit and check out the Food Fair grocery store. I have heard different accounts from different folks on their ideas of the best provisioning places. My advice is if you need something get it, even if it is 20 cents more but don’t over buy anywhere except for when you leave the states stocking up on items you may really like that might be hard to find. Face it, the Bahamas are expensive so be prepared to pay about double for what you buy and be happy when you find a deal. The Food Fair Grocery was fairly large with a good selection of pretty much everything you could want so we stocked up on a few items and headed back to the boat stopping only to pick up a few coconuts we saw to replenish our stock. We hopped in the dinghy and on the way back we saw a few folks hanging around a dock throwing greens in the water. We putt over and see a manatee. Hummmm, I didn’t know there were manatees in the Bahamas…..Of course I didn’t have my camera so we went back to the boat, picked it up and headed back. The other folks had gone but the manatee was still there and very inquisitive about us coming right up to the dinghy. Soon a gentleman drives up, gets out and we find out he is from some sort of marine & wildlife organization. He informed us that the manatee was actually a female and due to give birth any day now. Her name was Rita and she somehow managed to get from Florida to Eleuthera. I believe he said it was the 3rd such one that has done that, and she is actually tagged for Florida. They have no clue how or why they do it but somehow they do. The last one they had was in Bimini and they transferred it back as it was beginning to stave as I guess the food supply is a bit different here. The government has had the marine specialist from Atlantis resort come over and they say that after 3 months of her being here she is doing well. Here she is being curious with Dirk as he is taking her picture

Part of the reason being of course is the folks from Spanish Wells have spoiled her. She hangs around one dock and gets handouts on a daily basis and even the large ships going in and out of there know to look for her and it was told she held up the channel traffic for almost an hour one day. The gentleman was full of information and it was great to be so close to and photograph her. The afternoon was spent spear fishing with another couple moored next to us. Dirk did manage to spear a good size gray snapper and the last thing he saw was the fish heading for deeper water with his spear shaft. The other guy had speared one also that got away but 15 minutes into the hunt with another shaft he sees it swimming by and spears it again. Well at least he found his, and Dirk spent 30 minutes looking but never could find his. Oh well, what can you do? We decided to hit a little beach on the way back. The waves didn’t appear to be very large coming in but as I stood up to take a step out of the dinghy to pull it to shore a wave hit us and just about capsized the dinghy. I remember flying face first into the water and looking back I saw Dirk doing the same. We quickly pulled the dinghy to shore and realized it was half full of water and everything was floating in it including the canvas bag that had my non-waterproof camera inside. It only took a matter of minutes for me to realize it was a hopeless case. I was so disappointed all I wanted to do was get back to the boat as everything was drenched and full of sand. My fun meter was pegged for the day. Our neighbor told us that she heard if you take it and put it into a bag of raw rice that might help, heck at this point it wouldn’t hurt. Well it’s been in there for a day and a half and it is still not working. At least we still have Dirks camera but his is the nice one that I hate to take to shore. I’m gonna miss that camera and have stated the next one will be waterproof. Friday morning one last trash run and internet run was made along with a trip to the fish market to buy a new spear shaft for Dirk. Note to self…Next season bring more than one. About 10ish we headed out making tracks for Current Cut making sure we hit it with the incoming tide as it is a narrow cut that runs like a river through it. At just about idle speed we were making about 7 knots. As soon as you make it through you have to hang a tight right so as not to get washed up onto a grassy bar so things were a bit un nerving for me momentarily but we made it through with no problem. From there we headed to Glass window where we spent the evening anchored off a nice beach being the only boat. Sun downers and a beautiful sunset concluded the day. The following morning we prepped the boat for a short sail down to Hatchet Bay in Alice Town. Dirk pulled up the sails, raised the anchor, and off we went without starting the engine. Great start to a beautiful day until the wind shifted and we were heading straight into 20 knot winds so the engine was started and we motored the last 30 minutes or so into the very narrow opening of Hatchet Bay. Once we were inside we headed to the west end looking for a mooring ball as the bottom is grassy and holding can be iffy. Besides all the mooring balls are put here by the government and offered for free to boaters. Free is good…..As we are heading in we see a boat that looks very familiar and sure enough we spot Bill & JoAnn from s/v Ultra. Last time we saw them was when they were traveling through Panama City Florida from Texas close to a year ago. Wow, small world….Sun downers were planned at their boat for the evening and they invited most of the harbor so we met several new folks and got some nice information as we are headed in opposite directions. Sunday was a lazy day for us, It was beautiful and we should have been off the boat poking around doing something rather than lounging about reading all day but that’s what we elected to do. I stepped outside at one point and saw our friends from s/v Sovereign Swan just coming into the cut. When we had left Marsh Harbor we had to leave them behind as they were having battery issues and would have to wait on new ones from the states. They were suppose to catch up with us later but after several days of the batteries being delayed in customs we figured there would be no way they would. They pushed hard and made up several days so we will press on together. Once we turn back for the states they will head further south for Hurricane season. Several of the boaters were talking about getting together and heading into town for the evening to go to a little place called Da Spott, a little outside bar for dinner and some rake & scrape music later in the evening so we figured we would join them. It was just a little hole in the wall place that was very welcoming. There wasn’t a great selection of food but what we had was wonderful thrown right on the barbeque pit outside. We sat around watching a basketball game on the TV over the bar and had a few drinks catching up waiting on the band to arrive. One of the band members arrived and it was determined that the other one was too intoxicated to come. Oh well, this is the islands, so much for the band we still had the house music and the basketball game. Today we sit out a front and as I look at the cut I can see it is rough out there. We are in the safest Harbor in Eleuthera and it feels nice. Tomorrow it should be nice so we will head down to Governors Harbour.

Finally Made it to Eleuthera

2010-04-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Well we did it. We finally broke the chains that held us in the Abaco’s. Don’t get me wrong now, the Abaco’s are great but when we were trying to leave for so long only to be forced to stay and wait and wait, and wait for weather to do anything it was getting taxing. I have said this before and saying it again, the weather Gods have not been too forgiving this year for any place. The folks here have all noted that this is the weirdest weather they have seen.
On Saturday the 17th we pulled out again from Marsh Harbor along with FinniRish heading for Lynyard Cay to stage for the passage to Eleuthera. We left our friends Dawn & Harvey on s/v Sovereign Swan there waiting on batteries to come on a slow boat from the states. Hopefully they will catch up with us at a later date. When we arrived in Lynyard Cay there were so many boats there anchored waiting to go North & South, our plan was to leave the following morning but after listening to several reports we decided to wait a day. Of course the next day were kicking ourselves as it wasn’t as bad as predicted and we could have made it. Oh well what can you do…. So Dirk and I went beach combing and added several new nice pieces of sea glass and shells to my collection. Once it got to the point of what I call beach combers cramp, basically when you can’t walk bent over another step we decided to call it quits and do some conching. Dirk hopped in the water with a line hanging off the back of the dinghy and I drive pulling him slowly around as he can cover a lot more ground this way. It almost feels as if I’m trolling for something large using Dirk as bait. Within 30 minutes or so we had 5 good size conchs and decided that was plenty. Dirk is getting to the point where all he eats these days is conch. He loves making conch salad, fritters, and trying new ways and things to batter it in and eat it. Guess the more of that he eats the less I have to cook as he cleans and cooks the conch himself.

Bowl of Conch without shell waiting to be cleaned, not too bad for an hours work

Monday was spent reading, sleeping and eating as we had horrible rain and wind all day. This was yet another cold front that was passing us.

This is what most of our day looked like from the cockpit

After watching and listening to the weather all evening we discussed it and made the decision that the following day would be a good day to give it a shot. The worst that would happen would we would get out the cut and have waves too big and turn to come back and wait another day. The alarm went off nice and early at 6am as I pulled myself out of bed to put the much needed pot of coffee on. We turned on the VHF and heard the other boats chattering about leaving also so we knew we wouldn’t be alone. We listened to Chris Parker on the single side band and felt this was a good day so at 6:45 we were firing up ole Max our trusty Westerbeke and pulling anchor heading south. The sunrise that greeted the morning for us

We made it out the pass between Lynyard Cay and Little Harbor with no problem, there were some good size swells but the time in between was good so we felt it would be a good ride for us. Not so much for poor Butters which we are getting very good at predicting the days he hurls. He must hate us by now….The trip was 63 miles and only took us 10.5 hours, wow; try doing that in your car down the highway. LOL The winds were light and variable as predicted. One minute they would be 40 degrees off our port and then 3 seconds later right from the rear so trying to adjust sails kept Dirk busy and frustrated. But what else is there to do to pass time but fish, eat, and lounge around. Now try doing that in your car going down the highway……speaking of fishing, Dirk has been waiting for this crossing to do some fishing in hopes of catching a Mahi or Tuna. As we were coming out of the pass the first thing he does is throw out his line and no sooner does it hit the water, he says fish on…As he reeled it in we saw it was a barracuda about 40 inches long with lots of sharp pointy teeth. Dangit…..Back in the water he goes and we didn’t get another strike until about 6 hours into the trip. Dirk was setting the hook when the fish leaped out of the water and leaped right off the hook, double dangit. As we pulled into Eleuthera we were complaining about no fish biting, well one line he brought in had the hook bent open so something had to have gotten that and the other line was pulled in and it had been bitten clean through, just wondering how long we towed that empty line through the water. One day….Were gonna get a big one, one day…..just not today. So we are on a mooring ball here in Spanish Wells and it is a very tight mooring field. Only 8 balls here at 15 bucks a day and it’s just a short hop to the city wall where you can tie up your dinghy and get into town.

Looking out towards the Atlantic

A typical street here in Spanish Wells

At low tide it looks impossible to leave or enter here as they left just enough room to swing without hitting bottom. But as usual, when we make a long crossing we like to spend the first day in a marina or a mooring so that we can get a good night’s sleep without worrying about the anchor in an unkown area. On Thursday we will probably head out of here and head somewhere else around here. Not quite sure yet, maybe anchor out around Royal Island, perhaps do some snorkeling and beach combing for a couple days before we start heading south. Tomorrow will also be the day that our buddy boat FinniRish will be departing as they are heading to the Exuma’s tomorrow. We have been together since we left Marathon in January and hope to run into them one day down the road. As for us, we will continue looking for adventures and hope that Mother Nature will give us several good weeks to enjoy the time we have left here in the Bahamas before beginning our journey back to the states. Will keep you all updated as internet will allow.

