Fort Pierce 4-26-09

We only stayed one night at the Riviera Marina in the Lake Worth area as the tiki bar band played loudly until midnight but then the morning crew came in at 6:15 am to dry stack boats (boats stacked on racks with a fork lift in a big boat barn) and we need just a little more sleep. We moved on to Fort Pierce Marina with “See Ya” and “Freedom” on 4/24 and it was great to be on the easy ICW again. We have had winds of 20-25 knots for the past few days but don’t have to worry about it.

Ft. Pierce Marina is worth a stop. This is a great marina with helpful staff, 2 tiki bars but without the morning dry stacking stuff, clean restrooms, as well as laundry facilities that work and are only $1.00 per load. After paying $4-5.00 per load in the Bahamas, we felt that we were making money.

Ft. Pierce has a fantastic Farmers’ Market complete with a Latin jazz band every Saturday from 8am to 12 noon. This was perfect timing for us as our supplies are very low and we were craving fresh fruits and veggies. I was even dreaming about fresh ripe cantaloupes. Selection is pretty limited in the Bahamas and prices are often 2-3X as much if you can even find decent produce. I filled up my boat cart with fresh and frozen fish as well and, of course, tasted lots of bakery items and free samples. We are missing the laid-back pace of the Bahamas and have felt some culture shock, but are glad to have the abundance America provides.

We rented a car to do some major provisioning at Target, West Marine and Publix so our bowline is looking pretty low in the water again. After giving the boat a good wash, as well as laundering all the rugs and bedding, we are ship shape again and ready to cruise.

We visited with my cousins, John and Maggie, in Stuart and were treated to a sumptuous brunch at their golf club. It is wonderful to see family along the way and catch up on all the news. We were also delighted to see gold Loopers, Mickey and Doug, on “Bucket.” They completed the Loop in 12/08 and Ft. Pierce is their home port. It was fun to reminisce about our time together on the rivers as well as get some suggestions for the trip north.

The BIG Crossing 4-23-09

Whenever we have a big body of open water to cross , our senses begin to heighten subtly, we become attuned to the slightest wind shifts and start scanning all sources of weather data (NOAA, passageweather.com, Caribbean Weather net, etc. ) rather obsessively. The problem is that they do not necessarily agree, or you think you have a great forecast for the next day and then overnight big winds and waves blow in. You are so ready, and then have to stop abruptly and inertia sets in. You second guess yourself that the forecast for the day before that you rejected as too dangerous “wasn’t so bad.” It can go on like this for a few cycles. This is the hard part of cruising.

It was great to have the company of Loopers, Dave and Peg Miller aboard “See Ya’” and Bill aboard “Tortuga” as well as non-Loopers, Deb and Dan aboard “Freedom.” We’ve been together here at West End for the past few days reviewing all the data and possibilities as well as sharing refreshments and fun. We all agreed on Wednesday night that this would be our last Captains’ Meeting here as our lucky day would be tomorrow. We adjourned to our boats for a restless night (waking up hourly to make sure the wind was still from the east and not the dreaded north—still east, listening for crashing waves in the distance--none, answering the questions about whether we were ready to face the 2,000 foot deep ocean in a 1985 single engine, 32 foot boat???).

It seems that we finally got to sleep when the 5am alarm clock rudely rang calling us to action. We sleepily looked at each other, consulted NOAA one more time (east winds, 5-10 knots and 2-4 seas) and then got excited that it was a “GO.” The adrenaline kicks in and you start battening down everything, run the checklists, check with your accompanying boat buddies and cast off the dock lines.

We are the slowest boat in the flotilla and left the dock at 6:30 am just before sunrise and noticed immediately that the Bahamian blue water changed to the darker Atlantic Ocean blue rather quickly. We did have east winds 7-9 knots but had 2 foot swells from the S/SE initially. We were pleased to be going west as the blazingly bright sun was not in our eyes. The other boats joined us rather quickly and the Captains’ had ongoing discussions about boat everything—course for the day, whether to go to Lake Worth or Fort Pierce, who has the biggest caliper—they are guys and it is a long day. Bob and I do 1 hour shifts watching the GPS and autopilot but I am not one to talk much on the radio.

