Big Adventure Fort Pierce to St. Augustine May 1 and 2, 2016

We begin our next travel adventure moving from Fort Pierce FL back to Ohio. The plan is aggressive. 

Part 1 has us leave May 1 to Virginia Beach by May 14. Part 2 gets us to Sandusky by the end of May. Very aggressive. But in the early stages we have made much progress.

Sunday May 1: Fort Pierce to Titusville FL was uneventful. We left at about 7am with Good Karma in the lead. We are traveling the entire way with Miss NanSea, Dave and Nancy Stecker from Chattanooga TN. TShey boat out of Sandusky. I know it is odd but just another testimony that Lake Erie is a great place to boat!

We traveled the ICW which is the Indian River, a wide stretch of water, pretty shallow but pretty straight. Set the cruise control, watch for boats and stay calm. We waved at Dick and Dee at Vero Beach. But the rest of the day we just read, I worked, took turns taking naps and generally entertained ourselves quietly. Nothing eventful.

We anchored in Titusville in a tough anchorage given the wind. In hindsight we should have tucked into the other side, the north side of the bridge but we didn’t. It was a slappy night. 

Miss NanSea is a 55’ Fleming. She stores the dinghy on the roof which makes it an event to take the dinghy down. Our dinghy is on the back on that great stand that Kermit and Paul Bates made. It is much easier to pop our dinghy in the water and dinghy over to Miss NanSea. We had a nice spaghetti dinner and a few cocktails then dinghied back for bed.

We slapped around a bit that night but the anchor held and we slept ok.

Monday May 2: Off at 6:45am on Tuesday May 2, bound for St. Augustine. We knew this was going to be a long day but it was longer than we thought. The water was fine. That wasn’t the problem. It was just a long day. We are attempting to travel distances over 2 days that we would normally travel in 3 days or perhaps more. It is 80 miles as the crow flies but actually more like 90+ miles.

We passed many places we’ve stayed before like New Smyrna, Hammock Marina and a few we’ve not been to yet like Marineland.

The best way to drive away dolphins is
when I get out the camera

We saw a bunch of dead boats and some sunbathers enjoying the beautiful warm weather. 

Some critters - dolphins, osprey, and other cool birds. 

We got to St. Augustine about 7pm. We were at about ¼ tanks of fuel so needed fuel. Here is where the bad part of the day started. The current and wind in St. Augustine are notoriously terrible. They work against each other to the point where we never know which to pay attention to. This time the current and wind worked together to create a current about 6 to 7 knots. For you non-boaters that is a lot.

We angled into the gas dock facing south with the wind and current blowing from the east pushing us right into the dock with a huge BANG! We slammed the front starboard quarter into the floating docks. A few fenders would have been nice. My bad.

We fueled up and added water as the sun slipped behind the city. $2.64 for diesel for those of you keeping track. 50 gallons on one side and 65 gallons on the other side.

We opted for a mooring ball in the mooring field just south of the marina in an effort to save some money. We didn’t have time to go into the city anyway. We were tired. Miss NanSea was already settled in their mooring ball. We would hear their story later.

This is that south mooring field before dark
as we were about to try to moor

We found our assigned mooring ball. I got up on the front this time with the boat hook crouched in position to pounce on that hook while Kermit maneuvered the boat in very tight quarters. I caught it on the second try, lifting the hook while simultaneously trying to thread the line into the hook. But the boat wouldn’t stand still in this crazy current. I tried and tried, reaching out over the railing until something had to give. Either I was going over the railing or the boat hook was going for a swim. I dropped the boat hook.

It started to get tense on Good Karma! Kermit shouted, I yelled. It was quite a scene. So Kermit decided he could do better. We switched spots. I was at the helm. Kermit on the bow. He proceeded to drop the boat hook 3 more times as we maneuvered around the tight mooring field. No one was around to help (not that anyone could help). It just did not seem possible to keep the boat from dancing long enough to slide a line into that hook. We tried several mooring balls hoping for a different result, getting more exhausted as each minute ticked by.

At this point, after 4 tries, after dumping the boat hook and retrieving it 4 times, we were exhausted and it was just about dark. I said I was not trying again. No more. Period. I was done. We needed to drop the hook and go to sleep. We argued over that for a while. Then we headed for the north side of the Lion Bridge where there was an anchorage and a mooring field.

After some discussion (?) we agreed to drop the anchor outside of the mooring field on the west side of the channel. We were near boats on the mooring balls but we felt like it was ok.

I went to bed. There might have been some door slamming. Not sure. It was total dark, probably 8:30 by this time and we were both beyond exhausted to the point of shaking.

Kermit stayed above deck knowing I was not fit company for a while. He fixed a drink and started up a cigar.

After a while I heard him on the phone talking loudly to someone in that voice of his where he is really mad but he is trying hard to convince someone of his point of view.

The talking stopped. He refilled his drink. A pause. Then he came downstairs.

“We have to move the boat. I know you don’t want to hear it but we have no choice.”

Turns out that the lovely sailboaters moored across the way complained to the marina that we were anchored in a mooring field (we were not) and that is a no-no. The dockmaster was nice as could be, very sympathetic. He understood the problem we were having but he said that if we don’t move the sailboaters will call the police and they will tow us away in the middle of the night. That would be very bad.

So I put some clothes on and got to the helm. It was totally and completely black. We could not see those stupid sailboats. Naturally they did not have their mast lights on, or any lights for that matter.

We could make out the lights on the Lion Bridge. We knew there was another two sailboats on the east side of the channel because we’d seen them when we anchored. We couldn’t see them. Kermit got out the big huge mega-light and shined it on the sailboats across the way and on the green marker buoy. That was our target. If we could get to the green we could move a little behind it out of the channel to safely anchor.

I got behind the wheel. Kermit got up front and pulled the anchor. He stayed up there so we could shout at each other in an undignified manner in the night. Always a good thing. I swung the boat out into the channel being sure to kick up a big wake while I was at it just to say goodbye to the sailboats.

