Staniel Cay, Bahamas

Andy & Sharon @ Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas

 March 3, 2011

Off we cruised to what we are told is a favorite Exuma destination -  Staniel Cay, just a couple of hours further south and with a well protected anchorage (except from the West) & good holding. 

We found a number of boats in the Big Majors Spot anchorage, but picked our way in, dropping out 125’ feet of chain in anticipation of the big blow coming for the next few days.  The water is spectacular here and so clear. 

 

Manata Ray

Nurse Shark

I saw several nurse sharks sleeping on the bottom, totally uncaring that we were above them, trying to anchor!  A huge manta ray swam by, likewise unconcerned that we were in his space. 

No matter the winds, we dinked into ‘town’, getting splashed by the waves and winds.  Wandering about in search of whatever we found nothing much as the one or two shops were closed.  We met up with the group at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for drinks and dinner.  A fun place - not a real yacht club by any means - but certainly the hub of all activity.  Dinking in to tie up, the area was loaded with sleeping nurse sharks and a couple of rays swimming about--- an amazing sight!  One must make a reservation here and pre order what you wish to eat several hours ahead.  All are served promptly at 7 PM - the food was good, promptly served and still hot!  There was not an empty seat anywhere.   The meal was a bit pricey, but then again, everything must be shipped in....$26 for grouper meal but $42 for a lobster meal!!  I’m still looking for any local fisherman/lobsterman to get my own personal fresh catch at far lower prices.  I must say, dinking back to the boats at 9:00 PM in the wind and cold and pitch black was a long wet ride.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Swimming Pig @ Staniel Cay

Swimming in 6' of water

Ah Hah!  We found the pigs - or rather, the pigs found us this morning.  Dinking to the beach, carrots in hand, all us gals decided to check out this story about the swimming pigs on  Staniel Cay.  Sure enough, two big fat pigs raced (raced is relative in fat pig terms!) out of the woods, making a bee line for the water and our dink.  Snuffling and snorting, they poked at our dink, clearly anticipating being fed.

We finally dropped the  anchor, leaving the dink out far enough so a pig could not climb in - possibly destroying the rubber raft with pig


hooves!  The pigs are friendly and clearly loved the tummy rubs, snout rubs and the attention.   Several more came out of the woods, including a baby and two continued their nap under a tree near us without ever moving. We kept reminding ourselves that these ARE wild animals and could turn on us any moment.  A great time was had by all of us - a fun experience!




Saturday, March 5 2011
The wind has been howling for the past few days, making any trip in a dink hazardous to one’s safety, wet and cold and preventing any further passage making.  We’ve been lazy, catching up on ‘stuff’, including changing oil and zincs in the engine room - not me!  Scrubbing, doing laundry & some cooking kept me amused and busy.

As soon as the winds subside, I want to snorkel Thunderball Cave and a few other places.  Andy probably hopes the wind never quits.  He is not a huge snorkel fan....  Ah well, we plan to rent a golf cart and explore the entire island and to hike about.   Invited over to a neighboring sailboat for a glass of wine, we made another new friend, likewise stuck on his boat.  We spent an enjoyable couple of hours learning more about these islands and how to catch the lobster with the Bahamian sling we just bought.  If the wind will ever quit, I’m anxious to try!

Our anchor chain 10' under

The wind was the worst last night, swinging us round and round, causing the anchor alarm to go off 4 times between midnight and 3:00 AM, an indication that the anchor is dragging and the boat moving out of the predetermined ‘zone’.    Checking and rechecking, all appeared well, but this does make us nervous.  We now have binoculars with a compass in them and take bearings upon anchoring & our bearing remained the same.  Still, not a lot of sleep for me.

Someone lost their dingy - I heard a wife on the VHF calling to her husband in a dink, looking for theirs.  No luck, and then the conversation as he tried to find their boat in the dark was a bit unnerving - pitch black, only anchor lights bobbing about and strong winds - up to 40+ knots and a ripping through current, I was fearful for this man.  Finally, all got quiet, but the reports this morning is that the dink is not to be found.  That certainly will ruin a trip - try finding a dink and engine here in these islands at any reasonable price ($5,000 or thereabouts) and without one, one is absolutely STUCK on your boat with no means of transportation!  

A Very Wet Skipper

We, along with Jim & Diane and pup, Skipper, dinked into town to rent a golf cart in order to see the sights on Staniel Cay.  OMG -- soaked to the bone by the time we got to shore from the wind and waves, we shook ourselves dry just like the dog did and headed for our tour.

View of the Atlantic Ocean off Staniel Cay

Well, not too much to see here except some beautiful views from the top of the island; lots of trash about and junked boats and cars and much half finished construction.                                                                        
 

View from Staniel Cay, north side

View from Staniel Cay

Looking at the Atlantic Ocean from atop of Staniel Cay















View from Staniel Cay, overlooking the eastern shore - opposite side from the Atlantic Ocean.
Notice how shallow and calmer seas.  The lighter colors indicate the shallower waters.

Children go to school here just as they do everywhere.  The school on Staniel Cay, however, is pretty much a 'one room' school house.  All children wear uniforms to school on this island and all island's  we've been to thus far,

Tiny Staniel Cay Airport

Underway, repeating to Jim at every turn and curve -- drive on the LEFT; drive on the LEFT until the skies opened and rain poured on us.  We ducked into the shelter at the airport and huddled with the passengers awaiting their flights on the tiny planes flying in and out while it poured.


The moment it quit, the sun peeked out and we darted to the golf cart to get 2 minutes down the road when the sky opened again, re-soaking us.  Making it to Staniel Cay Yacht Club, we ditched the golf cart and ran for it.

