Preparing to head East

We still look to be on track to leave tomorrow, Sunday for the Exumas but we’ll make a final check of the weather before we leave. The front came through last night about midnight with fairly high winds, lots of rain, thunder and lightning.  The shore power was out when we got back from dinner but fortunately it came back up before the storm hit. We had he AC running while we were watching the movie Troy during the blitz but by the time the movie was over the rain subsided. Weather is cooler now than it has been. The locals are in sweatshirts and long pants.

Since we've been here in Nassau most days there have been rolling blackouts. Here in the marina the shore power has gone down about 7 in the evening until about 1030. Yesterday we were downtown and the power was out for a while. Last night we were at dinner with some other folks and the power went out in the restaurant. There has been lots of discussions about the situation with the government run power company and supposedly next month an American company is taking over the management and hopes that the service will improve.

We’re spending today doing final provisioning and picking up a few items we will need before we go. In the morning I will refill the water tanks and the jerry cans I have so we can minimize our resupply needs. In many of the places there is water for a cost. There are some places where it is free but it has to be dinghied out in jerry cans. We have a 250 gallon water tank that will take a long time to fill 20G at a time.  We figure we will carry water each time we go in. But once out in the island we can reduce our consumption significantly. For one thing we won’t shower every day. We can bathe in the water and then rinse off in the cockpit. We will also wash our dishes with ocean water and then rinse in fresh water. We should be able to get a month out of our supply and then we can top off when we get to a place with abundant supply.

This morning I was adjusting the dock lines when a man and woman came over to me and asked if we were going to Georgetown. He explained that he was helping her find a boat to the Caribbean and could she go as far as Georgetown. I explained that we were really stopping at several other places and it would be a while before we got to Georgetown and she would probably be able to find someone with a more direct schedule. We have discussed this situation and often joked about having someone who would do the cooking and cleaning to earn passage but the difficulties and risks associated with the reality of that militate against it. While we enjoy meeting new people and would enjoy company having someone on board we don’t know is something we haven’t adjusted to. Maybe we should be more spontaneous but we enjoy just being alone together.

This trip has really served as a shakedown as we completed a great deal of untested work before we left. We also have never done this kind of long-term live aboard sailing before so it has all been new to us. It’s one thing to read about living like this but it is different actually doing it. Some folks cruise back and forth to the Bahamas for several years but we are heading out next year after we revisit the Northeast and then back through the Bahamas on our way farther south. With this trip experience we need to go back and look at what we need to fix and what more stuff we need to buy. Improving our communications is probably most important at this point.

I mentioned to Linda the other day that I have thoughts about fall and football season because it seems like we have been in summer. But, in reality our biological calendar will need to get recalibrated to adjust to the endless summer. I don’t miss the cold and am glad we missed this past winter.       

    

Time in Nassau is really flying by

The time here in Nassau is really flying by. It’s already Thursday and it has been over a week since we left Key West. We got back our dinghy engine today and now we just have to wait on weather again. There is a front coming through over the weekend and once the storms are over we will leave.  The weather has turned crappy again with rain moving in last night that’ supposed to last for several days followed by a cold front moving through. We’re hoping we can get some wind to sail from it but with most of the anchorages being open to one side we need to pick someplace with some protection. We’re thinking Sunday with 20 kts out of the North. Since we’re going SE that will be a great combination. Now we’re looking for shelter until Monday when the wind shifts back to east for the remainder of the week. Since all the islands run north south we will have shelter from the east winds.

We’ve been continuing to do boat chores interspersed with trips to Starbucks and visiting with dock neighbors. Tuesday afternoon I worked on back flushing the HVAC and cleaning out the condensate venture line so that it would again effectively suck out the condensate from the air conditioning process. Today I traced down some issues in the water system and got that working again. I was also able to load the engine on the dinghy, test it and get it back up on the davits for the short trip across the Bank to the Exumas.  So many projects needed to keep the boat functioning well, fix things that break and service components to stay in top shape. It’s no different than a house but in a house a lack of maintenance probably doesn’t have the potential and immediate consequences like things on board.

Nassau is a typical tropical city. Other than trade and tourism there isn’t much business. There is a high amount of poverty and the very nice properties are owned by expats or absentees. There is some domestic agriculture. Shopping at the Fresh Market store in the plaza across the street from the marina we found some fruits and vegetables that were locally grown. The Fresh Market store very much resembles a US based Whole Foods Market with fresh organic produce and nutritional packaged goods. In fact it carries many of the same products and brands as Whole Foods.