It is really difficult to do this in total darkness. We inched across the channel with that heavy 3+ knot current pushing us all around. We could see house lights on the east side and the bridge lights on the south. On the west we could see the city lights but nothing was highlighting our short route.

These are the jerky sailboats who bothered us last night.
This photo taken the next morning, early. 

I used the GPS to navigate while Kermit shined his big light on the green marker and the other boats while we bickered about the best spot to stop. Finally I was tired of it and just stopped the boat. This is where we would stop, I insisted. Kermit shrugged his shoulders and dropped the anchor. We waited a few minutes to ensure it held then went to bed at about 10am.

It was a long night. Kermit stayed up until at least 1:30am after the evening’s stress and to ensure we didn’t run into anything or rather that nothing ran into us. We were safe.

The next morning Miss NanSea called at 6:30am. We were already up. The sun was peeking over the horizon outside of the inlet to our north. We were ready to go before we had to confront those sailboats again.

Miss NanSea shining in the early morning light

It was an exhausting day. We were safe. We didn’t hit anything and nothing hit us. We survived another boating adventure!!

Travel back from the Bahamas!! Finally back in the USA

I really wanted to go home. My work is building up and I really miss friends and family. Kermit and the guys studied the weather hourly almost. We had many good-bye dinners thwarted by sudden bursts of bad weather. It was very frustrating.

We knew it was time to leave before Kermit got thrown into the clink for his increasingly more angry responses to the little boats creating big wakes in the Treasure Cay Marina. One day just before we left he got so mad at Captain Mark the local charter captain that he ran out of the boat around the docks and confronted Captain Mark, questioning his captainhood!

Kermit’s anger had been escalating. One day out with Jim’s Joy on our dinghies for the afternoon Kermit buzzed the mooring fields at full speed shouting like a pirate, “take that you **!$^*!*&”!.

It was time to go home. If only the weather would cooperate.

On Thursday April 7 we thought we saw an opening in the middle of the following week. Friday morning April 8 dawned calm and clear. We decided to make a run for it. We made a quick trip to pick up the laundry, buy a few groceries and we were ready to go.

The first hurdle is leaving Treasure Cay traveling around Whale Cay to Green Turtle Cay. A bad day going around the Whale can be deadly so no one takes it lightly. We fueled up and headed out with Good Karma in the lead.

The Whale was calm, a walk in the park. Better even than the last 3 times we traveled around it! We arrived at Green Turtle Resort at about 4pm.

We saw an opening for crossing the Atlantic mid-week. We didn’t want to stay at West End too long because at almost $3 per foot each night ends up to be at least $200. We have better ways to spend our money. So we play a balancing game.

We decided to stay Friday night and Saturday at Green Turtle then get to Great Sale anchorage on Sunday then West End on Monday. We would survey the weather and see whether we could leave on Tuesday or Wednesday to cross.

And that is exactly what happened!!

When we’ve been to Green Turtle before we pretty much stopped at the marina, got something to eat and departed the next day. This time we had an extra day to explore the island. We opted to walk with Jim and Joy to the bay around the back on the north side and to the Atlantic side. The tide was extraordinarily low so the water was not for swimming but great for walking around in. We even saw a guy fly fishing in what appeared to at least a quarter of a mile out but only knee deep.

On the way back to the marina we stopped at the Resort pool for a dip and a little reading. It was a totally relaxing day topped off with dinner at the Green Turtle Resort. It was prime rib night but I had the fish and chips which were awesomely crisp and tangy!!

We left at about 7:30am for Great Sale Cay on Sunday 4/10/2016, a long 8 hour run. We stayed in the protected harbor area with 42 of our closest friends. Yup, there were 42 boats anchored in this harbor. They just kept coming! We sat out on the front deck with a drink and enjoyed the view. At least until the no-see-ums threatened to carry me away! We slept with the generator on that night to keep the bugs at bay. 

We had a bet on how many boats would end up in this tidy little layover spot. I WON THE BET!! I bet that 43 boats would come in and 42 ended up there. YEAH!! Regardless who won, it looked like a little marina with all the boats organized into neat rows. 

We left at dawn, around 7am on Monday 4/11/2016 bound for West End. The water was almost perfect. It wasn’t flat but the rolling swells off the stern felt like surfing all the way. We could have done that all day every day. It was much more pleasant than the weather forecasts predicted. We got into West End around 3pm and had dinner on Hush-a-bye.

We originally planned to leave on Tuesday. The weather looked great. It was calm and clear. But the vestiges of the wind that created those swells on Monday seemed to the guys to be a problem. It looked ok but Wednesday looked even better. We decided to wait until Wednesday 4/13/2016 to cross. But since we didn’t want to spend another $200 on dockage we all decamped to anchor outside of the harbor. Like I said, we are getting good at this anchoring business!

I had clients at 10am, 2pm and a webinar at 7pm so I was glad to be stationary. That meant I didn’t have to cancel anything. After my 2pm call I joined Kermit snorkeling off the back of the boat. Gosh it was wonderful water.

We were anchored in about 15 feet of sand and coral. As we snorkeled around we saw lots of fish around the coral. From our angle it looked like watching livestock from a helicopter. The dark blue fish were chasing the light blue fish. The white fish looked like sheep wandering without purpose. Kermit saw a barracuda but I didn’t see him at all.

We took a peek at the anchor and decided to let out some more line. It seemed to be pulling a bit.

Our dinghy was the easiest to take down so Kermit was assigned the task to pick up the other boaters and deposit them on Jim’s Joy for dinner. Then after dinner he took me in the dinghy (with my computer in a dry bag!) to the marina. I sat in the empty lobby and conducted a webinar on job search. Isn’t technology wonderful!!

After the webinar Kermit picked me up and took me back to the boat in the dark at about 8:30pm. We could see every star clearly!! Unfortunately our view of the stars was helped by the fact that we neglected to leave any lights on Good Karma!!

The next morning we were up at dawn to depart West End at about 7am on Wednesday 4/13/2016. The trip was magnificent. Flat water like a mill pond. So flat most of the way that the little bits of greenery floating in some places were the only marks you could see for miles and miles of turquoise sea.

