George Town - Part 2

Ok, so where was I??  Oh yes, the dinghy engine.  Since leaving Titusville, the dinghy motor hadn't been running well at all.  If you remember from a previous post, Steve was working on this issue in Miami.  Without a dinghy, you're pretty much dead in the water - unless you want to travel around in a big sailboat everywhere and then swim to shore.  Without a dinghy in George Town is most difficult.  There are several anchorages throughout Elizabeth Harbor and different activities happen at different places.  For instance, on Christmas Day, there was a big cruiser's dinner at Volleyball Beach.  We're anchored at Monument.  The dinner consisted of 11 different tables and each table had at least 10 people.  A table captain coordinated the dinner at their table.  Jerry and Barbara, from Kumbaya, were our captains.  They bought and cooked a turkey, Steve and I brought string beans and a pumpkin bread.   Other people brought mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce.  We also had chocolate cake and pumpkin pie for dessert.  After dinner, everyone mingled, and we got to sample left over food from other tables.  It was a lot of fun.  Anyway, back to the dinghy engine problem.  The engine worked; however, it kept bucking and stalling.  It didn't always want to start back up either.  Finally, Steve went ashore and John (Sam the Skull) followed him and they took the engine apart.  They cleaned out the carburetor and voile', it works great now.  One less stressor.

Since Christmas, we've just been hanging out and exploring the area.  We usually go for a dinghy ride and find a beach to hang around for a while.  While at the beach, we find a trail that leads to the ocean side of the island and watch the crazy surf beating against the amazing rock formations.  Many times, we have the beach to ourselves.  We'd like to go snorkeling or diving, but my ear is still not better.  So I just swim with a float and keep my head above water.

On Saturday night, we went over the the main island for George Town's big Junkanoo Parade.

Def. from Wikapedia - Junkanoo is a street parade with music which occurs in many towns across The Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26), New Year's Day and, more recently, in the summer on the island of Grand Bahama. The largest Junkanoo parade happens in Nassau, the capital. 

The whole island attends this big event.  Although Wikapedia states that the event is usually on Dec. 26th, it was actually on the 28th.  We took the dinghy over to Volleyball beach while it was still light out, and took the water taxi over to GT.  It was our first time being out at night!  So exciting.  We're usually in bed by 8:00 (well Steve is anyway).  Pictures and a video can be seen at:

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5908493012/a=102133856_102133856/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/


Today, Monday, the 30th, we took John Ray over to Kidd Cove - the anchorage right outside of downtown George Town.  I had to go to the clinic again, since my antibiotics are gone and my ear is still infected.  Until the ear is cleared up, we are reluctant to go anywhere else where there may or may not be medical facilities.  Steve topped off the diesel and we restocked some groceries.  Armed with a new antibiotic, I'm hoping my ear will be good by the end of the week so we can go exploring further south.  We're looking to head either to Long Island or the Jumento's Cays - or both!

George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas – Part I

We’ve been in George Town now, for a week and a half now - so let me catch up.  As planned, we left Great Guana, our anchorage south of White Point on Wednesday, December 18^th.  We had a great sail all day, until late afternoon when a squall moved in on us.  We heeled over pretty quickly with a 30-knot gust, so we reefed the headsail.  However, in the process, the sacrificial sunbrella fabric on the outside/edge of the sail got ripped.  So, while it looks a little ghetto, at least the headsail is still in tact.  It’s on our agenda to sew, but we haven’t had a really calm day to take the sail down.  The wind sure likes to blow around here!  I’m not complaining though – our wind generator keeps the batteries charged, and it doesn’t get too hot or buggy!

