The final leg home

Saturday 28 March-Monday 30 March

Well when last we left you we were in Ship Channel Cay set to jump to the island of Eleuthera, specifically the Cay called Spanish Wells. After a 40 mile jump across the banks then out through Fleeming channel into the ocean for a short section then back on the banks again we were in Spanish Wells. Along the way Neal caught a Bar Jack, which felt like it was a cow. It was a good size fish but allegedly not very good eating so a picture was taken, then back it went. It did give me some serious upper body workout trying to land the fish.

Now Spanish Wells is a very different settlement compared to the one we have previously visited. For one, it is largely white and unlike the Exumas/ Georgetown it decidedly lacks a third world feel. All the houses are well painted and in excellent repair, with no junked vehicles (car, boats, jet skis, etc) lying around. This part of the Bahamas was settled by religious refugees back in the 1700s. The major industry here is fishing and lobstering. They catch lobsters (actually crayfish Viz. clawless lobsters) in very interesting way, that is they do not use traps like in the north east. What they do is place 4 cinderblocks in a square on the bottom in about 20 feet of water which they cover with a large metal panel, then come back after a few days since it seems that the lobster gather to hide under the panel during the day. They simple dive down lift up the panel and pick the critters up.

Off to Royal Island for the night to stage for the ocean crossing to the Abacos, about 50 miles away to the North. A brief overnight stop then we motored across because of the lack of wind. Here we have been inundated with wind since we arrived in the Bahamas and today there was none, go figga. We made landfall at Little Harbor stopping overnight for a rum punch blaster at Pete’s Pub. It was on from here to Hopetown a community again much like Spanish Wells, all spiffy and neat. The Abacos is the real tourist section of the Bahamas. Nice little cottages to rent with a smattering of restaurants and pubs. Hopetown is the site of the famous candy striped lighthouse still using kerosene lamps with a giant Fresnel lens.

From here we went on to Marsh Harbor, which I believe is the third largest city in the Bahamas next to Nassau and Freeport. Now we see the more seamy side as one would in all big cities, but here we can stock up at the “super market”. We run into some Boy Scouts who are participating in SeaBase just like Alex did back a few years ago. They are clearly having a ball. We don’t stay long in Marsh Harbor, poor holding and extremely crowded, “nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there”.

We’re at Man o’ War Cay staying in a marina since we got a great deal on the rate. They are trying to attract people for their first annual “Sojourner Day Celebration”. Man o” War like Hopetown was largely settled by Loyalists displaced during the war of independence. It is the capital of Bahamian boat building where they used to make some of the finest wooden boats around. They still build boats, but now out of modern materials, FRP. I still was able to spend a great deal of time talking to one of the old wooden boat builders who is still building them out of wood. He was in the process of building a small wooden planked hull sailing boat and was willing to answer all my questions. A fascinating man.

We have moved on to Green Turtle Cay to wait for a window to cross the gulf stream back to the US. The weather is a little nasty with high winds. We are somewhat protected, but the bottom has lots of grass, which is lousy for anchoring. I think I have found a bare spot to drop the anchor in so I’m somewhat secure in its holding. This was not true for our buddy boat. While we were at lunch with them on land someone came into the bar and asked if I owned a catamaran, to which I answered no, but the people we are with have one. To this he answered, “well it’s dragging across the anchorage”. In response to this both Bob and I jumped up and headed for the door. By the time we got to the dingy and got out into the harbor, we saw Bob’s boat surrounded by several dingys and people all over the deck. It seems that our fellow cruisers saw the plight of Bob’s boat as it wandered across the anchorage and they went to the rescue, even bringing an extra anchor along with them. This is the spirit of the cruising community; help your fellow cruiser for some day it will be you that is helped. As far as Abraxas was concerned, our sandy spot was good holding and we were held fast, but shortly after this another unattended boat went on a walkabout. This time it was Bob and I who jumped into the dingy and went to the rescue. What goes around comes around they say.

Well we have our window. We leave Green turtle cay in the morning and make the a long jump to Great Sales Cay, which is in the middle of the banks. We’ll stop over here for the night then leave sometime mid-day for the 50 nm across the rest of the bank, during the afternoon, then break out into the gulf stream for a night crossing to arrive at the Florida coast about daybreak.

11 April

Well we made our crossing and are now recovering in Stuart Florida. We left Great Sales Cay at around 11 AM of the tenth. The sail across the banks was perfect. Wind on the beam at 15kts and the chop was mild. We got to the end of the banks and entered the Florida straits just before sunset. The waves were a tad bigger than those we encounter on the banks and a bit more confused, but quite manageable. About an hour after darkness fell the moon began to rise in the east and the wind picked up a bit. Still the sail was quite manageable and we were doing a steady 7 kts with the wind on the beam. Since I finally got the auto pilot to work reasonable well, so we did not have to hand steer except for every once in a while when the drive motor got to hot. We did encounter two container ships the first going north then shortly after one going south. Both we had to make significant course changes to avoid them. I was thankful to have radar because at night it is difficult to estimate distance and headings of these big guys. With the radar it was no problem, mon. We eventually got to the St Lucie Inlet about 30 minutes before first light, so we had to bob around outside it to wait for light. St Lucie inlet is not one to go through in the dark without local knowledge. As I said above we went to the Anchorage in Stuart and picked up a mooring. Both Terri and I were exhausted and plopped down in bed and slept till noon. The only thing that got us up was the temperature in the boat. We did not open her up after the crossing so it got beastly hot down below. Tomorrow we check in with homeland security to make sure we’re not smuggling illegal aliens I suppose.

12 April

We were fortunate to get a ride to the Fort Pierce Airport so we could check in. The procedure took all of 30 seconds. What a farce and a PITA, looked at our passports then handed them back. I have no idea why this has to be done. I guess it is to be sure that we didn’t go anywhere we shouldn’t have gone, like Cuba. One more day of rest then we start the long trek back to Maryland. We will be traveling fast and furious to get back home before Peter leaves on his move to the west coast.