Like most third world cities the potential for crime is everywhere. All the stores have active and visible security measures. Nassau has been cited as having a very high crime rate. Guns are forbidden in the Bahamas but the murder rate is very high. The marina where we are is very safe but it has security and only one door in at night. When we walk down the street we don’t feel threatened like in some US cities. People are very friendly and everyone greets you as you walk. We’ve been enjoying Nassau but want to get out to the other islands. 

Most people who come to the islands come here on cruise ships. Everyday there are multiple cruise ships at the dock. Unfortunately, Nassau and sites on the Island of New Providence are about all they see. They see the usual assortment of shops and bars with discount jewelry, liquor and resort activities. But the real Bahamas is out there. We’ll have pix as we can get them posted. We will need wifi to post good entries.

On the agenda for today is to walk to the discount market and pick up provisions from there that we need before shopping at the Fresh Market. Next to the discount market is a liquor store that carries Havana Club which we need to stock up on. The real Havana Club from Cuba. Not the Bacardi product by the same name. Once in the outer islands buying anything is much harder to come by as there are few stores and what they have is very limited. Costs tend to reflect the scarce supply brought about by the complex logistics. Most of the goods come from the US. Items that originate in other countries usually still flow through the US to Bahamas. Nassau is the transshipment point where items are then forwarded to the outer islands on Mailboats. The challenge of course is that the Mailboats only arrive on a schedule which can be disrupted due to weather. This applies to all goods including gasoline and possibly water. Some islands have fresh water supplies, some make it and some have it shipped in. Life really is tough on the islands especially when the boats are late. Everything in the Bahamas is more expensive.

We buy groceries to eat on board because even though this sort of has a vacation tone, we’re really at home so we don’t go out to eat too much. Hopefully as we get out to the islands we’ll catch fish and lobsters to supplement our dinner. We’ve done pretty well about eating out and once we get to the islands most places won’t have any place to eat out.

Life aboard is different than life ashore. For one everything takes longer. We have ample stores aboard but we need to usually move lots of things to get to them so that takes time and then putting everything back. In a house you may just reach in a cupboard and get what you want. Also, since we usually don’t have a car we walk or bike to places which takes longer than jumping in a car and going to the local 7-11. Then of course we count on internet cafes like Starbucks for wifi. We have a Bahama phone with data that we will use in the islands when we need it but the data and phone are very expensive.

So with the work on the boat and work to live we are constantly busy in fact there are some things I would like to do that I haven’t had time for. I used to trade actively but with limited access it is very difficult and I don’t have access to the research I need. But, since we’re mostly caught up we may play for a few days. I need to find a post office to file my tax extension. Even though we have an automatic 2 month extension for being out of the country, we will need all the time we can get to get last year in order having sold 2 properties, retired and all are records are in storage. A job for another time.

We will probably have another update before we leave Nassau and then to the islands. Right now, time for more rum. 

Here we are during our second night in Nassau. We walked downtown to a little local place that had very good food at a reasonable price. The architecture was your basic wood shack and the food was all fried but it was all chicken and fish. They didn’t have conch burgers tonight but I had the conch platter and Linda had the conch and lobster platter. Tomorrow we will get back on our diet. Everything was good and the beer was $4 compared to most other places charging $6.

Sitting in our cockpit the temperature has fallen to a very comfortable 78. Most of the other boats have on their air conditioners but I am enjoying the warm breeze. There is a disco on a boat that is going back and forth in the channel providing lots of music much like we had in Miami. I enjoy the entertainment. When we get to the outer islands I will enjoy the quiet and listening to the wind and water. Sunset from our patio.

After dinner we went for a walk around Fort Montague Park just a block or so from the marina. Unfortunately we didn’t bring our phones to take pictures but we’ll get back there. Fort Montague was built by the British to defend the east end of Nassau Harbor. There will be pictures. When we got back the sun was setting. This was the view off our bow looking to the west. Just another picture perfect sunset.

We spent a lot of time at Starbucks today trying to get caught up. I think we finally have our phones setup so we can stay in touch at a reasonable cost. Of course we spent probably an hour waiting to actually get onto the internet so we could accomplish our mission. There is a lot of criticism of the internet in the US and how it is better elsewhere. There may be some places where access is better but I’ve traveled a bit and access in the US is better.

