Back in the USA

We are back in Palm Coast again.  We made the decision and got ready to return to the states.  The weather forecast was favorable so we planned our route and got ready.  But first we decided to sell our dinghy and motor.  If you have read any of these posts you will realize how important a good dinghy is.  Why would we sell ours?  After the blow that came through there was an announcement that Good Morning Vietnam had lost their dinghy overnight.  You may remember them from when our friend Phillip on Sea Ya cut his hand.  Cori has been wanting a lighter dinghy and outboard.  We talked about selling and she made a run over to propose it to them.  After some negotiation the sale was made.  They have a good dinghy and Cori will be getting her lighter weight combo.  We made plans to stop in Nassau to shop for a new motor.  In the Bahamas you can still buy two-cycle outboards and the prices are competitive with the US.

Wednesday morning we left Big Majors Spot, turned the corner and started back.  The wind was favorable and we set our sails.  We planned to move to Shroud Cay and then stop in Nassau.  While we still had internet access Cori contacted several dealers to get prices on outboards.  One of them gave us a price and mentioned that Friday and Monday were holidays (Good Friday and Easter Monday) and everything would be closed.  When we got to our first waypoint we made a decision to continue to Nassau sailing overnight.  The winds were the right speed and from the right direction and we continued on.  Along the way we decided that the holidays were a sign to skip Nassau and stage for the crossing to Florida.  The fact that Chris parker, the weather guru was forecasting rain and thunderstorms for Friday also helped.  We sailed through the night and Thursday afternoon we pulled into Lacaya/Freeport to get ready to cross.  A 198 nautical mile or 227 mile trip.  We (Cori) got the boat cleaned up and we were able to catch up on our sleep.  Friday evening the front went through and we got caught out in the rain when we went for ice cream.

Saturday morning we checked out of the marina and started back.  The forecast was for light winds and that is what we had.  As we traveled along Grand Bahama Island towards West End we got a call on the VHF from Willamia.  They were near West End with our friends Ken and Fran on Release.  They were planning to make the crossing on Sunday arriving on Monday.  We decided we have too far to go to lose a day.  By evening the wind had shifted and we were able to sail again.  We made good time and arrived off of Ft Pierce around 3:30 in the morning.  Unfortunately, it was too early to check in with Customs.  Since our final destination is Palm Coast we turned north and continued on.  As we continued the wind was slowly clocking around and was eventually too close behind us to sail efficiently.  We started motoring again.  Somewhere off of Cape Canaveral, just before sunset, Cori decided to bring in her fishing gear.  She had been trolling the entire trip and nothing was happening.  As she started to reel in her lure something hit and started pulling out line.  After about 20 minutes of fighting she finally had it alongside and we got it aboard, a very nice yellowtail tuna.  She has wanted to catch a tuna since we cast off cruising.

After some pictures it was bagged and put in the refrigerator, it was too rough to try cutting it up underway.  Monday morning we were off of St Augustine and she made a call to Customs to check in.  This year we followed the guidelines and were able to check in with just a phone call.  Just before entering the entrance channel Cori took down our Bahamian flag and shortly after a Customs and Immigration boat pulled alongside.  After a few questions they turned around and we continued on.  Once in the harbor we caught the 11:00 bridge opening and continue down to Palm Coast.  We were able to get the last slip they have available.

It was a successful crossing, we were able to sail about half the time, we saw several pods of dolphins and we both enjoy night sailing especially with a big moon lightening up the night.  We traveled 298 nautical miles or 243 miles on this leg.

We also called Al, the mechanic everyone recommended, to see when he might be able to check things out.  We got tied up and again cleaned things up, mostly washing down the boat to get all of the salt off.  Al stopped by at the end of the day to check out our system.  After listening to some of the noises and our descriptions he was going to make some phone calls and get back to us on Wednesday.  Cori got the 16 pound tuna cleaned and we dined on fresh tuna for dinner.

Today, Tuesday, we walked to Home Depot for a couple of items and a quick stop at the grocery.  Two and a half miles each way and after several days on the boat we needed the exercise.  Al was back in the late afternoon and checked more  things out.  It appears the v-drive needs to be pulled and torn down.  He also gave us advice on services our engine will need.  I am going to be doing some of the work so it looks like I will be pulling the v-drive out for him.  Cori as also has been making a lot of phone calls getting prices on a new dinghy and outboard.  Looks like we will be here for a
while, but it is not a bad place to be.

Update: we have found that the fish is not a tuna but a Jack Crevelle.