Sunset crossing the Gulf Stream from Bimini to Ft. Pierce (after the storm.)

March 26, 2015

We undertook the long journey from Ft. Pierce to Vero Beach, all 15 sm miles today! We left Ft. Pierce around 1040 and travelled the ICW under mostly sunny skies. It was totally uneventful, watching the homes and boats go by. Most boats are now heading north. At first we were a bit concerned that we might be heading north too soon, however while enjoying breakfast in the cockpit Jorge spotted a flock of Canadian geese in their V-formation heading north so I guess we're not that early after all! We did our first bridge along the ICW, the Ft. Pierce North Bridge.

Approaching Ft. Pierce North Bridge as it was opening.

Passing under the bridge.

We arrived in Vero Beach around 1330 and set anchor just north of the mooring balls in a nice quiet area off the ICW. We didn't go ashore at all that day. Jorge had a siesta and I started reading a new novel.

March 27, 2015

This morning was pretty much a repeat of the previous afternoon with me reading my book but Jorge reading news on the internet. After lunch we decided to go ashore and check out the marina, more specifically the showers, laundry and garbage facilities.

Welcome sign to Vero Beach City Marina.

Check out the live oak tree behind the sign, the property is covered with them!

Vero Beach has a free bus service so we took the bus from the marina into town, visiting first West Marine and then the usual suspect stores, ie liquor and grocery stores! As we were waiting at the bus stop, a lady stopped and asked us if we were going to the dinghy dock at the marina. She offered us a lift as she was going right by it. Yes, she admitted we looked like boaters! She has been in the area for some forty years so knows what boaters look like. It had been a rainy and windy day with the temp dropping to 15C that night, brrrrrr.

March 28, 2015

Another lazy morning. After lunch we went to the marina and did laundry. I joined Jorge in the boaters' lounge where we "lounged".

Yesterday while at West Marine we meet a family from Cambridge, Ontario. Today we stopped at their boat for happy hour. Vero Beach Marina rafts two boats to a mooring ball when they run out of balls so the couple on the boat rafted to them also joined us for happy hour. It seems our three boats are all heading to Cocoa tomorrow, maybe another happy hour is to be enjoyed!

Hello Ft. Pierce, Florida! We have arrived!

We left Alice Town, North Bimini on Monday, March 23 as planned, at 1130. For the first few hours we motorsailed but by 1500 we were able to shut the engine off and just sail. We were doing 6+ kts, in 10 - 12 kts of wind from the SW, with the help of the Gulf Stream. Around 1800 we were watching a storm approach. The engine went on, sails came down and the enclosure went up. We had a few minutes of heavy rain and wind gusts to 24 kts from the north. Although the rain lasted a short while the winds stayed with us for some 2 hours before subsiding, but they continued to come from the north all night. I would like to strangle the mini mental midget meteorologist from NOAA who miss called this! The four weather sights we checked before leaving Bimini had no mention of any northerly winds. Anyone who has done their homework knows that you do not want to cross the Gulf Stream with any northerly component of wind. With the stream running north and the winds going south, well, the seas get very agitated! We contemplated turning around and heading for Ft. Lauderdale (6 hours away) or continuing north, going into Lake Worth (7 hours away), rather than Ft. Pierce. As the weather forecast was for lighter winds during the night and coming from the SW - W, we opted to continue going north. The winds did, in fact, diminish becoming less than 10 kts but continued to come from the north. However the seas greatly calmed and, as Lake Worth got closer, we decided the conditions were okay to continue on to Ft. Pierce.

We had anticipated getting a good lift from the Gulf Stream during the entire crossing, but once on the Florida side of the stream, it seemed to run against us. The going was slow, at times our speed was reduced to 3 - 3.5 kts. I really wish I understood the weather, tides, currents and what affects them, better.

Anyhow, we arrived at Ft. Pierce Inlet two hours later than anticipated on Tuesday, March 24 and set anchor in the ICW just south of Ft. Pierce North Bridge at 1330. Prior to leaving Bimini, we had called a Verizon (phone) representative in Annapolis who helped us out immensely on our way south. He was able to program our phone and hotspot so when we arrived in Florida we just had to call a number and activate them. Jorge did that about 3 miles before the Ft. Pierce Inlet and viola . . . phone and internet! After setting anchor, we called CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and cleared in - partially. We still had to appear in person within 24 hours even though we have Nexus, passports and a US cruising permit. This protocol was different from when we entered New York in 2013.

This morning (Wednesday, March 25) we left the boat around 1100, got to Harbourtown Marina, tied up the dinghy and started our walk to Customs at the airport. The route on Google Earth showed it to be about 5 km each way, but it seemed more like 7 - 8 km each way! We presented our passports, cruising permit and the arrival # we received from CBP when we called in the day before. Five minutes later we were set to go, no questions asked, no inspection of the boat, nada!