Golf carts at Staniel Cay Airport- the TAXI's

Some lady felt sorry for Skipper, bringing him a towel. The shivering humans just suffered.  Finally, another break in the skies and we raced to the dink and back to the boats with the waves continuing the soaking.  Back on the boat, Andy & I beelined for hot showers and warm PJs.  Day over and it is only 4:00 PM. 

Sharon on Staniel Cay

 Sunday & Monday, March 6 & 7, 2011
After a lazy Sunday with winds calming, but still strong, Andy & I dinked to ‘town’ to stretch our legs, walking about the island.

Dinking back after a nice walk, we stopped at Ocean Dance, our friend's boat,  to invite them over for a dinner of black bean soup and to catch the sunset.  While aboard, the four of us planned our big trip for the next day.

Departing our boats aboard Jim’s larger dingy at 9:30 am on the very calm, windless Monday, we poked our way from our anchorage at Big Major’s Spot for an all day adventure, traveling about 15 miles north.  Ah, the water was spectacular as we zoomed along at about 8 mph.  Peering over the dink, I could see the blades of grass slowly waving on the bottom - no matter if the bottom was 3 feet below or 15 feet blow.  I lost count of the number of large - very large, reddish starfish I saw all along the way.  I saw a couple of nurse sharks, a few rays, lots of smaller conch lying on the sand,  but never saw any fish, except for the flying fish we would disturb, forcing them to zip across the water to get away from us.

One eye on the depth sounder at all times, me on the front of the dink, peering over and Jim standing at the helm, we tried to stay out of the shallows all around us and to certainly not hit any coral head sticking just under the surface.  Remember, the Bahamas are on a ‘shelf’ right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  Realizing we were traveling on a falling tide, we needed to be extra careful about the depths we were traveling on.....more than once we’d slow, hold our breath and inch across a very shallow sandbar.  Reading the water colors does help, obviously, but shallow is shallow is shallow......

Taking a break on Compass Cay

Our first stop was Compass Cay, cited as one of the most beautiful islands in the Bahamas.

I do believe, this time, the guidebook just may be right!  OMG the marina charges $2.50 a foot to overnight, plus $60 A DAY for electric hookup - very expensive! We paid $8 a couple to land here in the dingy (because we would be eating lunch there the fee was only $8 for two.  If no lunch, then $8 per person) a far better deal we thought!  We hiked about along the sandy trails and swam in the crescent shaped beach with its light tan colored sand and gently breaking waves.

There was a cute gazebo on the shore, with plastic chairs which we promptly placed at the water’s edge, each of us zoning out for about an hour, napping as the surf played at our feet.

Friendly Bonefish & Yellow Snapper

Forced by growling stomach’s, we made our way back to the ‘marina’, placing our lunch order....two choices:  Hamburger or Cheeseburger cooked on the outside grill by the marina staff.  Believe me, it was the best burger I’ve had in a long time - large & at $12, still worth it... or was it the growling stomach?  We lazed about, watching the numerous bonefish and yellow tail snapper play under the dock, along with about 4 nurse sharks.  We were too hungry to share our food with any of them....not a crumb left.



Fully satiated, we left in search of “The Aquarium”, a much touted reef off Cambridge Cay, several miles further north of us and within the Exuma Land & Sea Park.  We did have to call the Sea Park three times on VHF, rechecking again and again where this reef was as we meandered all over the place.  Finally, we spotted small mooring balls - The Aquarium!

Tying up and rolling off the dink, we swam about as hundreds of small fish surrounded us.  Oops, we’d forgotten to bring food for them!  Once they determined we had no snacks and being too large to make a snack out of us, they ignored us.

Yellows, pinks, blues and all other colors of fish were all over, with some soft and a little hard coral around, but nothing that GREAT.  Besides, the area to snorkel was very small!   I’ll say it again - I’ve never seen any snorkeling as great as in the BVI’s - not even Belize which we all thought was a bust.  The BVI’s are a major 10, and I can’t find anything else to compare.  We didn’t stay long - been there, done that, and as it was getting late in the day, we decided the prudent thing was to head ‘home’, some 15+ miles back. 

Arriving back at the boat about 5:00, we hit the hot showers.  PJs on by 5:30, I hit the bed with a good book.  Day was done and I was toast.


Friday, March 11, 2011

Still anchored in Big Majors on Staniel Cay, ready to go further south, but the weather isn’t co-operating.  Now, don't misunderstand.  The weather is really beautiful, just not appropriate for us to cruise out into the Atlantic.  The winds are very high and have been for some time.  Those winds and other storms 'kick' up the Atlantic Ocean, producing large waves, spaced close together.  That would mean we would be pounding out in the Ocean, up & down.  A very rough passage and one we are not anxious to take!  Anchoring off tiny islands in such strong winds could also be dangerous for us, so we do't go.  We are enjoying warm sunshine and stiff breezes.  At night, we often slip on a light jacket.

We did dink to Sampson Cay the other day for lunch - a great deal $2 meals & $2 beers.  This marina is the very prettiest thus far -- real green grass-- sod!  AND, luck!!

Piles of lobster & large fish all around the dock

The fishermen came in, loaded with huge lobster and all kinds of HUGE fish!  We bought 2 large lobster (fed 4 with the tails) and about 8 lbs of Nassau grouper, split between Ocean Dance & Finally Fun.  Bill was $110.  I would not let the fishermen just give me the lobster tails - I wanted the whole huge thing.  After dinner of lobster tails with all the fixings, I went to work on the large heads and long long long spindly things.  I got enough meat from the rest of the two lobsters to feed the 4 of us a great big lobster salad the next day.  However, my galley looked like a CRIME SCENE, with bits of shell; lobster head and stuff splattered just about everywhere!  What a MESS!  But, it was fun and certainly rewarding!!  Lobster lover that I am, I know how to maximize every single bite and no way was I leaving all that meat to be thrown overboard to whatever eats such stuff! 