We've met several folks here who just crossed over from the Keys and they seem surprised about crossing from Key West. While we were there we had not met anyone from Boca Chica that had ever crossed from there to Nassau. It was a very pleasant trip and as usual lots of sights. Not sure why it is so unusual except most people go as far as they can in a day. We enjoy longer sails with fewer stopping events. While it’s fun to anchor it takes time to find the appropriate anchorage and get settled down. But looking forward to short sails and peaceful anchors as we work our way down the Exumas. Also, when living aboard there is so much to secure and then reopen at each stop.

Doing a couple days at a time is easy. Time passes quickly and there’s nothing more peaceful than the sound of wind rushing over the sails or water under the hull. That gives us more time to explore.

Off the coast of the Florida Keys is a reef that runs from just below Biscayne Bay to the Dry Tortugas where the continental shelf falls off from 40-50 feet to hundreds and then thousands of feet deep. 

This reef is marked by screwpile lights that have endured storms over the years and still light to warn ships of the edge of deep water. Here is a picture of the American Shoal light off Big Pine Key that we passed by marking our exit from the safety of US waters and into the deep. It also marked the edge of the Gulf Stream where the current began to flow in our direction and ship traffic increased. We timed our departure so that we could make it off the reef in daylight because there are some shoals but our track took us clear of anything shallow.

Once off shore the sky illuminated with stars and constellations that no doubt fascinated ancient sailors. There is something eerie about sailing at night as if there is a great mystery hidden somewhere but there is a beauty to it as well. During the day the sun is comforting in that you can see your surroundings but at night you don't see where you are so much but you see from your spot on earth to light that was transmitted millions of years ago. Nothing puts life more into perspective than being an isolated point in a dark surrounding looking at infinity.

When the sun rose on Thursday morning at sea it presented an ominous depiction of potential challenges. A red sun rose from the sea on the other side of the earth from where it had sunk the night before and quickly hid behind a bank of thick black clouds. The rays of the sun illuminated rain in many places but mostly in the direction we were heading. But as morning turned into day the clouds moved on without giving us any rain and soon a bright sun illuminated the sea and the Bahama Bank we needed to cross.

More quickly than we went into deep water we came out of it.  When we left the Keys we went from 40 feet of water to 600 feet of water. When we left it we went from 2000+ feet of water to 20 feet in less than a mile.

I would have much preferred to sail all the way here but the chances of having the right wind to cross the gulf stream is unlikely so the best we hoped for is no wind and that’s what we got for the trip over here. Forecast is for east wind on Wednesday when we want to leave here and go south. The easterly trades usually blow into the Bahamas making north south sailing possible. It’s just getting here from the west that’s difficult. Now many cruisers are headed back to the US to make their way north. We’ll wait and enjoy the perfect time in the Bahamas. Winter in the Bahamas can be nasty like in Florida and summer is hot. We are coming to the perfect time of year here.  Warm water, declining crowds and friendly skies.

When we arrived at our marina, the Nassau Harbor Club we topped off with about 25 gals of fuel and got in our slip and waited for customs. The local authorities arrived in about an hour, came onboard and processed us into the Bahamas. Very easy and very friendly people. In addition ot filing out some forms for us there job was to welcome us to the Bahamas and hope we enjoy our stay.

Next update will be more about our visit here in Nassau. One of our dinghy engines is being repaired and not sure when we will be ready to leave.

Our first international arrival

After days of preparation we finally untied the dock lines and left Key West about 1700 (5PM) Wednesday for our trip to the Bahamas. The time and date of departure had been under discussion for a while but based on all the factors we decided that the late Wednesday afternoon departure would be best.

My estimate was a 30 hr trip so if we left Thursday morning we would get into Nassau midday Friday. But several folks suggested it might take longer than 30 hrs so we went with a longer estimate and planned to leave earlier. The earlier departure also allowed us to leave the Florida reef during daylight and cross onto the Bahama bank in daylight and probably arrive in Nassau about daybreak. Also when we got our weather data from our weather routers, Dane and Jennifer Clark, there was a forecast of rising northerly swells in the Gulf Stream building Thursday afternoon so it would be good to be mostly across before then. As it turned out we ran then engine for 34 hours from the time we turned it on to warm it up before we left our slip until the time we turned it off after cooling down in our slip. The little sailing we did didn’t really reduce the engine hours since it didn’t provide much forward progress. So my original estimate of 30-35 was fairly close.

