In the Bahamas

We are in the Bahamas, more precisely we are at Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos which is the northern group of islands.

After spending a week in Vero Beach preparing and waiting for a weather window we moved down to Fort Pierce.  There are several spots that the cruisers use to make there way to the Bahamas and Fort Pierce is one of the furthest north.  We chose this locations because it was going to be a short window and we would not have time to move further south.  With advice from our weather advisor we pulled anchor at 3:00am on the 19th.  We made our way in the dark out the inlet and set course taking into consideration that the gulf stream would be crabbing us north.  It was another motorboat ride with the winds not cooperating.  The seas had not had a chance to calm after the previous winds and it started out as a rough ride with it calming as we continued on.  By the time we crossed onto the Banks the seas were down to two feet and less.  We continued overnight and arrived at Green Turtle Cay at 7:00 am Friday morning.  We anchored outside the settlement and waited for high tide to move into Black Sound and tie up at Donny's Docks.

Saturday morning we were up and walking into town to enjoy our favorite Bahamian breakfast of stew fish or in this case stewed grouper.  Of course being the weekend the ice cream shop was open and we made the trip there three evenings in a row.  Christmas was close and Cori joined in several morning for the 5:00 am caroling, I only made it on Christmas Eve.  This is a tradition on Green Turtle to welcome the spirit of Christmas.  Christmas Day was quiet and we were invited for dinner with friends.

We have been hanging out with friends, attended several evening social hours, Cori has done some beach combing and we have been acting like tourists.  There have been a couple of days that Donny is out giving tours and once again Cori and I are tasked with running the marina helping boats come and go.

New Years Eve was quiet on the boat and we didn't bother to stay up untill midnight.  New Years Day however is a big day on Green Turtle.  It is the annual Junkanoo, similar to Carnival in the Caribbean.  The event is highlighted with a parade of costumed dancers of all ages, drummers and cow bells.  It is very colorful and very loud.  The town is small so the technique is to find a spot to watch and after the parade passes we move to another location and catch the end of the parade.  There are many vendors selling their wares, food and drinks.  It is a very festive day.

The one problem we have is that the thermostat for the refrigerator has broken.  We are able to bypass it and keep the unit running but getting a replacement is a problem.  I put out a request for a repair person and got the number for the same person that repaired the refrigerator when we were here ten years ago.  Now we are waiting for the part before we continue on.

Made It To Florida

We are now in Florida, specifically Vero Beach also known as Velcro Beach waiting for a weather window to make the crossing to the Bahamas.

We left Broad Creek in North Carolina on Friday and made our way down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) to Beaufort Inlet timing it so that we went out the inlet just before sunset.  We chose this time to leave so that we would approach Frying Pan Shoals in the morning.  We continued on planning to go to Fernandina Beach which would take about sixty hours.  Along the way we determined that at the speed we were traveling, which was a combination of sailing and motoring, we would arrive in Fernandina during the dark of night.  We decided to change course a bit and continue on to St Auguatine where we would arrive just after sunrise.  We try, if at all possible, to not arrive at night. Monday morning we made our way into the harbor and anchored once again off from the fort and settled in to rest. In the morning we launched the dinghy and made our way to the dinghy dock to check in with the marina and get a dinghy pass and key cards for the showers.  Once clean and smelling nice we hiked with one of our propane tanks to the hardware store to have it refilled.  On the way back to the boat we stopped for lunch and once again made a change of plans.  We were moving on.

Once back on the boat we pulled anchor and continued down the river planning to anchor for the night along the way.  There are a number of areas where there is reported shoaling and we found one and went aground.  Fortunatly it was soft mud and we were moving very cautiously so it was easy to back off and manuver around.  By now it was about an hour before sunset and we were not going to make it to our planned anchorage.  Since there was some deeper water close by we moved over and dropped anchor for the night.  In the morning with a higher tide we moved on with plans of passing through Daytona Beach.