Colorful Bahamian Homes on Staniel Cay

Other than that, we’ve been just piddling around, nothing special going on....a trip or two into Staniel Cay via dink to check out the newly delivered food supplies in the two grocery stores The Pink One and The Blue One, side by side.  The mail boat comes to this island every Wednesday, bringing mail and grocery stores foods.  Eager to replenish our produce, I hike the small hill, checking out both stores.  One dozen eggs = $3.85 and three tiny apples = $3.50 and one bag of 3 romaine lettuces = $8.50, I left, feeling very poor and wishing for a huge salad.  By the way, diesel fuel here & on Sampson Cay just north of here is $4.88 this week.  I could choke.

The winds picked up during the night.  Our anchor alarm sounded at 1:15 am and several times thereafter.  Another night of up/down check/re-check.  We’re certain we did drag a time or two, but our big Rocnar reset itself time and again.  Surveying the scene early this morning, we pulled anchor and moved within the anchorage to a wider space.  The wind is picking up and the rollers are surging into this anchorage steadily.  Getting in and out of the dink in order to check via our “lookie bucket” (a plastic bucket with a clear bottom) that the anchor was well set, we struggled mightily to get in and out of the swinging, bouncing dink onto our swim platform on the back of the bouncing boat safely and in one piece.

Sitting here at noon, I’m trying to stay on my stool at the galley counter as this boat sways wildly from side to side.   I don’t remember rolling this badly underway anywhere at sea, even without our stabilizers!

Andy is beginning to turn puke green, but I don’t want to tell him that.  The waves are rolling in big time and the storm isn’t due for several more hours.  This should get interesting before day’s end.  At least this storm is hitting during daylight - a first for us and brings a measure of comfort!  I’d rather fight the devil in the daylight!

Island Mentality

 While you are here

Stop a while

Sit a while

Observe a while

Listen a while

Relax a while

Meditate a while

Live a while longer

Ah, island mentality!   Wifi is spotty and difficult to connect to no matter than one pays $10 a day for the privilege.  When you log on to sign up and pay your $$, a note pops up that tells you to open a Kalick beer, (Beer brewed in the Bahamas) settle back, enjoy your beer while waiting for the connection.  Keep drinking the beer and you don’t care so much later on that it takes forever to shoot off an email, etc.  Funny, but not so funny.  


 

 

Bimini to Shroud Cay, Exumas February 2011

Lighthouse at entrance to Nassau Harbor

 Sunday, February 27, 2011

Cruising through the busy Nassau Harbor was quick and easy, after obtaining permission via the VHF radio to proceed through.

Note the deep dark blue water and then the more shallow, lighter colored water near shore, close to the lighthouse.


Discussion:  Why do lighthouses exist?

Cruise ships in the busy Harbor

The trawler, Sea Dog, looks small compared to those cruise ships!!

 

The fabulous Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Nassau

It’s been a busy few days; a change in plans yet again and limited wifi here in the Exumas.   Hearing over the VHF radio friends we've cruised with off and on over the past year, Jim & Diane, aboard their trawler, Ocean Dance, we diverted farther south to Shroud Cay to meet up with them.  Shroud Cay is the first island in the Exumas Land & Sea Park, a must see protected national park.  We picked up a Park mooring ball next to Jim and the 6 women guests + his wife aboard Ocean Dance.   He is clearly living the high life.  Andy is calling his boat the Estrogen Dance....

Ah, this Sea Park is a must see. The first such park in the world, it covers 176 square miles of small islands from Wax Cut Cay to Conch Cut.  The beaches are pristine; hiking trails throughout are loaded with wildlife and various species of birds not often found anywhere else; and snorkeling numerous small coral reefs clearly marked on Park maps is a wonder.  Much scientific research occurs here, with scientist arriving from all over the world to study this natural environment.  Wardwick Wells Cay is the Park Headquarters.




This sperm whale died because he swallowed a large plastic bag floating in the ocean.

Discussion:  Talk more about pollution & it's effect on people, plants & animals

We tried to explore via dink, the mangroves along Sanctuary Creek on Shroud Cay.  Billed as “you will think you are in the movie African Queen”, all us women loaded up with bug spray and some water and headed out.  Unfortunately, my info did not include the note to only go on a rising tide or one can get stuck inside till the next tide change.  Phew, we could not get IN, as it was low tide.  Saved by luck.... I’ve added this Cay to my list of places not yet explored and will hit it appropriately on our return trip to the USA in a couple of years.

Discussion:  Why is the tide important here?  What would happen if we had managed to get IN and then the tide dropped further? Would we be able to get OUT?  How would we get OUT?

All About Survival on the Islands

Monday, February 28, 2011

Pulling anchor early, we traveled the few hours to Warderick Wells, the Land & Sea Park Headquarters, grabbing our assigned park mooring ball.

One calls ahead the day before via VHF and gets on the waiting list for a ball.  Then, at 9:00 AM the day of your arrival, listen in for your assignment.  At $30 a night for our size boat, and no real place to anchor, we are quite happy to be here, snuggly secure.  I got cheers from Ocean Dance as I easily grabbed the mooring line and secured our boat...seems they had a bit of trouble.  GRIN. 

Banshee Creek @ low tide

Our group hiked to the top of Wardwick Cay, across the barren, slightly damp Banshee Creek,

Hiking to the Top of BooBoo Hill

and up to the top of BooBoo Hill, picking our way carefully among the limestone rock potholes.