After the squall hit, we didn’t have much further to get into Elizabeth Harbor where we would anchor for the night.  There were more squalls threatening the rest of the way in though. “Sam the Skull” and “Pura Vita,” the two catamarans we were travelling with, were well ahead of us, and already checking into customs.  Although we were also required to check-into the country, we weren’t sure of the harbor, there were many shallow spots, it was getting close to dark, and more squalls were threatening.  We stopped at the first anchorage we came to at monument beach.  We figured we would check in first thing in the morning since it was a long day, and we were a little frazzled.  That night, the sky opened up and torrential downpours and crazy winds hit.  The next day, the rain stopped, but the winds continued to blow 20-25 knots and gusts to 30 all day.  Needless, to say, we stayed put. We didn’t realize there was a water taxi which couldn’ve picked us up – we’re newbies to George Town.  On Thursday afternoon, John (Sam the Skull) came over in his dinghy to check on us, since he hadn’t heard anything from us.  (They had also anchored at the monument - way ahead of us though. Apparently we were out in the wilderness). We told John we were keeping a low profile since we didn’t check into the country yet.  On Friday, we called Elvis’ Taxi, and went into town to officially check into the Bahamas.  We walked around town for a while, since we hadn’t been off the boat in almost a week since leaving Miami.  We also enjoyed a nice meal of conch fritters and a huge burger at Eddie’s Edgewater. 

The wind continued to blow pretty good for the next few days.  We started to relax and get the lay of the land.  We listened to the morning “net” on the radio and found out about some activities for Christmas.  John also told us about a bon fire and “pot luck” on monument beach for Friday night.  We went to that shindig, had some good food and drink, met some new people and enjoyed some good music and singing.  Gradually, we started to like GT. 

On Sunday morning, the day of the ladies’ Christmas luncheon and Yankee Swap, I awoke with a swollen, painful ear infection.  I took a Motrin, and went to the luncheon.  By the end of the Yankee swap I was in excruciating pain.  On a positive note though, I drew #1 for the Yankee Swap, so I got to pick the first and the last gift.  The gift that I picked first, ended up being the gift that I chose last (it did get stolen from me during the swap).  It was 2 insulated carrying pouches – great for bringing dishes to potlucks.

On Monday, my ear was pretty bad.  We had found out about a clinic in town on the main island.  Since it was a long dinghy ride, we decided to take the sailboat.  We also had errands to run - groceries and laundry.  The clinic was very efficient.  We were in and out of there in about an hour.  With 3 medications plus the visit, it was just $100.  The laundry proved to be a lot more tedious.  It was very busy and the lady running the place was bossing us around on which driers to use or not use.  Yes, I did have a mini meltdown.  In my defense, I was in a lot of pain and we hadn't eaten yet!  With the clinic, groceries and laundry, it was a very long day.  Steve was also having his own issues trying to figure out why the dinghy engine kept dying on us - and always at the most inopportune times!  

To be continued . . .

Miami to Bahamas

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Today we are anchored south of Black Point and White Point off on Great Guana Cay.  Here is the story since we left our anchorage in North Miami (near Oletta Park and FIU).  On Saturday, December 14^th we hoisted the anchor. However, before we did this, we acquired local knowledge of the ICW channel across from Baker’s Haulover Inlet (since there is significant shoaling and we already went aground there!)  Since we subscribe to Sea Tow (the equivalent of AAA), we called them.  They actually had a boat stationed right outside of our anchorage as this is a popular place to hit bottom.  The guy from Sea Tow was kind enough to came right into the anchorage. He showed us on an alternate route how to the leave the anchorage avoiding the Baker’s Haulover canal shoaling and get us back into the ICW.   We followed his instructions exactly and had no problem. 

Our plan was stop at a Marina to get fuel, water and a pump out, and then to an anchorage that would leave us in a good position to head out and across the Gulf Stream into the Bahamas.  We actually contemplated staying at a marina for the night.  However, we ventured into the anchorage at the Venetian Causeway Bridge, which Steve had anchored at on a previous boat delivery trip.  We were so happy to be there when we realized that there was a boat Christmas Parade of at least 100 boats passing 50 feet in front of our bow all decorated and blasting cool music.  There was also an awesome fireworks display following the parade.  It was a great, unexpected surprise.  If we stayed at the Marina, we would’ve missed it all! 