As we approached the Daytona area we felt a very serious vibration coming from the prop.  My thought was that we picked up a line on the prop and it had gotten wrapped.  We could still move but there was a banging on the hull at low speed.  Checking the charts we found there was a boatyard near us and after a phone call we pulled in to get hauled out and find the problem.  Once again the tide was against us as it was too shallow for the boat lift slings to get under us.  With a bit of ingenuity they were able to get us lifted and moved onto land.  At this point we found that it was not a line wrapped but that a bearing that supports the propshaft had failed.  This involved calling in a mechanic to remove the prop and bearing and install the new one.  Fortunately we knew a good mechanic that we had dealt with before and he was the one suggested to us by the boatyard.  The next morning Al showed up with his equipment and went to work.  By mid-afternoon the repair was complete and we were back in the water.  We spent the night tied to their dock and in the morning with a rising tide we headed out again.

The next day we continued on to Titusville and anchored with the Cape Canaveral launch sites in view and dropped the anchor.  We had always wanted to see a rocket launch and there was one scheduled for the next night.  We spent the day relaxing and that night just after midnight we were able to watch one of the Space X launches.  We were about ten miles away but it was spectacular.  In the morning we continued on eventually arriving in Vero Beach.

Vero Beach is often called Velcro Beach because it is a staging area for boats planning to jump to the Bahamas and sometimes there is a long wait for the right weather window.  Looking at the forecasts we plan to stay here for a week before moving on.  We know several other cruisers here and there is a very active group and the city is what we call "cruiser friendly" with conveniant bus service to the marina and a variety of activities.

It's Time to Go Again

 It's time to start our winter cruise.

We have been back to the boat since the middle of October.  We spent a week getting the boat ready including new bottom paint.  Once we were launched we moved up the waterway to our friends Jerry and Donna's home dock on Broad Creek.  We have spent the time preparing for the winter, such as grocery shopping for six months of provisions, getting the dinghy and outboards ready, restiching some of the canvas and the multitude of things that have to be done to keep our home afloat.  Eventually almost everything is ready and then we waited for a weather window.  We prefer to travel offshore so that means we need a three to four day window with favorable weather conditions.

If we can believe the forecast we may have such an oportunity tomorrow.  Our plan is to leave Broad Creek, go up the Neuse River to the ICW (Intra Coastal Waterway) to Beaufort Inlet and sail/motor to Fernandina Beach on the Florida Georgia border.  This should take about sixty hours.  If it becomes necessary we have multiple bail-out points along the way.  You cannot trust the forecast so it pays to be prepared with a Plan B, C and even D.

Once we are in Florida we will be looking for an oportunity to make the jump to the Bahamas.

We Closed the Circle

We have closed the circle and are back in North Carolina. 

We left Eleuthera pulling anchor a little after midnight and crossed the Providence Channel arriving at Little Harbor Inlet and continuing on to Elbow Cay by mid-afternoon, a trip of 67 miles.  We had planned to anchor outside Hopetown for the night but we were offered the use of a mooring and we took advantage of the offer.  We went into town and got two loads of laundry done celebrating the trip with a few cold Kalik beers while waiting for the laundry.  The next morning we dropped the mooring and proceeded to Boat Harbor Marina to take on fuel.  From there we continued to Scotland Cay to visit friends.  We spent two days visiting with Rita and Will and enjoying being at their dock.  From there we continued on to Green Turtle Cay to spend some time with our friend Donny.

In the past we have made the crossing from Florida to Green Turtle to spend time at Donn's Docks before continuing further south. This year we promised him we would stop on the way back at the end of our season. While there we spent time revisiting the island and visiting with old and new friends.  We were monitoring the weather looking for an opportunity to make the trip back to the States.  After a week we had a short window forecasted and we said good-bye and started out.  We made the trip across the Little Bahamas Bank and made the crossing to Fernandina Beach in a three day, 352 nautical mile trip.  Arriving at Fernandina Beach we picked up a mooring, checked in with Customs and Immigration and rested up from the trip.  The next morning we checked into the marina and when we said we were gong to walk to Walmart to pick up some things Charlie offered us the use of his pickup.  With that out of the way spent some time in the Captains Lounge sucking up their wifi. After two days we had a good forecast to make the rest of the trip to North Carolina.  First we needed to top off our fuel.  The fuel dock is still out of commission since the last hurricane so we emptied the jerry jugs we carry and with another loan of Charlie's pickup for trips to the gas station with the jugs we had the tank topped off and rode the outgoing tide.