All About BooBoo Hill

Andy & Sharon & Finally Fun's momento

At the top, we left our boat’s name as a memento to our voyage here.  In truth, our sign is so beautiful, we almost hated to leave it!

Banshee Creek at high tide

My sister, Anne, an art teacher and artist, painted the sign with the back of Finally Fun displayed along a beach scene and our names.  Ours is the most distinctive memento in the pile of driftwood and sticks and stones!








Later in the day, our group retraced our steps back to the top at 5:00 PM in anticipation of watching the sun set from that high vantage point AND to explore the Blow Holes at high tide which would occur at sunset by chance of timing.  Funny, now that barren Banshee Creek was a foot deep as the tide had come in and we waded through with sneakers on our heads.








The Blow Holes at the top of the hill were fun, but no water shot through today -- just wind and a howling noise.  Locals say the place is haunted and the noise is the ghosts of past lives.

  No matter, we fortified ourselves with the sangria brought by the 6 gals, sharing it with two Bahamian Defense military guys who hiked up to join us and a couple of guys on a sailboat who’d heard the group of young women would be there!  The wind would howl up through the blowhole, but no water splashed up as the seas were fairly calm.

Bonfire on Wardwick Wells

Also, the Bahamian military guys who get 8 weeks or so of duty providing security to the Park certainly get lonely and a bit bored.  They love it when friendly tourists are about.  We had some great conversations with them, learned a lot and after hiking back down, were joined by a couple more.  The guys build a large bonfire on the beach for us and much splashing and swimming later, we finally departed in the pitch dark in the two dinks with NO flashlights.  We had not anticipated staying so long and will be better prepared from now on!  A bit of a scary 15 minute ride back to the boats.  I was absolute NO help as I only had my sunglasses on.  Legally blind and having forgotten to carry my regular glasses, I was forced to wear the sunglasses at pitch black dark.  Phew, glad to safely reach the boat. 

We snorkeled several of the reefs the next day, seeing a few large lobster tucked in the deep holes in one reef; saw a mana ray swim by; a turtle and one shark...which I was unaware of.  Diane, swimming with me, simply told me she wanted to head to the dink and get out....so, I followed.  Good thing! 

Later, the current began ripping through “The Rangers Garden” reef as the tide changed, catching us.   Huffing, puffing and paddling mightily, I made no headway trying to get to the dingy and began sliding out to sea.  I could certainly tell I was no longer 40 something!   Diane untied the dink from the reef mooring ball & came out to rescue me (remember the safety rules - one left in the boat!).  Shortly thereafter, three of the six gals suddenly found themselves headed out to sea, grabbing a channel marker on the way out.  Again, Diane to the rescue!  Hmmm, maybe not being 40 again had nothing to do with my predicament.  Grin.  Good judgment prevailed and we headed back to the big boats.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011
With anticipated weather change for the worse (25-30 knot winds and a cold front on the way) and the gals aboard Ocean Dance deciding they could get flights from Staniel Cay to Nassau and then back to the US on Friday, we decided that hunkering down in a more populated place would be more fun.  Off we went, early in the morning, to Staniel Cay, just a couple of hours further south and with a well protected anchorage (except from the West) & good holding.

Florida to Bimini, Bahamas February 2011

A journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step 

Confucius

Finally Fun has begun her journey of approximately 1,795 nautical miles (2,066 statute miles) from Ft. Lauderdale to Grenada for a total of 5,132 statute miles round trip.  I've added an extra 1,000 miles to the total to allow for travel up and down the island chain from the US Virgin Islands to Grenada and back over the two year period we plan to be there.   Simple math and estimating that we’ll burn on average one gallon of diesel per mile & assuming an average of $4 per gallon, we will spend $20,528 on fuel.  Thus far, we’ve spent a high of $3.71/gal in Ft. Lauderdale, but anticipate spending more once out of the USA.  Hopefully, when we get near Grenada and the out islands closer to Venezuela we can get it for less than a dollar, thereby lowering our ‘average’ price.

Wednesday, February 23 & Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ah, the weather forecast gods were with us.  We pulled anchor about 6:30 AM, headed over to Bimini from Ft. Lauderdale, following in the wake of Sea Dog, a 60’ DeFever trawler we met on line recently when we asked if any boats were headed over at about the time we were.  Remember, there is always safety in numbers and it is more fun! 

Following Sea Dog in the Atlantic Ocean

The trip over was unremarkable, with seas 2-4 feet and a few higher and some rocking and rolling, even with the stabilizers.  Andy made the mistake of going into the hot engine room that really rocks and rolls  to start the water maker -- he stayed quiet & pukey green in color for the remainder of the day.

A highlight was seeing a small pod of whales out in the Gulf Stream -- a whale with a bulbous head and a large dorsal fin on top.  A search on the internet makes us wonder if we spotted a very rare False Killer Whale, which are nearly extinct.  They are found in these deep waters -- but mostly found in Hawaii.  Exciting no matter what as they swam right in front of us!  Other than that, didn’t seen much of anything - a few boats in the distance, no birds, nothing.  No fish either!  I’d set two rods out and the only thing I caught was a huge pile of seaweed that took 5 minutes to pick off the hook! 

 

Bimini from Big Game Club Marina Deck

The Bimini Sands Marina at South Bimini is very nice, very inexpensive @ $1 a foot and $10 day for electric.  We pass on the water at 35 cents a gallon.  Customs & Immigration were quick and easy, and no issues.  We’ll spend two nights here, allowing weather to settle and take a moment to explore Alice Town, across on North Bimini from here.  The island is a tiny place, nothing here at all.  Sport fishing is it’s claim to fame.  The water surrounding the island is beautiful, with the greens and blues. 