Will we ever break away from the Abacos?

2010-04-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

Last place I left you all was in Little Harbor awaiting a weather window to scoot on down to Eleuthera Island. We were moored there for 3 days when we decided to take our bikes off the boat and see if we couldn’t run into Cherokee Sound which is 5 miles away to pick up a couple things we were running low on. One of our buddy boats decided to do the same but decided they would walk it. Two miles of the road is dirt & gravel, & rock and also not very well maintained. I thought for sure I would wreck my bike when my tire would slide down in a pit or hit a large rock as some of the hills were very steep. At best I figured I would end up carrying my lungs back as I am not at all in the kind of shape it takes to pedal a bike up some of this terrain. I was never so happy to see the paved road begin, but once we were on it, it seemed to go on forever. 45 minutes later we arrived in Cherokee Sound, a very nice quaint town that was so nice and clean. It would go on my list of prettiest and cleanest towns along with Hope Town. You can see some of the folks take so much pride in their homes as it shows by the details they put into them. Here is one of the main roads, yes road in Cherokee Sound

Here is Cherokee Sound at Low Tide, Boy is it shallow in there.

We hit the one grocery store in town and as always had a good chuckle looking at some of the prices of food. Our total was $63.45 but I had only brought 60.00 with me so something would have to be put back as they don’t accept debit cards. Oh well, bye bye pretzels, some other day….We couldn’t bear to part with our $6.85 bag of Oreos though. They were going home with us no matter, sometimes you just have to splurge. It took Dawn & Harvey 2 hours to make the walk there and lucky for them but they were offered a ride back which they gladly accepted. The next day was day number 4 of waiting out the weather and unfortunate for us but it wasn’t getting any better for at least a week. The decision was made that the following morning we would leave Little Harbor and head back to Marsh Harbor as our water and fresh food supplies would be next to nothing when we did decide to make the jump. Besides that our refrigerator decided that it wasn’t going to cool anymore. Geeeeze what now…..I guess this would be as good a time as any for it to go out as we are close enough to Marsh Harbor to get what we needed. Turned out we had a fitting shake its self loose and let the Freon escape. Easy fix for once…..at least we hope it’s fixed. So once again here we sit and wait until Mother Nature gives us the go to head south. Today the Bahamians put on an agriculture type fair. There were food booths set up selling all the wonderful Bahamian foods, booths set up with ladies selling their straw handbags & hats, some selling sea glass jewelry and jewelry made with all the oceans bounty such as sea shells, conch feet, or toenails, and Chitons which I understand they also eat. We saw an interesting demonstration on safely cleaning and eating Lion Fish. Lion Fish are gorgeous fish that unfortunately have somehow made their way into Bahamian waters and are beginning to do damage as their numbers are increasing very quickly and they feed on the same fish, lobster, and crabs we do so it’s only a matter of time before it begins to harm the fishing industry. They are trying to educate people on proper methods of handling, and cleaning them as they are a fish with toxic barbs that can really put a hurting on someone. They also gave out free samples of the cooked fish and it was very good. To me it tasted like bass. Very clean tasting with a nice texture. Hummmm looks like Lion fish may be on future menus. It looks as though tomorrow the 17th that we can make the 4 hour trip back down to Lynyard Cay to stage and hopefully take off Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. Our first destination will be Royal Island or Spanish Wells if we have enough daylight. Hoping to update once we get there to let you know where from there.

Heading South

2010-04-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Wednesday the 31st we pulled anchor, headed to the marina to fill the fuel cans and fill up the water tanks. This would be the first time we had to pay for water to fill them if you don’t count the “no option” water charge at the marinas for $4.00 a day. Twenty cents a gallon wasn’t bad and it had been some time since we last filled the tanks. We took off about 11am and waved Marsh Harbor goodbye. It served its purpose but we are getting bored and ready to go. s/v Sovereign Swan, FinniRish, and Tybee Time all took off finally making tracks for islands south. The weather is calling for calm winds and beautiful skies for the next 5 days so we wanted to take advantage of it. Our first stop was anchoring in front of Tahiti Beach on Elbow Cay. We dropped anchor in about 8 feet of clear water and took the dinghy to shore where there was a pretty beach and many coconut palms lining the scenery. It was the last day of lobster season so Dirk & Harvey took off around the cut to see if they could get lucky. Ellie, Jim, Dawn, and I decided to hit the beach and do some relaxing and beach combing. I was happy as I was finding sea glass from the start, besides I can be perfectly content beach combing all day. Later, Dawn & I walked into the palms to see what coconuts we could dig up. I of course forgot my shoes so I spent most of the time digging sand spurs out of my feet while Dawn was able to go a lot deeper and find some nice ones. The men came back empty handed but with tales of trying to tag team a grouper, the grouper won. Dawn decided to have Dirk try and climb a coconut tree and grab some green ones for sun downers in the evening.

This is Tahiti Beach where there were so many coconut Palms

We all met at FinniRish and the men began hacking away at the green coconuts finally cleaning enough for us to have our sun downers. What a nice evening it was and it was the first time I had the coconut milk right in the shell with rum. Ummmmmm .

Just pour a bit of coconut milk out and replace with rum, insert straw and enjoy

Sunset at Tahiti Beach

The next day we headed to Snake Cay which is an old abandoned lumber operation. We anchored just south of the mouth and dinghied into the opening where about 15 to 20 spotted eagle rays hang out. The entrance has a fairly deep spot where the currents work in and out and I guess the eagle rays like that. Everywhere you look you can see remains of the old operation as you can see parts of machinery and vehicles along with many old tires littering the bottom. We anchored the dinghies and all jumped into the water hoping to have a close encounter. I saw a rather large ray and dove down to swim alongside him. It was absolutely wonderful and it’s so easy to forget that one must come up for air when you are alongside them. Totally amazing when you see how large and graceful they are really never paying too much mind to us. Dirk managed to capture the entire group on video. After testing our lung capacity for a while I played around a bit in the shallower water and found several fish and a green moray eel hanging around. Soon we climbed back into the dinghy and made our way about the maze of little isles that littered the scenery looking for rays and other assorted sea life littering the sea bed.

Here's a pretty star fish "sea cushion" brought out for photo opps.then released

As we approached the end the guys happened upon another deep hole which unfortunate for them but three conchs had fallen into. Two were legal so Dirk decided they would be a good addition to sun downers in the evening. When we got back to the boat we decided to pull anchor and head to Tilloo Cay and anchor for the evening. While we were at Snake Cay we spotted Hobbs & Heidi from Big Toot. We had spent some time with them in Marsh Harbor and we asked if they wanted to join us, so now we were a pack of four traveling together. That evening sun downers were at Big Toot , introductions were made, and assorted snacks were happily consumed along with the fresh conch caught only hours earlier. Can't get any fresher then this

The plan for the next day was to head to Sandy Cay to do some snorkeling and diving but we found when we arrived the next day that the anchorage was not the greatest as it was hard to set an anchor. S/v Sovereign Swan was not happy about the anchor set so they said they would meet us at the Lynyard Cay which was our next anchorage. We set anchor and decided that the seas were too rough to attempt the dive so we all picked up anchor and headed to Lynyard Cay which we would end up staying for a couple days due to seas being too rough to make it to Cherokee point. Easter Sunday found us up early with calls to the family wishing them a Happy Easter and heading into Little Harbor and Pete’s Pub where we had lunch and several Pete’s Pub Blasters.

Pete's Pub, is a great quaint outdoor pub

There’s a reason they call them blasters…..We were joined by Stu and Chuck from s/v Long Gone who we had met in Marsh Harbor along with a couple of their friends. A great day was had by all and a nice day on the beach collecting sea glass and shells made it that much better. Here is Dirk adding our Tybee Time to the wall

Tuesday the 6th we decided the anchorage was getting a bit rolly and the winds were due to clock around which would mean we would be exposed to more waves. Two nights of restless sleep and our decision was made to make way for Little Harbor which was a 30 minute trip from the anchorage. We had to wait until high tide as there isn’t much water getting in there and Dawn & Harvey draw a bit more than we do so they followed us in with us calling out depth every few feet so they wouldn’t ground. We grabbed a mooring ball and they anchored in one of the few spots to do so. Big Toot had come in the day before and FinniRish decided that if we had to wait on weather they would do it from Marsh Harbor so they could at least re provision and take care of some business. We should be here a few days so they will rejoin us before its time to head south. Little Harbor is a great little place, little being the best description. There is a small harbor surrounded by a high cliff on one side which opens to a small cove with a beach on the other side. Pete’s Pub is an open air bar that serves lunch at a pretty reasonable price. Large angus cheeseburger with a side of rice & corn and coleslaw for $14.00, and I might add, it’s very tasty. Of course one must wash it down with their signature drink called a Blaster. Moorings are 15.00 daily and the 4th day is free when you pay for 3. Garbage is 5.00 per bag to dispose and there are no facilities. But what a great place to hang out…..There are no grocery stores or businesses so stock up on food, water, and anything else you might need before you get here. Here is where we are moored in Little Harbor

Today Dirk was itching to do some conching as he keeps seeing the locals come in with lots but can’t find any himself. He ended up going over to the bar and asking if there was a local that could help him out. Charlie was pointed out and agreed to give Dirk some pointers and show him some good spots to go. Not an hour later they returned with their limit and a beaming Dirk. He was happy as he always is when he gets to do his hunting and gathering business. Charlie also sat there and helped Dirk clean them up giving him pointers along the way. Looks like conch fritters might be on the menu tonight. We finally decided that if we were to be here for several days we would bite the bullet and buy Internet for the week so we could check in with folks back home, update the blog and have access to some weather sites. One never realizes just how much we rely on these darn computers to make our lives easier, but just like TV we are learning to live without it. Our plan is as soon as we get a decent weather window is to head south to Eleuthera. You may hear from us before then depending on how long we will be here.

Back in Marsh Harbor

2010-03-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

When I last left you readers we had grabbed a mooring ball in Black sound to wait out some weather. I had mentioned how picking up the mooring was a challenge and one of the reasons being is that there was no pendent on the top so you had to snag the whole ball to place your lines through the chain. Well once I got the ball snagged with the hook, I pull it up and there must be 5 different lines tangled in among the chain. None of which we would have trusted to hold us securely in place. Also with the heavy mess of lines attached, it made it impossible for me to run the line in without two hands and I had to keep a death grip on the line due to current and wind dragging us backwards. Here is the ball and you can see the octopus of lines hanging down and onto the bottom. The two lines you see out of the water are our two lines attached.

