Powell Cay and Manjack Cay

3-14-2014, Powell Cay: 
Just a hop, skip, and a jump and we were at our anchorage for the day; Powell Cay; just 6 miles from Spanish Cay.  We anchored in about 6 feet of water and put 50 feet of rode out.  We put the dinghy in the water for the first time and went ashore to look for shells.  We were told they were very good on the Atlantic side of the Cay.  We were very disappointed as we found very few shells and the ones we did find were very small.  We did see a star fish, alive, in the water though.  Forgot to bring my camera with. 

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CO’s comments:  My new anchor works real good.  I bring it up and the XO drives the boat.

3-13-2014:  Break wall at Spanish Cay at high tide

3-14-2014:  Leaving Spanish Cay

3-15-2014, Manjack Cay: 
Lazy morning, got going by 10:00.  Keith pulled the anchor and I drove.  We left the dinghy in the water and hooked it up with a tow line; this is the first time we have towed the dinghy and after a few adjustment while under way all went good.  We had a few sprinkles on our way over to Manjack Cay which was only about 17 miles from Powell Cay but after we got here the sun came out and we had a beautiful day.  Went to shore again looking for shells without any luck.  Sharon and I both were glad we had such good luck on Spanish Cay the other day when we found several conch shells.  Early this morning, Keith saw 3 rather large fish swimming around our boat; again, no camera shot.  It is so cool seeing all the way to the bottom in this beautiful, clear, green, water.

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W77.48277

CO’s comments:  Man, our new anchor is really working good.  I am still bringing it up and Bobbie is still driving.  Both anchorages have been in sand and grass.  Also on both anchorages, I probably could have been 400 yards or more closer to shore.  Sometimes it is hard to believe the depth finder because the water is so clear.  Having a good time.

3-15-2014:   Kim Jo IV anchored at Manjack Cay

3-15-2014:   Beautiful, clear, green, water

3-15-2014:   Sun set at Manjack Cay

In the Bahamas at last

3-11-214:  Lake Worth to Great Sale Cay:  A very long day; 118.5 miles.  We were up and ready and at the fuel dock by 07:30 waiting to get fuel.   We were finally on our way by 09:15.  We started out with 1 foot swells on the Atlantic and it was a beautiful, sunny, day.  About noon the swells were about 3 feet on our Starboard.  It wasn’t too bad and it was still warm and sunny; about 85 to 90 degrees.  We were finally able to contact Dream Chaser on the radio about 11:00 and he was about 8 miles ahead of us.  They left about 2.5 hours before us and was traveling with a sail boater; Star Dust.  By them we had reached Memory Rock way point and the water got more shallow.  We went from 2700' to about 15'.  The water changed to a beautiful green and we could see the bottom.  We were going to anchor at Mangrove Cay but every one else wanted to go all the way to Great Sale Cay so we went for it.  We passed Dream Chaser and Star Dust by Mangrove Cay and still had another 43 or so miles to our anchorage.  It was dark by the time we got to our anchorage; 20:15, and very difficult to know how many feet of chain that was going out so I just guessed.  I thought we had about 60' out.  We had very strong winds and waves and we hoped we got a good hold.  There were several other boats in this anchorage.  We had a quick dinner and were in bed by 22:00.

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CO’s comments: XO did a hell of good job of setting the anchor at 0 dark 30.  This was our first time anchoring after dark with high winds to boot. 

1st Mate’s comments: Pretty rocky ride! I got a little queasy and had to lie down for a few hours.

3-10-2014:  Watching Cruise Ship leaving port in North Palm Beach

3-11-2014:  First Sun set in Bahamas

3-12-2014, Great Sale Cay to Spanish Cay:  We had a very windy and wavy night.  Didn’t sleep very well as I worried about the anchor holding. There was some confusion as to the time this morning.  We knew we were on Eastern time, but didn’t know if the Bahamas were on daylight savings time; they are.  We were up at 06:00 and left by 07:30.  There was mass exodus from our anchorage in Great Sale Cay as the weather report was for storms this evening.  There were 10 boats in all.  It took us quite a while to get our anchor up so all that worrying about the anchor holding was for nothing.  We had a little rain storm about 09:30 by the “West End Rocks” but after that the sun came out again.  It was very warm but windy the rest of the day.  We got to Spanish Cay by 12:30 and checked in to Customs by 13:30.  We ate at the restaurant this evening with Dream Chaser; Steve and Mary.  We had conch for the first time and we liked it.

CO’s comments:   The winds during the night were 20 to 30 mph.  Our new anchor held just great.  I was only up once during the night to check it and was sound to sleep after that.

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3-12-2014  Sun Rise in Great Sale Cay

3-12-2014  Cleared customs, no longer need the Yellow Quarantine flag.  Now proudly flying the courtesy flag of the Bahamas; Kim Jo IV at Spanish Cay Marina

3-12-2014   Steve and Mary Chase and Keith, Bobbie, and Sharon at Spanish Cay Marina

3-13-214: Non-travel day; Spanish Cay, Sea of Abaco: We had a rockin and rollin night again last night with winds a good 30 mph.   Slept in this morning for a change; it was very nice.  Our friends in Dream Chaser left this morning and there were still strong winds.  Hope they made it OK.  It was a quiet day.  We went to both beaches and looked for shells and then went to the pool and hot tub after.  We will be anchoring out for the next 2 to 3 days so we will not be posting again until our next marina.

CO’s comments: I now know why Jim from Blue Angle would rather anchor out than be tied to a dock with 30 mile an hour winds.  The night before all we did is rocked and rolled and last night we rocked, rolled, crashed, banged, jerked, and the waves were hitting our stern instead of our bow making lots of noise.  The harbor break wall here is non-existent at high tide.