As I write this it is 4:30pm on Wednesday. We are heading into the Fort Pierce Inlet. Everyone got in safely. 

Hush A Bye and Ocean Dancer reported they saw orcas jumping while in the middle of the Gulf Stream!! We didn't see them and there are no photos to prove it, just some really excited boaters!!

Bahamas Travel – We see the sights this time

NOTE: PICTURES TO FOLLOW

This trip to the Bahamas we took several trips that we didn’t get a chance to take last time and visited some places we enjoyed the last time.

Nippers: One beautiful day we loaded up the Treasure Cay gang and took Good Karma to Nippers. The awesome bar (did you expect anything else?) is a hidey hole on Great Guana Island. One side of the island has a good harbor and the other side faces the Atlantic Ocean.

We traveled with the crews of Simple Man (Mike, Renee and their son Griffin from Manteo NC) and Jim’s Joy (Jim, Joy, Maria and Ariana). It was a splendid day, sunny, warm, about 78 degrees with a breeze coming out of the east. It was perfect.

We left at about 10am. Good Karma was growing some legs into the sea floor below us so it was time to move.

We tried to anchor in the harbor but the tide was low. We only found about 3 to 4 feet below us and we were kicking up quite a bit of sand. We decided to take a dock at Orchid Bay Marina, immediately on the south side of the harbor. Turns out dockage was free with lunch so we hung out until 11:30 and had a great lunch on their patio.

Then we walked into town (just a few blocks, not far). Some folks took advantage of a golf cart taxi to Nippers but Kermit and I walked with a few others. Down the dirt road around the harbor to the cut off to Nippers which is also a dirt road but this time shaded by trees.

At the end of the road we see Nipper’s colorful roofs. You can hear the ocean, smell the salt breeze. This road hosts a very famous Poisonwood Tree. Think “Poisonwood Bible” for those of you literarily inclined. This tree is deadly poisonous. Or so the signs and Google would lead you to believe. Our guide, the golf cart taxi driver, went right up to it and gave it a hug. He laughed at us tourists and said it was only poisonous if you touch the sap. Sorry, we weren’t taking any chances.

We spent the afternoon in heavenly comfort under a shady cover with beer and music and friends.

Many of us went down the rickety stairs to the ocean. The water was warm, probably in the mid 70s. Big swells made us giggle as they swept us off our feet. Then we enjoyed more beer while we dried off on the patio. It was wonderful!!

Cuban cigars and Tervis cups in the gift shop. Ariana took advantage of the pool but the rest of us just drank a bit, laughed and enjoyed the view.

Dogs are welcome at Nippers. So are cats. You should have seen the little kitten when this cute sheltie went by!! He arched his back like someone should care!!

As the sun moved into the afternoon sky we collected ourselves and headed back down the hill with a detour to Grabbers. Now, we have a place called Nippers and a place called Grabbers. You do the math!

Grabbers is on the outside of the harbor, still protected. This is a resort with guest quarters, hammocks, a pool and of course, a bar. We didn’t indulge anymore but just enjoyed the sun as it started down the western sky.

We enjoyed cocktails and nibblies on the way back to Treasure Cay. Smiles all around!!

Trip to Hope Town:  We visited Hope Town in 2013 with the Vellucci’s and Lipka’s. Actually I wouldn’t call it a visit as much as a drive by. There was no place to dock so we just toured the harbor and went back to Treasure Cay. I am not complaining. It was great to see our friends and the water is always awesome.

This time though we wanted to see the town.

We headed out on a kind of cloudy day. The sun peeked through a bit and the water was so calm that we could see 14 feet down as if it was right there at our fingertips. Right down to the starfish that seem to be everywhere.

Hope Town turned out to be one of our favorite places. We anchored outside of the marina entrance because, as before, there was no room in the inn. Anchoring is second nature to us now. We don’t even argue much at all. We use hand signals so we seldom have to yell directions. That sure turns the heat down low.

It is also second nature to scout out anchorages as we go past. When we tiptoed into the Hopetown harbor we spotted a big boat anchored along the northern shore. When we tiptoed back out again we anchored in about 7 feet of water within shouting distance of that anchored boat.

Very fast, bing bam boom we dropped anchor, dropped the dinghy and we were off into town. Some of the speed had to do with a client call I needed to take at 11am. But I didn’t have any BTC (Bahama Telephone Co) minutes left.

We tied the dinghy up to a dock, climbed the ladder and scooted off to explore.

Next challenge as we hurried into town was to find a place to buy BTC minutes. No luck anywhere. Oh well, I guess I will call the client another day. This was a perpetual challenge in the Bahamas. Either phone quality sucked, there was little phone service bars or I ran out of minutes. It was most frustrating!!

Since I couldn’t make my client call, I needed to calm down. We had lunch at a little place along the water – the best food yet. We split a chicken Caesar wrap with brownie sundae for dessert. And ice tea to die for!! We wandered around checking out the town (and looking for a place to charge up the phone or get Internet – no luck).

This place is adorable. So pretty with little winding paths barely wide enough for a golf cart with pastel houses that stand right along both sides of the little path and lots of flowers. Most of the homes we went passed are vacation rentals. It is a great place for relaxation. I would go back again in a minute. We even picked up some brochures for this as a possible family vacation spot for Christmas.

It doesn’t take long to tour the entire place. We went to the Atlantic side to see the beach. A beautiful church stands on the hill on top of the dune overlooking the ocean. As we walked up to it I said to myself I hope the pews face away from the ocean. Sure enough they don’t. The congregation can stare at the ocean while the preacher yammers on about this or that – a wonderful way to be churched, don’t you think?

Cemetaries in the Bahamas, probably like most of the Caribbean, are really interesting. These islands are mostly volcanic and pretty much a desert so it is hard to imagine how they handle burial. Mostly the crypts are at ground level. The cemeteries are small so I bet they bury one generation on top of the other. We don’t know for sure. There was no one to ask.

We saw the little museum and signs recognizing fallen sailors and long ago heroes from the Loyalist years after the American Revolution.