So I had the ball, Dirk would run up and try passing the line through and by the time he fought with it we had drifted too far for me to hold on any longer. I held on pretty good too and have the bruises to prove it. So we finally did enough go a rounds, that the last time I had the ball Dirk kept the boat in forward gear, ran up and managed to get one line through and tied off to the cleat. I got back on the helm and took it out of gear and returned to help Dirk get the other on. Whew, that was done……Fun, fun…..The next couple days were a wash out due to the winds and rain. At least the boat got a good wash down. On the 3rd day we decided to take the dinghy around the bottom of Green Turtle and go out to Pelican Cay which is a tiny island with a single house on it. The cruising guide shows mooring balls but trust me, no mooring balls were to be seen. We did get lucky and spot the old mooring line while we were looking for a sand spot to throw the anchor out. Dirk dove down and tied our dinghy underwater to that line. There is a large reef and rock system with lots of beautiful sea life. We snorkeled a while spotting a nurse shark asleep tucked in the coral and right by him was a huge sea turtle nestled in some rocks catching a nap also. Hummm , must be that time of day. Dirk of course was in hunting mode as there are only so many lobster days left so he had spear in hand and was at the ready. We spotted a hole and Dirk asked me to take a look and see if I was seeing the lobster he was seeing. Indeed I did so he went down again and when he returned he had the lobster on the end of the spear. It was a Spanish lobster and if you have never seen one, well all I can say is ugly.

But…hummmm looks like dinner to me. I started getting chilled so I crawled back into the dinghy, peeled off my wetsuit and let the sun warm me up again. Before I knew it Dirk was swimming towards me and tossed a really good sized lobster into the boat and before I could really say anything he was gone again. He was in the zone…..One more lobster found its way to the boat and he topped it off by spearing his first fish which was a tasty Amberjack. After that it was time to get out of the water and head back to the boat where fresh lobster and fish were prepared, eaten and then it was early to bed as we were whipped.

The next morning we decided to lose the mooring ball and anchor outside of Black Sound where we met Dawn & Harvey on S/V Sovereign Swan. We ended up taking them with us the next day back to snorkel and hunt as Harvey wanted to bag a lobster before the end of season. We went to the front side of No Name Cay which is right next to Pelican Cay and hopped into the water. We didn’t see as much wildlife but we did see some of the biggest and prettiest Elkhorn coral we had ever seen. Harvey bagged a lobster and we zipped back to the spot where we had had better luck the day before. Nothing was bagged but a nice spotted eagle ray was seen.

The spot in front of Pelican Cay where there is nice snorkeling and lots of sealife

The next morning we decided it was time to head back to Marsh Harbor as the fridge needed restocking and the laundry was piling up. Saturday we finally made it to the grocery store where once again the cruising kitty was hit pretty hard. I always liked reading what people paid for things in the Bahamas so I will add a couple if anyone is interested.
1 Vadalia onion $1.77
Fresh Step Cat Litter Scoop 40lb tub $27.49
Nabisco Saltine Crackers box $4.19
Green Giant Cream corn $2.45 per can
½ gallon 2% milk $3.30
Liquid coffee mate 32 fl oz. size $6.79
16 oz package of sliced ham lunchmeat $6.19
Campbell’s cream of chicken soup $1.50 per can
Now as you can see it’s not all bad, but then again some of the items triple shock you like the kitty litter. I guess it’s all relative. Heck I think it might be cheaper for us to cruise as we seem to spend less. When you think about it there are no monthly dock fees, no cell phone, internet, or cable bills. Hummmm, something to think about, but we are keeping a log of all our expenses and will have a good handle on how much it actually cost us to cruise once we get done with the season. To me laundry is the scary number as we spent 22.00 for it today. One of the double loaders was 6.00 and one that held a bit more was 8.00. Dry was 25 cents for 2 minutes. Although when we were at the marina it was 4.00 for wash and 4.00 for dry so I think I did a bit better in town at the Laundromat. Looking forward to getting out of here and heading south which we are suppose to do tomorrow, weather permitting. Yesterday the weather was very windy and the harbor has gotten full of boats looking to wait it out here. The buzz on the radio is that there had been two tornados, one in Luciya and one in Freeport. It doesn’t sound good as we hear there has been loss of life and damage to boats. We didn’t hear the net this morning so we can’t confirm anything. We did hear a call on the radio around seven saying there was a boat on the loose and it had hit another boat but was still heading to the back side of the harbor. Dirk hopped in the dinghy and headed to see if he could lend a hand as we knew the people on the run away boat. When he arrived the owner of the boat that had been hit had managed to get on board as the couple was gone and managed to find another anchor that he threw out. Shortly after the owners arrived and managed to get anchored securely once again. We hear this morning that there was only minimal damage to either boat so that was nice to hear. In winds like we were having last night I can’t imagine leaving the boat unattended. Internet has been sporadic so I don’t know when I will get to make another post once we leave here. Our next stop is going to be down by Lubbers Quarters so we can do some snorkeling and visit Tahiti Beach as I hear it is beautiful, but then again, I find that so many areas here are beautiful. I will update as soon as I can.

A bit of Island Hopping

2010-03-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

I think the last place I left you followers were in Marsh Harbor where we had Dirk’s mom onboard for a visit. Well her vacation has ended and after many goodbyes to all the new friends she met while here we took her to the airport on the 13th. With a few delays her plane finally made it in about an hour late and in just enough time for her to make her connecting flight to London from Nassau. We had a wonderful time while she was here and we hope she returned home with some very fond memories. We just wish Mother Nature had showed us some better weather, but what can you do. Here is Anke with Judith and Erik from Bravo on the left & Ellie and Jim from FinniRish on the Right.

With all this bad weather we have been going a bit stir crazy wanting to get off the boat and do some snorkeling, diving, exploring, or just relaxing in a nice anchorage, so we decided to head out to Treasure Cay on the 16th. While parked in the Marina for so long we met Erik & Judy a Canadian couple on their boat Bravo, so Bravo, FinniRish and we all headed out together. If you recall when we first made our initial crossing to the Bahamas our Buddy Boat FinniRish had engine problems and had to be towed in. Well they thought all was well but on the way to Treasure their engine quit again. The fuel filter was changed and we continued on. Soon after they called back on the radio saying they were getting a bit of water in and shut it down to have a look. Turns out it was just a faulty hose clamp so once it was changed we were once again pointed in the right direction. We made it into Treasure Cay, threw out the anchor and we all headed to FinniRish for sun downers. The next day was supposed to be nice so Dirk and I wanted to head to Green Turtle which meant crossing the whale once again. The only problem we had was a majorly sick kitty on our hands. Once the 3 p’s , ( puke, pee, & poo) were distributed randomly about the floor and cockpit I think Butters finally threw in the white towel and surrendered. Either that or he was finally empty…..Ellie & Jim on FinniRish decided to stay behind as they didn’t want to take any chances of engine failure in the whale and Bravo decided to stay behind with them. We however had the urge to get moving and see some of the areas that had to be missed on the way to Marsh Harbor due to our tight schedule. The entrance into White Sound is very narrow and I would hate to meet a large boat in it. We elected to get a mooring ball and hunted about looking for one that wasn’t being blocked by some inconsiderate boater that has anchored. Come on now….If you see a mooring ball, why on earth would you throw your anchor line out 20 feet from it? Guess some people have no clue. We found a mooring and got tied up and settled in as it was suppose to start blowing steady in the night which of course it was right on schedule. The next day we threw the bikes into the dinghy and hauled them to the dinghy dock as we wanted to take a ride into New Plymouth for a look around. We have had several people tell us that we needed to see New Plymouth due to the charm of the town. Not to knock the town, it was indeed charming and sweet with its roads just wide enough for a golf cart to get down but most of the pastel colored homes were in disrepair and at the least needed someone to pull a few weeds. My favorite still has to be Hope Town because of how clean and up kept everything seemed to be. We did hit a few areas on the beach on the ride back to White Sound and ended up having lunch at the Green Turtle Club. I thought I was getting off cheap for lunch having a wonderful BLT on Bahamian bread with a side order of coleslaw that made you feel you got your money’s worth until we decided to split a dessert. $7.95 for BLT and coleslaw, $7.95 for a slice of chocolate mousse. Shouldn’t complain though I guess, we splurged but somehow I feel that the mileage I put on my bike today was for nothing. There’s always tomorrow to work it off. Here is a bit of beach we explored on the way back to White Sound

On Saturday we decided it was time to shake that mooring ball off and set off for some new scenery so we headed out to Manjack Cay and anchored in the bay between Manjack and Crab Cay. There were several other boats there but it seemed like a nice place to be so after setting the anchor we took off in the dinghy to explore. We headed to the Atlantic side where there was a nice beach for me to do some beachcombing and plenty of rock formations for Dirk to hunt around. We ended up staying for a while and when Dirk returned empty handed to shore he was enthused that he had seen so much beautiful sea life even though he missed snagging dinner. We made our way back slowly through the little harbor behind Crab Cay as the tide was now settling on the low side. At one point we both had to exit the dinghy and drag it behind us. Once we hit deeper water again I hopped back in and Dirk tied himself off so he could slowly swim back to the boat with me in tow while he checked out the sea life on the bottom. The only thing that was abundant was sea urchins and sea biscuits and it was unreal to see how many dead ones were in one area, sometimes there were up to ten. So I got Dirk to retrieve some sea biscuits and we headed back to the boat where Dirk did the task of cleaning the bottom.
Here is one of the sea biscuits Dirk retrieved for me. My hand in the pic to show the size.

Here is a Star fish, AKA Cushion Star. They are all over the place and yes we put it back in the water. I don't believe in killing something just to have a trophy.

It’s been a while since the bottom has been cleaned so it’s nice to have that done. He also tackled the bottom of the dinghy which has become green with algae. That evening the winds picked up as predicted and it was a very rolly evening with us up every so often checking the anchor alarm making sure we weren’t slipping back into that limestone rock wall that makes up so much of the Bahamas. The next morning we pulled anchor and headed back to Green Turtle opting to stay in Black Sound this time. The winds coming down were sometimes clocked at 23 knots right off the nose so it wasn’t bad but as we entered Black Sound it seemed they were funneling down the length which made picking up the mooring ball quiet the challenge but it got done none the less. We will be here for a couple days before we head back to Marsh Harbor where depending on winds and weather we will decided our next course of action.