The trip back to the Chesapeake was a whirlwind run from dawn to dusk. We are like the horse heading back to the barn. Our greatest excitement was running through Georgia and parts of South Carolina during the daily low tides made lower by being spring tides. The depth alarm was constantly ringing and on a number of occasions we bumped the bottom, but we never got stuck, except…... We were coming into Wrightsville Beach following the channel in. As we were making the turn in the channel to Starboard (right) around the three red markers the alarm started to howl. Since I was at that time about 60 feet to the left of these markers I assumed that I was to far to the left so I turned toward the reds. Mistake…. We then went hard aground on a falling tide. We were not there two minutes when I got a call on the VHF radio from BoatUS towing asking if I was aground. Ahh yes I said to which he replied, “Do you need assistance to get off.” Me: Yes, Him: I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Apparently he has a lookout at this place who reports on boats going aground probably with regular frequency. A few minutes later a SeaTow boat came up and asked if we needed assistance. We told him that BoatUS towing was on the way and he welcomed us to the Wrightsville beach speed bump. A real cottage industry around here I guess. I don’t understand why the Coast Guard does not put some drop marks in here to warn people that the deep water is on the far left side of the channel. I guess they are supporting the local economy.

We also had an exciting moment when we met a tug towing a dredging barge with a floating pipeline behind in a narrow cut called Snows cut. They were moving against the current while we had it with us. We again bumped bottom trying to stay out of their way. It was a little hairy, but we made it through OK.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We did not get stuck at the Alligator river marina this year as we did last year. Our trip across the Albemarle was rough, but entirely manageable in the 37.

We did have some excitement moving through the Dismal Swamp Canal, however. When we entered the South lock the lockmaster told us to watch out for a few canoes farther up the canal. Well that turned out to be the understatement of the year. When we finally got to the “few Canoes” it turned out that there were 350 kayaks scattered for about 5 miles along the canal all going in the same direction that we were. Now the Dismal is a very narrow canal, with barely enough room for two boats to pass (around 30 to 35 feet bank to bank but the sides are notorious for the presence of logs and other debris). In this we had to weave between the kayakers many of which were wear Ipods so they were deaf to our hailings. We and three other boats finally were able to pass the whole bunch. If you’re a kayaker then this was a great event to participate in, but to the bigger boats plying the canal it was a nightmare.

We finally got to Norfolk and our beloved Chesapeake. From Florida to here we had only experienced one day of bad weather. Once in the Chesapeake the poop hit the fan. On out trip up the Chess from Norfolk to home we had mucho rain with lightning. The normal 2½ day trip up the Ches took us four and even that was in some blinding rain. We did hold up or ducked in early when they predicted thundershowers. There is not much that I get nervous about on the water except for T showers. Somehow sitting out on the water as the tallest thing around is not my idea of fun.

We did manage to get back to home before Pete left to move out to the west coast, Portland Oregon to be exact. We had a delightful couple of weeks with him.

Our future plans are to go back to the Bahamas next winter to visit those places we missed on the first go round. However, our plans are open just in case our president opens up relations with Cuba and allows visitation. From where we were in the Bahamas we were only about 150 miles from Cuba so…….

3 March-17 March

Well a lot of things have been happening during this period, which was marked by a great deal of activity around the 29^th annual Georgetown Cruisers Regatta. This is about 10 days of activities ranging from Trivial Pursuit tournaments, volley ball, dances, texas holdem tournaments and boat races. Then there are the nearly nightly happy hours on the beach, all of which make for a busy schedule. It is a lot like summer camp for adults. Needless to say we are having a ball and are extremely busy. All this activity and the expensiveness/scarcity of internet service has seriously diminished our ability to update the blog. I am writing this not knowing when it will be posted, but here goes. While we were here Roberta A from our friend from Takoma Park came to Georgetown to visit us on the boat. She got to experience our world for the last several months. The first night there we had her participating in an Ultimate Trivial Pursuit game, the next a potluck dinner on another boat, and the next an around the island sailboat race in Abraxas. Kept her spinning. The around the island race is the highlight of the Georgetown Cruisers Regatta and was attempted by over forty boats divided into three monohull and one multihull class. In addition to the racing there also were side competitions which included best baking during the race, best photographs in three categories taken during the race and the biggest fish caught during the race. We had a great time, the weather was perfect with just the right amount of wind and we flew around the island resulting in getting third place in our class. In fact we beat some boats on uncorrected time that supposedly had to give us time as a handicap ( called PHRF ratings). On top of this, our sea cook (carol M with the help of Admiral Terri) took first place in the baking contest with her crème Brule cream puffs all baked at a 15-20 degree heel and the cook strapped in. As if this was not enough, our photographer took first place in the action photo category (photo attached). A hat trick. We were pleased.

The next day we rented a car to tour the Great Exuma Island. First we went south to cross the tropic of cancer to have a great lunch at a small roadside restaurant called Santanas. We found out that they film some of the Pirates of the Caribbean here and Johnny Dep was a frequent customer. We then went north visiting the five star resort called four seasons. Here we had the privilege of buying $14 drinks. Two other highlights were a visit to a wonderful community at the northern end of the island with very friendly residents and a stop at Mr. Williams farm. Farm does not do justice to this endeavor. Mr. Williams is truly a remarkable person to scratch out of this land the bounty that he does growing bananas, papayas, tomatoes, cabbage, and a host of other vegetables. The man could grow plants on a paved parking lot he’s that good. We bought a bunch of vegetables and fruit (a whole stem of bananas) for a mere $30. We finally sent Roberta back to the states a little tanned and a lot tired.

The next day Neal participated in a volley ball tournament and managed NOT to throw out his back or blow out his knees.

The last two events of Regatta week were the softball game against the Bahamians and then the Closing Talent show. The softball game was a riot because the Bahamians were a bunch of young Turks while the cruisers were a mixture of old men some of who could play ball, women some old some young some who could play and some…….. It was a good natured fun time played for fun rather than cut throat.

The talent show was entertaining with a mixture of acts by cruisers and some of the local Bahamian talent (some pictures attached)

Wednesday 18 March

Left Georgetown today starting the long trip back north. We are re-tracking part of our path down here, working our way back up the Exuma Islands chain then splitting off to the east to head for Eleuthera. Tonight we are back at Lee Stocking island after a great sail out of Georgetown. The swells were in the 3-4 foot range with a 10-20 Knt breeze just aft of the beam. The sun was shining and the fish poles rigged, but sadly no fish tonight.

