I met George and Lucy at 4:00 am. It has been so, so good to be home with the family for the holidays; and, its hard to believe that I’m leaving again. But the adventure continues and we’re going back to the boat.
January 12, 2011
We drove to Lumberton, NC where we stopped for the night at an OK, Super 8 motel. Winter ice and snow has slowed the return south and there are signs of a wreck a mile along I-95.
January 13, 2011
We finished the drive south the Hobe Sound and Loblolly Marina to fine the boat doing just fine under the watchful eyes of the marina Dockmasters. We’ll stay here until we can get a break in the weather and a window for the Gulf Stream crossing. George and I figure the we can do it in around 12 hours. It will be just the two of us on board for the crossing.
January 16, 2011
The weather forecast looks good for the next three days so George and I are leaving Loblolly Marina, going north for three miles to St. Lucy Inlet and then sailing south to Lake Worth Inlet near Palm Beach, Florida where we can rest for the night. It is about 34 miles from our slip in Loblolly to the anchorage in Lake Worth Inlet but it will give us a better angle and shorter distance for the crossing. We were surprised by the number of boats anchored in Lake Worth Inlet. There had to be 60 - 70 south of the bridge and about 25 north of the bridge where we anchored. The plan is to leave at 4:00 am thinking that will get us across in the day light.
January 17, 2011
Mother nature surprised us with a sudden storm coming up off the west tip of Florida. Hard rain, winds in the 20’s with much higher gusts and frequent lightning are predicted. NO CROSSING today. May be tomorrow!
January 18, 2011
Up at 4:00am. We didn’t sleep well but the weather has turned around. We had coffee and tea before weighing anchor and motoring out Lake Worth Inlet. We struggle a little setting the sails in the dark but were finally under sail. The beauty of the city lights behind us were staggering and the quiet wind in our sails was a true delight.
At about the time we made our first course correction, we heard a hale on the radio, thinking that the call was for us. It was a sea going tug and a large barge heading north in the gulf stream. They had picked up a sailboat on their radar. He told us that they would be on top of us in about 8 minutes unless we made a course correction. But, we couldn’t see any ships at all so the tug shined a large, bright light at the vessel on his scope. It wasn’t us and we continued on the same heading.
We entered the Gulf Stream about nine (9) miles from the coast of Florida. It was no where near as bad as we had heard. The waves started at 1 - 3 feet and built to 2 - 4 feet for the most part. Winds started at about 12 miles an hour and built to about 20 before falling of to 6 - 8 by mid afternoon. In the late afternoon, we started the motor to recharge the batteries and we continued running it the rest of the way across. We did hit one area where the seas were confused and rollers in the 6 - 8, even 10 foot range were occurring but only for a little while.
I got to see my first “flying fish” at about 20 miles off the Florida coast. And, we saw one, very black fin slicing through the water at about ½ way. We spotted a bunch of little silver flying fish, 3 - 4 inches long a little while later.
We dropped the sails about a mile from Old Bahamas Bay West Bank and motored into the marina at 4:32pm. We called the marina on the VHF radio and they directed us to slip C23. An attendant helped us tie up and provided “all the paperwork required to clear Customs”. Everyone is very courteous and helpful but the forms are a lot to handle when you are ½ brain dead from the crossing. Customs people are very put
I got the slip for two nights and then George and I went out for dinner. Four people can eat large meals in the states for what it cost two people to eat small meals in the Bahamas. . . But everything is imported.
IT TOOK THREE (3) MONTHS AND EIGHT (8) DAYS SINCE LEAVING ITHACA, NEW YORK; BUT WE FINALLY DID IT AND WE ARE FINALLY HERE IN PARADISE.
January 20, 2011
We left Old Bahamas Bay at 10:00am and headed east arriving at Mangrove Cay at 3:30pm. We set the anchor for the night and sat back to relax. There isn’t another sole around!
We a lue in the water today for the first time on this whole trip. We caught 2 fish, barracuda 10-12 inches long on a lure almost as big. Its not super but catching anything at 5 knots felt very good. The weather was beautiful and the water flat. We had the sails up for a short time of very nice sailing before the wind abated.
January 21, 11
We left Mangrove Cay at first light. A small Canadian sailboat had entered the anchorage just before dark. anchor south - west of us; apparently having drug anchor in the stiff winds over night. We remained where we were all through the night with our good anchor set.
We made our way 1.5 km north to our #83 waypoint and turned east toward Great Sail Cay. Running the motor for the first half hour or so to recharge the batteries; we set the jib in 25 knot winds. An hour later, the winds dropped to the teens and we set the mainsail for a 6+ knot ride. We arrived at Great Sail Cay at 10:30 am. We were greeted by a pod of 6 - 8 dolphins playing all around the boat for about a half mile. Great Sail Cay is uninhabited as it is barely out of the sea. Thick brush and a few trees carpet the surface. The water is as beautiful as we had heard!
