From Grand Bahama Island to the Berrys and Nassau

It's Thursday December 20 and we take off from Ocean Reef at 4:00am in an attempt to reach the Berry Islands before dark. “I'm always anxious on these legs into new cruising grounds. Once we're there I'm usually pleasantly surprised to find easy access to the anchorages, and even more relieved that we made it safely. But no matter how long we're out here I'm sure those concerns will be a part of me”. LM

As is often the case, winds and waves are not generally in our favor and we motor-sail close hulled for 13 hours and 60 nautical miles. Was it worth it? You better believe it. We had this feeling that we were the first people to have ever landed here as we find another hidden pocket of sandy beaches and palm trees that have been there undisturbed for centuries. In reality, we're anchored in Bullocks Harbour just south and east of the Stirrup Cays. There are two Norwegian Cruise Line ships anchored to the north and thousands of passengers enjoying the same warm day as we are. Great Harbour Cay is also nearby and sparsely populated with a few dozen native Bahamians who fish and cook and bake and repair boats. One of the pamphlets we're reading about the Bahamas placed the total population in the Berry Islands at around 750.

We spent two nights here before moving inside to enjoy the Great Harbour Cay Marina. We rode our bikes over much of the island passing by the local grocery stores and restaurants. Coolie Mae's Sports Bar and Restaurant bakes bread for those who want it and we managed to buy a loaf without having ordered one in advance. Mmmmm, tasty. With the laundry done and boat washed off we're ready to move again. Along with an intermittent escort provided by the local dolphin pods, we sail back out and around the Stirrup Cays to a place called Panton Cove.

This truly is a beautiful part of the world. Close your eyes and imagine sitting on a boat or raft in a clean, clear, blue bottomed swimming pool. That's no exaggeration of how blue and clean and clear the water here really is. So far this is the closest description we've been able to come with for someone that's never been here.

Next stop, Hawksnest Cay where we spend a few days collecting shells on the beach and relaxing in the sun. I managed to prepare a 6lb. Turkey breast and all the fixings for a delicious Christmas dinner. And the leftovers on Coolie Mae's bread were even better! After one more stop along the Berrys and a nice long ride with a tail wind from there, we're anchored behind Rose Cay just outside the busy Nassau harbor. We plan to refuel and fill up on fresh water before moving on again. Next stop, The Exumas!

Winter 2012-13

Merry Christmas everyone!  Early we know, but still very much our wish for all of you.  We're on Grand Bahama Island tonight as well plan our next few steps into new territory for the winter.  Here's out notes from the last few days:

12.17 Finally, our final preparations for departure to the south and then across to the Bahamas. 8a eye appt, quick stop at the store, return the bikes, dinghy out to the boat, raise the outboard and the dinghy, top off water tanks, ride through the bridges and we're off at 1045a. ICW to Lake Worth, set anchor @545p, try to sleep, ha.

12.18 Our Window to Cross

We're underway @245a. Seas are calm, waves are small, winds are light, and the sky is very dark. We motored until sunrise and had the sails up by 7a. With the motor off for the rest of the day, winds stay steady out of the west 10-12kts, 15-19 for a while, then back down to 12-15. If you asked for the best possible conditions for a crossing today you couldn't done any better than this. After the sun started to warm things up we finished opening the enclosure for better visibility and some sunshine. What a surprise it was to find a flying fish that had made his last flight. Poor guy, laying still just inside the toe rail there. Off you go! At 1130-1p we were surrounded by dozens of dolphins that enjoyed playing in our wake, chasing the boat and jumping into the air. What a sight, “Dancing with Waves”.
Our boat speed averaged around 5, then up to 7 for a while, then back down to 4-5 after the Gulf Stream dies out. Being in no real hurry we enjoyed a long overdue sail and landed easily at West End by mid-afternoon. Customs-no problem, top off fuel-no problem, take a slip for the night-no problem. That's the Bahama way, No Problem.  The water is clear and blue and we are already seeing small colorful fish all around the docks. We enjoyed the company of friends Duncan and Cathy all afternoon and evening before hitting the bed hard for some rest! We'll use tomorrow for recovery :)