Up at the crack of dawn, wanting low tide, I hiked to the beach with baggy in hand.  I am on a mission to find that ‘sea glass’ that I never could find on our last trip to the Bahamas.  Sea glass is simply ground up bottles, whatever, that have tumbled and tumbled until tiny, smooth pieces which can be made into jewelry.  I love the green (probably old Coke bottles) and black is a rare find.  I hit the motherlode this morning and will keep on doing this till I have lots -- and hope I can find similar shapes and sizes so I can have earrings made.  I also found two small beautiful, pink, EMPTY conch shells which I brought back.   They’ll make nice bookends or something.....

Andy & I took the ferry to Alice Town, ($2 per person each way) & wandered about.  Absolutely nothing in this town to really see or do - it is one street, pretty humble. How people make a living here is beyond me.   The locals are very friendly - especially the woman in the telephone office that sold us our SIM card and air minutes.  She could not have been nicer, making certain we figured out the phone and how to insert the card, etc.  Andy did not have his glasses with him and I could not understand the directions I was reading.....between us, we were clueless and probably humorous to all who observed.  Dumb Americans......

Prize Catches

We’re told that the summer is their ‘busy’ season as is any time that the island sponsors a fishing tournament.  .. which is often.  This is considered the sport fishing capitals of all time., with over 100 fishing world records set in these waters.    Up on a fence are two 1,000 lb. plus sailfish, caught by Guy Harvey (he makes lots of T-shirts)  ON THE SAME DAY.  Some kind of luck or is it great fishing skills?



Ugh.  The winds that picked up during the night, with much howling and flapping and banging about of our American flag.  Finally, I got up about 3:00 am and took the flag down, realizing that we probably could not pull out as scheduled.  The winds would whip up the shallow water in the Bahamian Bank, creating rough, confused seas that would smack us around.  Sure enough, at 6:30 AM, much discussion between Sea Dog and us and the right decision was made to NOT go.

Termite Nest on Bimini

No matter, I hiked the local nature trail (not much to see) and wandered about.    The only real sighting were two huge termite nests  and lots of no see ums that ate me up.

Discussion:  What exactly is a termite nest?  What do termites do?

And when you find out, please tell me!







Tomorrow’s trip, headed toward Nassau, will be very long (10 hours underway till we can find a spot to anchor) across The Great Bahama Bank - a significant fairly shallow (5 1/2  feet at low tide to 15 feet deep) body of water not to be underestimated and so large that we cannot make it across in one day.  Navigating at night is NOT an option and far to dangerous to even think about!  This entire area (actually ALL of the Bahamas) are fraught with reefs and shoals and one must navigate very carefully, following charts (a chart is a map, especially made for navigating in water) but most importantly, reading the water.  We will have to anchor out in the Bank, picking a spot well off the beaten path near the NW Channel light  & near Frazier’s Hog Cay in the Berry Islands so a Bahamian mailboat or fisherman doesn’t mow us down in the dark night.   I intend to leave the saloon lights on all night with blinds open - well lit!   We waited a day so we can continue the trip with Sea Dog -- that safety in numbers takes on a new meaning on this leg of the journey.

Saturday will find us headed into Nassau Harbor across the NE Providence Channel, where we’ll probably hit confused seas, rocking and rolling toward Nassau.  Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, on New Providence Island, is a place we’ve been to before via air.  A Been There, Done That kind of place, so we won't stop.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Manta Ray

As yes, “we shall see”.  The weather held us in South Bimini until 6:30 this morning, when both Sea Dog & Finally Fun (and a few others) pulled out.  It was a calm flat day on the Bahamian Bank, with good visibility.  I love peering down from the flybridge into the clear, aqua water, spying huge reddish starfish, manta rays and an occasional nurse shark on the bottom - sometimes 10 feet under!

On our Way! Jacksonville to Ft. Lauderdale

Friday, February 11, 2011

Grateful for the several days of delayed departure due to the still cold weather, coupled with rain and thunderstorms, we raced around making final preparations for our long awaited trip to the Caribbean -- the Leeward and Windward Islands all the way to Grenada.

Spending nearly $1,000 for a two year supply of staples such as paper towels, toilet paper, zip lock bags, laundry soap & softner, toothpaste, shampoo, make-up, etc. including basic food items such as mayo, mustards, cereal, oatmeal, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, coffee and paramalot milk -- we dropped the waterline by two inches I’ll bet!  It took me FOREVER to get everything stowed away properly and also to figure out in the store how much I could purchase based on any expiration dates on the items.   I made a second trip back to the commissary for chicken, pork and beef which I repackaged into smaller portions and froze.  We are LOADED.

Food and essential supplies are very expensive (sometime 150 - 300% more) in the islands due to the extra shipping costs, import taxes, etc. and that is IF you can find what you need.  I’m loaded with fresh produce, which will soon run out and produce is what is really hard to get -- the further out in the island chain, the less desirable looking is the produce.  Ah well.  We also love the seafood and hope to augment via fishing and of course, always buying local foods - no matter what they are!  I do tire quickly of conch, however........

ON our way -- pulling out of the Jax Beach marina on Sunday morning (2/13) with Matt & Donna & son, Kyle, aboard, we delighted in the sunny day all the way to St. Augustine, about a 4 hour cruise via the ICW.   The McNamara’s hopped off after treating us to dinner in St. Augustine, returning home via auto.  It was a great experience for them, especially as Matt thinks about such a lifestyle someday.....