We swung into the Gulf Stream at about 9am and it started pushing us north so a boater has to compensate by steering slightly south to make landfall. We all decided to go to Lake Worth (67 miles) as it was the shortest time on the water and it provides more convenient Customs check-in for the boaters in our group who did not have the Local Boater Option. However, the swells increased from 2-4 feet to 5-6 feet from many directions but they were far apart and not breaking. Some of our buddy boaters had not been out in conditions like this so it was one of those learning experiences.

As the FL shore condos came into view at 3pm, we felt the elation and tiredness that overtakes you when you pull an all-nighter for a very important final but we passed!!!!!!

Heading to West End 4-17-09

On 4/17, the windlass lifted a very heavy anchor and rode full of marle, chunky sand and grass—great holding ground and we slept very soundly. We have 35 miles to go to Great Sale Cay where we anchored previously on 3/12. We are following “Antares” and Sea Dog” and have had a lively discussion of all the weather parameters. We have Single Side Band and can listen to Chris Parker on the Caribbean Weather Net at 6 and 8 am and we share this with other boaters.

The highlight of the day was passing a pod of 6 dolphins at 1pm on the northwest corner of Great Sale Cay. They rode our bow wave for about 10 minutes and here are the best shots, however, the pictures do not capture the sense of play and acrobatics. There was a baby dolphin just learning how to do this and he/she did very well and was line leader at times. We took it as a good omen that they greeted us and ushered us on our way.

After 5pm Captains’ Meeting on “Sea Dog”, the winds started to increase to 20 knots with some rain. There were about 30 boats at the anchorage and with our anchor alarm set, we slept very soundly.

On 4/18, we raised the anchor again covered in marley sludge and we followed “Antares”, “Sea Dog”, and a Mainship trawler, “Lady J” the 35 miles to West End. We had 15+ knots of wind on the rear quarter with 2 feet seas, and at times, we were surfing from 6.5 to 8.5 knots. The sailboats were motor sailing as it is important to get to the Indian Rock shoal section just before high tide. Depths go from 14 feet down to 6.7 and with their drafts of 5 feet, every inch is important. Our Chartplotter had a hiccup but we had a backup with Explorer charts, a handheld GPS and way points so did fine.

We started this trek toward West End now as the winds were clocking to the north and there are good anchorages for these conditions. Another factor was that east, south or west winds were forecast for 4/19-4/21 so the jump to FL would be very doable. As any cruiser knows, planning is great but Mother Nature will dictate what you really get.

It was great to get to West End again on 4/18 to enjoy the lounge chairs, hammocks, pool, Bahamian band and beach glass hunting at Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina. We have had to gulp hard at the high price of $106 per day.

At 5pm Captains Meetings, we've had ongoing discussions about the optimum conditions: the sailboaters are fine with beam seas (waves on the side of the boat as they have weighted keels and the sails counteract the rolling seas); we trawler types are not. So on 4/20 and 4/21, a number of sailboaters, some with 1-2 dogs on board, left for FL with a forecast of 15-25 knots of wind, 4-6 foot seas + swell, and possibility of squalls.

We trawler types are waiting for W/SW seas (waves on our stern or aft quarter). At this moment, I am listening to distant thunder and hoping that the front comes through so we can leave tomorrow. Looper boats, “See Ya’” and “Tortuga”, came in today and we will be traveling with them and other trawlers. It will be a long night and a very early morning.

4/21 Update: Remember that I was saying that Mother Nature is in charge--squalls and winds this morning so we will not be going until at least Thursday so back to the beach and lounge chairs after the squalls pass.

Leaving a Lasting Impression 4-16-09

The past two nights at Black Sound have been memorable for hot, hot, hot humid weather and 3 am thunderstorms, which until today, did not cool the air a bit. I did not know that this Minnesotan could sweat that much! We finally have the promised cooler N/NE winds and are ready to head out for Allans-Pensacola Cay about 28 miles away on our way back to the West End.

Allans-Pensacola Cay was initially two separate cays and were joined together as a result of a hurricane decades ago. NASA supposedly had a missile tracking system here in the past. The cay is uninhabited now (although we did hear a generator and see a hodge podge dwelling on shore), offers good protection for most winds except W and NW and although the holding ground can be marginal, we had no trouble setting our Delta.