12.19 After a much needed rest, we're up and out of West End, Old Bahama Bay Resort at 845a and fully under sail @9a. The ride was wonderful from there to the turn towards east at Freeport. Winds died for a bit, and so did the auto pilot. Instead of staying out on an anchor for the night we've pulled into ORYC (our home away from home) to evaluate the repair. If all goes well we're off to the Berry Islands in the AM. Or, we stay here. It's a win-win,really.

Hello Everyone! Happy Fall 2012

Long time no see, or BLOG, eh? We'd like to be able to say we've been to busy to write but that wouldn't be true. The truth is we haven't done much to write home about. We survived our first summer in Florida and not without some very expensive A/C for the boat. Loggerhead-Stuart was our home for 3 months where we enjoyed floating docks, shore power and a pool. Our daily routine including early starts to beat the heat and then shaded projects on the boat until sundown. We made some great friends at Harborage/Loggerhead and will look forward to crossing paths with them again.

September brought a few changes as we relocated to the mooring field at Sunset Bay Marina and no longer had shore power. The heat was still a problem so we solved it by getting off the boat for a few weeks. We had a fabulous 3 week road trip from FL to PA and back. If our count is correct, we slept in 11 different beds as friends and relatives took us in for a night or two. After over a year in the V-berth it was nice to hang a leg over the side of the mattress for a while :) This little vacation from our vacation was a much needed break and we came back feeling renewed and ready for another season.

So we're back on board and the galley is close to being fully restocked. We've upgraded a few things including a 12V freezer and a Propane oven. Isn't it amazing how sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest differences in our comfort and ease of use. Anyway, it's time to head even further south for the winter. By next month the “snow birds” will start pouring into Florida and the sleepy towns will come alive again. We're looking forward to the return of all our “Cruiser” friends and acquaintances, as well as our second season in the Bahamas.

To all our friends and family, please keep in touch via email, facebook, texting, Skype or phone calls. And be sure to call ahead if you're planning a visit to the Bahamas this winter! We'll keep a light on for ya!

Vero Beach Loggerhead_July 2012

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A year ago today...

A year ago, today.....

We've reached another milestone today. It's been a full year since we pulled away from the PIYC in Erie PA. After 10+ years of planning, 6 months of intensely downsizing our personal belongings and also working to complete the major boat projects, we finally started the adventure. “Living the Dream” is not really what either of us expected and the sunshine and roses have been intermixed with some real emotions and difficult times.

We have seen thousands of miles of coastline and more that a few dozens islands both here and in the Bahamas. This really is a dreamlike lifestyle and we pinch ourselves often to refocus on that distant reality that exists on shore. We do make an effort to stay connected with the economic and political news as those still effect us very much. We are also enjoying the blips we see of many of your lives via Facebook and emails.

Oh so many lessons learned about navigation, weather, tides, currents, anchoring, as well as the life lessons that come with the separation and isolation that is a very real part of cruising. While we tend to make new friends everywhere we go, we really miss all our lifelong friends and many relatives.

We've already started to formulate float plans for the next 6 months and look forward to discovering new places. We're heading north today from Stuart to Vero Beach. We have reciprocol dockage with Loggerhead Marinas so we though we'd see some of their other facilities.

2 more months of high humidity and 4 more months of Hurricane Season before we resume our more normal cruising routines.  Can't wait!

May and June, 2012

The month of May included 430 miles up and down the Florida Keys, and we've barely scratched the surface of places to visit and things to do. From Marathon we stopped for one or more nights in: Big Pine, Key West, Dry Tortugas, Marquesas, back to Key West, then Bahia Honda, Marathon again, Indian Key mooring, Rodriquez Key, through Angelfish Creek to Pumpkin Key, Lake Sylvia, Lake Worth and finally back to Stuart. We're starting to call this home base and are currently enjoying the amenities at the Loggerhead Marina. The dockage rates are lower in the summer and we have a small portable AC unit plugged it, yeah!