Using Gulf Stream data from Jennifer I plotted waypoints for our trip. Our initial leg was about 50 miles at a heading off 101d. That took us into the Gulf Stream. Then our next waypoint was about 60d for about 40 miles and then turning to 77d for about 55 miles. That would get us to the Bahama bank. Then a course of about 79d for about 56 miles across the bank to the tongue of the ocean and then a course of about 120d for about 40 miles to Nassau. Our estimate was that the trip would be about 240 nm so at about 8 kts that’s 30 hrs. In actuality it was probably closer to 260 and 32 hrs of travel. Still an average of 8 kts.

We started out while the folks at Boca Chica were gathering for happy hour and there were lots of folks on the sandbar where we had gone on Sunday. There was a little breeze of about 5-6kts almost dead behind us so it wasn’t sailable but also would not cause problems in the Stream.

In about 2-3 hrs we could begin to see the influence of the Stream as we crossed over the reef and into deep water. We began to pick up speed which was good because we had been lagging in the contra current. We were initially doing less than 7 kts GPS speed but over 8 through the water but soon our GPS speed increased to 8, 9 and then 10 kts. It’s too bad it was dark because I wanted to see what 10 kts looked like. We’ve sailed in the 9 kts range but don’t think we hit 10 unless we did coming down the Bay in December.

Night sailing is always fascinating. Usually it starts with an incredible sunset. Wednesday night we watched the sun melt into the sea. As it got dark the lights of the reef markers came on as the lights onshore faded away. However, in the darkness the penumbras of the islands became visible as did the huge one over south Florida. The light pollution from urban areas drowns out the stars but fortunately we were far enough away and there was no moon that the constellations and galaxies were fully evident. Planets were clearly visible. I even saw a shooting star blaze across the sky and then disappear.

For the night sail we worked watches as we usually do. Linda napped first and came on about 1 as we were blazing through the Gulf Stream and we hit our second waypoint. I napped while Linda watched but then she woke me just before 5 when we hit the next waypoint and ships did not appear on AIS. I

This point was just north of Sal Cay where the 2 branches of the Gulf Stream merge and head north up the Florida coast. This is also a very busy shipping lane with all the traffic headed up and down the east coast to and from the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama Canal. At one point we had 4 targets on AIS. A target is a ship that is a potential threat to us. But, I was able to thread the needle without changing course.

We soon left the shipping lanes and made a beeline for the Banks. We crossed over just before 1100 Thursday pretty much as expected. 18 hrs from the time we left the dock.

Once on the Banks the water changed from large deep blue swells to turquoise chop. With little wind we motored straight to the tongue of the ocean just north of Andros Island. On the Banks we saw shrimpers and fishing boats looking for the bounty from the deep.

Our original plan was to continue on to the Island of New Providence and drop the hook in West Bay for the night before proceeding into our marina. But, the flanks to West Bay have shoals and coral heads that shouldn’t be a problem but going in at night to a place we’re not familiar with could raise risks we don’t need to take. So we passed off the Banks before sunset into deep water again and sailed or at least tried to. The wind quickly died so we began to motor. But then the wind came up but directly in the way we needed to go. Not much wind so we sailed tacking back and forth. We were able to sail 3-4 kts with about 7 kts of apparent wind. Not bad for a 35,000# boat.

About 0230 we decided it was time to get to the finish so we pulled in the sails and motored the remaining 35 miles to Nassau and as the skies started to brighten we saw the skyline rising ahead of us.

The sun came up again with red hues indicating a change of weather was due. But before it was we were able to receive permission to enter the harbor and got to our marina and added fuel before docking. Within an hour of getting in our slip the Bahamian Customs and Immigration Officers arrived and processed us into the Bahamas. Once completed the usual tasks of boat chores began to get ready for a few days in port. Amekaya’s first international excursion had begun.

More pictures to follow about our crossing.

Countdown to departure

Another busy day starting to make preparations for departure. Seems like there is so much to do. Tomorrow we are going to make a shopping run which hopefully will get us everything we need. Then more boat work.  But of course it is also St Patrick's Day and nearly everyone here will be down on Duval Street and maybe we will be too. Just so much to do.

This marina has many folks who live here year round except when they're cruising and some folks who are only here several months a year. But most folks have been here for years and have formed a very tight community. Last night at the Pot Luck dinner we met a couple who have an IP 380 Sandcastle, a boat very near and dear to us and they invited us over to their dock this evening for sundowners.

One of the features of their dock party is blowing the traditional conch horn just about sunset.