Hope Town

2010-03-11T11:38:00.001-08:00

On Sunday the 7th we decided to head over to Hope Town. The marina was bustling with cruisers packing up and heading out. About 6 to 7 boats left one after the other and we all headed for our next destination. FinniRish and us set our sights on Hope Town and as we left Marsh Harbor it was evident that we were not to see the calm water and mild winds that were expected. It didn’t bother us, but we knew Anke, Dirks mom would be a bit nervous as this was to be her first “rough” sail. She did very well but I don’t think she was having too nice of a day and she would be happy when we arrived at our destination. We had to time our arrival into Hope Town with high tide and got into the tiny entrance with no problems. We made our way through the very tight mooring field, found the mooring ball we had reserved and got tied up and shut things down. This was the first time we had a chance to look around and see just how pretty this harbor was. The pastel colored homes sitting on the water front with the red & white striped lighthouse standing tall. It was Ellies birthday from FinniRish and we headed over to a waterfront restaurant to have dinner and celebrate. Dinner was incredible and we topped it off with a nice desert and conversation. The following day was Dirks Birthday so we woke up in the celebratory mood. Anke had snuck out of her bed in the morning and put some cards and gifts out for him so it was like Christmas. It was a beautiful day so we decided to head over to the lighthouse for a climb to the top.

Once at the top the view was absolutely beautiful with the turquoise colored water surrounding the Island. You realize just how small the area is which makes it that much more charming. This is the view to the right into Hope Town Harbor. Tybee Time is sitting just out of view to the right.

This is looking to the left showing the entrance to the harbor

Once we were back on the ground we all decided to head back to our boats to actually put on a bathing on and check out the beach. We found our way to the public dinghy dock and set out on our way admiring the beautiful homes and flowers along the way. By far the prettiest island yet. As we entered the beach we were met by hues of blues and turquoise that can only be described as breathtaking with the waves crashing along the shoreline.

Here Dirk & I pose with the tourquoise water behind us

I of course set out on my sea glass hunt as was Dirk and he was finding them left and right. I was having more trouble, but then where he was finding them was further into the surf then I wanted to immerse myself. We wandered down the beach a ways then circled back to make our way back through town stopping at a mom & Pops place to grab a cheeseburger and fries before heading to the local grocery where I got to compare prices. That’s always fun, and I got to see what a $7.00 loaf of bread looks like, I opted for the freshly made Bahamian $3.50 loaf.

Check out these bankers hours.

On the way back to the dinghy Dirk spotted a fisherman cleaning his catch and walked over to see what he had only to return with one and a half pounds of freshly caught and cleaned yellow fin tuna. Ah, something else we can throw into the mix of Dirks Birthday dinner tonight. It was going to be steak and lobster but tuna sounds better now. Ellie & Jim joined us at the boat and we celebrated Dirks birthday with a decent rendition of Happy Birthday and a coconut rum cake I had baked for him. Afterwards Dirk decided he wanted to take the dinghy out to an area he had heard about that had conch. Off he went and when he returned he did indeed have a conch.
He spotted about 11 of them but only one of legal size so he set about cleaning the critter. Very daunting task if you ask me, but he got a book out with step by step instructions and set to work. After whacking away at the shell with a small hammer he came back in the boat to retrieve another. Conch 1, Hammer 0. Mega hammer was retrieved and Dirk evened up the score with the conch losing in the end. The conch got stowed in the fridge, the lobsters were boiled and the tuna steaks were lightly seared in sesame oil all served with melted butter and a sweet soy sauce on the side. Topped off with a nice glass of wine it was a perfect dinner to end a perfect day. The following day we were due to head back to Marsh Harbor as yet another front was moving through and we needed to be back there on Saturday for Anke to fly out. We couldn’t leave Hope Town until about 1 when we had high tide and even then on the way out we were greeted by a rather large sailboat churning up sand trying to find some water under his keel. As we cleared the channel the water was so clear that Anke & I placed ourselves up front looking in the water for starfish and hoping to catch even a glimpse of a dolphin. We have only seen one since we have been here and that was in Marsh Harbor Marina under our boat. I finally settled back and lazed about on the bow of the boat trying to steal a few rays from father sun shine. Doesn’t seem like we have seen him too much lately. Once we got close to the entrance we made a pit stop and anchored the boat near Mermaid Reef. I say anchored but as Dirk found out there is a layer of sand with rock underneath so I use the anchoring term loosely. There really wasn’t any current and the winds were light so the weight of the anchor and the chain basically kept us in place and I would be staying on the boat in case I needed to do anything. Anke had never snorkeled so we put her in a wet suit and showed her how to use a mask and snorkel.

Here Anke is trying to figure how this snorkel should fit.

Dirk and her hopped into the dinghy and headed over to tie up to a mooring ball and to each other.
Anke was very nervous as she left the boat not knowing what to expect but returned with a huge grin and tales of beautiful fish. Afterwards we started up the engine and headed into the marina getting the same slip that unfortunately we are getting use to. We will be having bad storms running through our area soon so we decided to treat ourselves and hook up to cable for the 2.00 a day charge. . Wow, television……It’s been so long but I have to say I don’t miss hearing about all the depressing news that seems to bombard us every waking hour. It will be nice to catch up on some favorite shows or just veg for a bit. Dirk cooked up the conch that evening by chopping it into bite size pieces, whacking it a bit to tenderize it and fried it up after rolling the pieces in Louisiana fish fry and Cayenne pepper. I have to say this is the best way I have had it prepared to date. Once you get past the idea that your eating a large salt water snail it’s really good. Doesn’t look like we will be going anywhere till after Sunday due to bad weather rolling in from the states. We have actually run across a few cruisers that have given up this year and are going home early due to the weather we are having. Dirk and I say that you can’t kill our spirit so quickly although it is frustrating. So forgive the lack of post, but until we do more then congregate at the jib room for steak night and rib night I hate to bore you.

A little catching up to do

2010-03-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Tuesday the 23rd Dirk and I decided to get the bikes off the boat and take a drive into town and have a look around and run a few errands we had to take care of. We needed some groceries so we hit the Price Right Grocery and was prepared to be shocked by the prices that we had heard so much about. I have to say I didn't get the shock I thought I would. I’m guessing that some people don’t shop at Publix in the states. Yes the prices were more expensive but not outrageous. Peanut butter was about $5.50 a jar, cereal was somewhere around $5.00 a box, fruits and veggies just slightly above normal, and canned veggies were about $1.60 a can. All this I can handle and I actually expected it. On the way back to the boat we stopped by the local conch man and bought some freshly made conch salad.

Wednesday morning was spent madly dashing about doing my last bit of cleaning and getting the boat ready for the arrival of Dirks mom. About 4 pm we got on the radio and hailed a taxi for 5:15. Where else can you hail a taxi on the radio....The gentleman was waiting for us as we were going up to meet him and he took us to the airport and said he would come back to pick us up after his moms arrival in an hour. As Dirk was trying to pay him he said no, wait till I pick you up later. Geeze wouldn't have that happen in the states. Anke arrived safe and sound and mother and son had a happy reunion and as promised our taxi driver returned to take us back to the marina. That evening the winds picked up and Anke's first evening was a bit rolly but she didn’t seem to mind. I think the fact that she had been awake for 22 hours straight had something to do with that, but what a way to break her into boat living.

Mother and son catching up
Friday the 26 we were actually having a decent day weather wise so we decided to sail over to Man O War for a day outing. This was Anke’s first experience with sailing and we celebrated with a champagne toast all around.

Here is Dirk with our buddy boaters Jim & Ellie from FinniRish

Jim & Ellie from FinniRish joined us on our boat and we managed to get a free mooring ball for the day in front of Dock & Dine restaurant. We walked the island which seemed to be so much cleaner then Marsh Harbor visiting a few gift shops before heading back to Dock and Dine for a wonderful lunch. We did hit a small grocery and found that $9.00 box of cereal I had heard about. You better like cereal to pay that much for it and quiet frankly I like my cereal but not enough to pay that. After lunch we headed back to the boat as we needed to get back to the marina before the bad weather came in for the evening.

Here is Anke getting use to her sea legs seeming very comfortable

Saturday we relaxed on the boat and that evening we headed to the marina for steak night. The next day we attended a marina pot luck brunch that one of the other boaters put together. I'm guessing that if you cant go out and enjoy the islands that you might as well do some cooking and eating. There was a huge turn out and it was nice to sample so many wonderful dishes that were put together. This was Ankes first potluck and she thoroughly enjoyed herself.

On March 1, Monday we had another beautiful day, one out of so many bad weather days that we decided to take a day trip to Great Guana Cay about a 1 1/2 hours away. We know a couple next to us with a 47ft Vagabond and so it was decided that FinniRish, and our boat load would join them on their boat for the trip over. What a nice relaxing trip it was just sitting back and spreading out on the large decks in chairs and enjoying the sunshine.

We docked the boat and the first order of business was to get ourselves to Nippers for a celebratory drink.

The beach was absolutely beautiful, offset by the colors of Nippers, it just seemed to fit. After wetting our palette we walked the beach and it seems everyone came away with some prized items found.

I started my sea glass collection and came away with some beautiful pieces to add to it. Once we couldn’t stand it any longer we meandered back down the hill and ended up at Grabbers, another bar and grill for a wonderful lunch. Dirk has grown very fond of lightly seared tuna and was rewarded with a great lunch himself. We took our time eating as we noticed when we walked past the boat on the way to lunch that it was sitting on the bottom. Low tide was indeed very low today and many of the boats in the harbor were sitting on bottom, so we had time to kill. Once we were afloat again we all piled on board and made the trip back to Marsh Harbor Marina.

Today as I write this we again are having yet another front pass through. The winds are howling 30 knots expected to rise and then we shall be hit with another cold front by morning. After speaking with some of the other cruisers we are finding that any safe Harbor is a full harbor and its hard to move about and go where you want. Perhaps we will see a change in the weather soon as I keep being told, "This isn’t the Bahamas we are use to." Perhaps we will be able to release the grip of this harbor soon and be able to do some island hopping.