Thursday 19 March

Next stop, back to Staniel Cay to dive into the Thunderball grotto. The grotto was the location for the underwater cave scenes in the 007 film starring Sean Connery. The grotto is lit through a hole in the ceiling and is quite spectacular though smaller than it looked in the movie. The fish were beautiful and quite tame eating right out of your hands. Even Terri got into the water. You can only get into the grotto at low tide because the entrances are under the water the rest of the time.

Friday 20 March-Sunday-22 March

Hanging around Staniel Cay enjoying the company of fellow cruisers. Bob A of Time enough II, Dietrich of Calliope and I went reef diving on a couple of coral reefs. The small fish swimming in and around the coral heads are simply too beautiful to describe. Their colors are bold and bright, you have to wonder how they manage to avoid the predatory fish. The coral is also quite lovely differing in coloring, shapes and size. The fact that the water is so clears is what makes the diving so special here. You can float around in 20 feet of water and see clearly to the bottom.

Monday 23 March

On the rising tide we head out for Sampson Cay, which is only about 8 miles from Staniel. It is a wild ride. First we had to run against the incoming tide current, which is several places was running 2-3 knts in out face

The harbor where we are anchored at Sampson is very protected from the ne winds so we are very comfortable here. The marina, which is to expensive for us pensioners, is filled with mega yachts, all power. It must cost a fortune to run these babies. Who says there is a recession. We dinghy into the bar for happy hour and have some great rum punches. Rum is cheap down here and the juice that they add is expensive so the punch is heavy on the rum and light on the juice.

Tuesday 24 March

A lay day in Sampson Cay to wait out some weather that is threatening, squalls with high winds. Later in the week around Thursday the wind and seas are suppose to calm down turning from the NE to the east south east, which will give us a better angle on the wind for the trip to Eleutrera. Tomorrow we will likely move north a couple of cays to shorten the distance to travel.

Wednesday 25 March- Saturday 28 March

Sampson Cay to Hawksbill Cay, we are heading home via the Northern Exumas heading for the Abacos. We had a great down wind sail in 20 knts with 25 kt gusts. We were hitting 9 knots surfing down the waves. I am finally getting use to the sailing characteristics of the Tartan 37 and all I can say is WOW does she handle sweet. The autopilot could not handle the following seas so I had to steer all the way but without any strain.

Our next jump took us from Hawksbill to Ship Channel Cay again with the brisk winds off the stern quarter. Another day like yesterday, a great sail. We hid behind Ship Channel Cay from the strong south east wind for the night then proceeded from Ship Channel Cay to Spanish Wells. This was our longest jump so far running off the wind some 40 miles but like the two days before the wind was off our stern quarter. We even caught a fish, a bar jack, but unfortunatly it was not good eating so we threw it back. I forgot to mention that coming into Ship Channel Cay we did two jibes which ripped out the screws for the traveler blocks. JB weld to the rescue and the traveler was back in action. There are three things that are indispensable on a boat: 1. duct tape 2. WD40 and, last but not least, 3. JB Weld. If you can’t fix it with one of these then it can’t be fixed, no way, no how.

All in all we have had some great sailing since entering the Bahamas to make up for the tedious motoring we had to do while coming down the ICW.

Monday 16 February

Still in Nassau taking in the sights. There is a hotel complex on an island that forms the barrier for Nassau Harbor called Paradise Island. The island is far different than the main city of Nassau in a socio-economic sense. The hotel complex looks like something off the Disney drawing boards. There are pools with tube rides, pools with turtles, pools with sharks (some enormous hammerheads) and massive aquariums with underwater viewing stations. In one of the aquariums (the one called the predator pool) a glass tunnel goes right through the middle of the water so the fish are all around you. There are barracudas, sharks, rays, sawfish and a host of other fishes to numerous to name even if I knew their names. Some pictures are shown on the right. It is truly very Disneyesque.

It’s off tomorrow for Allen’s Cay, the home of the iguanas.

Tuesday 17 February

A bouncy sail from Nassau to Allens Cay but Abraxas took it in stride. The more I sail then boat the greater my respect for her abilities. She is a fast seakindly vessel with very comfortable liveability below decks. We get to Allens late so we stay on board for the night with treacherous a looking shore off our stern.

Wednesday 17 February

Got to shore this morning but the weather was somewhat chilly so the iguanas we largely in hiding. A few brave souls came forth to get our handouts of scraps from making salad last night. They were particularly fond of the carrot peels and the romaine lettuce. Terri was a little weirded out by the critters, they are quite bold and clearly not afraid of humans. She was glad that the bulk of them were not present to rush us on the beach.

After visiting the critters we hauled anchor and went about 12 miles to Normans Cay for better protection from the impending south easterly winds. Normans has the dubious distinction of formerly being the domain of an infamous drug lord. With its airstrip he would fly in drugs then put them on boats for the states. In the harbor there is the remnants of crashed airplane said too be a DC3. We anchored off the beach on the west side of the island with a couple of other boats and were promptly invited to a happy hour on the beach schedule for 5:00. Meanwhile we went to shore to do some exploring. Looked over the harbor with the possibility of moving there tomorrow morning when the wind is to shift around to the west, making our present anchorage uncomfortable. Good news is there appears to be room. We get back for happy hour and meet some fine folks. One Canadian couple is on a 40foot Admiral Catamaran, which they had constructed in Capetown South Africa and sailed it back to here. Sounded like a great trip.

Thursday 18 February

Up anchor and around to the harbor in Normans Cay. From here we can see the remains of the wrecked plane. Neal goes off diving on the reef with Bob of our buddy boat and the Canadian from the Catamaran. The reef is alive with small colorful fish and loads of different kinds of coral. I do wish I had an underwater camera to record this. I also come face to face with a 3 foot barracuda looking mighty mean and wondering just what the F I’m doing on HIS reef. I have been told that to scare said creatures off you just swim at them, so I take a deep breath and charge. Well I’m here to tell you that is works, this time at least. Now I don’t want you to think that it scurried off in a hurry, no it just sort of ambled (if a fish can amble) off whilst giving me the evil eye. I continued my explore of the reef, but always looking over my shoulder for you know who.

After our dive it is off to McDuffs, a beachfront bar/restaurant, for their happy hour ($3 beers and mixed drinks). It is the only facility on the island and is situated along the airstrip. They have a couple of rental cabins and likely cater to amateur pilots who fly in for a weekend retreat. I think you can also get a “commercial” flight in.