The lagoons here are teaming with wildlife. At night when I sit in the cockpit I can hear critters of different sorts breaking the surface of the water and during the day lots of things can be seen. We frequently see large tarpon breach.

About 60 or 70 years ago the marina lagoon was dredged from a mangrove swamp for fuel barges to come in to support the airfield. Today this could never be done because Florida has a law protecting the mangroves. But, the excavation created a labyrinth of honeycombed roots that provide shelter fo critters and especially fish who come in there and spawn. Down by the end of our dock there is a school of baby barracuda that have been there. Have no idea what baby barracuda eat.

Now that the winds have calmed the water is once again clearing up and more things are visible

At this point our plans are to leave late Wednesday afternoon but there is much to do before then.

Just another starry night

Sometime next week Spring begins in the northern hemisphere and with any luck we will be in the Bahamas. But we still have many projects to do before we leave. One fact of boat life is that for every project completed there are 10 more to do and like education in general, the more you know the more you know you don't know. So the as things get done I learn of so many things I knew nothing about before. But that keeps it interesting.

Evenings here are beautiful. Beginning with the sunsets that I've captured here they are exciting for the brightness and colors they include. But then the sky lights up with thousands of little lights that form a beautiful blanket of constellations and nondescript patterns. Down below in our festively lit screened cockpit the breezes cool off the heat from the day and critters swimming and jumping in the water break up the general quiet.

We've now been here at NAS Key West for a week and gotten a lot done but we've had some fun too. Weekends and days of the week don't have any particular significance except when we interface with people who need a clock. This weekend started with a beach concert by a local band called Island Time. They played a great mix of music including some songs we haven't heard in a long time.

   

I don't remember how Friday night ended but somewhere in the darkness I'm sure it did. But Saturday was a beautiful day. Bright sunshine and a nice easterly wind of about 15 kts and we planned to do a day sail with slip mates Johnnie and Mickey Poole. Getting the boat ready to sale while living aboard is not easy. In addition to getting up all the navigational and boat handling stuff the cabin needs to be secured from the stuff of living in a boat.

So we left the slip a bit before noon and quickly ran downwind to Key West. There were 2 cruise ships in port; a Disney Cruiser and one from Holland America. In front of Mallory Square we tacked and headed back toward Boca Chica Key. We came up on the wind as tightly as we could and still make good speed. We were on a heading of about 175 and 80 miles short of Havana we tacked. It took us several short tacks but we made it back after a perfect sail.

Today started out with a run before it got too hot but it did. We made a quick run to the West Marine thanks to Johnnie and topped off the fuel tank in preparation for departure. Since we fueled up at PGIYC we burned 11 gal of fuel on 7 hrs of engine time. Considering our total travel time that's not bad. We moved our house from PGIYC, to Burnt Store Marina, to Key West and took it out for a sail on about $30 of fuel. 

But after our boat chores we took our dinghy out to a sandbar near the end of the channel to hang out with some other folks in the cool water and warm sunshine.

This evening we joined in with the cruisers Sunday evening "Pot Luck" dinner and then came back to recoup and begin to plan our exit strategy. Looks like it will be about 36 hrs to Nassau by motoring because doesn't appear to be much wind forecasted so planning arrival and departure to do both in daylight is a challenge. Of course once we are on the Bahama Bank we can just drop the hook someplace and stop for a rest and go into Nassau later. Or we can drop the hook near the west end or by Cable Beach.

But for right now we will continue to enjoy the sunsets and a few busy days until our departure.

Tick, tock, tick, tock

We've been at NAS Key West since Saturday afternoon when we arrived from Port Charlotte. Our plan was to get our final boat work completed and wait for some mail we needed before going to the Bahamas. We've finished most of the work we needed, gotten some of the mail (should get the last piece tomorrow) but the weather doesn't look good for leaving anytime soon. There is a slight chance we could push it and get out this weekend, but it's no good shot and there's no hurry for us to leave here.

Here is our view off the back porch. We are not far from US 1 and that's the bridge across Boca Chica Channel into Stock Island. On the other side of Stock Island is Key West. We are just over 6 miles from Mallory Square. The distance is easily bike-able but we've had offers for rides and the same bus we rode from Marathon stops just outside the front gate. So for $3 we can get to Duval Street.

The facilities here are not like any commercial marina. The harbor was dredged years ago as a harbor for barges to bring in aviation fuel for the air field. At some point they built a pipeline so the no longer needed the barges so Navy MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) used Non-Appropriated Funds to build the docks and buildings. The water is fairly clear for a marina and fish can be seen frequently swimming or just hanging out in the mangrove.