Made it to Marsh Harbor

2010-02-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

Our stay in West End was nice but cold. Dirk did find the courage to done a wetsuit and hit the water in search of prey. Unfortunately he came up empty handed but at least we have the lobster from Lobster Man stashed in the freezer to share with his mom when she arrives on the 24th. The day before we left Ellie from FinniRish buzzed me on the radio to tell me the Bread Lady was here at the docks selling her bread. So lucky for me she was on our dock and Dirk and I went to acquire some of the wonderful Bahamian bread we have heard so much about. She offered white, cinnamon raisin, coconut, and banana all of which looked wonderful to us. We settled on the coconut and headed back to the boat to try a piece as it was still warm from the oven. Oooohhh so good and fresh, and I’m sure fattening as I tend to like butter. I mean, love butter. Thursday evening was spent topping off the water tanks and fuel and securing items on top in preparation for an early departure the next morning. The winds had finally died and pulling away from the docks was nice and uneventful like I like it. We were on our way to Great Sale Cay 47 miles away and as we turned to look behind us we found we had a line of boats following, all of which were heading to the same place. We had a full day of motoring as there was no wind to speak of and unfortunately no sun either which made for a chilly ride. We arrived at Great Sale with a couple hours to spare on daylight so we threw some dogs on the grill and sat back enjoying a sun downer waiting for dinner. It was an early evening as we had another early morning departure to head over to Crab Cay. What a beautiful calm morning we awoke to, the water was like glass and it was almost impossible to tell where the water ended and the sky began.

The sun came out and we had yet another day of motoring as we had about 3 knots of wind. The sun felt wonderful and we were finally able to put shorts on for the first time since our arrival into the Bahamas.
Our trip was shorter than the day before and we had time to put the dinghy into the water and explore a bit before sundown. Crab Cay is a beautiful anchorage, nice and quiet as FinnIrish and us were the only boats there till later in the evening when a power boat pulled in. The anchorage was nice with water clear enough to see the anchor sitting on the bottom and all sea urchins, sea cucumbers and star fish sitting about doing their own things. Dirk and I took the dinghy over to shore which was only a rocky shore line covered in old conch shells and drift wood. We waded through the water seeing what we could see and photograph.

On the way back to Tybee Time we managed to catch the sunset, yet another beautiful ending to another beautiful day in the Bahamas.

The following morning we awoke early again and checked with anyone on the radio about the conditions of the Whale. It's an area between the islands that opens up to the Atlantic ocean and can get nasty if the winds are bad. It would only take us about 30 minutes to get through it but we didn't want to kill ourselves. Lucky for us it was very doable and we got through with no problems what so ever. We entered Marsh Harbor and decided on a marina as the next day it was suppose to blow about 40 knots which never did appear, but no problem, we wanted to be on a dock for the arrival of Dirks mom anyway. Marsh Harbor Marina seems like a decent place, nice clean showers, pool, Internet, although a bit spotty at times. The price was good too at 65 cents a foot with water being 4.00 a day. We can top off our water and give the boat a good wash down. Laundry is expensive at 4.00 per wash & 4.00 per dry but it wasn't a shocker as I had been warned by other people that laundry in the Bahamas is expensive. I'm learning how many times I can wear something before it begins to wrestle with me trying to get to laundry on its own. Today we actually went snorkeling at Mermaid Reef and saw so much sea life. Unfortunately this is a no take zone as there were some lobsters so big they seemed the size of a small dog. Oh well, it was a great snorkel or dive site as like I said it is teaming with fish and other critters. Tomorrow we pick up Dirks mom from the airport and she will stay with us about 2 and a half weeks. Hopefully the weather will warm up a bit for her and we can show her many adventures. She has never seen our boat except in photos and has never been on a sail boat so it should be interesting. Hopefully I will find the time to update while she is here so I can keep you all posted.

Moving on to Great Sale Cay

2010-02-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

We knew when we left Fort Lauderdale on Monday that we would probably be stuck here in West End for a couple days waiting on the weather to calm down. Since we have been here the temperatures have been in the low 70's during the day which is not too bad but then throw the constant strong winds in and it makes it downright nippy. Dirk is just now washing down the boat today from the crossing as it has been too cold to be outside for too long.

Above is the Old Bahama Bay marina where we are docked. We are actually the second mast from the right. Beautiful place here and off the beaten path. Below is the beach which has been too cold to do anything other then beach comb on.

Even though it has been cold and windy nothing can keep Dirk out of the water too long. The quest for hunting sea life is too strong so he donned his wetsuit and lobster gear and headed out to the point there to do some lobstering. There is a local here known by Lobster man that goes out and you can buy them off him. Dirk figures Lobster man can get them so why cant he? After much hunting he came back empty handed but had stories of all the pretty eagle rays he spotted along with the first lion fish so I don't guess it was a completely wasted day. Today Dirk got up early to see if he could spot Lobster man at work to see where he is getting his catch and indeed he did. But of course it was easier to just buy them off him so he agreed to find us on the boat after his hunt which he did. Our buddy boat and us ended up buying most of what he had gotten for the day. Now we have some lobster to share with Dirks mom when when she arrives in about a week. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, the first night we were here we did eat at the restaurant here and had some very good conch fritters along with our first taste of conch salad. I didn't know how I would take to eating raw conch as anyone who knows me knows I can be somewhat of a picky eater at times, but I will be on the look out for the street vendors selling this along our travels as I hear they make the best. If I get brave enough I will try making it myself with fresh conch we catch ourselves. Tomorrow will find us pulling out of here and making the 46 mile trip to Great Sale Cay across the Little Bahama Banks. From there we need to make tracks to Marsh Harbor as we have Dirks mom flying in from Germany to meet us on the 24th. So I will catch you folks up next Internet connection I have. I'm gonna miss this free marina signal we have had the last couple days.

We Made it.....Finally

2010-02-16T07:25:00.000-08:00

Yes folks, we finally broke free from the hold that Mother Nature had on us in Fort Lauderdale and took the small weather window we found yesterday to get across. I think we had both gown tired of living on a mooring ball, especially when the weather has not been that great and most days were spent downstairs out of the wind and cold. Last of the provisioning had been done, laundry washed, water topped off, and deck secured. It was time to go....We slipped off the mooring ball yesterday morning at 4 am to make the 17th street bridge opening at 4:30 then headed out to open ocean. So many lights in the distance and so the task at hand was to determine which direction they were headed and what they were. Anyone who has been on the ocean at night knows how disoriented you can get with the lights. We finally determined one set of lights which were attached to a very large cruise ship was moving towards us on our starboard side as a large cargo ship was coming at us on our port side. Throw in the extra small fishing vessels and various other boats and it made for a nail biting exit. What time was sunrise again?.....Things are so much easier when you can see. As we entered the Gulf Stream we knew right away as our speed increased a bit but not what we were expecting. We had the sails up and settled into the day. The winds were anywhere from 5 to 20 knots and the seas weren’t bad. All through the Gulf Stream there were just swells and perhaps 3 to 4 foot waves. Don’t quote me as I am a horrible judge of that. Once we exited the stream on the other side the winds and seas were beginning to pick up as forecasted but soon we were able to spot the water tower on west end and knew that soon we would be there. Our estimation was that we would make it by 4 or 4:30 still enough time to make it to customs to check in before they closed at 5pm. About that time we get a call from FinnIrish, our buddy boat stating that their engine had died and they were going to try and fix the problem which they believed to be a fuel filter. Dirk and I changed our course back to them and it was soon apparent that it wasn’t going to start so we slowed a bit as they followed under sail power alone. Knowing they could not get into the marina without power they arranged for a tow to meet them outside the channel. Dangit, we weren’t going to make customs today. Oh well, I hoisted the quarantine flag up and got lines ready as we circled Ellie and Jim waiting with them till the tow boat arrived. Soon they were hooked up and we followed them into the channel and then to the marina. Once they were secure and we were docked we found that indeed customs had stayed open. I don’t know if it was for us or because there were several other boats coming in behind us, we didn’t care. So Dirk scurried off the boat and headed to customs, passports, documentation and cash in hand. After that and checking us into the marina he headed back to the boat and we did a quick change of clothes and set out to find food. We were starving and grumpy and tired from the day so food was consumed and we retired back to the boat for a very early evening. So today is day one in the Bahamas, the wind is howling and its cloudy but we made it here. I’m ready to go grab a shower and get off this boat to take a look see around a bit. Depending on weather we may not get out of here till Friday. The winds are forecast to be strong for several days as yet another cold front passes. Our next destination is Great Sale Cay (pronounced Key) so before we leave here I will give a heads up and now since we are in the Bahamas internet will be where I can get it. The photo with this post is of our buddy boat at sunrise.

Super Bowl Sunday

2010-02-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

Here we are, and yes as much as I hate to say it, still in Fort Lauderdale. We are not believing this weather. It seems we put our sights on leaving a certain day and then the next day or two days later that day is yanked away. Frustration has set in and Dirk & I try not to let it get us down but it is so very hard, especially when we read other blogs and find out that people have left and made it over with little problem. On the other hand we met a gentleman the other day that came back from there and had the ride of his life in 12 foot seas that he wished he hadnt taken. We have learned from this experience that next cruising season we will be leaving before December or after February. Sitting here in Fort Lauderdale has become expensive and thats money I would rather be giving to the Bahamas then a city that seems to have more money then it needs. So I guess we sit along with a lot of other folks waiting for the elusive weather window to open. So tonight we will get together with Jim & Ellie from our buddy boat FinniRish to watch the super bowl in the marina lounge. Throw some steaks on the grill, grab a couple cold ones and cuddle up cause its gonna be a cold one at 48 degrees tonight. Maybe it's just hell freezing over cause the Saints made it to the super bowl. The Saints is the team I will be rooting for and I will be the minority in my group as everyone else is a colts fan. But its something to do, a reason to put on some real clothes and brush the hair. GEAUX SAINTS !!!!!!

Still in Fort Lauderdale

2010-02-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

As much as I hate to say it we are still here in Fort Lauderdale sitting on a mooring ball waiting on mother nature to cooperate a little with us. We did change moorings after two days as the second day the winds shifted and we found probably the only shallow spot under our boat. It was late in the evening and sitting below I felt a bump, then another. We thought maybe it might be manatees as I have read that they will use the hull of your boat to scratch themselves, and we have seen them on a daily basis here. We kept feeling the bumps and decided to go up top and check it out. Once we got up top we are searching the waters and then we look around and notice that everyone is facing a different direction then us. Dirk looked at me and said " I think we are sitting on the bottom" How could we be sitting on the bottom, we are in a mooring field, paying to be here, shouldn't we have enough water under us? We climbed into the dinghy and tried to swing the boat off the high spot we were apparently sitting on. Tybee was not budging but good for us the tide was on the rise again. About 30 minutes later we were up top and suddenly we started swinging back into our place in line. We were floating once again. There are only about 7 mooring balls here and they are snatched up quickly as they are vacated. So we wait until someone leaves which lucky for us was the next afternoon. Dirk then called the marina office and suggested that they might want to put out that the ball we were on should be for shallow draft boats.