We took our dinghy into the abandoned dock area, tied it to a tree and followed the trail lined with conch shells, and through the mangrove forest, to the ocean beach. There we found the “signing tree” where cruisers leave signed mementos of their visit here. We took our picture with our improvised leather sign made out of a chaffing guard. What do you think Bob means by the date—is that a trendy way to denote “09”, have we been here already in the 1990’s or are we time travelling and haven’t really been here yet?

Later, we were joined on the beach by Will and Muffin and their dog, Lucy, aboard “Antares.” They have been here several times before and found a kayak paddle that a friend from Lapland made and left here years ago. We also met Buddy and Ria, dogs aboard “Seadog”, who were out walking their parents, Jim and Connie.

As the sun began to set with the cloud backdrop, Bob joined the chorus of conch shell blowers to signal the closing of another day and the beginning of the night filled with a million shining stars.

Green Turtle Cay 4-14-09

It is so wonderful to wake up to the quiet of a secluded anchorage sunrise. Manjack Cay is protected from all winds except for southerlies and these are forecast for 20 knots the next few days with clocking conditions which will make this anchorage very uncomfortable at times. We don’t want to push further west to Great Sale Cay either as that does not offer great southerly protection.

We made the decision to travel east 5 miles back to Green Turtle Cay which is favored with two good harbors, White Sound and Black Sound. We decided to tie up for a few days at Black Sound Marina because at a $1.00 per foot and no obligation to use their metered water or electricity, this is a very economical choice. We visited Green Turtle Cay only briefly on 3/13 and stayed then at the pricier Green Turtle Club and Marina in White Sound. I did a 3 mile walk there on 4/14 and it certainly is appealing with its yellow buildings, multiple restaurants, cottages and pool, but there were very few boats at the dock, and more on the cheaper mooring balls. We are not alone in trying to make the dollar stretch as far as possible.

Green Turtle Cay is not prettified like Elbow Cay but has a very authentic Bahamian ambiance. One of the earliest Loyalist settlements was here on New Plymouth and this heritage is celebrated in Memorial Square. It is a working island with 2 hardware stores, a massive travel lift at the Abaco Shipyard as well as 3 grocery shops, 5 churches and a few good restaurants, including Miss Emily’s Blue Bar for grouper and lobster and McIntosh’s for baked goods. Because it is west of the Whale, boaters and tourists are usually hurrying through to get to the Hub of the Abacos and do not usually linger here. We met a number of boaters who will store their boats on the hard at Abaco Shipyard and swear that their boats are more protected here from hurricanes than in FL.

Anthony is one of the owners of Black Sound Marina and told us a little about the island’s colorful past. In the 1980’s before the US had a lot of banking regulations, anyone could show up with a suitcase full of money for an offshore account at Barclay’s Bank. With its many inlets and harbors, this cay was a popular pirate hang-out and people still search for lost treasure. In the 19th century, many residents dismantled their homes and shipped them to Key West and you can definitely see the similarity minus the tourist hoopla.
Winter boaters are making plans to head back to FL and looking at whatever weather information we can get. We are here with a large contingent of Chesapeake sailboaters and we have been trading information on weather and anchorages. We will have to go back to West End and it looks like we will probably start that trek on Thursday, 4/16.

Island Easter 4-12-09

We were up at 5:15 am to make sunrise Easter service on the beach at Orchid Bay Pavilion. This required the sleepy Captain to get up at this ungodly hour, a dinghy trip with headlamps through the dark 2 foot seas to the dock, a 1 mile walk and then when we were lost in this gated community, a golf cart trip with Edna to the beach pavilion. It was certainly all worth the effort to praise the Lord on this special day and see the cross backlit with the cloudy sunrise.

On our way back to the boat, we stopped at the Art Café for a well-deserved nosh and coffee. We listened to the Cruisers’ Net and heard the weather forecast for the next few days. Decision time—should we do the often treacherous Whale crossing today in easy conditions or continue to stay on Guana or Treasure Cay? Practicality ruled the day and after having 2 cups of high test coffee, this decaf gal was pumped-- I felt that I could even swim the Whale today.

We left the Guana mooring at 9:30am so that we could make the Whale crossing at slack tide before 10:45 high tide. With N/NW 15 knot winds and 1-2 foot seas on the front quarter, the Whale was definitely at a “Favorable 4” out of 1-5 (“flat as a shingle”) and no mix master seas like we experienced on 3/14. We were again joined by a whole flotilla of sailboats and we fit right in as we had our riding sail up to help steady us.