After happy hour we are off to a pot-luck supper on board the Canadian 40 foot Admiral cat along with the folks from two other boats in the harbor that moved around from yesterdays anchorage. Talk about the lap of luxury, this thing is huge with a galley that is about the size of our kitchen at home and a head that is nearly as big as out bathroom in TP. It has a washer an dryer to boot. You too can have this for a mere 300K if you go pick it up at the factory and her for 500K.

Friday 19 February

After a late night of revelry we are off to Cambridge Cay hoping to pick of a mooring. We are taking the Exuma Sound route, which takes us out into the deep water on the east side of the Exuma Chain rather than the inside bank route. I am amazed at the clarity of the water here. At present there is little wind and you can see right to the bottom in FIFTY, that is 50, feet of water. As we move farther out into the sound we encounter water that is in excess of 2000 feet. We are luck to get mooring for us and our buddy boat in the snug little harbor that is sheltered from all directions. We also meet the volunteer caretakers of this facility on a boat named Rachael. They are friends of Bob and Carol our buddyboat owners, so it’s hor’deovers and music on Time enough II

Saturday 20 February

After a morning walk across Cambridge Cay to the Exuma Sound side we are off to a more civilized island, Staniel Cay. On the way out of the southern route out of Cambridge Cay there is a narrow shallow spot that according to the charts is plenty deep for Abraxas, especially at the current tidal state. Wrong. On the way through we glance off a coral head with the keel likely scraping off some paint and probably gouging the fiberglass. When we get to Georgetown I will evaluate the damage with a dive. Other than that we have a great sail down the inside on the bank. After not doing any sailing going down the ICW, it is refreshing to get some much sailing time in. I am starting to get the feeling and sense of this boat and I am liking it more and more with each day.

We arrive in Staniel Cay early enough for lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. It’s a Conch burger and a Kalick (Bahamian beer) for me, then we’re off to the grocery store rumor has it that there can be found some fresh romaine lettuce for our salad. Now when I say grocery store you shouldn’t think of a whole foods, Giant, Shopper food warehouse or Shoprite. You need to think, someone’s garage with shelves in it and paying twice as much as you would for the same thing in the states. That is if they have it.

Later we are off for happy hour at the Thunderball Club for $3 beers and mixed drinks. Staniel Cay claim to fame is that the underwater and cave scenes of the 007 movie Thunderball starring Sean Connery were filmed here back I think in the seventies. The Thunderball Club overlooks the Thunderball Grotto. One can snorkel in this at slack tide but for us this will have to wait for another visit.

Sunday 21 February

We are currently anchored to the west of Lee Stocking Island. We had a little trouble anchoring because just about when I was going to let the anchor go tw0 very large sharks appeared in the water just at the bow so I held off dropping 44 lbs of steel on their heads. This carried us into the shallows so we had to move. The second time we dropped the anchor we ended up over an uncharted wreck, so it was move again. The third time was lucky as the old Foghat song goes. Lee Stocking Island is the location of the Carribbean Research Center and we were told we could get WIFI there, but we we unable to make a connection, so it was another bust to check email and get out on the net. A quiet night was spent with the folks from Time Enough II eating homemade pizza and a movie on Abraxas. Tomorrow it is off to Georgetown and summer camp for cruisers.

Monday 22 February

Well we got here, but what a lumpy ride. First off when we ran the inlet out to the Exuma sound the chop was fierce, but it did not improve greatly. I made the mistake of not putting up the mainsail thinking I would put it up once outside, but it was entirely too rough out there to be crawling around out of the cockpit on the back of a bucking bronco. I did get a good upper body workout holding her to course. On the way down I made a troubling discovery. The brace that holds the dingy davits from collapsing appeared to be pulling out of the deck as we bounced up and down on the waves. I ended up lashing it in with lines leading from the spinnaker winch and main sheet winch. If the brace had pulled out it would have dumped one end of the dingy in the drink, not a good outcome whilst bouncing around out in the sound in 20 kts of wind and seas.

Once we got into Georgetown I was able to evaluate the damage. It seems that when the braces were installed no backing plates were used, nor did they even install any washers. So the hex nuts were pulling through the fiberglass. It is a good thing that I caught it in time. Definition of Cruising: “Fixing your boat in exotic places”:

When we got into Georgetown Harbor we beheld a sea of masts anchored in the lee of the barrier island that protects Georgetown. There has to be 400 boats here from all over. We hit the beach for a Kalick and G&T, life is good.

Tuesday 23 February

We are being held captive by the wind and menace of squalls with 30 kt winds so we are here on the boat reading, but life is still good. We hope to find WIFI somewhere but in the fringe anchorage where we are currently located we are too far away for reception even with our super duper antennae. Tomorrow we will move to a more central location and hope.

Wednesday 24 February -Friday 26 February

We move to a location off of what is called volley ball beach, which is where all the action is happening. Socializing with the folks from the other boats here, happy hours on the beach watching the sundown. On Thursday I made a conch horn to blow at sundown. Listen to music on the beach, there are a ton of musicians here so there are jam sessions most every day. Worked on fixing the support for the davits. Had to run around Georgetown looking for some metal bar stock. Finally found some and made those backing plates for the davit braces. It feels solid now.