Anyway here we sit, and sit, and sit. West End Bahamas just a mere 70ish miles away calling for us yet we cant get there due to the winds and waves that separate us. Days tick by and we try to fend off the frustration that wants to set in. What can we do but wait and sit, and wait.

As far North as we shall go, waiting out weather

2010-01-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

I know I said I would update and let everyone know when we were planning on leaving Marathon, but sometimes things happen fast and I don't have the time to update the blog. So after staying less then a full week in Marathon we headed out to Rodriguez Key on the 19th of January. While in Marathon we met several cruisers, two of which we have been following for quiet some time now. They also have an O'day 40 and it was nice to see what they had done to theirs and I made a couple mental notes of things I would like to do to ours. The couple was John & Mary from s/v Marylee whose blog you will see posted under the blogs I follow. We also met Bruce & Dawn from s/v Lady Hawk who were moored next to us. They have done the Bahamas several times and actually gave us a good bit of information they have put together and printed up. Looks like some really good pointers and they introduced us to another couple that have since become our buddy boat. Jim & Ellie have s/v FinniRish, a 36 Catalina that have done the Bahamas before and were going the same route again this year.

Getting to Rodriguez Key was an easy days sail with winds on the nose so we motor sailed the whole way. The anchor was set shortly before sunset and it was early to bed as we would take off first thing the next morning for No Name Harbor in Miami. The plan was for Dirk & I to take off about 30 minutes before FinniRish as they are faster then us and would catch up to us in no time, and they did. They would go ahead and check out No Name for us to see how much room there was. They called back and stated that there was room for only one boat so we both elected to go around the corner and just anchor up inside the bay. The winds werent suppose to do much so we felt we would be fine. Anchor went down and we dinghed over to FinniRish for sundowners and chat before we called it another early evening. Dirk took this photo when we got back to the boat with the Miami skyline behind us. Notice how calm the water was.

The next day was calling for a rough day of sailing so we elected to stay put and relax a bit which we did. On Friday we took off for Fort Lauderdale a mere 25ish miles to travel. The winds were calling it to be 15 knts with seas 2 feet or less. We traveled Biscayne Bay under Rickenbacker Causeway following the intracoastal waterway then took the Lummus Island Cut between the Port of Miami and Fisher Island to the Atlantic.

PG" border=0> Here is FinniRish under the Rickenbacker Causeway

Port of Miami with the large container ships and tiny FinniRish on the right

Once we made our turn to head north we realized we would have stronger winds then predicted but they were still doable. Our main was already up and with an east wind we pulled out the jib. We were having gust that soon made the auto pilot tired I guess, as she would not hold her course and would round up into the wind when it got too strong. Soon we decided to hand steer which made me really appreciate the auto pilot. Man, can that take it out of you. We finally decided after trying to reef the jib that the winds were just too much so we just rolled it in and pushed the main out starboard as we had the wind on our port side. As we got closer to the entrance to Fort Lauderdale the winds were blowing a steady 30 knts which made for a tiring day. As we turned into the Bar Cut Channel we dropped the main and readied ourselves to navigate the tight waterway of fast moving mega yachts and water taxies. We had reserved a night at the Las Olas Marina along with FinniRish who had gotten there a bit before we did and they were there to help take our lines and get us in without too much drama. At the prices they were charging we felt like we had made it to the Bahamas already without the reward of it. After hosing the boat off of all the salt we set out to have a hot shower. The first of which I have had since leaving Key West over a week ago. Now,now, eeeewwwwww you say. I said hot shower, not shower. I did have regular showers in Marathon just non that were hot. The kind of shower that you know you have to wash your hair yet you dont want to have to stand under the water to do it, so you hop in and out as fast as possible. It got done but what I craved was a hot shower which I got finally here. I could actually turn the knob so the water was too hot to handle but as my skin turned red I soaked in every bit that I could and then some. We then all walked down the street and rewarded ourselves with food that someone else had cooked besides us. Las Olas does have a few mooring balls but only had one the day we came in. After looking at the weather it was determined that we wouldnt be going anywhere for perhaps a week and Dirk and I decided we just werent ready to part with that much money to this marina. The next morning Dirk awoke early and him and Jim rode out to the mooring field and we claimed a spot since they wont reserve you one by locking our dinghy to it till we had to check out. So now we are just across the way with all the marina luxuries for a whole lot cheaper price. It's still a lot to pay for a mooring ball but there isnt too many options around these parts.

Here is a photo taken from the cockpit on the mooring ball. The marina is on the other side of the bridge and to the right.

Tonight we will head back to the restaurant to watch the Saints and Vikings play. Since I'm from Louisiana I have to root for the Saints, although neither Dirk nor I are huge football fans but it is reason to get off the boat tonight. After looking at the weather it looks as if we may be stuck here about a week unless by some miracle there is a break in the weather. Not only do we want and need nice winds out of the right direction to get to West End, we also need a couple days once we are there in order to get across the banks so we don't get stuck paying for a marina we cant leave over there. Perhaps this will be the last post before we make the jump to West End or maybe I will get a wild hair once we get the heads up that its good to go and let you know we are on our way.

Made it to Marathon

2010-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to let you all know we made it to Marathon yesterday afternoon. We pulled away from the dock at 7:30 am with a few people willing to brave the early morning cold to see us off. With conchs blowing we slipped off the dock lines and eased away. Tears were flowing on my part as Dirk and I had gotten into a comfortable routine with family and friends while in Boca Chica. We will be back.....It was a cold eight hours up to Marathon with almost a head wind the whole way. Oh, and about a zillion crab pots. In some places I was wondering if in deed we would be able to weave through them as they were so close together. We used the new smart controller remote and have to report we are very happy with it. We could stand on the bow of the boat and with a push of a button steer the boat. Sad part of yesterday was seeing all of the fish dead or dying due to the cold water temps. We were getting a reading of 56 F. which of course for these parts is cold. While in Key West we set the record low and unfortunately I think a lot of the wildlife lost the battle with mother nature. So we sit here and wait for another front to pass so that we can do a few more hops up the coast to get to our jump off point. Hoping that warm weather will once again find us as I'm tired of the cold, damp days and nights. For cruisers, we are spending a huge amount of time huddled down below right now when we would much rather be spending the time topside enjoying the great outdoors. Once we get an idea of when we will leave here I will let everyone know. Till then, keep warm.......

Still Waiting, but until then....

2010-01-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

We are still sitting waiting on weather. Dirk has been watching it closely and we just keep having to push the days back till we see a good enough window to get us up to Marathon. We aren't the only ones as the marina has several boaters wanting to make it to the Bahamas and beyond, but Mother Nature has different plans right now so we must adapt and try to stay as warm as possible till she gives us a pass. Right now we are looking at a possible window on Wednesday or Thursday all subject to change of course. In the mean time we ready the boat for take off, still doing lots of organizing and making space to do the last big provision run. This past Friday we actually had some decent temps and the air was calm so Dirk took the chance to do a little lobstering. The water was incredibly clear and he had no problem seeing the sea life and other critters all around including the 7 foot nurse shark that startled him. I know nurse sharks aren't aggressive but anytime you stumble across something that big it tends to get the adrenaline pumping. I stayed back on the boat taking advantage of the warmer weather to clean some rugs and hose off the boat a bit and piddle which I am learning to do very well. I heard Dirk drive up in the dinghy and he told me to get the camera he had dinner. So I grab the camera and head upstairs to see what he had and yes, he did have dinner.

He had gotten lucky enough to get 3 lobsters, as you can see 2 smaller ones whose tails measured about 6 inches a piece and big papa who measured 8. Now that might not be too impressive to some, but for us it made the great white hunter very happy.

The last lobster was cooked on the grill but we wanted to try something different and just boiled them and served them with melted butter. I have to say we liked this method much better as you could really taste the lobster itself. Perhaps the next post you see will be from a mooring ball in Marathon where we will do last minute items to move on. Fingers crossed....

Waiting for weather

2010-01-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

When baby new year stepped into our lives he decided to bring old man winter with him this year. Wow being here in the Keys I didn’t expect that I would be pulling out the sweats and pants that were put away once we had gotten here. Highs of mid 60’s and lows in the 50’s just isn’t my idea of fun weather. I know at this point and time the rest of the country is wishing they had our temps and I say they can have them if they promise to bring back the normal temps here. So here we sit and wait for some of this Arctic air to pass before we make the trek up to Marathon to sit on a mooring ball and freeze. Here at least we have heat, but without shore power we will flounder in the cold. Guess it will be time to learn to bake bread. I hear that's what a lot of boaters do to keep the cabin warm. Anyone have any good recipes that are fairly easy, please pass them my way.

I trust everyone had as good of a New Years as we did. We decided to rent a room at the Navel Annex about four blocks from Duval Street where all the action was. We had taken our bikes down the day before to my Aunts house and picked them up to ride down and check into our room. We had to check in on one side of town to get our key for the other side as there is no office at the Annex. The computers were down so we would have to kill time before checking in. We then drove downtown to meet up with some friends from the marina at the Green Parrot
and then from there to the Bull & Whistle. We then decided to try checking in again so it was back on the bikes to head back across town where in fact we were able to get our key. Then back to the other side of town to our room where I had the longest hot shower I have had in a very long time. When you live on a boat you take advantage of free flowing hot water whenever you can. We then decided to walk downtown and get something to eat as it was after 3pm and we had not had anything to eat to speak of all day. Dinner, then many laps around Key West looking for friends and then it was off to see which item we would like to see dropped. There was the wench at the Wharf, the conch at Sloppy Joe's Bar, and Sushi dropping down to earth on a giant red stiletto at the 801 Bar further down the street. What to do, what to do.... still walking around a bit more we found ourselves back in front of the Bull & Whistle again where Dirk enjoyed the scenery that was very reminiscent of any part of the street in front of a balcony on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. It involves cheap plastic beads, girls with a little too much alcohol in them, and a balcony full of people doing some coaxing. I take it you get the idea. About 11pm we decided that the Conch dropping in front of Sloppy Joe’s Bar was where we were going to be. There wasn’t much of a crowd when we arrived but within about 15 minutes there was no going anywhere as the crowd was getting closer and closer for the midnight countdown. We were tired from the day but the beat of the music & the general vibe of the crowd got us back in the groove and with the conch dropped and the roar of the crowd we welcomed in the New Year. Below is the video I took of midnight....

