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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W77.52424

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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W81.37975

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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W80.19488

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.

February at Snook Bight Marina, Fort Myers Beach, FL

We haven't posted a blog in a while so I am combining the whole month in one.

Karen, Keith's sister and her husband Bill, flew in on Feb. 1st, and left on Feb. 9th. We had a busy but enjoyable time. We went for daily walks on the beach and looked for shell and did some sight seeing.  We went to Edison and Ford’s Winter Estates and did the self-paced audio walking tour on the other side of the street this time. It was very good.  Every time I go there I learn something new.  Karen, Bill, and I also went to Manatee Park and met our friends Aline and Nick.  Nick is a volunteer at the park and gave us an excellent tour of the park.  It was very interesting and enjoyable. On one of the days, Keith, Karen and Bill did a half day of kayaking in the Mangroves across from the marina.  We ate really good while they were here.  There is way too much good food down here and it seems like all we do is eat!  Keith grilled some fresh, colossal, shrimp one night and they were out of this world.


A day and a half after Karen and Bill left, my sister Annie and her husband Mark came down to visit.  They spent the night before going back to Mark’s dad’s place which is north of Orlando, FL.  We did the walks on the beach again each morning looking for shells and also went out to eat.  So glad my sister got to come down here.  It is always good to have company but it is also good to be by ourselves once in a while.  We were both exhausted and didn’t do much of anything for a few days after everyone left.

This past week or so we finally had time to get together with our friends Chuck and Barbara of Gold Watch who we met at Pebble Isle 3 years ago. They are also Gold Loopers. They took their dinghy down to our marina and we had lunch at Bay Front Bistro.  Excellent restaurant, would recommend it to all. Had a real good visit. Then on the 17th they picked us up early and we went shopping for most of the day; Walmart, West Marina, etc. We got most of our supplies for our Bahamas trip. 


On the 20th, the marina had a customer appreciation night that we went to.  Got together with Dave and Carol from D Cea who slip here.  We met them last summer at Pebble Isle.  Our last weekend here we took the dinghy down to Chuck and Barbara’s marina; The Pink Shell, and Barbara fixed a delicious brunch.  We spent the afternoon and had an enjoyable visit.  The other day we went to Docktails at Sharon and Todd’s on Sun Drum.  There were lots of boaters there and all had a good time.  The rest of the month we prepared for our Bahamas trip.  Before leaving we took the dinghy back down to Trico Shrimp Company and stocked up on shrimp and scallops; their sea food is awesome.
.

CO's comments:  Well, this past month has been fun for me.  I got to watch many, skillful, captains bringing their 50' Yachts into the marina.  Most all did excellent jobs.  Then, one of many pontoon boats with old guy driving, run bow first, smack-dab into the dock.  People try to tell them to slow down and after it is all over, the old guys get out of the boat and try to tell everyone that boats don't have breaks and that is why they hit the dock.  Very few of the weekend boaters can read the signs that are posted all over saying; No Wake, Idle Speed.  On warm weekends, there are a million boats going by the marina.  It seems like the weather has been so bad up north that every one is coming down here to visit their friends and are taken for a boat ride.

2-2-2014:  Karen taking Keith's kayak for a trial run before the 3 went out together.

2-2-2014:  Karen and Bill; first day on the beach.

2-3-2014:  Posing with Edison at the Edison Winter Estates.

2-3-2014:  Edison's Family Seminole Lodge.

 

2-3-2014:  Ford's Estate, Edison's winter neighbor.

2-3-2014:  Model T Ford:  1919.

2-6-2014:  Out to dinner.

2-7-2014:  Star Fish Bill found on the beach.

2-8-2014:  Love this T-Shirt!  It says it all about our country's weather lately.

2-8-2014: On Fort Myers Beach Pier with Bill's friend Mr. Pelican.

2-12-2014  Annie and Mark at Snook Bight, Fort Myers Beach.

2-13-2014:  Me at the beach after Karen and Bill and Annie and Mark left.  Up to this point we had perfect weather.  Today we had 5 foot waves and 30 mph winds.

 

2-17-2014:  Beautiful sun rise at the marina.

January 11 through 25, 2014; Fort Myers, FL

1-11 through 1-15-2014; City of Fort Myers Yacht Basin Marina, Florida, Mile 136.0.  Now that we are finally here we have a lot of things to get done.  Top priority is to get my labs and blood work done and 2nd on the list is to get a new refrigerator.  On Sunday, our friends Nick and Aline come over and took us to Lowe’s and we bought a refrigerator.  They will not deliver it until we can find someone to install it on the boat because Lowe’s policy does not let them come onto boats.  Monday morning the 13th, we called Owl Creek Boat Works and arranged for them to take the old one out and put the new one in.  They cannot put it in until January 22nd, Wednesday so we will have the refrigerator delivered to Owl Creek then.  On the afternoon of the 13th, we walked down Cleveland Avenue to the Lee Memorial Hospital (1.6 miles) thinking could finally get that out of the way; wrong.  We got there and I could not have my tests as I needed to do some preliminary work before the tests so we had to come back on Wednesday the 15th.  Thankfully, that’s finally done for another month.

On Friday through Monday morning, January 17 through 20, we rented a car from Enterprise.  Friday we went out to the airport where US Customs and Border Patrol offices are located.  We went there to get a Vessel Reporting ID number.  We filled out a bunch of forms and showed them our Pass Ports so now we are in their computer system and it will be much easier returning to the US after our Bahamas trip. 

On Monday and Tuesday, the 20th and 21st, Felix Marine was here and fixed our air/heating system so we now have heat and air.  For several months now we have just been using our little space heaters. 

1/22//2014 through 1/25/2014: We took the boat up to Owl Creek Boat Works and they removed our old refrigerator and replaced our new one.  It took them about 2 hours.  They had to hoist it up over the back railing, bring it through the salon and down into the galley.  They had to take the handrail off the stairs down into the galley and take the handles and doors off both the old and the new refrigerator so it would fit down the stairway.  They had about 1" of wiggle room.  So glad we hired it done.  Little by little things are getting done.  After finishing with the refrigerators, we took the boat over to our friends house on the Caloosahatchee River and spent a few days tied up outside their place.  Had a nice visit.  We came back to the marina on Saturday the 25th.

CO's comments:  I am slowly replacing light bulbs with LED's.  They are more efficient and they last longer.  Our new refrigerator uses 1/4 the amps that our old one did.  Amazing!  With our new bulbs and refrigerator our batteries will last a lot longer while anchoring out.  Downtown Fort Myers always has something going on.

 

 

 

Our friends Nick and Aline have all kinds of fruit trees in their yard; bananas, avocado, and many more.  These little bananas are just right for a bowl of cereal.

 

 

1-23-2014:  Tied up at our friends house.

 

 

 

 

 

 1-25-2014:  Car Show in downtown Fort Myers.