Saturday 28 February

Today was the practice for the around Stocking island race. I decided to enter Abraxas to see how she would do. I wrangled a crew, Bob of “Time Enough II” and Chris of “Never Bored” to grind the winches. We were given a PHRF rating of 160, which means we are given 160 seconds a mile as a handicap, and started in the first group of boats. Out of the boats in the group we were third off over the line but at that point we took off and pasted the two in front within the first 3 miles. Did I say the Tartan was a fast boat? The leg was a beam reach, meaning the wind was coming from the side of the boat. This is the fastest point of sail for the Tartan. At the end of this leg we turned up into the wind on a close reach and negotiated the cut out into the ocean. Once out we tacked and headed south along the island heading for the south entrance cut. Here we were at disadvantage, first because the T37 does not go real fast and high to weather and secondly we had a little too much sail up for the wind/wave conditions, but we tough it out though we were clearly losing ground we had gained on the boats behind. By the time we reached the south cut we had been passed by the two multihulls in the race but we were still the lead monohull. At this point we turned back north with the wind at our back and another 3 miles to the finish. One boat was breathing down our necks but in about a mile we were to make a turn that would put the wind more on the beam, the fast point of sail for the Tartan. If we could hold them off…. Hold them off we did and we manage to cross the line as the first monohull. Boy I love this boat. She’s fast and fun to sail. Later that day the race results were announced at a dingy drift. First let me explain a dinghy drift. This is an excuse to drink and socialize with other cruisers by going out into the middle of the harbor in your dinghy, tying up to the others present and drifting in the wind. So there we were tied up to maybe 50 other dinghies passing around snacks and having cocktails watching the sundown. So back to the race results. As it turned out we came in second in our class on corrected time, but also on actual time. It seems that they don’t do a traditional start, but start your time when you cross the line. The monohull that beat us took 147 seconds less time to go the 18 miles around the island and had a PHRF rating of 167,which gave them 7 seconds a mile advantage over us. This meant we had to go 7 seconds a mile faster than they did, so as a result they beat us by about 5 minutes in corrected time. This 35 footer also crushed the bigger boats (on both corrected and actual time) to take the overall. This is one fast boat and I think they got the PHRF rating wrong. All in all it was a great time. I was lucky to have a good crew with one type A personality doing sail trim. He was constantly adjusting the sail to maximum. Next week is the actual race and we will enter again and hope to do as well.

Sunday 1 March

The weather report for the early hours of Monday morning say a nasty front is due to pass through, so we are have moved to a more secure location away from the crowded anchorage we are currently in. They are expecting the possibility of squalls with 40 knt winds so I want to be in a place where I can put out 150 feet of anchor rode with no worry that I might swing into someone.

Monday 2 March

Well the front came through in the pre-dawn hours and the squalls with 40 knt winds did not materialize. As the day when on however, the wind built to 25 kts from the northwest, which is the direction that the harbor goes, and the long fetch caused the chop to build up. We sat most of the day bouncing around waiting for the promised easing of the wind. Well finally we got sick of it and when the wind went around to more out of the north we move to protection of the barrier island.

Sunday 1 February-Wednesday 11 February

Not much to report. We have been waiting on a weather window to cross the Gulf stream. In the meantime we enjoy the sights and sounds of Miami. A bit of history-Dinner Key is the site of the old Pan American flying boat terminal. They use to fly the big clippers out of here to south America and the smaller ones to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

We finally got our window and will leave at dawn for Bimini.

Thursday 12 February

Yippee, we’re in the Bahamas. We motorsailed the 48 miles from Miami to Bimini in 9 hours. The water in the Gulf stream is an incredible cobalt blue with over 2500 feet of water to the bottom, but when you get to the Bahamas banks the shallows turn a brilliant turquoise. The seas were light around 2 to 4 feet and we came over incident free. We are currently docked at the Blue Water marina where we have a WIFI signal from some part unknown. The water is gin clear so you can see right to the bottom as if it were glass. Tomorrow we explore the island then on Saturday we will head for Nassau, which is around 120 miles from here across the banks then some more deep water.

Friday 13 February

It’s island time mon, don’t worry. Did a little exploring and made plans for the next leg of the trip, here to Nassau. Saw Hemmingway’s hangout here on Bimini, now closed. TO bad would have like to have a drink at the bar and absorb some history.

Saturday 14 -Sunday 15 February

We left Bimini around 10 after fueling up. Turned once more into the Gulf stream for about 5 miles then on to the Banks. The whole of the Bahamas is several underwater plateaus with small mountains (viz. islands) poking up around the rim. As such the interior is barely under water. Our journey across this plateau was in water only about 15 feet deep and clear enough that you could see the bottom, which is largely sand and coral heads. When you are in the middle of the banks there is no land in sight. We sailed across until around 9:30 then headed a few mile off the well traveled route and dropped anchor, we had come about 70 miles and still had 50 to go to Nassau. The wind was just right and we sailed a lot of the way until dark and continued in the dark until we anchored. Now mind you, we did not tuck ourselves in a secure little gunkhole or behind a nice island, but just out in the middle of a vast sea out of sight of any land in 12 feet of water. We stopped because we were a few mile from an exit point off the Banks where the tidal waters flow off the banks creating a strong current and this current was against us, so the plan was to hang on the hook until 4:00 AM to catch some zzzzzs and ride the current off the banks. Mission accomplished, job done to quote our former leader. Made a comfortable exit off the banks into deep water again to complete our trip to Nassau, arriving about 2 in the afternoon. Nassau is the big city on the Island of New Providence. We have taken a dock here because there is some stormy weather on the way and we want to be secure. We went out for dinner to a Bahamian fish restaurant where we had grouper prepared wonderfully, what a treat and so good. Tomorrow we wait out the weather, then continue south to Georgetown.

Thurs 8 January 2009
We are back on the boat after a wonderful visit with friends and family over the Christmas/New Year holidays. We had a great time with our boys who we miss so. It is now time to get on with the voyage. We will spend the next few days doing work around the boat and provisioning for our Bahamas trip. This is the second year we’ve stayed at this marina over the holidays so we know our way around a bit. The weather is warm during the days and cools to a comfortable sleeping temperature at night, can’t ask for more.

Saturday 10 January
We are now in Vero Beach at the city marina where we took a mooring. This is quaintly named Velcro beach by so of the cruisers because people seem to get stuck here for weeks or months. Last year we were here for nearly a month, but this was largely due to the back problems I was experiencing last year. No such problems this year though. We do have to wait for some mail to catch up with us so that should keep us here until Monday. I will occupy the time with boat projects, lord knows I have enough, and Terri will tromp around doing her usual exploring.

Monday 12 January
Another day in paradise, weather is warm and sunny as we watch the NE cold temperatures. More boat chores and provisioning to do. Terri finally get the mails we’ve been waiting for so that she can register a complaint with the TSA folks. It seems that one of the blokes at Dulles Airport helped themselves to a very expensive bottle of single malt scotch out of our luggage on the trip to California. It was to be a present to me from Terri. I just hope the Philistines did not swill it down on ice with ginger ale or soda.
The mail did not arrive until late so we’re here another day so Terri can go off to the library to print out the appropriate forms to send off to the TSA. I don’t expect we will be compensated for the loss, but we just feel that the TSA needs to get its house in order.

Tuesday 13 January
“Stuck inside a mobile with the Memphis Blues again” as sung by B Dylan. We‘re still here stuck in Velcro. We ran into folks yesterday that we met last year during our stay in Stuart and we invited them over for dinner tonight, so it was decided to stay one more night.

