Change of Plan 3-12-09

When I last left you, we were staking out lounge chairs and staying at Bahama Bay for 3 more days. Landlubbers will not understand this; boaters will—we had a weather window to travel further east to the Sea of Abaco which is the hub of the island chain. However, this means two long travel days with a beautiful anchorage in the middle.

At 8am, we were headed for the lounge chairs; by 10am, we were topped off and headed out for Great Sale Cay—more impulsive than usual for us but we were thinking about the marina docking specials ending the end of March and wanted to cash-in on some of these savings. We will be back to Old Bahama Bay when we travel west again for the return trip to FL. It will be a nice place to wait to get that weather window so I will again lay claim to that lounge chair.

The journey starts with a passage through the Indian Rock cut and here we are following a sailboat through. The Bahamas do not have many navigation markers except for a few “sticks” like this one at Mangrove Cay. With Explorer charts and GPS coordinates, navigation is fairly easy but attention is needed. Don't worry that our Chartplotter is reading " Sonar Service Lost" as we have a back-up depth sounder and sometimes we have to turn off the main one as it causes interferrence on the SSB radio--the flukes of technology.

We started with E winds at 12 kts. on the quarter with 1-2 ft. chop and could only manage 6.7 kts due to the wind, waves and tide. By noon, we were in 2-4 ft seas and 15+ kts winds. We thought that we would have more favorable conditions based on the weather station readings at Bahama Bay, but as we journeyed further east, winds and waves increased.

After 48 miles, we pulled into Great Sale Cay and set the anchor in a sandy bottom with great holding. Except for the turquoise water, this could have been an anchorage in the Apostle Islands although we did have 3 sided protection so could sleep well.

We were contacted by Jeannie and Hans on “Mischief” to come over to their Hatteras trawler for cocktails. Who could resist an invitation like that? They are former Loopers who have done the Loop and Downeast Loop and are here in the Bahamas for the first time from their home port in Jacksonville. They have 2 months to explore the area and we only have a month so our plans are different but it was great to compare notes and swap information.

Our night ended with a full moon and a galaxy of stars overhead.

Many Choices for the Day 3-11-09

It was wonderful to wake up this morning in Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina. It is quiet here except for the water lapping against the hull. I set out to explore and take a look at all the amenities offered. The grounds are well-tended and lush and I enjoyed walking around the property on a perfect 70 degree morning.

Here’s the beach which has a snorkeling area, complimentary water toys, comfortable chairs and see if you can find the hammock with my name on it. The two-tiered pool with waterfall beckoned me and forms an almost uninterrupted line with the turquoise sea. Rugged large scale bikes are also complimentary and we rode these all over this morning. I am pleased to report that Bob and I lounged all afternoon by the water. This is the most relaxed that we have been in 6 months. We will stay here for another 3 days and try out the cat and kayaks and do some snorkeling, that is, if we can get off the lounge chairs.

The crowning glory was a wonderful full moon. We are in paradise.

Bahamas Bound 3-10-09

We have been ready for 10 days and finally got the forecast that we have been waiting for. We went to bed last night knowing that we would leave and were relaxed, however I could not sleep past 2am. I am blessed/cursed with the hearing of a dog even with earplugs in and I kept on hearing an intermittent beeping noise. I tried to ignore it hoping that it would just stop, but then again, “chirp, chirp….”

Trying to hone in on a little sound when you have bridge traffic overhead and a snoring husband is quite a task. I played hide-and-seek with it in the engine room and nav station and did not locate it so I concluded that it could not be anything hard-wired. I went back to bed and more “chirp, chirp….” I checked all the countless battery gizmos in the main salon and no luck. I was finally able to fine tune the noise to either Bob’s side of the closet which is a small labyrinth of clutter or maybe the flybridge directly overhead. I figured that I could get Bob’s help with this in the morning and was able to catch a few hours of sleep.

We were up at 6am for a departure at first light. Bob could not hear the chirping even when I said, “Listen, did you hear it that time?” We both concluded that it did not seem to be anything that we would have to delay getting started on our perfect day. Forecast was for E/SE winds at 5-10 knots with 1-2 foot seas. We slipped quietly out of our dock and headed towards Port Everglades to catch the sun rise.