We retrieved the dinghy and set out to explore the canals in the inner harbor. We saw the usual dead boats. I love these dead boats. They each have a personality. We must have been talking loudly as we pointed at one particularly disgusting sailboat without a mast covered with dirt and garbage when the resident lifted his head and gave us a dirty look!!! How could he live like that?

The big attraction on Hope Town is the red and white striped light house still lit by a kerosene Coleman lantern. Two burly fellows live in the lighthouse keeper’s houses. They take two hour shifts each night because the light needs to be wound like a clock. It is a clock actually. Evidently it takes some muscles to wind the clockworks that turn the light.

This lighthouse was built in 1864 to keep vessels from grounding on the treacherous shoals of Elbow Reef, the island home to Hope Town. For you techies out there, it is a “rotating first-order Fresnel lens with a unique characteristic of five white flashes every fifteen seconds, 120 feet above sea level with a visibility of fifteen nautical miles.”

Climbed to the top so we could see Good Karma over the hilltop. We wanted to see the light in operation but it was not to be. The weather started to turn so we decided it was safer to go back to Treasure Cay and try again another time.

On the way back to the anchorage an incoming center console rocked the crap out of us coming into the harbor at full speed. Kermit was so mad we almost had a road rage situation when the guy turned around and started back towards us with some carefully chosen words. We avoided the situation but kept a close eye behind us to see that the crazy speed demon did not come back out to find us.

Trip to Marsh Harbor: We made 2 trips to Marsh Harbour. For the life of me I can’t see the charm of this place.

We anchored out both times in the harbor. The first time it was crowded. We snuck into a corner close to one of the marinas. The second time it was much less crowded. I guess the spring break folks had already gone home.

Marsh Harbour is the third largest city in the Bahamas. It even has a stop light! I like the big grocery store, Maxwell’s. That is always a treat. But then you have to carry your bag of groceries back to the dinghy then back to the boat.

The first time we anchored out, we got there after lunch, dinghied to shore and walked around in a big loop. We stopped at the bakery, bought a little treat then discovered a bakery further along the road with a line out the door. I guess we went to the wrong bakery. The treat wasn’t that good either.

It was the Thursday before Easter so most things in town were going to close up on Friday, Sunday and Monday. As we walked past the pharmacy Kermit wondered how much it would cost to fill his prescription, if they would fill it at all. Turns out the cost was more than half the price in the US!! So we wandered back to the boat to get the bottle. That little expedition saved us enough money to afford dinner out at a really nice restaurant with a charming server!

Marsh Harbour is base for at least two charter boat companies, Moorings and Sea Something. As we walked the docks just for the heck of it we saw a few models that would be great for a family outing. In particular a Moorings motor catamaran 546 sleeps 10 with a great layout. It is something to consider.

We discovered our antennae picked up Miami TV!! What a treat! Kermit watched a basketball game and the weather – small pleasures.

We headed out early the next morning back to Treasure Cay.

The second time we visited Marsh Harbor we again arrived in the afternoon. It seems we have that D-dock crawl with getting out of Treasure Cay. We had dinner that day at a more relaxed restaurant with a few beers to watch the sunset.

Man o’ War Cay is supposed to be completely adorable. Everyone talks about it. Man o’War Cay is just across from Hope Town on Elbow Cay. This set of islands is at the south end of the Abaco Sea. The water between the two islands is the route to the Exuma Cays.

It takes about 2 to 3 hours to get to the south end of the Abaco Sea going our usual traveling speed of about 8-9 mph. The plan was to anchor out at Man o’War to see the lights from Hope Town Lighthouse. It was a gorgeous day.

Man o’War was the biggest disappointment of the Abacos. We arrived around 2pm (after our usual late start). Finding no anchorages or slips in the harbor itself we anchored just outside the harbor on the north side of the island that protects Man o’War Cay in about 7 feet of water at low tide. We dinghied in to town and tied up on the back of Libertad, Dorie and Bob Arrington’s boat. We crossed the Atlantic with them but left them in Green Turtle Cay. They are staying longer in the Bahamas but we are still in contact.

After a brief hello we set off to see the town. This town was also settled by Loyalists after the American Revolution. Historically the island was home to sail and boat makers. They still make boats here, really attractive small wooden and fiberglass boats that cost a fortune. Kermit doesn’t see what is so great about them.

There is only one restaurant in town that we could find, but that didn’t matter since nothing was open anyway except the ice cream stand but that was packed with two Boy Scout troops lined up for a treat. We were dry.

We saw the sail shop where three ladies are the third generation of women who turn sail material and other canvas into famous bags. We were not impressed. Mike from Simple Man has several but they are very expensive so we were not tempted.

Dorie told us this is their favorite island of the entire Abacos. Not sure why but she loves it so much. There is not much “there” there. Maybe that is what she likes about it.

She directed us to the “Land Between the Water”, a place at the end of the island where you can stand in one spot and see the Abaco Sea on this side and the Atlantic on the other side. It was a LONG walk, very pretty but long. We did see the English phone booth guarding someone’s big fancy house. I guess that is an important site. Flowers everywhere but not very many people and the houses are a lot further apart than Hope Town. We did see chickens which made my day.

By this time everyone is watching the weather two or three times a day. Kermit and his buddies follow at least five or six weather sources online including someone called Barometer Bob. Actually sadly Barometer Bob died last month. Not sure who is the new BB but the weather still seems to come.

Anyway when we returned, totally parched, to Libertad Bob had the weather report. Evidently a fast storm was coming upon us from the west. Our north side anchorage was going to be a problem. We decided to head back to Treasure Cay instead of staying to see the lighthouse in operation.

The big storm. We left Man o’War Cay abruptly because we could see the storm was coming in fast. The sky got very dark with ominous clouds and a big wind. Turns out it was a really bad storm that followed us all the way home with winds at least 40 to 45 knots. We took pictures of the radar because it seemed like the center of the storm followed us all the way back. This was not our imagination either. When we looked south we could see blue skies near Elbow Cay. So much for weather reports.