Across the cove is a spit of land where the office is located right next to a beach with several tiki bars. There are usually folks there but it is never crowded. On the beach is the Navigator Bar and Grill where folks from all over the base gather daily for happy hour. Also unlike most marinas there are dozens of full time liveaboards who stay here or occasionally cruise to the Bahamas.

There is also a nice fitness center that we've been to for workouts and we have a daily airshow.

So as we look at the possibility of leaving, staying here is a good option.

Last night one of the boaters across the way and his wife came over and asked us if we wanted to go to a fish camp down the road where he was going to play at open mike night. So we did. We got there early and had dinner while other entertainers performed.

 

The place was just inside the mangrove from the ocean. After the show we were all invited over to one of their friends for after dinner drinks before heading home.

We've been in contact with our weather gurus, Dane and Jennifer Clark and look forward to their advice about leaving.

But, until then we can spend the time working on the boat, shopping, going to the beach, working out, partying and tomorrow we just might go for a sail. We may not be able to sail across the Gulf Stream, but we can still sail. Saturday we may even go back into Key West.

Does it get better than this?

Friday afternoon, 6 March about 1330 we began untying dock lines to begin the process of sailing back to the Keys. Our slip at Burnt Store was in the very back of the marina so there was little wind or current but the location of the pilings and the finger pier made it cumbersome to get all the lines off easily but we did and we moved cautiously from the slip to avoid hitting any of the manatees who called our slip their home. We moved at barely over 2 kts through the marina as we saw manatees by other piers.

Eventually we got out of the marina and tentatively sorted our way through the shoals encumbering the entrance to the marina. So almost 30 mins after untying our lines we were in open water heading right into the wind with about 12 miles to Boca Grande Pass. As we got into the channel out we got the sails open for our trip to the Keys. We quickly accelerated and shut down the engine as we moved smartly at 7-8kts. I didn't raise the staysail since I knew we would be falling off the wind as we headed south. So I took some pix and videos that hopefully will portray the rush from getting under sail.

As we sailed out of Boca Grande we were close reaching and as we cleared the shallows and began to fall off the wind got more behind us until we got on our heading of 175 to Key West where the apparent wind angle was about 140 which is pretty far behind. Initially the wind was only blowing in the low teens but on an upwind sail we could do 7-8 kts easily but as we turned our speed dropped to 5-6. But not for long as the wind began to build over 20 which it stayed up for the rest of the trip.

Our heading took us offshore and as we got further out the waves built. As night fell so did a fog shroud the hastened darkness. For the rest of the evening and overnight the level of visibility was mostly low but at times we got to see the moon and stars. The wind stayed up and I saw some gusts over 30 with the waves to match. But this made for a quick trip to the Keys.

Daylight came through cloudy skies and we were still rocking and rolling. We made it to the Key West sea buoy at 1130 which was about the best projection on our GPS in spite of a short jibe to get a better wind angle.

At one point we had a pod of dolphins playing in our wake for about 10 mins going back and forth under the boat and jumping over the bow wave.

We turned into the channel and caught the current changing so with just 2 sails up we were reaching at 8+ kts. Since the channel turned I hesitated pulling out the staysail. Had I done that we could have probably been doing 9 kts the whole way in.

In the above photo you can see Key West as we came in the channel close to 9 kts. We sailed through the channel and then came up into the Hawk Channel where we had lunch before going over to the Boca Chica Channel and into NAS Key West and our slip.

The course from where we were to the channel was dead into the wind so we pulled in the sails and motored to be sure we ran the engine enough before docking. The channel was a long but deep entrance and we found out slip quickly and backed in or our stay.

As we came up the channel several F/A 18's were warming up to take off and the sounds of freedom are definitely here. Gotta love it!

Water is very clear. Tonight I saw a shark surface as I was working out on the deck.

We got several boat chores done today before we went over to the Club for a happy hour birthday party and met some of the other cruisers here.

So after a very good 25 hour passage we're ensconced in our new accommodations for a few days or maybe more than a week. Weather doesn't look good for a passage to the Bahamas any time soon. So it will giv eus itme to get stuff done and have some more fun in Key Wasted before going out to lay low in Abaco.  

A Day at Marineland???