On a mission now, we dropped the hook in Daytona Beach on Monday late afternoon, 54 statute miles away.  Tuesday found us cruising thru one of my favorite areas, Haulover Canal, near Cape Kennedy and along a wildlife refuge.  Ah, no manatee.  Last time through here there were too many to count everywhere.  

Spending Tuesday night at the Cocoa Village Marina,(67 miles traveled) we were able to have my high school friend, Jill, join us for dinner and a quick reunion.  Wednesday was another long day, dropping the hook 65 miles down the ICW in Ft. Pierce.  Ah, dolphin just absolutely everywhere, for the past two days, following in our wake along the bow and the stern, twisting, turning, leaping and in general, having a grand time for very long periods of time.  My idea is that there are few boats out and about and these dolphin are delighted to have a boat to play with, so they us follow for miles....I’ve never seen the same pod follow us for so far and for long!

A first for us - we were followed forever by one off Melbourne Beach that was tagged -- #68C written in white on his/her dorsal fin. Researchers in the area follow a specific tagged dolphin for their entire life cycle of 30+ years learning much about their social interactions, migratory patterns, etc.   I learned many years ago that dolphin migrate and come back to the same area year after year.  Interesting!

On Thursday our strip tease began.....a subtle peeling off of a jacket; shoes & socks next in order to wiggle white toes in the sun; a run into the cabin to take off the jeans to replace them with YES shorts!  At the St. Lucie Inlet, the water turned ACQUA in color, so beautiful and so exciting!  A teaser for what is to come for us as we head to the Bahamas and beyond.  The warmer weather is so very welcome!

We pulled into Palm Harbor Marina in W. Palm Beach early Friday morning, after dropping the hook a mile or so back at Lake Worth on Thursday night.  We’d made arrangements for the water maker to be looked at and fixed and to meet another group of Novartis friends  (Lila & Lourdes) for dinner.

Little Wonder Water Maker

Surprise, surprise...not really.  HOURS later and $1,500 later, the water maker was fixed.  Same story -- “gee, this piece of equipment is like a tank, they never go wrong or break.”  Yeah, right.  The repairman took the pump to his shop to bench test it (whatever that all means), calling Andy to say when he took it all apart it smelled to high heaven of diesel and that is what ruined it.  We can only assume that some boater dumped something in the Key West mooring field where we were and it got sucked up, ruining our equipment.  We ran the water maker there when only a few occupied boats were around and only when the current was ripping through.  Bah.

At any rate, we ended up staying 3 nights at this first class new marina, enjoying the town and two different festivals held over the weekend, an antique car show, including an Indian (India) celebration and waiting for a new boat buddy Andy hooked up with via the DeFever website to arrive.  We will now cross over to the Bahamas with Sea Dog, a 60’ DeFever, who is going our way at the same time.

Monday & Tuesday, February 21 & 22, 2011
Now we wait.  The weather keeps deteriorating in that the winds/waves are getting worse.  Last week, it looked like a Sunday crossing; now a Tuesday potential crossing seems to be off and Wednesday isn’t looking good either.  The forecast is bouncing, so we shall see....  We are now at anchor in Sylvia Lake, just off Ft. Lauderdale Beach and the Las Olas area where we will sit til we can cross.  It is sunny, breezy and great -- just not to cross the Gulf Stream!

3rd Year: Charleston & Jacksonville Nov 2010 - Jan 2011

November 18, 2010  Charleston, SC
Our luck ran out.  Remember my comments  about how difficult the Charleston Marinas are to enter or depart unless one is underway during slack tide?  Some pay no attention to the warnings; some are ignorant altogether; some think their skill sets are great  and some just 'lose it' when underway and the going gets tough.

Early in the morning, hearing a bow thruster cycle on/off/on/on/on,  Andy & I hopped off the couch, coffee cups in hand, to watch the potential show.  Any boat with bow thruster blasting within these finger piers in a full bore current with wind blowing at a good clip has got to be exciting to watch.
OMG -- the 46' Nordhaven “More Water” owned by Richard Spooner in front of us had decided to depart , backing into the waterway between the finger piers just off us.  Moving slowly backward, the current caught him, overpowering his bow thruster and moving the entire boat sideways, crashing him into two docked sailboats.  Now frantically trying to get out of there, the guy gave it full throttle forward.  Unfortunately, all he managed to do was slam harder into the two sailboats AGAIN this time really ripping into them.  Bow pointed into the space along the T dock he'd just departed from,  and right in front of us, he aimed for the dock, T boning it, bouncing somewhat off and now slamming into us at our bow and anchor and starboard side.

By now, Andy & I were on the deck, still dressed in our PJs watching the show and dodging when the Nordhaven loomed over us at the bow.  Our 80 lb. Rocnar anchor caught on the Nordhaven's port side window, I think scratching all the way across and hooking into the lip of the window.  I don't know how much damage that caused.  He finally got himself unhooked from our anchor, got his boat turned around and took off.

All of us along the docks assumed he was getting into the harbor to stand off or tie along the outside dock where manuvering would be easier & that he would come back to discuss the accident and damages.  No such thing!  That Nordhaven TOOK OFF as fast as it would go outta Charleston!!  I took off for the dock master office while Andy & others were on VHF to the Coast Guard.  Long story short, the guy did finally call the Marina leaving his phone # and telling the dock master to have the boaters send him pictures of any damage and he'd deal with it.  Yeah.  He said he had a schedule to keep.  Arrogant bugger.   A boater and a dock hand took off in a dink after the Nordhaven and finally, after 3 miles of chasing, got the guy to stop and allow them to take a cell phone picture of his insurance policy which they promptly shared with all who had damage.