It started raining about a third of the way into the trip back. We had the great idea to close the windows (duh) and make the boat water tight by zipping in the back panel. Bad idea. I was fumbling with the zippers when the wind ripped the panel out of my hands. I watched it fly way. I ran to get the boat hook thinking I could snag it when the panel went under the boat, reappearing on the other side. By the time I ran to the other side the panel sank away in the waves. My bad. I felt terrible. I lost the back panel. A moment of silence for our first damage to Good Karma.

Rain pounded. Wind whipped. We hadn’t seen a storm like this in ages. Kermit thought if we waited a bit the storm would pass but every time we waited the storm waited too. Finally dusk approached. We needed to get back fast before it was totally dark.

We saw the lights on top of the sticks that stand in for navigational markers in the Bahamas, and wound our way into Treasure Cay. We thought if we could slide into the T-Dock at the end of our pier we could tie up easily. But no, life is not that easy. Another boat at the same idea. We didn’t think we couldn’t get into our dock at Treasure Cay with the wind whipping like that. We decided to just drop anchor out in the mooring field.

Dropping anchor in a 40mph+ wind in almost total darkness is quite an adventure. I don’t recommend it. Kermit went out, opened the hatch, loosened the line, pressed the button on the windlass and let it fly. I think we were in about 3 feet of water. We couldn’t tell. The depth gauge was not giving a reading it was so shallow. Kermit let the anchor down, let out a bunch of line and headed back in to safety. He said he never felt that wet before. It was like standing under a waterfall.

So the anchor was set but the inside of the boat was soaked, not only from the missing back panel but almost everything was leaking. We had buckets to catch water in the cabin it was coming in so hard not to mention the canvas that leaks like a sieve anyway. The back carpet was wetter than “squishy”. Our feet went into water up to our ankles, at least that is what it felt like. It took days to dry.

Kermit didn’t sleep most of the night. He kept checking that the anchor held. Mike Hechtkopf sent us a picture of our SPOT that showed an absolutely wild pattern. It sure felt wild inside the boat. 

For some reason that no one understands we had great Internet that night from the mooring field in that wild storm. I was able to communicate with Joy via Facebook to tell her where we were. Turns out they saw us come in and anchor.

Naturally the storm cleared in the morning. We slept in then got up to survey the damage. We decided to wait until mid-afternoon to move the boat to allow the wind to die down. The next day Mike from Simple Man and Jim from Jim’s Joy came out in Mike’s Regulator to see if we were ok. We returned to our regular slip and drank heavily that evening. The boat didn’t dry out for days.

Swimming day:  We took Good Karma one beautiful sunny day out with 9 people to a place just south of Treasure Cay to play in the water. We put out lines to hang on to because there was a really heavy current coming out of a little rocky cove just south of where we anchored. Tanja snorkeled over to the reef but I didn’t feel I was a strong enough swimmer to do it.

The water was warm, about 75 degrees and the air temperature was warmer, about 80+ degrees. It was a perfect day!! Everyone brought snacks and drinks. Lots of laughs!

A few people got in the water. Tanja put on her snorkel gear and she was gone like a flash. She swam over to the little lagoon and brought back some really cool shells and something that looked like a sand dollar but it was puffy and hollow. Kermit and I got in the water too.

Putting the snorkel gear on reminded me how long it has been since we were in the water at all and wearing that gear. I put the mask and snorkel on but I was frustrated because I couldn’t breathe through my snorkel. After a while I figured out that this snorkel only breathes when one is horizontal, not vertical. I felt pretty silly. Then my fins didn’t go on correctly. The clasp kept unclasping. Clearly I was doing something wrong. So I chucked the fins and went in anyway because why not.

The little lagoon Tanja swam over to must have been some sort of spring because the current coming through that opening was wicked strong. We threw some lines out with fenders and our safety ring to hold on to otherwise I think I would have been carried away to Australia!!!

The water was amazingly clear and warm, in the mid-70s with a nice current that kept things moving. You could see all the way to the bottom even though we were in about 10 feet of water.

It felt great to get off the boat and into the beautiful water that we had only been looking at. Last time we visited the Bahamas in 2013 we never did get in the water. We made up for it this time!!

Meet the Bahamas Gang

Meet the Bahamas cast of characters. We made more new friends during this visit. When we first arrived at Treasure Cay Marina Mike and Paul greeted us on the dock and helped us tie up.

Paul is from Alaska. We never quite got the full story but somehow he left Alaska and ended up buying a Leopard 40 catamaran, a really pretty sail boat that he calls home. Paul is not a tall man, wiry with curly gray hair he wears in a little pony tail. He always has a big smile on his face. Always. 

We never saw him cross, even when situations might have required it.  Paul never cooks anything but he is a gracious guest. One time he came onboard for dinner and later brought over a bar of dark chocolate as a thank you gift. I really enjoyed that thoughtful thank you!!

Paul is friends with lots of the sail boats that anchor in the mooring field. They often stop by on the way over to shore and they have a nice laugh and a drink. One couple in particular, I never did get their names, are lovely folks from Montreal. He is a ski instructor in Aspen or something like that. I am not sure what she does or did but they are a hoot. They laugh and dance and sing all the time. I have some fun pictures of her doing the limbo with the entertainer!

Paul docked the catamaran at the t-head on our dock for a while. Then he went away for a few days to visit Marsh Harbor or some other fun place. When he returned someone had taken his place so they put him about 3 spots beyond us, a little closer to the bar. No problem! Nothing ever phases Paul!

In the first week of April Tanja appeared. Tanja was crewing on a chartered catamaran when the owners let her go for no particular reason. She was stranded in Treasure Cay. Tanja was born in South Africa and grew up in England. As an adult she moved to Queensland Australia just off the Great Barrier Reef (where we visited). She has a very pretty accent.

Tanja is also quite attractive. She is about 40 or so I would guess. After she appeared on our dock with her sad story Paul adopted her on his boat. They seem to get along just fine.

Paul left a few days ago around 4/6 with Tanja on a long sailing journey to the British Virgin Islands. The dock is a lot quieter now but we had a great time with Paul and Tanja.