In the morning we headed back down the ICW, past Government Cut (GT) to Fisherman’s Channel, since we couldn’t go out GT with the cruise ships that were docked there.  Once outside of Miami, we lifted the sails and cut the engine.  We had an awesome sail all day crossing the Gulf Stream, passing North Riding Rock (North of Bimini) and into the Bahamas’ Banks.  After sunset, the wind shifted and fell off as squalls formed to the north of us while a cold front was passing.  We watched lightening creeping up on us, but managed to stay ahead of it. At around 10:00 p.m., we started the engine and motored sailed through the night.   Michele took the first watch, until 1:30 a.m.  Then she woke up Steve when she thought a squall was coming at us.  The squall didn't manage to hit us though, thank goodness.  We were in radio range of several other sailboats as we crossed the Banks.  Along with us, most boats decided to go straight through the banks and onto Nassau.   As we were nearing Nassau, we started hearing radio transmissions from Sam-the-Skull (John and Barbara Anderson) that we knew from Titusville.  After contacting them, we opted to follow the same route as them, staying on the outside of Nassau Harbor, past Rose Island and into the Yellow Banks towards Norman’s Cay.  However, instead of entering Norman’s Cay in the dark, we decided to stay with John and Barbara and another catamaran Pura Vita, and head towards Shroud Cay with a more straightforward entrance in the dark.   As the sun was setting in the west, the moon (which was full) was rising in the east.  It was quite a site.  After anchoring and admiring the full moon with a small glass of wine, we had an awesome night sleep - since we each only had 4 hours sleep. 

The next morning, today, Tuesday, December 17, 2013 we headed out of Shroud Cay at 9:15 a.m.  We motor sailed all day past Cambridge Cay, Warderick Wells, Staniel Cay and Black Point – all places where we stopped on our last cruising trip.  We are anchored just south of White Point on Big Guana.  Our plan is to head out early to reach George Town on Great Exuma Island.  John Ray is now officially the most south she’s been since we’ve had her!

Here are some photos to check out too:  http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5879231012/a=102133856_102133856/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Enjoy!  Miss you all xoxo

Need to Work Out Some Kinks!

We left Lake Worth (West Palm Beach) early morning yesterday.  We decided to head offshore instead of staying in the ICW with the many bridges that we would have to go through.  It was also meant to be   a shakedown sail since we hadn't done in a while.  When Michele headed south down the ICW instead north to go out the Lake Worth inlet, we should have taken this as an omen and either kept going down the ICW or returned to the anchorage.  However, we banged a U-ie and went out the inlet.  The easterly winds that were predicted were more westerly and then southerly.  The seas were only 1-2 feet, but every second and on the beam.  With the opposing current, it was very choppy.  Michele was a little nauseous all day.  Steve was also uncomfortable, but not sick.  We motor-sailed all day.  We stayed close to the shore among lots of company - sailboats, small craft, big craft, dive boats.  It was like the southeast expressway!

Originally, we were going to leave port at night to get a morning entry into a Miami port.  However, the wind and seas were worse the night before.  So we knew leaving port early morning from Lake Worth was going to be iffy getting in before dark - unless we could maintain a decent speed.  With the wind direction and current, it was impossible to go fast enough to make it to Miami.  We knew we would have to enter Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale).  We made it into the inlet with plenty of light left.  Then we had to decide where we were going to anchor - not many choices around this area.  We could go north and try to anchor in Lake Sylvia.  We had never been there, and weren't sure how much room there would be to anchor.  There were several sailboats that were ahead of us which made us think that it would crowded in there (along with the local weekend traffic).  In retrospect, we should have taken our chances since we still had enough light to figure things out.