We are now faced with some boat insurance questions to find answers to before making a decision about the rest of the summer. Hurricane season is upon us and State Farm doesn't work in Florida. A few nights ago we experienced a strong lightening/thunder storm and can see some minor damage to the other boats as well as some tree branches down throughout the area. Wind gusts were clocked at 50+ and it gave us a true wake up call about what a hurricane might be like.  It wasn't pretty. 

So June will continue here at the Loggerhead pool, etc. and we're enjoying all the time we're getting to visit with the kids, including our youngest son Logan from Erie and his girl Alyce!  We've had some great days on the beach and lots of fishing.   

Keep in touch and look for us on Facebook, too! Jim and Linda

Tortugas and Key West

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May 1st Already?

It's been a month since we last posted? Wow. Time certainly has taken on a new dimension for us. Seriously, what day is it? Lol 

While we are still keeping notes and log books and expense charts regularly, the days seems to be blurring into weeks and so on. It's a good thing we are writing things down, even just for our own sanity. The hustle and bustle of our first six months was so packed with adventure we couldn't help but share things with you as often as possible. Since returning from the Abaco Islands in March the pace has definitely slowed down. We've been working on finding a happy medium between hustle bustle and bored silly. We haven't been bored, but the possibility does exist I guess. Living aboard is not just fun and games all the time ya know. We have chores and maintenance, and we still haven't run out of self inflicted home improvement projects. :0) We also want to keep discovering all those places we read about.

So, we left Stuart FL April 9 and SAILED to Lake Worth. With a plan for just a few days there we of course got busy and ended up staying almost a week. Jim snorkeled under the boat to scrub off the slim and growth while I scoured and scrubbed from the water line to the rail. The water there was very clear which made it so much easier to see the results of our work. This effort has to be repeated at least monthly to keep the scum off and to keep the boat moving quickly through the water. Mission accomplished. In between dives we explored Peanut Island and found that to be quite nice. We snorkeled there and even observed a manatee from an observation bridge. We included some pics from Peanut Island as well as the sites right around the island. You may find an interesting business endeavor, too.

Our next stop was an anchorage in the ICW near Delray Beach, and then on to Ft. Lauderdale. Lake Sylvia is a popular anchorage there, especially for all the local boaters in the weekends. See pics of AQUAJET. It was the craziest, funniest thing we've seen in a long time. This self contained water propulsion system was hilarious! We stayed two nights in Ft. Lauderdale before headed further south to Miami. We SAILED again believe it our not, from inlet to inlet. It was glorious. We anchored in “marine stadium” for a night and observed the local crew boats practicing. The young adults were working very hard. The younger students, not so much. Fun to watch though. The second night we moved to Dinner Key/Coconut Grove just to revisit the scene of the original crime (read on). On Thursday morning (4/19) we sailed in Biscayne Bay, tacking back and forth with no apparent forward progress. Oh well, for once we didn't care! It didn't matter where we went or when we got there. Finally!! SAILING!!!! We arrived at Pumpkin Key about 330p and settled in. 

Now, whether it was just complete exhaustion or if it was the actual calm conditions there, it was the best night sleep we've both had in a long time. The wind was calm, the water was flat, and there were no strange noises floating in through the open hatches. We woke up to the sound of snorts coming from a pod of porpoise playing around the boat. “Now that's what I'm talking about!”

The Pumpkin Key anchorage, and the day before in Miami, mark the moment of our dream having come full circle (the scene of the original crime). For those of you that did not know this, Jim and I chartered a sailboat from Moorings for our honeymoon trip in 2000. We flew to Miami and remembered Pumpkin Key as a favorite stop on that trip. The sailing/cruising bug gave us both full blown infections! We've been working towards getting back here (Pumpkin) ever since. It's real now. We're really doing this. And we're loving it!!