Mike and Renee Glover are on Simple Man out of Manteo, NC on the outer banks. We vacationed often in the outer banks so we know exactly where they live. Well not the exact house but at least we are familiar with the area. Mike grew up and he and Renee lived for years in Wilson NC just a short distance from Greenville NC where my sister Martha lives. Isn’t it a small world?

Mike and Renee are doctors. He is an orthopaedic surgeon, semi-retired, and she is a dermatologist, not retired. Renee flies in to Treasure Cay every 2 weeks and Mike holds down the fort while she returns to Manteo. They have a son, Griffin, who is a freshman at Auburn University this year. He visited for a week during spring break. Nice kid.

Simple Man looks like this

Simple Man is a 65 Hatteras, a simply spectacular boat. This is truly a yacht. I swear we saw Simple Man pass us as we traveled south last fall. It is such a unique name that is lit up with special lights on the stern so I feel like I remember seeing it pass us. It is 65 feet long and about 18 feet wide. 

The salon is like a real living room, not like out salon that appears to be exactly what it is, a salon on a boat. Their salon is decorated and even has pictures on the wall!

It has 4 cabins with at least 2 full and 1 half bath, maybe more. It has a 2 butt kitchen!! Remarkable. You know what a 2 butt kitchen is? It is a kitchen that two people can occupy at the same time! We have a 1 butt kitchen.

We took a field trip into Simple Man’s engine room, a spotless room with 6’ ceilings located through a separate door in the back. It is the basement, called a lazarette in a yacht. We have one. We call it an engine room. But anyway, this boat is powered by twin diesel 1400 hp each! Let me repeat: 1400 hp EACH!! The propellers are 40” across with five blades. Imagine the water those things push. Whenever Mike took the boat out the power of those blades moved our boat across the dock. Wow!

This is our new favorite boat. Sorry Michael and Judy. One September (a 50’ Viking Princess) has been replaced.

Mike has a million hobbies including flying airplanes and playing the bass. He even has a t-shirt that says, “Ok we can get started, the bass player is here”. Mike plays the bass at the local Pentecostal church on Sundays (practice on Thursday). We neglected to attend but the stories are great.

Renee raises show dogs, Westies. She brought one with her one time, Coach, a 1 year old guy, really adorable. When we saw him before we got introduced Kermit and I sighed about yappy little rat dogs but Coach is truly a gentleman. And fast too. He scrambled off that boat at the least encouragement!

Mike has a dry sense of humor, always smiling and telling stories or sharing little known obscure facts. He needs a good sense of humor because Simple Man sprung a few leaks recently. Not real leaks but metaphorical leaks!

Simple Man’s battery charger went out so all his batteries died slowly, a long and painful death. At first he plugged the big boat into his 21’ Regulator center console docked next to us. Kind of funny to see a big yacht plugged into a 21’ boat with an orange extension cord but you do what you have to do. Then after a few weeks all the batteries conked out. Yesterday when we left Treasure Cay Mike was out of power.

You never want to break down in the Bahamas. Robert, the captain of the Bella Ragazza, a 70’ European boat that we never heard of docked next to Jim’s Joy on our dock, has been waiting 3 weeks for someone to repair a banged up prop. Robert is so frustrated that yesterday he made arrangements to limp over to West End Abacos and call Boat US to come tow him back to Fort Lauderdale. They do that you know!! Imagine.

Anyway, Mike’s beautiful boat is now a lovely paperweight unless he can get a new battery charger and probably some new batteries. Since Renee goes back to work for a couple of weeks at a time Mike often has friends join him as company. This week when the next friend arrives from NC he will be toting a new battery charger in his carry on luggage!! Then the fun begins to install the replacement part.

Also on our dock and part of our circle is Jim’s Joy, Jim and Joy Pankey from our Great Loop experience. Their adopted daughter and granddaughter visited us for a week in March. I told Joy she didn’t have to keep calling them adopted because by this time they were family to us. 

Maria and her daughter Ariana arrived for a week, a delightful mother and daughter. Ariana as a 13 year old was 13 going on 30, fully developed (pretty much) and smart as a whip. She enjoyed interacting with the Boy Scout groups that came in with some regularity. I went walking with Maria once. She is in her late 30s I think and really in good shape. She is training for a triathalon, even taking swimming lessons. We had a great time with Maria and Ariana.

A supporting character in our Bahamas adventure this year was Morris Glover and his wife on Lady Frances. We pulled into Treasure Cay and immediately after we met Paul and Mike we saw the boat Lady Frances, a 60’ version of Mike and Judy’s Viking Princess right across from us. (All the big boats are docked right across from us. The little boats are on our side!) I knew we had seen that boat and that man before. Sure enough we had.

Morris and Frances Glover are members of the Cavalier Yacht Club where Michael and Judy Hechtkopf on One September also belong in Virginia Beach. It seemed odd to see them so out of context but in fact that was them. They were docked just across the dock from us. They periodically went down to Marsh Harbour to pick up family members, particularly grandchildren, who would stay for a week at a time.

Morris and Frances have two tiny little dogs. Morris is a very tall man, well over 6’ probably 6’4” or so, and he would go out walking two of the tiniest dachounds and poodles you have ever seen. It looked pretty funny.

One time they picked up a granddaughter who came with two boys and a girl. Mike, in the boat next door, thought he had the perfect angle for an eyeful of teenage hormones!

One day a boat came in with a bunch of toys called In Ron We Trust. It was big boat, 60” (of course since it was on the other side of the dock in Lady Frances’ slip). We are not sure what kind but it was sort of like Mike’s boat, Simple Man. Ron was his last name. Everyone spoke Spanish but the kids, and there were a bunch, were clearly perfectly bilingual. I particularly liked the son, Massimo, a delightful, bright boy about 8 years old.

This boat had every toy imaginable. They had paddleboards, a jet ski that sat where a dinghy might 

sit, and a center console boat that a teenager drove in advance of the big boat.

Every day they pulled out a new toy to entertain the many children. We loved to sit on the back deck and watch the dad, Mr. Ron, and his captain pull out and assemble toys. One day they pulled breathing equipment that allowed the kids to breath underwater through tubes that followed the jet ski around. Kermit thinks it is called a third lung! They had every toy imaginable.

