UPDATE: Almost a Month

Almost a month in the Abacos and we are ready for another year or two of this. After spending many of our vacations bareboat chartering in the BVI, St. Lucia, Martinique and St. Vincent we somehow managed to always skip the Bahamas. Save the best is all I can say. The natural beauty is absolutely breathtaking. So far we have stayed in Green Turtle Cay, Guana Cay, Marsh Harbor and are currently in Hope Town harbor.

Here are some recent photos from Elbow Cay and Hope Town.

UPDATE: The Crossing - Vero Beach to Great Sale Cay, Abaco Bahamas

April 2^nd, 2010

Weather forecast is good for the crossing and today is get out of Vero day. Slept late and had breakfast and coffee on the boat. Off to the showers at 10:30 and back to the boat to hoist the dink and outboard. Off the mooring at 1:30 pm just in time to wait in line for the fuel dock for an hour. It’s Friday of Easter weekend and every boat that will float in Florida is out. A good time to get out of here! Not that we didn’t enjoy our stay in Vero Beach, we did and will be back sometime in the future. We now know why they call it Velcro beach. It’s hard to leave a great place like this. There’s this one guy who told me he came to Vero Beach Marina 30 years ago and has never left. He’s Ex-Marine and a funny soul to talk to. With guys like that I guess there’s no need to try to set any longevity records at the marina so off we go.

Departed the dock around 2:30 pm and made the turn south for Ft. Peirce. Had a nice little pull from the tide and we dodged boat after boat on our way south to the inlet. As we approached our last obstacle before hitting the high seas (North Ft. Pierce ICW Bridge) we were following another sailboat. We hailed the bridge on approach and to our surprise it began to open. Was quite impressed by the bridge tenders timing. The first vessel passed through the bridge and we were maybe 20 boat lengths behind them. The current was pulling us toward the bridge at about 2.5 knots and we were under power. At a point maybe 10 boat lengths before the bridge the tender starting close the bridge. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Not only did he not answer my initial opening request the butt-head is not paying any attention to the fact that we are almost to the bridge and he’s starts closing it.  Well with a shower of SOB’s and other sailor language, I managed to turn Wind Dust about 10 seconds before the point of no return.  Now, if you have been following our blog you know how I feel about some bridge tenders. Mind you we have encountered some real buttheads along the way but have been amazed how professional the Florida Bridge tenders have been. Well this guy wins the prize for all we have encountered so far. Pardon my French please – but I call him the (insert your imagination here) of the century. Calling this guy an idiot just doesn’t do him justice. I managed to bite my lip and took about 45 deep deep breaths and moved on once he decided to let us through.

We met lots of other sailing vessels who apparently had crossed from the Bahamas heading back for the States as we made our turn and began our passage through the busy Ft. Pierce inlet. The tide was going out and directly opposing the east wind therefore we plowed through some big waves until we passed the entrance mark. We turned south as planned and ran offshore down the Florida coast to a waypoint about 10 nm north of Lake Worth inlet (Palm Beach) then made our turn NE towards a waypoint north of the White Sand Ridge on the Little Bahamas Bank around 12:45 am Saturday morning.

Our AIS system worked awesome as we could see the many big freighters, tankers and cruise ships moving up and down the Florida coast at night. The system shows their vessel on our chart plotter along with the vessel’s name, heading, speed and CPA (closest point of approach). We have a Class B AIS Transceiver so the other ships/vessels can see us on their AIS system. Our unit transmits our position, speed, heading, radio call sign and vessel name. All large ships are required to have a working AIS system installed onboard.  We also used our radar to see small vessels that were crossing the Gulf Stream from the Bahamas to the US.