1st Mates comments: Interesting eating conch in the evening, then finding a conch shell the next day with the conch looking out at you, wiggling around.

3-13-2014:  Picking shells

3-13-2014:  Beach on the Sea of Abaco

3-13-2014:  Spanish Cay Marina

Preparing to cross to the Bahamas

March 1 through 10, 2014: 

Saturday:  After a month at the beach we took the boat back up to the City Yacht Basin Marina. We had trouble starting the Starboard engine. After checking it out we found out it was a corroded circuit breaker and two boaters from the marina helped fix it and we were on our way. Didn’t get to the City marina until 15:00. I washed clothes when we got there. We went out to dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack. Being a Saturday, it was very busy and it took 65 minutes before we were seated. But once we finally were served we had a very good dinner.

3-1-2014:  Good-bye to Fort Myers Beach until next year.

On Sunday we went to the Swamp Buggy races in Naples with Dave and Carol of D Cea. Had a real good time. Got there by 10:45 and didn’t get home til 19:30, long, hot, day but fun. Never before have we seen anything like it.

 

 

3-2-2014: Swamp buggy races

On Monday we went to Walmart and Dollar Tree to stock up on supplies for the Bahamas. Dave and Carol let us use their vehicle for supplies and to pick up Sharon from the air port. Very nice of them.

Tuesday:  Left Fort Myers Yacht Basin and took the boat to Nick and Aline’s for the afternoon and evening. We took Sharon to the Manatee Park in the afternoon and Nick grilled steaks for dinner. Nick’s neighbor came over after and we all had an enjoyable evening.

3-4-2014:  At Nick and Aline's; beautiful orchids and view.

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Wednesday:  Roland Martin's Marina.  A beautiful day on the water. Decided to go another 17 miles to Clewiston to make tomorrow a shorter day and besides we had never been there. The lock was left open because of high water so we drove straight through. It was a very short lock; didn’t look like we would have fit if it was closed. A nice little marina.

 

3-5-2014:  Roland Martin's Marina, Clewiston, FL.

 

3-5-2014:  Clewiston Lock, usually left open.

 

3-6-2014: Sharon helping in St. Lucie Lock; down 14'

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W80.91877

Thursday:  Mariner Cay Marina.  We were going to anchor out at Mile 2.5 in Hooker Cove but there were tornado warnings our for the area so we went to a marina. We got tied up just in time as the storm hit minutes after. Very strong winds and rain but luckily no tornado. We were watching TV when John Connelly knocked on our boat. We met and traveled with John and Sue in 2011 through northern Florida and all of Georgia. This was the first time we had seen them since. We went to their boat for drinks and met Mike, a sail boater, who is their boat neighbor. We ended up all having pizza together for dinner. A very enjoyable evening. Mike is also going to the Bahamas and has been there many times and we might cross with him and another sail boater as well as Steve and Mary Chase who we had already planned on traveling with.

3-6-2014:  Mariner Cay Marina, Stuart, FL

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Friday:  Anchorage in North Lake Worth.  Warm but very windy day on the water. We had all kinds of trouble getting our anchor to set; tried 3 times. We thought it as set and Sharon and I were doing some work and Keith took a nap. When he woke up we checked our anchor and we had slipped a good 20 feet. We were in the process of resetting our anchor when a sail boater came over to us in his dinghy and said that everyone was having trouble with that spot.  Two boats anchored there and then left their boats.  Now their boats were all the way across the lake in shallow water. We found another spot and our anchor held even in the strong winds.

3-7 and 8-2014:  View from anchorage in North Lake Worth; night and day.

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Saturday and Sunday:  Cannonsport Marina, on Lake Worth in North Palm Beach, FL.  We got to our marina by mid morning.  We are busy getting every thing done for our trip to the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas.  Keith spent the day down in the engine room; changing oil and all that good stuff and Sharon and I went to the grocery store for the last time before we leave.  On Sunday Sharon did 3 loads of wash for me while I did work on the boat.  It sure is nice having help.

It looks like a "go" for early Tuesday morning.  We will be traveling with 1 other boater.  Our sail boater friends are leaving Monday night and travel through the night.  We will catch up with then when we get over there.  Can't believe it is time to go already.  Really looking forward to this trip.  We will not have our phones turned on while we are over there as it would be too expensive.  We will have Internet when we are at marinas so we will have contact with the US at times.  Sharon will stay for about a month or so and fly out of Marsh Harbor and then Keith and I will stay another month and come back the first part of May.

3-8-2014:  When you see birds walking on water, you know it is shallow.

3-8-2014:  View from Cannonsport Marina, North Palm Beach, FL

3-9-2014:  PartyVille out in front of our Marina, North Palm Beach, FL

3-9-2014:  This will be our next boat when we decide to downsize.

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CO's comments:  A good time was had at the beach.  The Swamp Buggy races where a hoot.  I liked the jeep racing better because they were half under water most of the time where the bigger buggies just flew across the water.  The trip to the east coast was good.  Clewiston is a spot every one should stop at but only with a smaller boat.  In the morning we had only 3' clearance on each end of the boat and had to slide sideways to get out.  In the middle of that, Bass boats came roaring by which didn't help matters.  The rest of the trip to Stuart was good and it was nice to see our old friends there.  We are now at a marina with 70' Sport Fish boats and they all have crews.  Poor me, I only have Sharon and Bobbie.  Tomorrow we are heading out and have been cautioned that Sport Fishers don't give a hoot about anyone but themselves and it can be very dangerous in the inlet.

1st Mates comments:  This trip has been wonderful; good company, good food, and beautiful weather.  I barely even think about the 3' of snow back home in Ashland.  Looking forward to the Bahamas.