I was the first to call it in to the insurance company, Travelers,  and they were super.  They had a surveyor out to all 3 boats SAME DAY.  The marine police caught up to us the next day for our story.  Very professionally handled, except for the Nordhaven owner who apparently didn't want to 'man up'.  I suspect he'll see quite an increase next year on his premium, especially after so many complained to his insurance company about his behavior.

We all are aware any one of us could find ourselves in a bad situation like he did, but his behavior left a lot to be desired.  He can't be ticketed for anything per the police as he did CALL in to the marina and 'owe' up....  Try that crap in an automobile!  It's called leaving the scene of an accident.

By the way, the damage was in the 10's of thousands of dollars to the sailboats; steering, rudder destroyed; mast bent in half; mizen busted and on and on.  Us, lucky.  Anchor shackle might be compromised so will be replaced and the paint touched up.  If you recall, we just spent $800++ repairing in the same place.  We were hit last year by a boat departing Beaufort, NC next to us who hit us.  We thought no damage, but later the anchor/bow area pulled away; we had trouble with the shackle which we replaced and some other stuff.  I won't sign the insurance check from his company until we've had time to use the anchor a few times -- which won't really be til we head for FL in January....

Thanksgiving Week       Saturday, November 20 thru Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving at the Beach

Off the boat, driving to Clearwater, FL, our former hometown where I've rented a 3 bedroom condo  for a week's stay at the beach.  We had a wonderful time with my 88 year old Mom along with Leslie & Stacey in the condo.   Lindsay & Walker and the two kids, Pickett age 2 and baby Makenna, age 6 months spent lots of time with us and Pickett had a sleep over at least twice.  Cooking a Thanksgiving dinner in the condo was pretty easy with all the helping hands and especially since Walker fried the turkey at his house before coming over!  We also had fun catching up with lots of the Larrison relatives in town and the younger set of the Larrison little kids swimming in the condo pool and playing in the sand.

December 2010
We decided to stay another month here at Ashley Marina as we've not nearly gotten a 'grandkid fix'. 

RobertE & Riley

Riley, our drama queen

Basketball games, school plays, Christmas activities and decorating the tree keep us busy with Robert E and Riley, as do their sleep overs on the boat so we can keep playing long and hard.

Ah, such fun.

We will pull out right after the first of the year for Jacksonville Beach.  We'll spend about 3-4 weeks there visiting my Mom and sister and driving over to see Lindsay and the grandkids, Pickett & Makenna, in Clearwater from time to time.


Wednesday, January 12 through Monday, January 17, 2011
Charleston, SC to Jacksonville Beach, FL

The whirlwind two months at the dock at Ashley Marina in Charleston, SC, have ended.  Two months of land travel to and from FL to visit family and friends; celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas; too many dental and doctor appointments to count and way too much COLD weather no matter where we went!!  Ah but we love the city of Charleston with its historic buildings, the easy walk-about access to everything and especially the fact that Leslie and the kids are right here, two miles away downtown.

A lot of time was spent with friends and family while here which was wonderful!  Add to the mix new friends we made while at the dock and we certainly stayed too busy.  My cousin, Sally, and her family had just moved to Summerville, a nearby ‘suburb’ of Charleston so we were able to reconnect several times.  

My cousin, Sally Devers Humphries

RobertE, Riley, Sharon, Sally & Randy

Leslie, Sharon, Jimmy & Sally

A quick trip to Nichols, SC,  three hours away, reconnected me with another cousin, Jimmy, (Sally’s brother) & his wife, Sarah Anne.  How wonderful that was!  Sally & Jimmy are among the 23 FIRST cousins I have from my Mom’s side! 

 Returning from FL to the dock after granddaughter Makenna’s christening on Sunday, January 9, we found it just too cold and gray to pull out as planned.  With winds and temps in the low 20’s we preferred to hunker down, grab a book and rest up til Wednesday when the sun began to shine.




Look at Makenna's christening gown  and bonnet - hand made with beautiful lace and linen!  Her Grandmother Lucy made it.  An absolute treasure!

Sharon & Granddaughter Makenna

Sun shining but bitter cold, off we went early Wednesday morning, headed to Jacksonville Beach to spend a few weeks at Beach Marine, visiting with my Mom and sister, Anne, before pulling out for the Caribbean.  Brrrr, why every year for 3 years in a row do we hit this bitter cold while underway from Charleston.  Think we would learn to depart much sooner!!   Nah, the lure of the two grandkids in Charleston keeps us at the dock but this cold is awful.

Dressed in two pairs of wool socks, two wool hats; two pairs of gloves; fleece pants, turtleneck and a thick fleece shirt, PLUS my wool coat with hood pulled up, all tied down with a scarf, I braved the elements while Andy got the fly bridge ready.  The lines were hard to undo as they were frozen...no looping nor putting these away!  The deck of our boat was coated with frost and ice at 8:00 AM so making my way forward was scary to say the least.  Clinging to the rail with one hand I’d finally manage to untie a line, then move on to the next one.

Anchoring off Beaufort, SC, that afternoon about 4:00 PM, after an uneventful, but COLD run down, we were glad to head into the saloon from the fly bridge.  Yes, we can pilot the boat from below, but don’t like to as we see much better from up top.  As long as there is sun shining thru the isenglass we stay somewhat warm but cold is still cold.

Thursday and Friday were uneventful cruising days, hunkered down on the fly bridge, wearing the same outfit every day.  I look like a roly poly person with all the stuff on and feel so constricted.   Another memory of why I don’t like the northern climates!!   We dropped anchor Thursday about 4:00  in Buckhead Creek (MM608.6) in GA, one of the numerous lovely anchorages along the way. The wind stopped blowing and the cold clear sky was beautiful.