I came back from the grocery store this morning to find a large crowd milling around the dock at Burnt Store Marina by our boat. The people were expressing great delight as they were gawking at the water around our boat. I worked my way up the finger pier through a group of onlookers to our boat's boarding gate. After depositing my groceries down below I went back up on deck to see what the commotion was about. Manatees! There were several manatees that took up residence in the waters all around our boat. It was pretty cool to see so many manatees romping around our home. Maris saw one that "kissed our boat". The obvious evidence was a smear of red paint that matched our bottom on the manatee's head. I tried in vain to get a good picture as several would surface at once but unfortunately by the time the picture would actually snap the sea cows would be once again submerged. I did get one right next to our boat (see below). Note the red color (Amekaya's bottom paint) on the Manatee's head. He liked to rub against our keel. In fact, at times so much so that he would noticeably rock our boat.  Manatees can grow up to 13 feet long and weigh as much as 13,000 pounds.

While the manatees played right outside the galley I spent most of the day cooking meals to freeze. That's so we'll have good meals to eat on our offshore passages, especially good if it's rocking and rolling out there. It's easy and delicious to heat up a frozen home cooked meal when it's uncomfortable to cook while underway. As they say a well fed crew is a happy crew! While I cooked Maris did some work on our dinghy motors. It was hard to get work done with so many people stopping by our boat asking questions and complimenting us on our beautiful boat.

Tonight we enjoyed a home cooked vegetable Panang curry dinner on board with our friends Cathy Bleakly and Tom McGarry. The weather was warm and beautiful with a full moon shining down on us. We'll miss our friends here as tomorrow we'll begin our sail back to the Keys to finish prepping for our Bahama trip. As much as I really like this part of the world and have enjoyed the company of good friends here I am looking forward to moving on and contining our adventure to new destinations. I can hear the sea calling......

Skipping over the ocean like a stone

Today we left Punta Gorda Isles Yacht Club as a guest of Ellen Andreas, Jack's mother. Ellen is 91 and everyone at the Club knew her. Still active going to dances and swinging. Best to her and again thanks for sponsoring us at such a wonderful facility. Special thanks to Jack for asking her for us and lending us a car while we were there. It is definitely on the list to come back to.

We waited to leave until close to high tide due to the shallow water depth in the channel. Our friend Tom McGarry came about 1 and we took off.

What a beautiful day. Wind was blowing in the low double digits (out of the direction we needed to go of course), temperature was in the 80's and a beautiful blue sky.

The deep part of the river is fairly shallow by Punta Gorda so we made 2 tacks before we cleared into a wider part and did about a 5 mile tack. But then we tacked back and made a 10 mile tack that took us right to the entrance of Burnt Store Marina.

We were initially doing about 5 kts but once we got onto the longer tacks we were doing over 7 kts and made it very quickly and nicely to our destination without using the engine. There were many other boats out sailing in the perfect weather.

We enjoyed having our friend Tom along to help with the sail and to show us where the slip was.

We are enjoying this slip courtesy of Cathy Bleakly. As a homeowner in the community she has free dockage rights so we are able to use it for a couple nights as we prepare to head to Key West on Friday.

Hopefully we will see manatees in the morning. We understand they congregate here so we look forward to breakfast pals.

So now it is a beautiful night with a nearly full moon above. It is quiet with the halyard of the yacht club flagpole clanking in the breeze.

Really looking forward to getting back out and sailing to Key West on Friday.

Our last night at PGIYC

Tonight is the 7th night we've been at the Punta Gorda Isles Yacht Club and we need to move on by Club policy. Jack Andreas' mom was nice enough to sponsor us as a guest so we could stay here.So we don't want to wear out our welcome. Tomorrow we move on to Burnt Store Marina which is about 20 miles from here to spend 2 nights thanks to Cathy Bleakly's auspices. From there we will sail on to Key West where we will make our final prep to head over to the Bahamas for 2 months.

The last 2 days were spent arduously replacing head hoses and replacing valves in our head. The hose for our forward head became extremely difficult when the coupling severed somewhere out of sight. But we were able to snake a line through and by getting into spaces I could barely see we were able to coax the hose through and finish the job. I also found my way into spaces on the boat I only knew of before. Still a few loose ends to finish but better by far. Doing this work myself provides the opportunity to know more about the boat, where things are and how they work.

Tonight Jack and Dora Andreas came by the boat and then we went to dinner in downtown PG. But first we took some pix.

Here is a great shot of Jack and Dora in our cockpit.

And we asked if we could get a rare shot of us that we can use on our boat card. Not sure why we were holding on because the harbor was very peaceful and calm.