After we made our turn to the northeast to cross the stream we encountered very confused seas and the wind was out of the E-NE at 15 to 20 knots. The forecast was for E-SE 5 to 10 knots. We pounded into the confused seas for about 4 hours only making about 3 to 4 knots progress. At one point I considered turning back for a better day. Once we were about half way across conditions began to improve and we were able to pickup speed. We hit the our waypoint turn about 11:30am Saturday morning and made the turn for Great Sale Cay still 52 nm away. Once we were on the bank we still had wind and seas on the nose however we were able to plow through the seas without getting slammed all over the cabin. We never got the push from the Gulf Stream we were supposed to get. In retrospect we should have run straight from Ft. Pierce inlet to our waypoint on the bank. We had a great trip across the bank to Great Sale Cay. We met 7 or 8 sailing vessels on their way back to the US as we made our way to Great Sale.  The water on the Little Bahamas Bank is a gorgeous aqua blue and runs from 15 to 25 feet deep. We really enjoyed our day experiencing the water.

The day seemed to take forever and our ETA at Great Sale was projected to be 7:45 pm or just after sunset. Flying the yellow quarantine flag we pulled into the anchorage just as the sun was setting. We set the hook, celebrated our achievement with a couple drinks before promptly beginning to set all kinds of snoring records. We were not alone in the anchorage as we counted 5 other vessels on anchor.

We slept late and woke up to a beautiful Easter Sunday morning. We decided to rest and stay on the hook Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place. All the other vessels began to leave one by one until we were the only vessel in the anchorage.  In the afternoon we began to see other mast over the horizon and by sunset there were at least 10 other vessels in the anchorage. We enjoyed sitting on deck listening to music and watching the departures and new arrivals. We whipped out the grill and cooked a couple New York strip steaks for dinner. Boy did they taste good.  We had another great evening on the hook with a nice breeze and beautiful stars.

Monday morning we had coffee and some breakfast and got underway to Manjack Cay. This leg of our trip was 55 nm and took us from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm to make the run. We passed several vessels headed north towards Great Sale and by the time we made it to Manjack the anchorage was beginning to fill up. With the quarantine flag flying high we set the hook and cooked dinner.  Another beautiful day in a beautiful place.

Tuesday morning we weighed anchor and shoved off for a quick 4 nm run to Green Turtle Cay and New Plymouth. We took our time setting the hook and had to also drop the dinghy and lowered the outboard so I could run into customs. When checking into Customs only the Captain goes ashore to clear in. 

With Ginny onboard I shoved off and ran to the dinghy dock at the main ship dock. What a beautiful little town New Plymouth is. 

I walked down this one lane concrete road past many shops and homes with bougainvillea and many tropical plants to the customs building which also serves as the post office.  I met Kelly the customs agent whom we had previously spoke with on the phone and she was extremely nice and helpful. I paid our $300 entry fee and received our official paperwork which includes a fishing license. 

As I’m walking back to the dinghy dock I’m sure Ginny is going to love this little place. Even though we didn’t plan on spending an overnight anchored off New Plymouth that’s what we did. Two nights as a matter of fact. My hunch was correct and Ginny did love New Plymouth. 

UPDATE: Don’t Push the Wrong Button

Yesterday we decided to explore the north end of Green Turtle Cay on foot. We decided to do this after meeting a delightful cruising couple who recommended the endeavor. Ginny and I took out for our adventure around 1:00 pm. We walked the road from the resort east until we hit the Atlantic side beach. The wind was blowing nicely and it was a nice walk to begin with. 

We knew the walk would be a little challenging and we were up for the task or at least we thought we were. About two miles into our walk and after climbing over a couple of rocky areas on the beach Ginny began to ask how much further is it. 

From studying the map I knew we were maybe halfway so I kept saying it’s just a bit further. This strategy worked until we hit the extreme north end of the island where it was almost all limestone and volcanic deposits. Tough walking to say the least. 

At this point Ginny started asking who’s idea was this and began complaining about being hot and complaining about her knees hurting. There was no turning back as we had crossed the worst spots and had the beautiful beach of Coco Bay ahead. 

I kept coaxing Ginny along over the rocks and finally we hit beach. It was low tide and water was about a foot or two deep for a good distance into the cove. 

Coco Bay is a place where sportsmen like to Bone fish and home to a couple private seaplanes. Within a couple minutes Ginny found a sea biscuit which was just the ticket to perk her up. 