OK, enough of that. We're moving through the Florida keys now headed for Key West and Margaritaville and the Dry Tortuga by the end of the week (if the thunderstorms subside). Don't forget to check out the latest batch of pics. We're over 700 now. Might need a back up and/or another camera card soon!

JLM

S/V Y-Knot 3

2012-04-20

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Safe Crossing and Welcome Back to the USA!

After two glorious months in the Bahamas, we crossed back to the U.S.A. on March 8-9, arriving in Lake Worth on Friday afternoon.  The weather was calm so we took advantage of the opportunity to sail and motor straight through. It was a full moon night and the winds were almost nonexistent. The waters were flat and calm and the motor took us through the night without any problems. We did some star gazing and took turns at the helm while the other one tried to rest/sleep. It was 28 hours and 169 miles from Treasure Cay in the Abacos to Lake Worth inlet, Florida. 

We've since returned to Sunset Bay Marina to visit with the kids and grandkids again, celebrate their birthdays, visit with our Erie friends “The Gunther's” who were touring Florida all month, attend Linda's niece Nicole's baby shower, and to be here for the arrival of Linda's son Louis who just moved down, too. 

It's April now and the boat traffic seems to consists mostly of all those preparing to have their boats lifted for the summer and head home somewhere. There are several boat yards in this area that are equipped to pull and store the thousands of snowbird boats. We're already home so we just need to get back out there and resume exploring the Florida coast. We'll be heading south again soon and look forward to telling you all about it! 

Key West here we come!

Conching in the Sea of Abaco

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The Sea of Abaco

Well, we've been very busy since we last posted an update for you all. The internet signals in the islands are weak and inconsistant, particularly when you move around as much as we do. To catch you up on our latest adventures we need to start by telling you about Conch. This is a variety of seafood that is very popular and available here in the islands. There are conch fishermen, conch menu items, conch shell collectors, and the ceremonious conch horn blowers!  We've been anxious to find a shell of our own on the beaches and avoid having to purchase one as a souvenir. Our wish came true in Marsh Harbour a few days ago. As we talked to a local street vendor selling “fresh conch salad”. We managed to scarf up a few of his empties, in addition to a healthy portion of the famous salad. The salad is a mixture of finely chopped fresh vegetables, raw conch, and lemon and lime juice. Definitely something requiring an aquired taste. Anyway, we have re-harvested the conch shells by cleaning them up and repairing the hole made while extracting the little tasty animal inside with a small, thick batch of apoxy, and sawing off a small piece from the pointed end to create the mouth piece. We are now the proud owners of our very own Conch Horns. We will be practicing every night until we can force a sound out of them and look forward to sharing this new talent with all of you !! :) (LM: After all the music lessons I've had I'm sure my parents are very proud of me at this moment lol) Each night at sunset those that have a horn sound a note to signal the setting of the sun. It's quite fun to listen to in a remote are with all other boats anchored with you for the night. We're told there are actual contests among these souls to see who can sound their horns for the longest duration. Our good friend John on MYSTIC has an impressive record at 42 seconds, but still got 2^nd place that year.

We also had a perfect opportunity a few weeks ago to pull that other sail out of the bag. You know the one, the spinnaker! (see pics, taken as actual evidence that we remembered how, lol) We had a nice light breeze that carried us out of Green Turtle so we went with it. After a few hours we doused the chute and headed into the protection of Manjack and Rat Cays. Our travels have also included the gorgeous beaches of Treasure Cay, sightseeing and potluck dinner on Great Guana Cay, an layover in Hopetown on Elbow Cay, and a few nights in Marsh Harbour. Right now, as the back to back cold fronts and gale force winds move through the area, we find ourselves back inside the canals in Treasure Cay for the duration.