And a picture of Jack and me enjoying some of Pennsylvania's finest. Class of 1972.

Many boat chores left to do before we head over to the Bahamas but only a few that must be done. Some can wait, some can be done better at anchor and some will get done at some future date.

Another beautiful evening to be sitting in the cockpit writing this and reviewing the days events. Tomorrow will be 3 months since we threw off the dock lines in Oxford, MD and headed south. What an adventure it has been so far. In spite of the work, the challenges and the hardships the return on that investment has been immeasurable. We have met so many wonderful people, have enjoyed so many great times and seen some absolutely incredible moments. The sunrises and sunsets at sea have been far better than colors on canvas applied by any human.

What is truly amazing is that while we have nothing to do we have so much to do. On many occasions in my previous life I had thought about continuing to be engaged in professional work, but now I can't imagine when I would have the time to do anything. Maybe when we get to the Bahamas it will slow down.

When the sun goes down on Charlotte Harbor

Finally today, Sunday 1 March, the Chamber of Commerce weather arrived in Charlotte Harbor. We have had rain off and on since we arrived Wednesday but that hasn't kept us from enjoying the amenities of this low key community hidden away on the Gulf Coast. I'm not really sure what we've gotten done since we've been here but today we started in replacing the rest of the head hoses. We should finish it tomorrow.

Friday was spent running errands but Saturday was a great day. We started out by going downtown to the weekly Farmer's Market where they actually had a few farmers selling victuals. The market was packed with snowbirds looking for bargains. So we quickly walked through and got some fresh produce for our next few days, then went to West Marine for stuff to help out with the hose job and then headed out of town.

We have been very lucky that Jack and Dora Andreas loaned us a car so we could do the errands we need to do. Since it's been rainy it wouldn't have been fun riding our bikes everywhere and some things are just way far.

But on Saturday we had the opportunity to see one of our music favorites Mr. Jim Morris play at his home venue, the Nav-A-Gator in Lake Suzy just a few miles from here. We first heard Jim Morris on Radio Margaritaville and loved him. We've seen him at the Jetty on Maryland's eastern shore several times but we saw him do a Nav-A-Gator afternoon concert.

  
Tom McGarry came with us. We've spent time with him while we've been here and shared lots of stories and information.

And here you can see one of his groupies getting an autograph on the latest CD.

Fortunately the rain held off all afternoon and we met quite a lot of wonderful folks. We met folks from visitors from Illinois, recent transplants and some Brits who were raving Jim Morris fans as well as some other folks. Everyone was fascinated to hear about life aboard.

Saturday night we met Jack and Dora for dinner at a fish place out the road. Wasn't more than a place that served what they caught that day but the food was incredibly good and of course the company was outstanding. After we closed down the fish place we wandered around in the rain looking for a quiet bar where we could continue our stories. We found a place that was mostly quiet but as it got later it got louder. So somewhere on the down side of 11 we adjourned and Linda and I came back to our waterborne condo.

This morning started out with a workout in the great fitness center at this yacht club and then right into working on head hoses. Once we complete this and the rebuild of our forward head that should complete that major project and a major annoyance since it first acted up back in Cherry Point. Of course I have other major projects I haven't started yet. Some I'm saving for the Bahamas but some I need to do while we're at a dock.

Tonight Tom McGarry picked us up and drove us down to Burnt Store for dinner at Cathy Bleakly's house. Tom and Cathy are both old friends from Herrington Harbour who have relocated here to Punta Gorda and enjoying it all.

We had appetizers and then a wonderful Cobia dinner that Cathy prepared.

This weekend we were also forced to make some decisions about our travel. There are some additional things we need to do before we go to the Bahamas and we can only stay here until Wednesday so we will be leaving here and going back to Key West for a few days until we receive everything we need and then we can head over to the Bahamas.

What's really amazing at each point is that when we leave it is the actualization of plans and dreams we've made for years. It's one thing to think about them but when the actual departure time arrives and we start the engine it is exciting and almost scary. Ever since St Augustine everything has been new and the realization that other than a few points in time it really doesn't matter when we get there. We're living in the land of no Mondays so we can go where we want when we want. I don't think we yet appreciate the power of that.

There isn't anyplace we've been that we "wanted" to leave but each next adventure was better than the last and we certainly enjoy the sailing. Time spent at sea is magical. So far we haven't seen the fury that the sea can provide but I'm sure we will soon enough once we venture forth to foreign lands.

This is truly the time of our lives because it is the time of our lives.