We journeyed 18 miles to Manjack Cay which is a secluded protected anchorage with miles of pristine ocean beaches and very few homes. Bill and Leslie own most of the land, welcome trespassers and ask only that dogs be leashed so that their chickens can roam protected. They have a hydroponic garden, offer a free strong internet signal to boats anchored in the bay and have cut trails to the ocean through the thick mangrove forest. We met another land owner, John from Michigan, who was walking the “Root #1” trail looking for more poisonwood to trim back. Be wary of this tree as it can cause a massive allergic reaction and his antidote is Crystal deodorant from health food stores rather than dosing with prednisone.

After this discussion, we preceded very carefully single file to the ocean beach about a mile further. It is so refreshing to meet people who will share their corner of paradise with all of us. The anchorage filled up with 17 sailboats and 3 power boats. It was good to reconnect with Bob and Lorraine from “Scaramouche” and Mike and Lorraine from “Elizabeth Rose.”

Another World 4-11-09

We are moored in Fishers Bay on Great Guana Cay and are right across from Dive Guana. With today’s forecast for flat seas and warm temps, we decided to go snorkeling with Captain Troy and crew, Calvin, Shem and Troy’s 10 year old daughter, Isabella, who will definitely be the boss of this boat in a few years.

We were joined today by Linda and George from “Chez Nous”, a beautiful 42 foot French sailing catamaran. They have been live-aboards for the past 2 years, will go up to the Chesapeake this summer and then take a long voyage through the Caribbean down to South America and then take the boat across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.

Linda joined Bob and me snorkeling while George did some scuba diving with Troy. Calvin was in charge of the snorkel group and gave us some great tips for avoiding water in the mask and tube. Notice that we are in wetsuits even though the water here is 73 degrees. I don’t know if I will ever be able to just jump into 60-65 degree Great Lakes water ever again. We had a great time and saw so many fish on the barrier reef at Pillars and Grouper Alley. I wish that I had an underwater camera to show you exactly what we saw but I borrowed some photo shots to show you what it looked like--French grunts, parrotfish, grouper, angelfish.

As we hovered above, we could also see the scuba divers 40 feet below serpentining through caves and around the reefs and leaving a stream of huge bubbles that were fun to catch. The scuba divers did not see the 6 foot reef shark swimming under the dive boat, but we snorkelers did up close and personal and certainly got our money’s worth.

This is Easter weekend and Nippers on Guana Cay has a unique twist on the Easter egg hunt tradition. They are going to hide plastic Easter eggs filled with prizes in the water for the kids and, in the reef just offshore for the adults.

Great Guana Cay is Great 4-10-09

We wanted to make sure that we see all the big islands here in the Abacos and went 10 miles east to Great Guana Cay on a calm, cloudless 73 degree day. This is what calm seas look like but we never seem to have this for our bigger crossings. We easily picked up a Dive Guana mooring ball ($15 per day) in Fishers Bay and then took the dinghy into the free Grabbers dock. The bottom here is grassy in places and we wanted to make sure that we were holding.

Each cay has a distinct style and Great Guana has so much going for it. It has a 5 1/2 mile ocean beach with the 3rd largest barrier reef 75 yards offshore. It is definitely not Man-O-War as this cay has 2 of the largest beach bars in the Abacos—Grabbers and Nippers. Grabbers is decked out in sunny welcoming yellow, has a pool, free internet, bocce ball, great conch fritters and the best sunset view on the island. Nippers is located high above the ocean, has multi-level decks painted in neon shades, has 2 pools and is famous for its Sunday Pig Roast and Barefoot Man Concert every March.

Like Man-O-War and Elbow Cays, golf carts are the major mode of transportation along its narrow curvy lanes. Like the other cays, Guana has small bright pastel houses for residents in town but the foreign “second homers” are building huge multi-million dollar versions on the ocean and in the hills. Orchid Bay Marina is an upscale marina with a price to match but we did enjoy their white veranda.

We had a wonderful walk on the ocean beach and met Dwight and he took our picture and joined us back at Nippers. He has lived on Leisure Lee on Great Abaco since 1997. Contrary to popular opinion, Americans can own land here in the Bahamas and do not have to have a Bahamian sponsor but it takes a lot of lawyers to get it done.

Top off a great day with a colorful sunset with boaters at anchor all signaling the event by blowing conch shells and then having a full moon for a second course. Perfect.