Friday night found us at anchor in another of my favorite places, Ft. Frederica on the Frederica River (MM665.7).  On our way north this year in the early summer, I actually slept on the fly bridge, while anchored here,  listening to the dolphin feeding and blowing all around the boat.  This time I never even stuck my nose out it was so cold.

Ugh, pulling the anchor on Friday morning was tough, with ice coating everything.  I was very afraid I was going to slip and fall!  The forward water pump would not turn on (figure it or something was frozen) but luck was with us and the anchor chain came up clean.  The anchor, full of mud, was easy to dunk and clean.  While I struggled with a lot of that, Andy was on the fly bridge with my hairdryer, heating the ice off the isenglass windows so we could see out.  Amazing.

Cruising into South GA toward FL on Friday, January 15, gave us a break in the weather with the sun shining and temps rising.  What a relief to shed some of the layers of clothing!  The south GA flatlands gave us trouble again with all the shoaling.  In spite of following the markers and reading the most recent updates on Active Captain, we managed to go aground -- as did the next 3 boats behind us, in spite of us giving them the info about the shoal.  It was ALL shoaled over.  On a rising tide, we floated off after a brief time, as did the other boats, one of which only had 3’ of draft  BAD place!  We hit yet another shoal just a few miles further down and had to get Boat US to pull us off this one.  Boat US said the area was now very bad as a storm had come thru, making some big sand pile shoals that no one knew about.  There is a hue and cry to have a couple of red nuns placed in these areas as so many are running aground.   No damage done (except to our pride), we made it to Jacksonville Beach at 5:00 PM, with plans to stay for 2 - 3 weeks.

Amazingly, only 3 days underway.  It generally takes us 5 days.  The cold motivated us to 'get there' and we obviously did not dink into any of the great little towns along the route!

At 8:00 PM that night, daughter Lindsay, husband Walker, and grandkids Pickett age 2 and baby Makenna, 7 months, arrived for the weekend.  Cold and rainy the entire time, we still managed to have a good time and also to catch up with Mom, their grandmother and great-grandmother.

The baby sleeps in a portable crib in the saloon as it is too big to fit anywhere else.  Like her brother at that age on the boat, she sleeps like a log with us all in the saloon eating, drinking, talking, laughing and watching TV.  Pickett slept on an air mattress on the floor in our stateroom and that worked....he is too small and it is a long long fall down from the boat beds, so the floor is much safer for him.

We are so vigilant, but these kids are quick!  The baby is now in the slither on her tummy stage and Pickett’s little fingers are lightening quick!  We keep the doors locked to each stateroom and the outer door as the kids could easily fall down the steep stairs into each of those cabins.  The vision of a tumble down those stairs keeps my hair standing straight up.  Ah, well.

The kids left on Monday afternoon about 4:00 and the boat became much too quiet.  However, these grandparents were worn out and tumbled into bed early.  God is smart to give young kids to young parents!  Phew!

January 17, 2011
It’s been a great month in Jacksonville Beach, docked at Beach Marina -- except for the cold and more cold, rainy, blowing weather that plagued us the entire time.  Only once were we able to wash (barely!) the boat off as it was way to cold to get wet!  We spent our days catching up with family and friends in the area, including former Novartis colleagues for me (Matt & Clint & their families); playing bridge and bingo at the local Senior Center with my Mom and in general, catching up with overdue paperwork, etc.

A highlight is that I’ve gotten back into playing bridge and little by little the ‘rules’ come back to me.  Those Seniors (of which I am pretty much one!) are very sharp players and I agreed to play ONLY if they needed me to make a 4th -- otherwise, I prefer to watch and peek at the various hands and figure out why what is being played.  Ah, now back on the water -- playing bridge is not something that has ever come up in conversations among boaters.  I guess I’ll lose my newly found skill sets yet again!

Pickett, Sharon & Makenna in St. Augustine

A round trip BACK to Charleston via auto to finish up some dental work and to grab one more day with RobertE and Riley and Leslie before we pull out was another highlight of the month in Jacksonville, as was Lindsay’s ‘girl trip’ by herself and the two grandchildren to visit us again on the boat for a weekend.  She & I, with Pickett & Makenna, took a little side trip to St. Augustine for the day, wandering the old streets and just chilling out....on one of the only sunny days we had!!  Pickett now calls me “Boat Grammie”, I guess to differentiate me from his other ‘Grammie” Lucy.  Funny.

Based on a recommendation from another boater, we joined the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary while here.  In a whirlwind of activity, Andy & I attended an Auxiliary meeting, meeting many members and getting answers to many of our questions.  We filled out reams of paperwork; studied and took a very long test regarding the USCG and its history and mission, etc.; got fingerprinted and are currently awaiting the security clearance.  After all, once approved, we will be part of US Homeland Security.  I was amazed at how organized the Auxiliary is and how much like the military it is.  I very much look forward to ‘paying it forward’ over time and hope that Andy & I can bring value to others learning to boat and to the Auxiliary.  
Hopefully, while in the Caribbean over the next couple of years we can take various classes and tests via the internet; gain some certificates and perhaps get involved in the Auxiliary while in US Virgin Islands.

The USCG Auxiliary flag

We’ll fly the USCG Auxiliary Flag from our bow as soon as we are cleared (the USCG also inspected our boat during this whirlwind time so we are eligible to fly their flag).  We are hopeful that by flying the Auxiliary flag that anyone in the Islands that has less than honorable intentions as they begin to board our boat will see the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary emblem and words and think again --- leaving us alone.