We've included several pictures from, and of, the Lighthouse on Elbow Cay in Hopetown. This is one of just three of the last remaining lights of it's kind. We've traveled almost all the way around the Sea of Abaco and are starting to retrace our steps towards West End. We'll be looking for an opportunity to cross the Gulf Stream back to Florida sometime in the next 10 days to 2 weeks.

Green Turtle Cay and Starfish through the "Lookie Bucket"

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ABACO ISLANDS in the BAHAMAS

We're finally back on the trail of exploration in the Abaco Islands having traveled 154 nautical miles since Tuesday morning and visiting 5 new anchorages. We've been following the charts as we sail along and identifying dozens of other islands along the way. We're taking shorter trips and spending more of the day enjoying the sights. We're sailing when we can which conserves the fuel and lends to a much more pleasant ride.

There are a few new pics posted as well including our last few days on Grand Bahama Island. We've made so many new friends and find that the longer you stay somewhere the more difficult it is to leave. We will return to Ocean Reef in the future and look forward to crossing paths with the cruisers we met there.

If you have a searchable map handy, look for Grand Bahama's West End, Indian Rock, Memory Rock, Great Sale, Little Grand, Crab and Green Turtle Cays. This the area we're traveling up and down for now. As you can see in the last pic, the water is blue and the beaches are covered in white sand!  

Til next time, fair winds to you.

2012-02-20

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Update from Grand Bahama Island

Hello everyone!

How was your week? What's new? Are you ready for the big game tomorrow, or is it a non-event like it is for us?

We've been learning more about the fishing in the Bahamas and spent a day with local bahamian “Captain Les” on a Reef Fishing trip. We caught a few, while the other couple pulled in the big trigger fish(see pic). There are also several cruiser guys here in the club that like to go out and spear their own lobster. Jim now has a Hawaiian sling and has gone out to watch and learn from Hank just how to do it (see pics). We've grill Red Snapper, Grunts and Porgies(sp?), and tucked a few lobster tails into our freezer!

The weather here has been slightly less than perfect for the past few days, cloudy-windy-cooler temps. This did force us back to work though! Jim has been finishing his work on the reef lines and pecking away at wiping down the bottom of the boat with snorkel/mask and scrubbing tools. I finally have all the exterior trim sanded and taped off, and still need to put on several more coats of varnish before it's done.

We LOVE this place (Ocean Reef Yacht Club), but our month is almost over. Hard to believe how time passes so quickly. We're once again studying all the on-line weather models and planning to set sail again sometime in the next 5-7 days. Our heading will be west around Grand Bahama Island, then east to Great Sale Cay (pronounced key), and then into the Abaco Islands. These are less populated areas and there are fewer provisions, restaurants, etc. from what we have read. It'll be good to get back out there and be on our own again for a while. We'll still be without the phones and dependant upon finding a signal for internet/email for communications. We always have the VHF radio for any day to day needs, just no way to call home with that. They do have internet signal towers and service available so we'll look into signing up for that this week. There is also a "cruisers net" on one of the VHF radio channels where everyone exchanges information and news each morning. They can also provide emergency messaging networks and they announce new arrivals and departures for everyone else around to hear. It should be interesting.

Learning to fish!

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2012-01-21

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Bohemian Sunshine is warm!

Grand Bahama Island is a beautiful place. There are miles and miles of white sandy beaches and blue water. If you're looking for a place to get away from it all for a week or so this would be a great place to do it. The island is not a typical tourist trap kind of place although there are a few places to buy T-shirts and Rum if you like. The world of economic struggles has hit Grand Bahama quite hard. We see more empty lots and partial structures than finished ones. As we understand it, the banks don't lend much money, if any, so the homes are built from one paycheck to the next. There are houses with one block wall completed and it's been that way for many years. The government is also somewhat resistant to foreign investors creating long waiting periods and lots of disapproved plans. There are more than a few time-shares here and we see their reps out every day trying to sell them. In spite of their struggles, the local residents are very friendly and live what we might considered rather slow, layed back life styles. “Bohemian time” takes some adjustment when you get here.