Wishing you a Happy Easter and hope it's getting warmer in the northland.

Finding the Treasure in Treasure Cay 4-7-09

We left Man-O-War a few days ago to make the 17 mile trip to Treasure Cay in light wind with a slight chop—a perfect powerboat day. High clocking winds are forecast and we are going into Treasure Cay Marina rather than anchor in this protected harbor as we are having a few problems with our generator completely charging the batteries (we need to run it longer) and the macerator was tripping the circuit breaker (discharges quickly and less time needed).

Treasure Cay is not really an island but a peninsula on Great Abaco Island and is a resort development with a spectacular 3 1/2 mile beach, Coco Beach Restaurant on the ocean side and Spinnaker and Tipsy Seagull Tiki Bar Restaurants on the Sea of Abaco side, 150 slip marina, pool, golf course, rental condos and dive shop. Close by is an interesting array of shops, including La Florance Café and Bakery and the largest grocery shop in the Abacos, Golden Harvest Supermarket, which would be more like a small IGA on the mainland. With all of these amenities, Treasure Cay is more of a tourist destination than a Bahamian village and we prefer the latter.

On our first day, we did major beach time as we knew it would windy and cold the next two days. We enjoyed the complimentary beach chairs and umbrellas and did long walks on the hard pack beach at low tide. I tried it at high tide also and it was like slogging through 12 inches of snow. I love to walk and found miles of roads that wove back and forth between the ocean and the Sea of Abaco with ‘Greenways to the Beach” signs posted to indicate trails to various beaches.

Then the ferocious winds started and howled for 2 days with wind gusts to 42 mph. There is a land parcel here on Sunrise Point offered for a reduced price of $799,000 but the previous house was blown over in a hurricane. Even though new homes are being built with reinforced concrete and cement, Mother Nature will always win. We were glad that we were securely tied to a dock. We almost lost our AGLCA burgee as one line broke off. Moored and anchored boats had a very hard time and about 8 of these boats came into the marina and had some very difficult docking maneuvers.

We were delighted to have the company again of Lew and Florrie from “Harmony” and Canadians, Patty and Emery from “Honeywind”.

Junkanoo is a Bahamian Christmas festival which is actually more similar to Mardi Gras with elaborate, colorful costumes and dancing. This year, the local Treasure Cay Explorers won the Junkanoo competition and were scheduled to do a performance here on 4/8 but it was postponed at the last minute until Tuesday, 4/14. This local talent is the real treasure of Treasure Cay. However, Bob and I had talked about starting to head east towards FL when we get weather windows. Will we get to see the Treasure Cay Explorers Junkanoo on 4/14??? Stay tuned.

Sojer Day on Man-O-War Cay 4-4-09

We dinghed in to M-O-W for the first annual Sojer Day Celebration. This 2.5 mile long island has 300 local residents who form a close-knit community, are very conservative and religious, and are proud of their Loyalist heritage. All of this was celebrated today with family members coming from the other islands and Key West to renew their ties and share their history. It is also a fund raiser for local needs, including a new high school. We did see a few teens sporting i-pods and talking about souping up their golf carts for speed and sound so you wonder how many will stay here.

The Opening Ceremony was memorable for the enthusiastic performance of the M-O-W primary school students in full costumes and leading the audience in hymns and “Britannia, the Pride of the Ocean.” Several small homes were open to showcase photos, tools and artifacts from past generations. This was Uncle Will’s home and is now called Kolnonia Kottage. William Albury started boat building at age 14 and this led over time to establishing Albury Boats and the Albury Ferry Line which provides transportation amongst the islands.

Festivals always mean food and we were hungry. Here’s Bob in a very long line waiting for a conch chowder dinner. It was worth the wait and the portions were heaping. Everyone knows Lola's Bakery up on the hill but she also sells cinnamon rolls and fresh bread from her golf cart daily and she will not take "no" for an answer,

The afternoon events included a sisal rope making demonstration and the Junior Sailing Club racing amongst the moored boats in the harbor. These young sailors were very quick and agile and made their forbearers proud. The last gaff wooden schooner made in 1964 in the Albury yard was also on display. It is now named the “William H. Albury”, is 70 feet long and has 2,100 sq feet of sail. It is now the flagship for the Bahamian Adventure Sailing Program.