We spent another three days traveling 349 nautical miles in light winds arriving Beaufort Inlet after midnight and anchored near the Coast Guard Station.  We normally avoid entering a harbor at night but this inlet is well marked and we have several previous tracks to follow.  In the morning we pulled anchor and moves to Taylors Creek in downtown Beaufort and settled in for a couple of days.  We made several trips into town to help with the local economy at several restaurants, bars and pubs.  After the weekend we decided to move up to the Neuse River and anchor in Clubfoot Creek next to our old marina.

Now that we are back we are making the arrangements to be hauled out for summer storage.  We thought we were on a list at one of the yards but when we called they had no record of it.  Now we are working on plan B with calls in to several other yards.

Our winter cruise is now over with us covering 2317 nautical miles or 2666 statute miles. That is just short of a trip from New York City to Los Angles but traveling at about six miles an hour.  At least we didn't have to climb any mountains.

What is next?  Once we get the boat hauled out we will be loading up a rental truck with some of the stuff we have in storage here and bringing it with us to South Dakota.  We have a number of projects at the cabin we hope to get completed and plan to enjoy relaxing there before returning to the boat in the fall.  If you are in the Black Hills area this summer we would enjoy your company.

Each tick mark is our location at 6:00 am and 6:00 pm each day.

Starting Back

We have started back through the Bahamas working our way back to the States.  When we arrived we asked for a ninety day cruising permit and our time is counting down, we are inside of the final thirty days.

What have we been doing?

First and foremost  we wanted to spend as much time as we could in the Jumentos/Raggeds.  This is part of the southern area of the islands and is the most remote.  We have moved around to several of the islands while here but have once again spent most of it at Hog Cay.  Hog Cay is the central gathering place in the Raggeds and at times had up to forty boats which to us is too many, thus the side trips to other islands to enjoy the solitude.  We also have had more then normal weather events that have caused us and everyone else to move to protected anchorages.  One such event lasted a week with winds in the 20-40 knot range from several directions, most from the west and northwest where there are the least number of anchorages to find protection.  That doesn't mean we are confined to the boat, we were still are able to go ashore for gatherings, beach combing and kayaking.  There are trails that have been cleared on many of these islands so there is more opportunities to get off the boat and and get a little exercise and help with trail maintenance.

The most enjoyable is spending time on shore at the tiki hut visiting with friends, weaving baskets and watching the sunset looking for the elusive "green flash".  Usually there is a big party around Valentines Day put on by the locals from Ragged Island but this year it has been postponed until March and we will not be able to stay for it.

After about two months we had to say goodbye to our friends and start working our way north.  We started out on Friday the sixteenth pulling the anchor at 7:00 am motored for a bit to give the batteries a charge then hoisted sails and had an almost perfect day of sailing with fifteen knots of wind on the beam, the most efficient point of sail doing six to eight knots of speed..  We continued until sunset when the winds dropped to 10-13 knots and sailing four to six knots until 3:00 in the morning when we dropped anchor by Blackpoint Settlement.  We had covered 122 nautical miles or 140 statute miles.  Our alarms went off three hours later and about 7:00 am we again pulled anchor and motored out Dotham Cut and turned north for Eleuthera crossing Exuma Sound.  This time we had lighter winds from behind us and motored through the morning.  In the early afternoon the winds had shifted and increased allowing us to hoist the sails and shut off the motor.  We arrived at Rock Sound Eleuthera about 5:30 traveling 60 nautical miles or about 70 statute miles.  We had traveled 182 miles in two days sailing most of it.  This would normally have taken about four or five days to travel under normal circumstances.  One of the reasons we were in a hurry was that there was a forecast for another front to move down with high winds from the west and northwest and we wanted to be in the protection provided in Rock Sound.  The next morning before the winds kicked up we made a run to the grocery and liquor store.  We were low on a couple of items and I needed a loaf of bread for my lunches and was just about out of rum.  Back in the dinghy we had a wet ride back to the boat because the winds were kicking up and we got splashed a lot on the trip.  We then spent the next couple of days on the boat with the exception of one trip to the beach to visit with some of the other cruisers.