You would see kids hanging on the railing, twirling, yelling. The littlest kids were wee little. One day we found all the little kids on the t-head with little tiny fishing poles for several hours trying to land the big one!

Dad, Mr. Ron, was really nice. He was from Venezuela originally and ran an import / export business out of Miami. The wife didn’t say much but the kids and Mr. Ron were great fun to watch. Especially Massimo. He talked up a storm.

In Florida we picked up a fun couple doing the loop, Shari and Hugh Grant, the original Hugh Grant. They are a fun couple out of Ontario near Peterborough. They have a 4588 Bayliner cockpit motor yacht, Hush A Bye. They are docked 2 boats away from us on our smaller side of the dock, next to Paul in the catamaran for a while.

Hugh and Shari raise sheep. While they are on the loop this year they arranged for a friend to live on their sheep farm for the year. That means the lady, Helen, is managing the farm during the lambing season which is right now. She is sending Shari pictures every day of the new lambs.

Yesterday one ewe had triplets!! That is a problem actually because ewe’s only have 2 teets so they can really only handle 2 lambs. The third is a problem. The first lamb born in this batch was a male which means by fall the poor little guy will be lamb chops. There was a fascinating discussion over pizza night last week about whether to castrate the male lambs. I never knew there were such big issues.

This week it is cold in Ontario so the little newborn lambs are wearing sweaters! Shari has 20 sets of sweaters, enough for 20 sets of twins. Can you imagine baby lambs in sweaters? Sounds like a cartoon to me!!

Hugh is a tall drink of water with really curly hair. Shari wears t-shirts with sheep and sheep dogs on them. She also raises sheep dogs for herding trials. This is big business!!! She bought one the other day (Hugh was unaware) that cost several thousand dollars. The lambs she raise will be used for dog herding trials at a competition on her farm in September.

We assembled a fun cast of characters for our Bahamas adventure!! Next up we will share the trips we took and the fun times we had with these crazy folks!!

Treasure Cay – day in the life

NOTE: We have lots of pictures but not Internet strength to load them. We will get them loaded eventually! Stay tuned!!

Once you make the tour of the little shops (think rustic but everything you need), walk on the beach and have a drink at the tiki bar, it is pretty boring.

We get up, have breakfast (usually a big meal for us just cuz), take a nap, KB works (writing, clients), go to beach, walk or ride bikes for a while, read, docktails, dinner, bed – pretty boring.

We cook onboard all the time except for pizza night and one dinner at Green Turtle. I think we might have had a lunch at the tiki hut. We certainly had cocktails during happy hour once. At least I think I remember that!

Pretty tame stuff. But it is done in a gorgeous setting!

The biggest note is the problems with phone and internet. It has been very frustrating. Not like last time. Makes me not want to come back. 

We have taken several day trips and short trips I will share shortly. But enough for now!!

The trip to Treasure Cay

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Crossing from Florida is not the entire travel adventure.

We left West End for a long journey to Great Sale Cay, a long protected beach. We traveled east along the north short of Grand Bahama Island. You can see land most of the way but there is nothing much to see. Mostly scrub. No houses (or very,  very few). No towns.

We were the first 4 boats to arrive at Great Sale that day. This is a major stop for any boats going to and from the Abacos. If the wind is blowing from the south or east you anchor on the west side. We anchored on the west side. Before dark about 10 more vessels anchored with us.

The next day we headed for Green Turtle Cay. We left Great Sale traveling east then headed a little southeast through the channel between Great Abaco Island and the outer islands until we reached Green Turtle Cay, a well-known resort in the Abacos. We stopped there last time. Jim and Joy stayed here two months last time they visited. They never left it was so nice.

When you think “resort” you might be thinking about a big Hyatt in the tropics. This is not a Hyatt. The rooms are small and basic. The grounds are well tended but not like a Hyatt. The people are so friendly. You are there for the weather and the sun. It is like staying in a lodge. I imagine the Poconos used to be like this in the 1950s.

We had dinner at the restaurant at Green Turtle Resort. Libertad went to Bluff House across the way. Lots of boats anchor in the harbor here. We pulled in to a dock instead of anchoring just because we felt like it.

The next day we tackled Whale Cay. Libertad stayed in Green Turtle so it was Good Karma in the lead position, Hush a Bye in second and Jim’s Joy bringing up the end. We took the lead since we were the only ones who had been there before.

The funny thing is you can see Treasure Cay from Green Turtle. You just can’t get there from here because it is too shallow. There is a cut that avoids Whale Cay but it is shallow in all but the highest tide. Supposedly at high tide there is over 5 feet of water in that cut. The trouble is the cut is not visible clearly on the charts. Locals know where it is but as a tourist we don’t really want to take a chance on ruining the running gear over a track that is unclear. So we go the long way around.

Whale Cay is a long narrow strip of volcanic rock protecting the north end of the Abacos from the force of the Atlantic Ocean. You have to go on the outside into the ocean about 2 miles to get around Whale Cay to enter the Abaco Sea to get to Treasure Cay or any of the cool spots in the Abacos.

The whole trip from Green Turtle Cay around Whale Cay to Treasure Cay is less than 15 miles in distance. It takes about 2 to 3 hours the way we travel. But it could be treacherous in the wrong weather conditions. Anything with an N in it is awful because with Whale Cay’s northwest to southeast dimensions you take the wind and waves directly abeam with any wind and waves out of the north. This situation is to be avoided.

We rounded Whale Cay without incident. It was exciting but not dangerous. We rounded the corner into the calm blue waters of the Abaco Sea. And there it was. Treasure Cay. It was like coming home.

Treasure Cay is tucked into a wonderful hurricane hole, protected on three sides by land. It is a resort (think pretty pastel buildings with a rustic feel) with a marina capable of holding about 75 boats including big yachts upwards of 75 to 100 feet. There is a mooring field inside the entrance that can hold about 25 boats. On a normal day like today as I write this there are about 10 to 15 boats. One day when they predicted a big storm that didn’t happen the mooring field stuffed at least 30 to 40 boats in.