We finally managed to weave through the crowd and finally came to an opening where we could breath once again. We then decided that at 1am we should be getting back to our room so we took off and walked the few blocks back only to discover that we had lost the only room key we had. It was in the same pocket as the ID's were in but lucky for us they were still there. We checked and rechecked pockets but to no avail, and if you remember me saying at the beginning, we had to check in across town. So the plan was launched, since Dirk is faster then me on the bike and I would only slow him down he would do the deed and bike back over across town for another key while I waited outside the room. At about 2:30 we finally were able to access the room and crawl into bed. Note to self....next time when they ask how many room keys we need, get an extra. All in all it was a great New Years and I'm sure we will be here to do it again one day.

Since then we have been spending our time with some new projects and organization on the boat. Let's see if I can remember everything. We decided to purchase two new propane tanks for the boat. One is connected directly to our rail grill and the other is run to the stove below. We had one 10 lb horizontal aluminium tank in the propane locker, but with the two new ones, we now carry 40 lbs in two 20 lb composite tanks mounted at the back of the cockpit. Now I doubt we will run out of propane for a while and we have the empty locker to fill with other stuffs. Here is a photo of one of the new tanks lashed into place. It will be anchored to the rail much better, but till then this works.

In the last post I had told you about us re insulating the refrigerator and it has worked out well, but we still found the fridge to run a lot more then we would like. Dirk did some research and found a little gizmo from the maker of our fridge that will slow down the compressor speed and thus it does not pull as many amps. It dropped our amp hours from about 5 per hour to less then 2. On top of that it seems the amount of ice that builds up on the cold plate is minimal which will mean less times I must defrost and clean. I'm all about less work.....If you have any questions regarding this please e-mail us and Dirk will be happy to write you about it.

One more goodie ordered for the boat is something I wish we had on the way down here as it would have made life a bit easier for both of us.

Its the Ray Marine Smart Controller that connects into seatalk and allows us to remotely steer the boat. It also is a repeater station for your instruments for say your course, your depth, and your winds. Basically it will allow one or both of us to be on the bow (front) of the boat and steer the boat using the remote. It would have come in very handy when we had so many crab pots to deal with on the way down here and I think it will be nice to have in the Bahamas as we have to keep an eye out for coral heads. Plus just having the ability not to have to sit behind the wheel is nice, we can both sit out in the sun and enjoy life as it rolls by.

With Dirk taking the time for all the maintenance and upgrades I have busied myself with trying to organize and find room to store the provisions we have been acquiring. If you are contemplating a stock to buy I think that the makers of Ziploc bags would be a good one as I can’t count the number I have gone through. For those of you wondering why, basically any food stuffs you buy in cardboard need to come out of the original packaging they were purchased in. A few reasons being that the boxes take up way too much space and they also horde eggs and bugs which you do not want infecting all of your other foods. Another good use is just to keep moisture out, as moisture on the boat gets into and on everything. I pulled some of the floor boards up to see what kind of space I have for storage and found that I could actually fit quite a few can goods and extras of things. So it will be off to the grocery store soon as I would rather fit as much as I can now rather than pay the high Bahamas prices I have heard so much about.This area is at the foot of the companionway where I was able to fit 14 lbs of coffee with room for more plus some extra garbage bags and cleaning supplies. It's amazing how much one can fit into a 40 foot boat when you put your mind to it.

The last thing I will cover with this post is the results of the new solar panels we installed. If you remember we had one, but after we started cruising we realized that we would need more panels unless we wanted to run our engine and generator a couple hours a day to keep up with the demand. We now have three 135 watt panels which produce around 21 amps per hour in full sunlight. Our average is about 5 amps per hour as it use to be 7 plus before the fridge panel was installed. Between the solar panels and the wind generator we are now self sustaining without the use of the engine or generator. Dirk figured it up and the solar panels will pay for themselves in about a half a year as that will be gas and diesel that we aren't using plus maintenance and wear and tear on the engines.

So here we sit waiting for weather. While the rest of the country complains of blanketing snow and freezing temps I complain that it was below 65 and windy. I'm sure the temps in the northern Bahamas is not much different then here so why rush over there to pay a lot of money to sit below trying to keep warm. We do have to be in Marsh Harbor or Treasure Cay by the end of February as Dirk's mom is flying in from Germany for a visit. I will keep you posted and let you all know when we make the jump from here to Marathon. That is of course as soon as Key West lets go of us. I can see why people come here and never leave again. She holds tight....Till then, we wait.

Happy New Year from the Keys

2009-12-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has survived the hustle & bustle of the Christmas season. Even on Conch Republic (Key West) time I found myself in a pinch the last day or two trying to get some goodies baked. I forgot to take into account that my counter space is all but non existent and my oven only holds one mini cookie sheet at a time. Oh well, it took me two days to do what would normally take an afternoon but I guess all that matters is that I got it done. Christmas day was busy as Dirk and I spent the morning and early afternoon at my cousins home on the next Island up. It was nice to finally meet some of my extended family and to see my cousins whom I haven't seen in a very long time. A nice breakfast buffet was laid out and as usual we ate too much followed by play time on the kids new toys. Wow, some of these toys they make, where were they when I was young enough to play and not injure myself too bad? But, if you know us you know we had to give them a shot and now we have the bruises to show for it.

At 2:00 our marina was having a pot luck Christmas dinner for everyone. They provided the hams and turkeys while everyone else provided the other goodies. Needless to say we were about an hour late but still managed to get our fill. Have to say I was still full from the late breakfast we had just two hours previously. We hung around a bit then slowly filtered away to our boats to process the huge amounts of calories that had been consumed. A bit later I meandered down the dock and ended up having some wine and conversation with Page & Dottie, a couple of boaters that took us under their wing when we arrived to show us the ropes. It was an early evening as both Dirk & I were pooped from playing with the kids earlier so we went back to the boat and piddled a bit before calling it an evening.

On other news the solar panels finally came in and got installed. We were beginning to wonder if they were gonna make it before we left. We ended up mounting them on the bimini top where they would be out of the way and out of sight.

At first we weren't sure if the top would be sturdy enough, but in the end we added a couple more support poles, two leading down from the sides attached to the toe rail and two added from the back to the back rail. Seems like they are pretty sturdy and I'm happy that we didn't have to go with the other option of having to mount them on the sides close to the bow of the boat from the front railing to flip up. The jury is still out on the new power production but I think we will have good news on that end. I also finally finished my cover for the cooler that we have on the front deck. When we bought it, the intention was to have a ready area to throw any catch in that we might be so lucky to get, with the ulterior motive of having an extra storage space. I wanted to make a cover for it as I know the UV rays can take years off of any item stored on deck. I have had the pattern cut and pinned for a while but had trouble with the sewing machine and gave up on the project out of frustration. Well today I found someone who was gracious enough to whip it through their machine and after making a few cut outs for tie down straps we are in business. Thanks Michelle.

Were still not one hundred percent happy with our refrigeration as it seems like it still runs a lot even after adding the other insulation. Were wondering if in fact we might have a problem with our thermostat and are looking at perhaps replacing it with a different kind. More reading needs to be done on this before we make any kind of decision. This week was a good week and what made it better was to finally meet someone who has been an inspiration to both Dirk and I for so long. Even before we purchased Tybee Time we began reading Bill's blog aboard s/v Galena and all the adventures he had made us want to become cruisers even more. We follow him still and realized he would be coming to the marina we are currently in and in fact he ended up just across the dock and down a couple slips. Dirk & I showed him to the local watering hole where we ended up chatting it up over several beers. Have to say its been very nice getting to know him and hearing all his stories he has to share. I do hope we find our paths cross again in the future. There are a couple other blogs we follow and we are looking forward to meeting these folks in the very near future.

Well here it is only a few days before the new year so its doubtful that I will be posting again until then. Here's to hoping that everyone has a safe and wonderful New Years celebration and may we all find the strength to stick to the resolutions that we make. Cheers & Happy New Year from Dirk, myself and Butters.

Merry Christmas from the Keys

2009-12-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that Christmas is knocking on the door with baby New Year right on it's heels. Time has flown by since we have been here and it doesn't seem as if we have gotten anything accomplished. We have actually only been downtown to do the tourist thing once. Still wanna do that, but something tells me we will be back here one day to stay for a little longer. Well maybe a lot longer, who knows…..

Let’s see, when I last wrote we were waiting on our solar panels to arrive. Well, we are still waiting….we hear they should arrive this next week sometime so we will just wait and see. Dirk finally figured out how he wanted to mount them so he went and bought the stainless steel poles and all the doo dads to attach it over the bimini top. I will keep you posted on that one. Another project we have been meaning to do is to add extra insulation to the interior of the refrigerator. The previous owner put spray foam everywhere on the exterior hollow spots he could get to but we still felt as if it could be improved a bit more as it seems the fridge is a big source of our power usage. Since being down here in the Keys has afforded us the luxury of having a vehicle every once in a while as I have family here, we took the opportunity to go by Home Depot and buy a big sheet of the insulation. It was only ½ inch thick but in some places we doubled it up such as the side that faces the oven and the bottom which is by far too deep anyway. I usually end up doing a hand stand in the fridge to retrieve any item that has managed to find its way down there. So we got that done and I have to say I lost very little fridge space and we figure any improvement we gave it has to be good. Dirk still has not come back with the numbers to tell us how much but if I remember I will let you know when he does. Below is a photo of the fridge before, followed by the photo of the final product.

Dirk has been enjoying the beautiful weather we have been having by dividing his time between fishing and lobstering. He has seen so many lobster but since we are towards the end of the season they have all been too small. He took me with him one day and we see all the lobster sitting on the wall laughing at us as they are the size of a very large shrimp and know that they have time on their side, unless of course the two large new buddies Dirk spotted, Moray & Eel decide to have them for lunch. We went out again the other day and Dirk takes off snorkeling as I am relaxing in the dinghy working on my tan lines when he comes back with a big grin on his face. Yep, he got him a legal lobster, finally!!!! Only got one, but saw several more so he will return to that spot at a later date. We brought the catch back to the boat and in about 15 minutes we had our first taste testing to do.

Ready for the grill

It wasn't huge, but it was a nice tasty morsel. I want to try a few different ways of cooking them. My aunt gave me a few ideas that I will have to give a try.