Thursday, the 22nd, we pulled anchor about 6:00 am and headed further north.  We needed an early start because there is a small cut between the island that has a strong current running except at tide change.  It is important to time your arrival at what is called "slack tide" in order to avoid the current.  Not to be surprised but the cut is called Current Cut.  The forecast called for light winds but they got it wrong and after motoring into the wind for several hours we made the turn to the cut and were able to sail once again.  The winds were in the 15-20 knot range most of the day with one gust hitting 25 knots.  we were fortunate to arrive at the cut at the right time and proceeded through.  If we had missed the tide change we had an anchorage picked out to wait to try again in the morning.  We proceeded to Meekes Patch near Spanish Wells and dropped anchor to await the upcoming weather front.  By the next morning we had thirty boats around us all waiting out the expected winds.

Our next destination is the northern islands called the Abaco's.  This involves a fifty mile jump in open ocean waters so we are waiting for the weather to move through and the arrival of east winds to sail across.  Once there we will make a couple of stops before arriving at Green Turtle Cay to see our friend Donny and spend a couple of days at his marina.  We will be monitoring the weather as always but will be looking for a window that will allow us to make the jump back to the States and work our way up to North Carolina.

Spending Our Time in the Bahamas

 Our last post had us in Georgetown on Great Exuma Island in the central Bahamas.

After several days of strong winds we left heading to the Southwestern area called the Jumentos/Raggeds.  We had moved the boat to an anchorage near town and made several runs in the dinghy to fill water jugs to top off our water tanks.  By midday the winds were dropping and we headed out.  We did a combination of sailing and motoring along the way.  The route takes us through some shallow areas where we were our depth gauge was showing only 2-3 feet below the keel much of it in the dark since we were traveling overnight.  There were storm clouds all around us with a lot of lightning but they all passed by without hitting us.  It was interesting watching them on our radar.  There are a number of small islands to stop at but this year we passed them by in order to get further into the Raggeds.  We finally stopped the next afternoon at Double Breasted Cay which would offer some protection from the forecasted winds.  Cori took the opportunity to kayak to shore to check out the beaches on the ocean side. After a couple of days we pulled anchor and continued on to Hog Cay, one of our favorite spots.  This is about as remote as you can find.  There is a small community on the next island with about sixty residents and is closer to Cuba then any other community. This will be our fourth time coming here and we want to spend as much time in the area as we can.

We started by hiking one of the trails to the ocean side to look for sea beans and to collect palm fronds to start weaving baskets again.  The winds have been strong but we are protected by the island so it was comfortable.  There was a forecast for a front coming through that would have winds from the west.  We are not protected form the west.  We moved with several other boats to an area between Ragged Island and Little Ragged Island.  Here we were protected on all sides.  We took the opportunity to spend several days walking the beaches on Little Ragged for more sea beans.  I have mentioned sea beans in several other post and what they are is seeds, ranging from about the size of a quarter to a half dollar that float down the rivers in South America into the ocean and the winds and currents wash them up on the beaches in the Bahamas and further west to Central America.  There are several types and this year we are limiting ourselves to the type called "hamburgers" which look like a small hamburger.  They are rarer and harder to find.  The more common are "sea hearts" which are larger and shaped somewhat like a heart.  It quickly becomes an obsession.

After several days the forecast was for the winds to lessen and we moved back to Hog Cay.  More boats were arriving and we started getting together at the tiki hut in the afternoon for sundowners and visiting.  

Christmas Eve we spent at Hog Cay and Christmas Day we were included  with several other cruisers to join the residents of Duncan Town for Christmas dinner.  The cruisers brought deserts and the community provided everything else.  There were as many cruisers as there were locals including the crew from the Defense Force boat  After dinner there were fun games for the adults and children.