Jamal met us at the dock as we tied up. Jim’s Joy went first, then Hush a Bye then we came in last.

Tying up at a dock is a different experience here. The tides are about 1 to 2 feet, not huge but still you tie up loosely to accommodate the rise and fall. Tie up too tight and the boat doesn’t move properly. You could return and find your boat tilted because the water fell and the boat didn’t. Tie up too loosely and Katherine can’t get off the boat.

The trick to keeping it in the right spot, we discovered, was to use the two poles at the entrance to the dock. When we stern in with a port (left) side tie, we cross the two stern lines to keep the boat stable. We have a line from the port stern to the dock side near the swim platform. We have a line from the second port cleat directly to the dock. We use this line to pull the boat in so Katherine can get off.

The most important lines are in the front. On the port (left) side we loop a line around the pole and tie it to the bow cleat. We make this line sort of loose to accommodate the tide. Then we loop a line around the pole and tie it to the front mid-cleat. We make this one tight so the boat doesn’t slide back. 

We do the same on the starboard (right) side. With these two tight lines around the pole to the front mid-cleats, the boat stays pretty stable during tides and doesn’t knock against the dock or the poles.

The electric is metered so we turn off lights and unplug chargers when not in use. Nothing like high fees to make one a conservationist. Water is $12 per day for any day you use water. So we only use water periodically. When we plug in the hose we are likely to fill the holding tanks (100 gallons of water!), take showers and wash the boat. 

As I write this we have been here almost a month and we’ve used water on 4 or 5 occasions. We are clean, don't get me wrong! We just use our water judiciously!!

Heading to the Bahamas

NOTE: We have tons of photos but not the Internet strength to load them. We will load pictures when we can. 

Heading to the Bahamas

We left at o dark 30 in the morning. Literally. It was 6:30am and pitch dark. Our little flotilla of 4 boats turned on the lights and headed south through the ICW around bends, commercial vessels and boats anchored out. It was quite the obstacle course.

Libertad headed out first, then Joe Apasilla, then Jim’s Joy with Good Karma in the rear. All we could see for a while was the light of the boat in front of us. Jim’s Joy’s American flag kept a steady wave that turned his steady stern light into a flasher. On off. On off.

Close to Peanut Island we picked up another boat, Loopers Hush a Bye from Ontario. Hugh and Sherrie. The other Hugh Grant.

We rounded the bend around Peanut Island in Lake Worth headed towards the inlet just as dawn cracked. We stopped in our tracks. This was not the calm crossing we expected!! It looked like Lake Erie on a choppy day. Swells of 3+ feet coming right at us on the nose. Oh boy. We headed out tentatively, sticking our noses out into the ocean, watching the skyline shrink in the background while we bounced and bobbled. Even I was getting seasick. I am getting a little nauseous just writing about it.

The radios started chirping. “I don’t like this.” “The cats just lost it down below. We have quite a mess.” “Are those elephants on the horizon?” This last comment from Kermit.

Elephants on the horizon is sea lingo for the image of big waves in the far distant horizon. As the waves fling themselves in the air it looks like little images of elephant trunks in the air. Close your eyes and imagine this. It is hard to see in the distance but Kermit has eyes of an eagle. As I squinted sure enough in the bright orange light of dawn it looked like little flames or sticks flinging into the air. Those are elephants. This is the image of big waves from the gulf stream hitting the calmer waters that flow next to it.

Again radio chirping. “Let’s see what happens” “Let’s wait a few more minutes.” Kermit admitted that if those were elephants on the horizon that represented the Gulf Stream then this big chop was not going to calm down any time soon.

We decided to turn back. Libertad decided to stay the course. His boat is bigger. He has stabilizers (not sure exactly what are stabilizers but I know that people nod their head knowingly, acknowledging that a boat with stabilizers can withstand greater punishment, bounce and chop than mere mortal boats). The rest of us turned around careful to avoid a breach (when the waves hit the boat on the side which can make the boat unstable, potentially causing a collapse – not good). We put on the gas and arrived safely back in Lake Worth by Peanut Island where it was calm and safe.

Joe and his wife decided it was not worth it. They gave up the idea of the Bahamas and decided to go to Fort Myers. Somehow I think he had the right idea.

Hush a Bye went back to his anchorage south of Peanut Island. Jim’s Joy and Good Karma pulled into docks right by Peanut Island at Rivera Beach. We thought we might pull out the dinghys and explore around Peanut Island. They have an underground bunker built for President Kennedy in case of nuclear disaster. Might be fun.

We pulled in just fine although there was quite a current. After we got all tied up we discovered there was no Internet. Not acceptable. So we untied and made our way back to our old slips at North Port Marina. Probably they wouldn’t even know we were gone!

The next morning we left at o dark 30 again. Same maneuvers only this time without Joe Apasilla and his wife. We picked up Hush a Bye again at the mouth of the inlet. The water was pretty calm, 1 to 2 foot waves coming out of the south east right on our front right hand side. This was acceptable. No elephants on the horizon. We were good to go.

On a long journey like this the hardest part is the boredom. It is always longer than you think. You lose site of land after about 1.5 hours and don’t see land for 6 hours more. After an hour or so the depth gauge stops registering because you are in water deeper than 1000 feet. It feels like you are in a bath toy bobbing along the top of the water.

Finally land ho!! It feels like Columbus must have felt. One wrong move and the boat is heading to Africa so it is no mean feat to actually hit the piece of land you intended to find.

West End Bahamas

We pulled in to Bahama Bay Marina in West End on Grand Bahama Island. If you take a bus south you will reach Freeport or Lucana where many visitors think of when they think of the Bahamas. 

West End is the north tip of Grand Bahama Island. It is a beautiful resort (I use that word loosely). There are hotel rooms built 4 units to a building, all painted bright Bahama pastel colors facing the most beautiful turquoise water you’ve ever seen.

After paying our customs fees we went for a walk on the beach. I found a hammock. It was heaven. 

BTW they never asked for Jack Cat’s papers!! I put him through that excitement at the vet for nothing!!

We bought lobsters from the lobster man and had a feast on the beach. It was a good day!