Another mile and we were back at the resort and planning our evening while treating ourselves to a cold Kalik beer.  I was glad I didn’t push the wrong button along the way.

UPDATE: Point “Jesse” Declared on North End of Green Turtle Cay

Well it’s official. I declared the first point in my name yesterday while exploring the north end of Green Turtle Cay. Low and behold as we made our way over the rocks I stumbled upon a brand new property corner. Being a Land Surveyor I couldn’t resist. I christened the new point with a coconut I found on the beach. Latitude and Longitude of my new point will be forthcoming. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Green Turtle Here We Come

Well we feel like we have been in a turtle race since leaving Vero Beach last Friday. We finally made it to the Bahamas and are staying in White Bay, Green Turtle Cay (Key). This place is awesome. Will post a few pictures now and catch up on the story in another day or so. It’s feels good to have Internet.


Anchored off Great Sale Cay on Easter Sunday.

JP off to Clear Customs in New Plymouth, Green Turtle Cay

Main Street New Plymouth towards Customs. 

Time for a Picnic! 

Ginny Looking for her special sea shell.

Ok, we may just stay here.

Land Yacht.

On a mooring in White Bay - Green Turtle Club.

Green Turtle Club and Marina 

White Bay

Fresh Conch Salad 

UPDATE: Vero Beach and Jacksonville Florida

We enjoyed our stay in Brunswick, Georgia but it was time to move on as we got a small break in the weather. We left Brunswick on Thursday, January 13^th around 7:00 am with our friends Rob and Donna Bartley on sailing vessel “Breakin’ Wind” and headed for Jacksonville. We made it past Jekyll Creek (a narrow and shallow portion of the ICW) and things were going good until we hit ICW mile mark 704. We were aware of all the reported problems (charting errors and shoals) and ran this section very slow and with extreme caution. Our friends on “Breakin’ Wind” with a 4.5’ draft ran interference, however, we still ran aground near marker 60A.  It was a short grounding as we managed to get off in a few minutes and moved into deeper water. Grounding a 35,000 lb vessel with a 6 ft draft is never a good thing and we felt fortunate to manage to get off the shoal quickly. We warned a couple vessels behind us however heard some VHF radio chatter where someone ran aground there and had to wait 6 hrs for the tide to come in.

We passed the Kings Bay Submarine Base without incident or having to wait and made it to Fernandina Beach Marina. The town of Fernandina has a beautiful downtown area and we enjoyed a local Irish Pub with our friends Rob and Donna. Ginny, with her new enthusiasm for pelicans (after our special visit back in SC), went to take some pictures of the many pelicans around the marina. A local fisherman came into the dock and brought with him 20 to 30 pelicans eager to cleanup his scraps. Seeing Ginny photographing the pelicans, the fisherman threw a few scraps over near the dock where Ginny was standing and here’s what happened.

Up early the next morning and off to Jacksonville by day break. We transited the ICW to the St. Johns River (Mile 740) and headed up the river towards downtown. The tide gave us a nice push and we arrived at the marina a little ahead of schedule. Jacksonville is a beautiful city, both from the water and on land.

The marina (The Marina at Ortega Landing) on the Ortega River is very picturesque and convenient to shopping, restaurants and public transportation. We decided to plant roots here for a month so we could spend some quality time with the kids and to hopefully get past some of the cold weather we have been having.

Our first week here we were able to see Zack’s soccer tournament down in Daytona, Skye’s soccer game and flag football games for Jake and Zack. We have enjoyed being able to spend time with the kids and will be sad when we leave.

With our friends Rob and Donna we ventured out to downtown Jacksonville using the public transportation. We had a blast. It’s funny how things in life come around full circle. The last time I rode a bus was when I was in Jr. High School and its still fun. Now don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to ride the bus every day and as a matter of fact another 40 years would be just fine. Free made it much better!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Jacksonville being able to visit with the kids. We hope we can come back for part of the summer.

Decided to move on south with a little warm weather window and pulled out of Ortega River on February 19^th. 