We opted to go south and try another anchorage that we saw on the chart (bad idea) or maybe continue south to an anchorage that we had been to before.  The problem with the 2nd choice was that we didn't have enough daylight to make it. But . . . we took the chance because it was a known anchorage.  Again, bad idea.  First problem was traveling down the ICW at night.  The channel markers were not lit and very difficult to see until we were right on top of them and nearly hitting them.  Luckily, we didn't hit any, but we had a few close calls.  The next problem was that, apparently, there is significant shoaling in the area of the anchorage that we were going to, due to the Haulover Canal inlet from the Atlantic.  The area is dredged every 4 years (and must have been dredged the last time we were here 4 years ago and is due again now).  The channel here is very skinny.  If you miss it, you're screwed.  And in the pitch black, it's not that hard to due.  In fact, we were in the channel, but too close to the marker where there is significant shoaling.  We hit bottom, but were able to get off.  When we turned around to get off the shoal, we ended up on another shoal.  When we shined the spotlight on what we thought was a marker, it turned out to be a danger sign!  After bouncing back and forth, a tow boat approached us, asking if we wanted help - for a small fee of $100 or course. (This is a popular spot to go aground, so this tow boat just sits there waiting for it to happen to make money.)   Even though we have a tow boat service, it was late and we didn't want to deal with it.  So we let him pull us off the shoal and lead us into the anchorage.    All in all, a fun day of being a cruiser!  Living the dream, ;-), ;-).

Today was a chill day.  Hanging on the anchor, going ashore and walking around Oletta State Park, and drinking wine at sunset :-D.

But Hey . . . We're in Miami!!!!

It’s been over two months since we left Boston, and I’ve only really posted once.  I will really try to get better at keeping you all informed.  It will also help us to remember what we’ve done when we look back on our journey.

On Sunday, December 1, we left Titusville.  We motored down the ICW since the wind was coming from the south and that is, of course, the direction we are heading.  We anchored near Eau Gallie Bridge in Melbourne the first night.  It was an uneventful day – but that is always a good thing.  The next morning we got up and did the same thing.  We went into Vero Beach City Marina and snagged a mooring for the night.  Since we got in at a fairly early time, we decided to put the dinghy down and try the outboard motor.  The fuel line connector had a crack in the o-ring, and the engine wasn’t getting enough fuel to start.  We were going to row ashore early, get the part we needed, and hopefully move on our way quickly.  However, Michele’s Mac was dead.  It wouldn’t boot up at all.   It was still acting funky once in a while, even though we had it looked at 10 days earlier at a place in Viera (near Melbourne - when we had a car and could drive there).  So, luckily we found a place in Vero that was a Mac authorized dealer who was willing to look at it for us – but not until 3:00 p.m. that day.  They were able to fix it for now – we’ll keep our fingers crossed.  So, Vero ended up being a two-night stay. 

During the time that we dropped off the computer and picked it up, Michele managed to drop and crack her phone, AGAIN.  The first time, the damn phone gets run over, the screen is cracked to smithereens, but still works fine (except for getting glass in my fingers)!  This time, the screen is barely cracked, but the display no longer works at all.  So frustrating.  Since we really are going to be suspending our phone service within the next week, we are not going to bother to fix it until we return.  (I’m already having withdrawal.)

We left Vero Beach early Wednesday morning and again motored south down the ICW.  While cruising past Fort Pierce, we took pictures for Steve cousin Karyl who has a townhouse in the area.  Still the winds were on the nose, so no sailing.  We anchored at Jenson Beach Bridge and had an uneventful day/evening.  (Again a good thing.)

After leaving the anchorage, we motored south down the ICW on Thursday, hitting many bridges that we needed to request openings.  After a while, we finally ended up in West Palm Beach and anchored for the night.  It’s weird being here without our friends the Murrays on Tranquility (now back in New Zealand). 

We were planning on leaving the Lake Worth inlet this evening to head south to Miami overnight, but again the wind will be on the nose.  We want to raise the sails!  So we decided to wait until the morning to go offshore.  The winds will be coming more from the east, so we should be able to sail.  It will also be good to have our shakedown sail during the day instead of at night when it’s harder to see what’s going on.

You can always see our current location at:  http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=08TU8OspZn1uAsEAyoPKqarpMd7Ei1qzs