January 22, 11
We sailed from Great Sail Cay this morning after experiencing rain, thunder and lightning during the night like we had never seen before. We’re headed for Foxtown; some 26+ miles away. We set sail under very stiff winds and continued a fast sail until we reached the Foxtown waypoint. The winds were getting almost too much for us to handle as we took down the sails. Motoring in to the harbor, a cold front moving in from Florida churned the waters into 6 - 8 foot waves that pounded the boat beam. But, the Garmin Chart Plotter provided a route line to the anchorage point and we followed the rout as closely as possible. There was a partially submerged reef about 200 feet off our starboard side and very large rocks about 300 feet off our port side. George left out about 100 feet of anchor chain and we got a good set.
Another boat, Aces Wild, anchored about a ¼ mile away at yet another anchor spot. We spoke with them on the radio for a little while and got a weather up-date. It wasn’t good! George or I sat up on anchor watch all night. If we got a total of 4 hours of sleep between us, we got a lot. The temperature dropped another 16 degrees during the night forcing us to wear winter coats and hats. Winds substained the 40 knot range with gusts in the 50’s. The boat shuttered and groaned against the winds. It began to calm just before daybreak and the waters smoothed out a lot.
January 23, 11
We left the anchorage at daylight and headed east against a north wind. Every other day, since leaving Florida, we’ve been on a starboard tack. Today, however, we’re on a port tack. After making our way to the Foxtown waypoint and turning east, we first set the staysail against a strong wind. Then we set the mainsail and the jib. We traveled the 35+ miles from Foxtown to Manjack Cay, leaving at 6:30 am and arriving at 1:00 pm. It is definitely one of the best days of sailing that I have ever experienced on this boat. The other boat from last nights anchorage, Aces Wild, a forty-six footer, was traveling along several miles behind; unable to close the gap between us.
With the hook down and a little chow in our tummies, George and I rowed the dinghy to shore to do a little exploring. We were dumb! We walked all the way across the island barefooted. Ouch! Ouch! Damn it! Ouch! But we made it to the far side and an ocean side beach about a mile long. No one there thought! It is just beautiful. We crossed back to the side where our boat is anchored and met the only, year round inhabitants of the island. Bill and his family welcome visitors to enjoy their property with trails cut through to anywhere you might want to go. There are six other boats in this same anchorage with several others up the coast a little bit farther.
January 24, 11
We left our hook spot and are going several miles to Green Turtle Cay for a night at a slip to sit out what could be a very bad storm. Also, George desperately needs internet and cell service.
We’re here at Green Turtle Cay. Its sad to see, that with the economic downturn, the marina is only a ¼ full. These people make their living from the tourist trade and without it, they’re not making much! The accommodations are good. . . But very expensive. . . $20 a night for electrical power; $15 a day to use their showers; $5.84 per gallon of diesel and $0.20 a gallon for fresh water to replenish the tanks on the boat; plus a slip rental by the day. Its also very shallow coming into the harbor and the deeper draft boats must wait to high tide or chance running aground.
It was a $225 stay for a day counting out meals but it was very nice to be back in communication with the world. We even got to watch the Presidential State of the Union Address of the flat screen TV in their lobby. It is amazing how the Canadians follow USA politics. Any they mostly love our President!
January 25, 11
Aces Wild advised us of a good weather window for going to Treasure Cay so we’re headed there. The sail this morning, on a starboard tack, is like something out of a novel. High 5’s to mid 6’s all the way to Treasure Cay with only an occasional gust. We had left about a hour behind Aces Wild but they had saved a spot to anchor about 500 feet in front of them. Ace and Suzie are such nice and interesting people. Ace is an x fighter pilot (F4 Phantoms from the nom war), turned commercial pilot, turned retired and enjoying 1ife. They have the 46 footer and they know how to use it!
We had a drink at the marina bar after rowing….and rowing….and rowing the dinghy to the dock. Ace and Suzy offered to tow us back to our boat to have dinner, spaghetti, w th them on their boat later.
Dinner was great as was the conversation with our new friends. George, admittedly, drank a little too much Scotch. As punishment for his over indulgence, I appointed him “Captain” for the next week. I am sure that I can find something to complain about in that amount of time.
January 26, 11
We got up this morning; and now a little bit wiser, we put the motor on the dinghy and headed to the dock. We had a sweet breakfast (cookies and a cinnamon bun) and tea and coffee. We walked around the small village and then to the beach. What a beach! Its 3 ½ miles of the nicest, cleanest, softest sand I have ever seen. We’ve done alittle grocery shopping and are headed back to the boat for a while.
I worked on the blog for a couple of hours. George and I returned to the beach. I walked in the water and laid around on a beach chair while George ran a total of 3 miles up and down the beach. It was a very good day. Tomorrow, we head to Hope Town.