We ran the track down the St. Johns River through downtown Jacksonville to the ICW. Our first night we stayed at Beach Marine marina in Atlantic Beach.We left Beach Marine Saturday morning with our friends on “Breakin Wind” headed south to Palm Coast. Just south of Beach Marine we encountered huge homes along the beach side of the ICW near Saw Grass. One home larger than the next until in the blink of an eye there were shanty’s. Yes shanty’s. It was unbelievable how the “hood” changed so quickly. We saw one shanty with a sign we are still laughing about. You know how beach people name there beach homes, well this guy had quite a sense of humor or he was sending a message to his rich friends. The name of his shanty was “Basshole”. I will let your imagination fill in the blanks.

On the way we passed through St. Augustine and the infamous Bridge of Lions which is under construction and can cause delays. Saturday was the charm as construction was halted for the weekend and we made it through without delay. We got a scare as we were leaving the St. Augustine area. Ginny woke up dizzy (this is normal for her) and developed a headache in the morning. A little later she began to see “floaters” and saw a couple of flashes. These symptoms can indicate a retina is pulling away from the back of the eye so we got concerned. When we arrived at Palm Coast Marina we went to the emergency room to have her checked out. We were told the hospital had an ophthalmologist on call. Well the hospital did an awesome job seeing Ginny however the ophthalmologist didn’t bother coming in. She told the attending physician to have Ginny come to her office Monday. Well we told “Dr. Don’t Bother Me on Saturday when I’m on call” to go do something to herself. What a poor excuse for a “doctor”. Mind you we didn’t expect to see a doctor in their office on the weekend, however one that’s on call at a hospital we did expect to see. That’s why we spent 4 freak-n hours going to the ER.  The ER checked Ginny’s heart and did blood work and told us she was otherwise healthy as a horse. So after 4 hours we were back to the boat knowing nothing more about her eye than we started. We checked our options for other ophthalmologist in Palm Coast and decided we should move down to New Smyrna Beach where they had an ophthalmology center within walking distance of the marina.

First thing Monday morning we called Robert Dean /Daniel Miller Ophthalmology Center and they had us come in right away. What a difference in attitude when you deal with “real” doctors that actually care about patients. After the exam the doctor told us Ginny was experiencing floaters due to a small vitreous detachment. He assured us the retina was not torn. Great news that only an exam by an ophthalmologist could reveal. Retina detachments can be repaired by laser tacking if dealt with within a few hours of the retina tear. Otherwise you can lose your sight. The good old doc who was on call at the hospital should be thanking her lucky stars it wasn’t a retina tear.

New Smyrna is a cool little town. We didn’t cross over to the beach side but did check out the downtown area. Lots of craft shops and restaurants. We shoved off from New Smyrna on Tuesday and made a run down to Coco Beach. This run took us through some very shallow water approaching the Haul Over Canal ( near Kennedy Space Center ). Along the way we ran across one of those power boat A-holes that threw a huge wake on us without warning. These people need to be keel hauled a couple of time to see if they have any brain cells between those ears. I don’t think so.

We set the hook in the Indian River off the Town of Coco Coco and spent the evening. Our friends on “Breakin Wind” launched their dinghy and took Missy the dog ashore. We decided to wait until the next day. Well the wind kicked up over night and we spent the next day on the boat without going ashore. We ran out of water in our main water tank and couldn’t take showers.

We decided to leave Coco the next day and run down to Melbourne Municipal Marina for the evening. I made the arrangements with the dockmaster for us and “Breakin’ Wind”. I asked the dockmaster if their channel could accommodate a 6’ draft vessel with the wind hawking at 30 kts. He assured me they “had plenty of water”. We as it turned out “Breakin Wind needed a pump out so they had to go into the marina first. With their 4.5’ draft they ran aground in the channel. After hearing they aground the dockmaster decided to tell them the deepest water was close to the red markers. After some time they managed to work their way off the shoal and creep into the marina. The dockmaster called us on the radio to find out when we were coming in. What a F-N jerk. This guy doesn’t understand wind tide and is managing a marina. Only a municipal marina could employ such a butt-head.