Wednesday 14 January
A late night with good food, company and lots of wine. This cruising life is tough, but as our good friend Bob Leigh says, “Somebody has to do it.” So once again Velcro Beach has struck again and we are stuck firmly. Tomorrow we shall be released.

Thursday 15 January
Well as predicted we made our escape from Velcro Beach and now sit at the newly opened (as of noon today) Southpoint Marina (now called Sunset Marina) in Stuart, Florida. This is where we stayed last year while I was waiting medical treatment for my herniated disc. It is a delightful spot about 8 miles up the St. Lucie River. In the past it was comprised of only a mooring field, but now it is in the process of a major face lifting with the addition of docks, fuel pumps, restaurant and marine store. A big operation by any standard, but for now a partial construction site. For us, the showers and laundry work and the moorings are cheap ($12 a day). We are here because we are waiting the delivery of a part for the steering system. On the way in here the gremlins struck again when I noticed that the light on the bilge pump kept going on. Going below and lifting a floor board I noticed a river of water coming from aft (the back of the boat for youse that don’t speak boat). Since it was coming from the back of the boat I was pretty sure it was not the contents of the holding tank so the next thing was to taste it to determine if it was salt water or fresh. You see, if it was salt water we would have a major problem like a hole in the boat, but alas it was fresh water meaning it must be from our water tanks. Sure enough when I checked the water pressure pump was running full tilt so I shut it down. When we got on the mooring I check it out and found that we had blown the hot water hose on the galley sink, hemorrhaging the entire contents of our starboard water tank (60 gallons) into the bilge and thence to the St. Lucie River via the bilge pump. I re-attached the hose, switched over to the port water tank, then about 30 minutes later it blew again. A re-examination of the reveals a sub-standard fitting that made the transition from hose to faucet, so tomorrow I look for a plumbing store. Tonight it is dinner at the Mexican restaurant.

Friday 16 January
Today turned out to be a frustrating day, one trip to the local hardware store and two to the honest to god plumbing store. It took two because they don’t speak boat plumbing . Finally we cobbled together four fittings to make the transition between 5/8 plastic tubing and a standard household sink. Did I mention that in order for my 6’ 1” 180 lb frame to access the sink fittings I had to extract the sink from the counter? Did I mention that the plumbing store was 2 miles by foot, so I got my exercise for the day but my whole day was blown on plumbing and walking. Let it be known that I hate to work on household plumbing, but I despise working on boat plumbing. As I have said before, the definition of cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places.
Fortunately some cruisers that we met last year in Stuart heard our woeful tale of plumbing hell and took pity on us and issued an invitation to dinner

Saturday 17 January
Back to the original purpose for our visit to Stuart, the part for the steering system. I had called the place where I ordered the part on Friday and was told that the guy how handled it would call me back, which he did on either one of my excursions under the sink or the plumbing store so I missed his call. When I called this morning I got the message “ our normal operating hours are 8 to 5, Monday through Friday”, today being Saturday, crap. It looks like we’ll be here until Monday, provided they are open on MLK day. Well we can spend the day cleaning up the mess from the plumbing project.
This is the boring part of cruising, sitting around waiting on something (weather, parts, repairs etc.). To top it all off, we have no internet access since the Marina has not gotten it hooked up yet so no email or Blog updates.

Sunday 18 January
Slow day, walk about town, lunch, weather a balmy 75 degrees sunny, breath deep and recite your mantra.

Monday 19 January
NO PART, we wait until tomorrow.

Tuesday 20 January
Well somebody dropped the ball. When the place I ordered the part from called the factory guess what, the shipping got lost in the shuffle so they will FEDEX it out today and we should get it tomorrow. So, we’ll drop off the mooring and head around to the outer side of Stuart, where the part will be delivered and pick it up.

Wednesday 21 January
As promised the part was in and now the slop is out of the wheel.

The weather is cooperating so we will run down the coast instead of going down the ICW. The stretch from Lake Worth to Fort Lauderdale has 21 draw bridges that are on such a weird schedule that you end up waiting at many of them so it is a lot less frustrating to do this section out in the ocean. Since the wind is behind us and light we motor sailed this leg, leaving Lake Worth at 8AM and arriving at Lauderdale (Port Everglades inlet) around 2:30 PM Then on to Hollywood Florida where my brother lives. We will do some major provisioning here for the trip to the Bahamas.

Monday Tuesday 26-27 January
We’re finally in Miami where we will stay until we’re joined by our buddy boat, Carol & Bob on “Time enough II”, to wait for a weather window for the Gulf Stream crossing. We took the bus into the city on Monday to get the lay of the land and figure out how to get to South Beach in Miami Beach. Down town Miami is a waste land. No restaurants, bars or nightspots just fast food joints and stores selling cheap crap and everybody is speaking Spanish. It is like being in another country. Tomorrow it’s off to South beach to eat, drink and be merry.
Well you can certainly see that we are in a recession because South Beach is nearly deserted. Vacancy signs all over the place and the eateries along the beach are so hungry for business they are having half price sales. The last time Terri and I were hear you could barely walk the side walks it was so crowded. Today we nearly had the sidewalks to ourselves. Still we had fun and some good food. It’s nice having South Beach all to ourselves.

Wednesday 28 January
We have left the mooring at Crandon Park Marina and crossed Biscayne Bay in search of a shower. Crandon only has outside cold showers and neither of us are at that stage of our lives where that is a viable option. We got to Dinner Key where the anchorage is rather exposed to nearly all directions except west and far off the shore, but we stay because there is promise of a shower and laundry not to mention other amenities of civilization, viz groceries, bookstores and hopefully the internet. People along the way, especially in Florida, are getting wiser about unsecure wireless systems. We are seeing plenty of secure systems but few open unsecure systems. It is these systems that we hope to piggy back on and it’s been slim pickins. As such we have not been able to update the blog or see our email since we got back from our holiday jaunt to Maryland and California. Tomorrow it’s off to the library where there is free wireless we’re told..

Thursday 29 January
Bummer, free wireless yes but for some reason I can’t sent emails though I can see those sent to me. I think the library has some weird fire wall. Other priorities dictate we will have to wait on internet, like food and drink. Woke up this morning to an incredible dense fog. We could not see any other boats around us, the picture shows the view after we could finally see a bit.