Well, Christmas is in a few short days and then we find ourselves ushering in the New Year. Dirk and I will celebrate the New Year downtown in Key West. I hear there is much fun to be had, so we have gotten us a room within walking distance to Duval Street. Can't wait, but then on the other hand New Years also signals us that it is time to move on. Before we know it we will begin our journey north to Marathon where we will do some of our final provisioning, then we wait for a good weather window to make the jump to the Bahamas.

Dirk, myself, and Butters want to wish all our family, friends, and readers a wonderful Christmas, and we hope for a safe and happy New Year to all. Till next time.....Cheers!

Still in the Keys

2009-12-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

Fear not readers, we haven't fallen off the face of the planet. We have begun getting into the grove of doing everything and nothing. Everything as far as meeting and hanging out with new people , exploring by land and water our new surroundings, and in general just doing only what we want for the day. The nothing is just what it means, nothing......Unfortunately that nothing includes boat work and projects yet to be tackled. But alas, we are in paradise so what are we to do.....

I may have said this before but the only thing we can find fault in this marina is the fact that you are a bit far from anything. This marina does offer a great laundry facility, a nice bar and grill so there is food and drinks to be found but for any provisioning or entertainment one must go off base which is about a 2 mile walk up to the gate to catch a city bus that runs on a not so frequent schedule. On the two occasions we attempted the walk we were picked up by folks that recognized us from the marina. So we decided that in order to get around without having to beg, borrow, or steal a vehicle was to purchase some bikes. So a couple days ago we set out looking for some affordable fold up bicycles. We did go to the local marine store (not mentioning any names) and test drove two different fold ables they had. I guess if you wanted only to go a short hop here or there they would be fine, but for the amount we would need to ride them they were just far too uncomfortable. We also looked online at a few fold ables and any that had what we thought was needed were far too expensive. After tossing the ideas around for a day we decided to go ahead and purchase two bikes we saw at the local K-Mart that were on sale with a great price, and a name brand. At least now we can head into town anytime we want which is what we did yesterday. It takes about 45 minutes to make the ride,we can park the bikes for free and walk all over Key West with no worries. So now we have more reasons not to stay on the boat and do what needs to be done.
Here Dirk is enjoying another day in paradise

One big project we are doing while here in the marina is to install two more solar panels. They have been ordered but now we have the task of finding the best place to mount them and how. We found that when we were on the hook or on a mooring ball during our time getting down here that we were running the engine or the portable generator far too often to keep the batteries charged. Not that we are energy hogs but between our refrigeration and our freezer we use a lot of amp hours. With the price of diesel and gas we figure the panels will pay for themselves pretty quick. Not to mention hours on the engine and oil changes. So I guess we will actually have to take the time to do this before we move on.

Tybee Time got her tree put up along with a few lights to give it the festive glow. I know that our northern friends and family and even our friends in north Florida have been griping about the cold but we have been experiencing temps in the 80's so its hard to believe its Christmas time. The calendar however, assures us that it is.

Before we know it, it will be the new year and time to move on to Marathon and then to the Bahamas. Surely you will hear again from me before the new year, there is only so much nothing you can do in a day.

Now in the Keys, but 1st Marco Island

2009-12-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

We left Fort Myers on Saturday after Thanksgiving pulling away from the ball about 8am and having I think a seven hour motor sail down to Marco Island. As we pulled out of the pass we were right on time to be right behind Dave from New Horizon to sail together. He was in our marina in Panama city and was due to leave before us but didn't. He too was headed for Marco Island for a day of rest before heading further south. Several people told us about a place to anchor in factory bay so that's where we headed once we got through the channel. Dirk and I were in the lead and we got to the anchoring spot where it showed 11 feet, then it showed 4. We draw 4' 11" we had run aground. Dave's boat draws more so Dirk tries to motion for him to go back but he keeps chugging on as he doesn't hear us yelling for him to go back. We reverse and are out with no problem but we see Dave churning up the sand trying to get free. Finally he breaks away and heads back the way we came. Later we find out that that particular anchorage has a sand bank running the width of it. No duh.....Lucky for us it was soft sand. So we found another spot outside the channel not too far away and set the hook. Dave is single handing it so we decided to invite him over for a home cooked meal and some conversation. Steaks and potatoes on the grill and he brought over some homemade mulberry wine that was awesome. Next morning he was headed south by the time we awoke but we decided to stay and check things out. Michael and his wife Christi live close by so they brought their boat out to ours and took us on a tour. Wow, the waterways are endless as are the small islands dotting the landscape. We stopped at one island called Cape Romano where the famous Dome home is located. Apparently hurricane Wilma decided to claim the home and the builder is trying to rebuild but running into road blocks. Pretty cool house but looks like a little too much work to me.
The guys decided to do a little fishing and I sat back just soaking in the warm temps and relaxed. Before long it was time to head back to our boat as it would soon be dark. The next morning we started preparing the boat for the 20 hour crossing to the Keys. The winds were suppose to be light and the seas calm so we decided just to put the dinghy on the davits as neither one of us felt like hauling it up to the front of the boat. We were trying to time it so that we would be getting to the Key West channel at sunrise so about 3pm would have been a good time to leave, but we were anxious to get a move on. At noon we were about to pull anchor when we were approached by the Sheriffs dept. boat. Oh great we thought, we have heard and read horror stories about this particular place in the past and realize that it isn't a very sail boater friendly area. We were pleasantly surprised as this guy was just making sure our papers were in order, he answered questions we had for him and was in general very pleasant. No problems here.....So once again we set about pulling anchor and heading out. Once outside the pass we set the sails and plotted our course so that we would go out about 20 miles offshore and then turn south hoping to avoid too many crab pots. A few times there were so many white buoys that I'm sure from the air it looked as if someone dumped a giant size bean bag into the water. At first it wasn't too bad as the water was calm enough that the strings of pots could be seen on the radar. Once the waves picked up a bit that didn't work any longer. We were finally able to turn off the motor and actually do a little sailing and lucky for us that we were sailing because while trying to avoid one crab pot I snagged another. I took her into the wind and was hoping once the boat stopped that the float would cause the pot to release then we would just push it away. No such luck.....Dirk tried taking the boat hook and pulling on the line as we could see the line under the boat but it was apparently hooked on something. One thing left to do, so Dirk tied a line to himself and jumped in diving under the boat to release the pot. Simple enough and we continued on. Sunset was coming quickly and we didn't seem to be any closer to getting out of the pots, at one point we were close to 40 miles offshore and we were still having them to contend with. The way we usually do the longer crossings is one person at the helm watching and the other rest or sleeps if they can. This time we didn't have the leisure of rest as one person had to be on the bow with a spot light reporting back to the helmsman. I knew those marriage saver headsets would come in handy one day. I couldn't imagine doing it without them. At one point at about 2am we both were so tired we decided to put the boat on auto pilot, main sail up and set the radar alarm for anything coming within 3 miles of us. I don't think either one slept but we both were able to lay in the cockpit and close our eyes and rest for about 2 hours. The wind was so light that we were only making about 2 knots. It actually worked out well as we reached the channel about 25 minutes before sunrise. Below is the sun rising over Key West.
Finally we made it through the channel and around and up to the Boca Chica naval air station marina. Wow, what a great place. We were going to stay one night in a slip and then move out to a mooring ball for a month but we were able to get a slip for the whole month which is great. I have shore power to do some of my sewing projects and easy access to land so we can get stuff done. But judging by the looks of things we may not get too much done. Like I said this place is beautiful, wonderful marina with many great folks. Great facilities, a little beach right next to the bar and grill with tiki huts and grills.
Our only problem is that it is a ways to get anywhere. I think we will look into getting two fold up bicycles as they will be very handy here and we can take them with us when we go. So here we will reside for a month, get into the slow pace of the cruising life and just take some time for us. A perfect ending to a perfect 1st day here was a beautiful Key West sunset.

I will keep updating while here as Im sure I will have much to report on and many photos to show. So keep checking back...

Thanksgiving in Fort Myers

2009-11-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

Hi all, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family. Dirk and I spent ours sitting on a mooring ball here in Estero Bay in Fort Myers. Well we actually did find a nice restaurant called the Gulfshore Grill that was serving Thanksgiving dinner. We walked in about 11:30 and they told us they were closed for the rest of the day unless we had a reservation for dinner starting at 12:30. Since we didn't have a reservation we were told we could sit at the bar and they could get us a meal there. We agreed to come back and decided to spend some time walking the beach. When we returned we were still a bit early but as the bar was open we went ahead and grabbed two stools ordered a couple cocktails and gabbed with the bartenders. We were approached a few moments later by a hostess who said that they had set up a table for us if we wanted to be seated in the dining area. Now that was a nice surprise and of course we graciously accepted. We had the option of a Shrimp, salmon, prime rib, rosemary lamb or traditional turkey with all the trimmings. Thanksgiving is all about the turkey for me so we elected for the traditional and have to say we were not disappointed. What a great spread this restaurant put on and well it was nice to be treated so nicely.

Above Dirk and I are enjoying our Turkey meal and below our bartender that we called Sara due to her resemblance to Mrs. Palin.

I think last time I wrote we were in Boca Grande and only spent one evening there as we are anxious to get south. It was a beautiful area with many small islands screaming to be explored, but it would have to be some other time. On Tuesday we pulled anchor and cruised down the ICW putting up the sails to very little winds. Once in Sanibel area we went through the area that some cruisers call the miserable mile. We had no problem but I can see where it could be. When you are cruising down the ICW and you look over and see someone shin deep in water very close to your boat you get a little white knuckled especially when you know that you need at least 5 feet under your boat not to hit bottom. When you look at the charts in many areas it shows a depth of 1 to 2 feet so you dont let your boat stray. It took us about five and a half hours to make the trip and like I said we ended up in a mooring field in Estero Bay. The Matanzas Inn runs the field and at 13 bucks a day its not bad for this area. Pretty empty too as they put us in the back forty as I say. But that's fine, was a bit of a dinghy ride to the dingy dock but they had nice laundry facility's there and it makes for an easy walk to the beaches a couple blocks away. Tomorrow we shall head out bright and early to make the 7 hour sail down to Marco Island where we will spend a day then we are looking at another long sail of 20 hours down to Boca Chica in the Keys. We both are looking forward to getting there as we will spend some time and relax a bit taking time to soak up some sun and fun. We have been moving so much that it will be nice to breath for a while.