With the wind kicking up a real soup in the river our only option was to find deep water out of the ICW and wait until we could safely anchor. After about two hours of killing time we finally got a window to safely set the hook about 6 miles north of Melbourne in the river. The wind kicked up all night and we didn’t get much sleep. The next morning we weighed the anchor (by hand – not fun in a 20 kt wind) and headed south to meet up with our friends on “Breakin’ Wind”. Rob told me a almost scrubbed the paint off the red markers on his way out of the channel and barely had enough water on that side to get out.  I’m satisfied if I had listened to the dockmaster we would have spent several days blocking their channel due to the wind. This guy needs another profession.

We had a wonderful trip running from Melbourne to Vero Beach. This section is filled small islands with sandy beaches and pretty water fed by Sebastian Inlet. Once we transited south of the inlet we began to encounter the awesome homes along the waterway. We could hear Robin Leach from the TV show “Homes of the Rich and Famous” telling us in his English accent – “These are the homes you and never own”. Oh well at least we can enjoy them from a very close point of view.

We arrived at Vero Beach City Marina around 2 pm on Friday, February 26^th and spent the 1^st night at the dock. It was nice to be able to refill the water tanks and have shore power for heat. Ginny and I couldn’t wait to have a long shower and look for a bar / restaurant. Boy did we find the spot. Riverside Restaurant/Bar is located at the base of the bridge just south of the marina. They have happy hour from 4pm to 7pm every day and have live entertainment almost every night. Food is very good and the view of the river is awesome.

We moved from the dock on Saturday to a mooring. The marina has approximately 50+ moorings located in a well protected creek. We began learning the Vero Beach public transportation system which is very good by making a beer and wine run to Publix.  The free public transportation system has routes from the marina to the beach and all major shopping areas in Vero Beach. Very convenient and the price is right.

The 1^st week we spent getting use to the area and trying to stay warm. A nasty weather front came through with tornados one afternoon and we headed for the men’s bathroom with about 20 men and woman who were shore side before the storm hit. A couple of people lost canvas on their boats and our friends on “Breakin’ Wind” found there grill cover at the clubhouse which rode the wind from their boat about 1/3 mile to the clubhouse. Lucky dogs they are.

The second Sunday we spent at Riverside with our friends Rob and Donna (Breakin’ Wind), Bill and Laura Bender (Kindred Spirit III), and Bill and Mary Frances Perry (Cool Breeze). Boy did we have a good time. Well as a result of our heavy partying and riding public transportation we managed to get exposed to a nasty flu bug. One by one we all came down with this nasty bug that lasted for about two weeks. Not good.

Vero Beach marina is very convenient to shopping and the beach and is a good test ground for checking out the boats systems while on the mooring. We run our generator about an hour and ½ in the morning to top off the house batteries and again in the evening. During the day our solar panel and wind generator keep the batteries charged and our refrigeration working.

The first couple of weeks here at Vero were cold, however the last couple weeks we have had warming and shorts and flip-flops are now a common sight. Last week we lost our new dear traveling friends Rob, Donna and Missy Bartley on “Breakin’ Wind”.  They started their trip back to NC after 3 weeks here in Vero. We will miss them dearly and wish them God Speed and safety on their way back to New Bern, NC. 

Wednesday, March 31 – We are prepping Wind Dust for the passage to the Bahamas. The forecast shows a nice weather window to make the passage and for now it looks as if we will make our move on Friday. We plan to leave Vero Beach run the ICW down to Ft. Pierce inlet then south down the Florida Coast to a waypoint off West Palm Beach (Lake Worth Inlet). From here we will make the turn to the NE crossing the Straits of Florida and the Gulf Steam to a way point north of Sandy Point on the Little Bahamas Bank. Once we make the bank we will turn southeast and run approximately 52 nm to Great Sale Key where we will anchor and rest prior to moving on to Green Turtle Key where we will check into customs. Total passage to Great Sale Cay will be approximately 160 nm.

We had a couple problems pop up with our dinghy engine and it’s been in the shop since Monday midday. Should be getting the engine back today and preparing to move on Friday.