Friday 30 January
We fled Dinner Key because when we got back from our shore leave we found the boat about a 100 yards farther east than we left it and tied to another boat. It seems like while we were away a mini storm came through and our anchor dragged. Yikes. Some good Samaritan caught her and arrested her further movement east, next stop the Atlantic Ocean or at the least the other side of Biscayne Bay up on the reefs. I try to reset and fail twice, both times coming up with a ball of grass choking the anchor. This is the first time our Bruce anchor has failed us. It is clear that with a soft bottom covered with grass a Bruce is not the ticket, so since our spare anchor is a danforth, also a poor anchor under these conditions, and another more powerful front is expected to pass tonight we have fled to a harbor across Biscayne called aptly Hurricane Harbor. It has good grass free bottom and is well protected from the winds we expect. It is all in the name of a good nights sleep, sir.

Saturday 31 January
The weather has settled and we are back to Dinner key to finish business here. Finally found a reliable internet connection so it is time to upload. We are still hanging around the Miami area waiting for our buddy boat and a weather window. Perhaps next week for both, stay tuned.

Monday 1 December

The storm has passed and we go about our chores in Fernandina. Not much to tell or exciting this day

Tuesday 2 December

Chores, chores, chores today not all fun and games

Wednesday 3 December

We slipped the mooring at Fernandina early headed ultimately to St. Augustine. We stopped for the night in the Fort George River after trying to anchor in an oxbow recommended by “skipper Bob’s ICW anchorages” book, but no dice. When we tried to enter at around mid-tide the depth was only a foot under the keel, so we had to pass it up and press on to the Fort George river. A nice anchorage, but we were here last year and wanted to see something new. Another peaceful but cold night. We are hopeful that the weather will begin to warm soon as we head farther south.

Thursday 4 December

We are in St Augustine. This is a great place to visit, very historic and bills itself as the oldest city in the US. Of course it was the Spanish that first settled here, but the English kicked their butts out and took over the city later. Then of course it became part of the US. There is some extraordinary architecture in the city dating from around the turn of the century (1800-1900). Henry Flagler, the man allegedly behind the success of Standard Oil, did a lot of developing down here in Florida. He made it a second career to develop Florida as a vacation spot by building first a railroad down the Florida east coast (ultimately all the way to Key West) then he built hotels. The one he built in St Augustine is an incredibly ornate structure with lots of innovation. It is built out of the then new material called poured concrete, but it is not your cement block house. It also had such innovations as individual bathrooms in each room. It was for its time a truly modern and luxurious hotel. Now it is part of the buildings on the campus of Flagler College a small boutique liberal arts college with about 2500 students. There are a number of other historical buildings and an entire old section of the city, which is largely a tourist retail sector.

It also has what is probably the largest Nautical junk store in existence. You can get most anything from screws to sinks to hatches, you name it. I was able to get a cap for our shore power inlet that had been broken off and lost by a dock line when we were leaving a fuel dock.

We stuck around St Augustine to see once again the Grand Illumination, a ceremony that dates back to when the English held the city. Each night the troops of the garrison would march through the city with torches and fife and drums to secure the city. At this time they checked to see that any one that was on the streets carried a light, the theory being that anyone up to no good would not have a light that would advertise themselves. On the first Saturday of December hundreds of re-enactors descend on the city to recreate this practice. The re-enactors assemble on the square dressed in elaborate re-creations of the British military uniforms of the day, Indian dress and civilian militia to be lead in a march around the square and through the old town by a fife and drum unit. Trailing behind are a gaggle of people dressed in period costumes carrying lanterns. The procession ends up at the old governor’s mansion (now the tourist information center) on the square where they fire several volleys of musket shots. Then a bloke dressed up like the governor leads the people assembled in the square in Christmas carols. Finally we were serenaded by a group of bagpipers. It was great fun to see all of this once again.

Sunday 7 December

We made 74 miles today, from St. Augustine to Rockhouse Creek. We are trying to make time up because we need to be in Melbourne on Monday. This is where we will leave the boat while we head back to the frozen north for the holidays. We will need to go another 70 miles tomorrow in order to get to Melbourne so it’s off to bed and up in the pre-dawn morn.

Monday 8 December

We made it, just as the sun was setting we pulled into the slip. They had to chase out some Manatees who were sleeping in the vacant slip and they were NOT happy. Tonight we de-commission to boat to leave it for a month. This will continue tomorrow, then we pick up a rental and drive home. The blog will go into suspended animation to be started up again in early January 2009. Hope all you that have been reading these ramblings have the happiest of holidays and a great new year. Can’t wait for January 20^th, what a historical event and the promise of a new era.

A lay day in Brunswick, Terri pokes around in the shops I continue with maintenance. Broken switch on the deck wash is replaced and new stems for the galley sink faucet since they were leaking and I could not replace the washers because the screws were disintegrated. Probably been in the boat since it was built in 1977.

It remains cold with a nasty wind out of the northwest. What we used to call a Canadian Clipper back in New England when I was growing up. Our propane heater is getting a workout. Lest you feel that we are basking in the warmth of this heater, let me dispel this notion right away. At best it takes the chill off raising the temperature from the 40s to the low 50s. The forecast calls for the cold to continue until at least the weekend. The weather has been far colder this year than last. It is a blessing that we have the oxygen tent as we call the full cockpit canvas enclosure. Kinda looks like one, yes. When the sun is out it is positively balmy inside that is if the wind is not screaming. It is a little difficult sailing as you have to open the zipper panels to get to the winches, but it is a sacrifice that is well worth it in our current clime.

Wednesday 19 November

We awoke to the cold once again. Boy is it hard to get out of bed when the temperature is hovering in the middle 40s in the boat. Takes me back to my days as scoutmaster on those cold winter camping trips. We left the marina and slowly motored the 5 miles to Jekyll Island getting there about 2. Walked around a bit and scoped out renting bikes so we could tour the island tomorrow.

Thursday 20 November

Cold again this AM. A catamaran that came in yesterday is high and dry on a mud flat just in shore from us, must have underestimated the 9 foot tides here in Georgia. We are off on a bike tour of this island. It was once the winter refuge of the rich somewhat like Newport Rhode Island except the houses were more modest here, but still quite grand. (see the pictures) The state of Georgia has taken over the caretaking of this historical district used by the Rockefeller, Goulds and Goodyears up until WW2 when they all left lock, stock and Barrel and abandoned the place. Allegedly they left because German Uboats were patrolling the Georgia coast and it was feared that these people were prime targets for a raiding party, true or false I do not know.