The forecast once again talked of winds from the west and we dispersed to a variety of protected harbors. This time we moved up to an area between Buena Vista Cay and Low Water Cay.  We had never anchored there before but it was reported to be a secure anchorage in a west wind.  We ended up having the anchorage to ourselves.  When the front arrived the winds clocked around from SE until it was from the NE.  When it was coming from the south we found we were exposed to waves causing a rolling motion but calmed when it shifted to west.  We stayed for three days dinghying to the close by beaches to once again look for "treasures".  

New Years Eve we pulled anchor and moved back to Hog Cay.  When we arrived we found we were the only boat in the anchorage but the other boats came back from where they had been hiding over the next couple of days.  Once again we all settled into the various activities of hiking the trails, walking the beaches, socializing at the hut and meeting in the late afternoon for sundowners and watching for the elusive "Green Flash" at sunset.  On the 3rd we joined a group of cruisers have lunch in Duncan Town.  While there we had a jerry jug filled with gasoline to keep the outboards and generator running and picked up a couple of items at the grocery store.  All and all it was a very good day.  

The days were beginning to blend together so for some variety we decided to pull anchor and move up to Double Breasted Cay for a couple of days.  This gave us a couple of different beaches to search for "treasures".  We spent four days there while the other boats came and went and on our last night we were the only boat in the anchorage.  While there we were able to see another rocket go overhead after a launch from Cape Canaveral.  We once again pulled anchor and moved back to Hog Cay.

The forecast is calling for high winds but not from the west so we will stay and ride it out here.  We had plans to make a run to Duncan Town for gasoline before the winds kicked up.  There is a local fisherman that has gas shipped in and we contacted him to be sure it was available.  He offered to deliver some and today he showed up with five gallons and took our empty jug to refill and returned it along with two cold Kalik beers.  We are still fighting a problem with our batteries and keep having to run the generator to keep them topped off.

It may seem like we are doing nothing but sitting at anchor and that is true.  The majority of time spent cruising is just sitting in a location and enjoying yourself.  This is our favorite area and we arrived early this year to just sit back, relax and enjoy the experience rather then keep on the move.

In the Bahamas

We are in the Bahamas and enjoying being back.

We left Fort Pierce at first light and motored south against mild headwinds working our way down to West Palm Beach.  The winds had started to build so we made the left turn to cross the gulf stream overnight under sail.  Once across we again turned south and motor/sailed to the Great Bahamas Bank.  We were again able to sail as we crossed the Bank.  During night #2 we moved into The Tongue of the Ocean, a deep area between the different island groups.  We continued on until we reached a channel that is shown on our charts and crossed the banks to Big Majors Spot and anchored just after sunset.  Big Majors Spot is famous for the pigs that will swim out to your dinghy as you attempt to come ashore to feed them.  Any Google search will bring up many photos and videos.  We anchored for the night and in the morning we moved to the fuel dock at Staniel Cay to top off the fuel tank.  Leaving the fuel dock we worked our way around Harvey's Cay sailed down to Little Farmers Cay to stage for the trip through the cut between islands the next morning.  In the morning we caught an outgoing current going out the cut into Exuma Sound.  Turning south we then sailed down to Great Exuma Island and motored into Elizabeth Harbor and set anchor near several of our cruising friends.  We had arrived at Georgetown.  397 nautical miles, or 456 land miles in five days.   The harbor is large and last time when we were here there were over three hundred boats. It's still early in the season and there are only thirty boats with more arriving every day.  We dinghied into town the next morning to check in with Customs and Immigration.  Once cleared in we visited the phone company store to get a sim card for our Bahamian hotspot.  We suspend our US phone service and rely on the hotspot for data and phone service while we are in the islands.  The next stop was at a restaurant to celebrate arrival with a Kalik, a local Bahamian beer.

The winds are blowing in the 15-20 knot range so we will stay here for a few days.  We have checked out several of the hiking trails, relaxed on the beach, collected shells on the ocean side and visited with friends.  When the winds let up we will continue on.

Our Spot position locator has died and I am experimenting with other means to show our travels.