There a few pictures attached this week including JUNKANOO, the southern coastline outside the inlet we're in, a sunset at the beach, and a jellyfish of sorts that pulsed past the boat slip. We've enjoyed some bike riding, bus rides to the grocery store, dinghy rides to the beach, and we even took a free beginner SCUBA class here in the club pool. Oh, and don't forget BINGO on Tuesdays and Thursdays! We're still doing some small maintenance jobs to the boat but that list is finally dwindling.

Time is passing quickly. We'll be underway again before you know it. So for now we gonna sit back and smell the flowers, and relax in the hot tub, and eat free Monday night dinners. We've meet some great people on the other boats and will look forward to crossing paths with them again somewhere in the Islands!

Cruising in the Bahamas

1.11.12 Wednesday 2am, rechecking the weather, stowing all loose gear. At 220a we pulled away from the wall and headed out of Ft. Lauderdale. Winds are light so far. By 3a we're well outside the channel markers and the wind is now 12 from the south! We raised a full main and set our course. At about 5 miles off shore we are starting to feel the effects of the Gulf Stream against our course heading. We are aiming for Grand Bahama with a course of around 90 degrees. The current is pushing is north so we're actually traveling to about 70 degrees. We have to keep turning towards the south to counteract the current and reach for 109 or more before settling in. Average SOG (speed over ground via the GPS) is 7 knots. This is how the day went, and went and went. The winds increased to more than 20 with gusts as high as 27 knots. The wind direction from the south makes it easier to stay on course and keep the sails full without effort.  By 1230p or so we can see land and the high profile of freighters all around Freeport Harbour. At 3p we enter the Bell Channel and tied up to the Port Lucaya Marina for our customs and immigration check in at about 330p. It's 13 hours later, there are no broken bones, no issues with the boat, and no problems when paying the $300 fee. Life is good.

The water here is absolutely amazing. Beautiful clear blue water that you can see through to the bottom at 15 feet or more. We'll be definitely be pulling out the snorkels this week and hunting for lobsters! We're staying in Ocean Reef Marina for a month or so. Come on down!

2012-01-10

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Bahamas - here we come!

We pulled up our stakes in Stuart FL, and we're on the move again.  We had an easy day from there to Lake Worth from inlet to inlet and anchored for a night.  We attempted the easterly course on Monday morning @ 4am, but the 10 knot east wind wouldn't let us leave florida's shoreline.  By 6a we made the decision to abort the plan and turn south.  We're enjoying the sun and warmth of Fort Lauderdale right now with another Float Plan scheduled on Wednesday morning.  At 2AM we're going to try to head east again.  This time with a south wind! 

Had to share the one picture of our provisioning, and a pic of the megayacht that just pulled in here.  It's 260 or 280 feet long, and the sailboat in front of it is 80 feet with a 25-30 foot tender for towing it in and out of ports.  These make our yacht look like a little toy in comparison.

We'll write about the crossing as soon as we can. 

Happy 2012!

We're back on the move!! After a wonderful lay over in Stuart/Port St. Lucie we're ready to get moving again. We've spent the past week restocking the galley and finishing a few projects and now we're finally loaded and ready to go. We've finally completed the secondary alternator to the engine for the house batteries as a back up to the solar panels. This will ensure that we have enough power to keep the refrigerator and our newest addition, a small freezer, running 24/7. The outboard motor and dinghy are back on board and secured for “the crossing”. Our next destination - The Bahamas!

Due to the extremely high roaming charges, etc. we will not have the cell phones on except for emergencies. We will also need to find some free WiFi to stay current with email and the BLOG. Send us your own news and keep us in your loops! We'll keep you updated as often as possible so don't forget to check us out every once in a while.

Until next time,

Jim and Linda