The state of Georgia is restoring the houses that are still here along with the “club” where all inhabitants took their meals. Currently the Club is run as a hotel and wedding venue. One of the places we visited was a small chapel with two stained glass windows that were stunningly beautiful, one a signed Tiffany the other from some students of Tiffany. We saw the Tiffany when the late afternoon sun was behind it and let me tell you it was breathtaking. That man had a talent with stained glass.

We bumped into some fellow cruiser who we previously had met in Elizabeth City. Turns out they are the inhabitants of the grounded, but now floating catamaran. When two cruisers meet it is always a time to have cocktails together and so we did.

Friday 21 November

Still hanging around Jekyll Island. Today we go for breakfast in the famous “club.” Nothing to write home about, but one again we walk about the rich man’s compound. One house that any of us would die to live in was used only for the month of February to host grand parties. These people knew how to live. The house, now used as an art gallery, has a grand staircase that I’m sure Terri would have loved to sweep down in a long gown in a bygone era.

All good things must come to an end so tomorrow we move on.

Saturday 22 November

It’s a short hop to Cumberland Island, home of the wild horses. We leave late and arrive early, motor sailing all the way since the wind was behind us for a change. Save a little diesel fuel and exercise the sails a bit, at least the headsail. A wild trip across Jekyll Sound where you have to go out in the Ocean a bit to clear some shoals. Since the wind was hard out of the northeast is was a little bumpy but only for 15 to 30 minutes. This is the nice thing about traveling south on the ICW, it is an easy trip. No, you do not do a lot of sailing, but you’re always in protected water. We walked around the Island a bit, which was once the preserve of one of the Carnegies but they ultimately tired of it I guess and now it is a National Park. One can camp here and a lot of people do even now in the late fall.

Sunday Monday 23-24 November

We are now in Fernandina Beach for a couple of days. We have hit the jackpot and are on the dock rather than out in the mooring field. Apparently the city marina has a person who is not performing their job right and forgetting to write down reservations for the mooring. We had called two days ago for a reservation and when we got here they said that we were not on the books for one and they were all filled. Since this has happened before and the dockmaster knows the problem, he gave us a slip for the price of a mooring. It was nice of him, he could have said tough pay for a slip or anchor out. If we had to anchor out it would have been a long dinghy ride into shore. Sometimes you get lucky.

We provision, shower and do laundry. Terri is off to the antique stores in her quest for fiestaware plates for the boat. Me, I chip away at the “to do” list. Top is to work on the watermaker, which has developed leaks at fittings on the high pressure pump. As it turns out these fittings have been installed incorrectly. Once I install they as specified in the instruction manual, a forty page installation manual, it doesn’t leak. It is turning out that the watermaker is going to be a high maintenance item, with frequent filter changing, fresh water flushing and membrane cleaning. I am sure that it will be a blessing when we get to the Bahamas where good water is scarce and when you can get it expensive and not so good.

Tuesday Wednesday 25-26 November

We are finally in St. Marys where we will spend thanksgiving with a couple of hundred other cruisers. Two of our dear friends that we met on last years cruise are staying on the boat with us for T-day. They are on their way driving back to Albany NY for the Christmas holidays. They stored their boat down in Florida for the summer and were down getting it ready for the jump over to the Bahamas. They have been there 5 or 6 times and are old hands at it. They have graciously agreed to hold our hands and accompany us in our first crossing to show us the ropes. We will all meet after the holidays in south Florida for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. We all go ashore for the nightly cocktail meet and greet where each boat brings in a hors d’oeuvres. Let me tell you, there are some pretty good cooks among the cruisers.

Wednesday we’re off to the store for supplies needed for tomorrows feast. While the town of St Marys provides the turkeys and hams for this cruiser’s feast, the boat people bring all the “side dishes”. Terri will make her signature Leak, Onion, Shallot Gratin dish that she has made in our past home thanksgivings and I a pumpkin pie.

Thursday 27 November

Turkey day, what a feast……. We all gather around noon in the hotel/restaurant/bar that is normally closed for the holiday but they open up for the cruisers. There are about 80 boats in the harbor so this turns out to be about 200 people. Two folks (Bruce and Conny) we met along the way last year at New Bern then later at Boot Key came from Jacksonville by car. When last we saw them they were working in Marathon after having to get a 10 grand engine job on their boat. Apparently the oil pressure sensor blew out and they lost all their oil. The engine was toast after that. They were working in Jacksonville so they decided to come up to St Marys, which is only an hour away. Bruce is an excellent guitar player and he brought it with him so naturally after the feast out came the instruments. Carol and Bob, our boat guests, broke out their instruments (fiddle, flute and guitar) and we had an old fashion hootenanny. We were joined by a local guy on the five string and another cruiser with an electric guitar. I even got into the act with one of the extra guitars after 30 years of not playing, but it is like a bicycle it come back fast except for the lack of finger calluses. All in all we had a great day with many things to be thankful for. We ate well and shared great company, what more can we ask. We did miss our boys, but talked to them on the phone. Perhaps when we stop this gypsy life and they settle down with wives and kids we will all get together again for thanksgiving. We will see them over the Christmas holidays so that we look forward to.

Friday 28 November

It’s a sad goodbye to Carol and Bob today. They are continuing north for the rest of the holiday season, but we will see them after the holidays. We stick around St Marys for another day for showers, shopping and chilling out from the holiday activities.

Saturday 29 November

We are back at Cumberland Island hanging out with the horses, wild turkeys and armadillos. It is a lovely day to walk the beach and the marine forest with its gnarly old live oak trees festooned with Spanish moss and growing amongst the saw palmetto.

Sunday 30 November 2008

We wake to a nasty sounding weather report. T storms, high winds with a threat of tornados. We head off for Fernandina Beach where we have a mooring reserved hoping to beat the storm, but it does catch us. Thankfully the t storms and the tornados do not materialize, but it does rain like hell and we do get some wind but nothing serious (20-25 kts). We pick up our mooring in the driving rain and are now ensconced in our boat sitting out the storm. Our business in Fernandina will have to wait until the morrow.