About 4 miles offshore, we noticed a small hike in speed and had already entered the edge of the Gulf Stream. We were not alone out here this morning and were passed by the “Dynasty Star” cruise boat also heading to the Bahamas. Gary and Rose on “Rose’s Pick” were also readying to leave their anchorage at Key Biscayne for Bimini when we talked to them by phone at 8:30.

We logged 20 miles by 10am and were into a comfortable rhythm with light E/SE winds of 5 knot, 1 foot seas on our quarter and each of us taking an hour on/off watch. We lost sight of land as we advanced further out into the Atlantic Ocean with depths of 1,500 feet. We are Great Lakes boaters and the conditions were very similar to a typical easy Lake Superior day. We went through our trip logs and found that all our longer crossings on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior were more challenging with more wind, weather and waves.

The new variable was navigating the Gulf Stream and getting a speed boost from this current. To ride it to the West End Bahamas from Ft Lauderdale, Bob plotted a course more easterly which allowed the Gulf Stream to carry us north. He took readings every hour to fine tune the course and get an increase of 1 to 1.5 knots in speed.

All was going well until 11am when the autopilot kept shutting down which would then veer us markedly north with the Gulf Stream. Bob finally heard the elusive beeping that kept me awake last night—it was the “low battery” message from wireless autopilot remote control that was stored on the flybridge. With a charge from new batteries, the autopilot was energized and stopped misbehavin’.

The ocean flattened out in the afternoon and the water became dark midnight blue. About 20 miles out from West End, Channel 16 started to become busy and even though we have not seen other boaters for hours, we had company. We caught sight of land about 10 miles out and as the water got more shallow, it turned a neon cerulean blue and then the famous turquoise blue color as we entered the harbor.

We had a bit of excitement crossing the finishing line as we were told that the Customs office closes at 5pm and we were docking at 4:45. We called the Customs office and were greeted by a friendly Bahamian voice, welcoming us to the island and letting us know “no worries.” We have arrived—let the adventure begin.

Last Weekend in Lauderdale 3-7-09

Bob surprised me Saturday with a trip to Japan via the HD Metropolitan Opera Live presentation of “Madame Butterfly” in Miami. It was glorious! Bob is a little concerned that his boating buddies will think that he is some type of Opera Man like the Adam Sandler character on “Saturday Night Live” years ago. Actually he is pretty smart because when the Admiral is happy, the ship runs a lot smoother.

We met Erling and Vonnie for breakfast at the Café la Bonne Crepe` on Friday morning. They are from our home port in the Apostle Islands and have a Catalina 30 sailboat there. They have had time shares in FL for years and spend a few months here every winter escaping the cruel MN weather. It was fun to see them and catch-up on all the news.

Here’s a picture of “Baby Grand” from the Las Olas Bridge which hovers right above us. Sometimes we feel like trolls and do not want to let anyone pass overhead. The high pressure system is here and when the E/SE calm down to 5-10 in a few days, the flybridge cover comes off and we will be off on another adventure.

We went to the Las Olas Art Fair on Sunday. The weather is always perfect here for outdoor activities and events do not need rain dates. I really liked the sculptures by artist Bob Wilfog and here he is explaining his pieces. Oh, if I only had an extra $5,000 and a place to put it. One artist did offer miniature magnet pictures so I am now the proud owner of art which hangs beautifully on the side of my microwave. A Sarasota artist, Steve Whitlock, will paint a picture of your boat/fish on any N.O.A.A. chart of your choice. Since most Loopers have so many of these, it would be a great way to artistically recycle.

Any good art fair has great food and we were not disappointed. We went to Gran Forno, an Italian bakery on Las Olas with lines out the door and a help wanted sign in the window. The aroma of fresh baked croissants, baguettes and pastries sent out a message that I could not refuse. The family is from Tuscany and when it is not busy, they will give you travel tips for your next trip to Italy.