We treated ourselves to lunch at a restaurant close to the marina before going grocery/liquor shopping. While in Nassau and Bimini I limited the buying as the prices were ridiculously high. Publix (a Florida supermarket) was 1/2 to 2/3 less than the prices in Nassau! And Jorge was able to find his brand of IPA beer. A win/win situation.

I think we are going to do a bit of the ICW for the next couple of days. After doing an overnighter, we were bagged, needing 12 hours of sleep the night of arrival. By travelling the ICW we can go for a couple of hours and then stop if we so desire. Once you're making an ocean passage there is no stopping and pulling over!

The weather was gloomy this morning (Jorge's SAD was kicking in already) but it cleared up and it has been sunny all afternoon with temp around 26C. Last night was nice for sleeping, we required a sheet and a light blanket but we slept like babies! (I know the lack of sleep the night before had something to do with it.)

With the hotspot, we have internet on board, maybe I'll be able to blog more often.

We left Nassau as planned just before 0700 on Friday morning, the first day of spring (according to my calendar). It was a gorgeous morning with predicted light winds.

Sunrise leaving Nassau Harbour.

Lighthouse at Nassau Harbour.

 

About two hours into the trip, Jorge decided he was going to drag a line, hoping to catch a fish. As usual, I rolled my eyes, scoffed and asked him what he wanted me to take out of the freezer for dinner!

It was an uneventful morning until around 1100 when the fishing line went . . . zing! OMG. Jorge caught something! Reel, reel, reel. What was on the end of the line? It was a mahi mahi (aka dolphin but not the Flipper-type)! We (me in particular) were so excited. We managed to get it aboard and that was the easy part, it didn't put up much of a fight. Now the hard and messy part, cleaning it. Mission accomplished after about an hour. Jorge actually caught two fish that morning, the mahi mahi had a flying fish in its belly. We had a wonderful dinner (with more in the freezer) of salad, baguette, and pan-fried, with butter and garlic, fresh mahi mahi, with me having a side order of crow as well!

Reeling the mahi mahi in.

Jorge and his catch!

 

A head shot of the mahi mahi.

 

The flying fish as lunch inside the mahi mahi.

Supper.

 

We did a 24 hour motorsail to Bimini, thinking at first of anchoring on the banks but the winds were so light and the seas calm we decided to keep going, arriving just before 0800. When arriving last year from Florida, we had a bit of a roller coaster ride into the harbour but this time no worries, the sea remained calm as it had been all night. It seems fitting that we are ending our Bahamas part of the trip as we started it, in Alice Town, North Bimini. The waters remain the awesome turquoise, the weather is sunny and warm and life couldn't be better!

Tomorrow we are off to Ft. Pierce, Florida, another overnighter! Approximately 120 nm from waypoint to waypoint. We have planned for 24 hours but we are not sure what like of lift we will get from the Gulf Stream. Ft. Pierce is a Class A inlet and slack water is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, hopefully it will be an easy entrance to the harbour.

After Bill and Lynn left last week, Jorge and I decided to stay in Nassau instead of moving to West Bay for protection from the winds as their strength had been down-graded. And, well, we're still here! We haven't done much of anything . . . two walks (and they were long walks) to the hardware store, a walk to Ft. Montagu (a very small fort, the size of a house) but it was closed so we walked around the park, a picnic at the same park a few days later, the normal walks to the liquor and grocery stores, and hanging out at Starbucks.

We have changed our minds and have decided not to go to the Abacos for many reasons. Tomorrow we are heading to the Northwest Shoal, then to Bimini and then to Florida. The winds have been non-existent this week and are forecast the same until Monday, so we'll be burning some diesel lol!

The boat is ready for the trip, engine oil changed, belts checked, laundry done, provisioning done. Yep, we're ready to go.

Here are some pics of Nassau. Weather has been great, 24C to 25C day and night, very little humidity, sunny skies with just a bit of rain and very little wind for the past week. Nassau Harbour was actually as flat as a pane of glass the last couple of nights.

The beach at Ft. Montagu.

The park at F. Montagu.

Looking west from Nassau Harbour at the park.

The entrance to Nassau Yacht Club.

The happy couple arriving in George Town.

Bill and Lynn arriving at George Town airport.

Our friends, Bill and Lynn from Parry Sound, left Nassau today. We decided that it would be best if they extended their vacation by 5 days (which they agreed to quite readily!). Two weeks was just not enough time to make the stops we had planned for them through the Exumas en route to Nassau.

After leaving George Town (Elizabeth Harbour), the Exuma Sound and swells were not kind to Bill. However once we got through the cut and behind Lee Stocking Island, Bill's tummy settled and things were good. We climbed Perry's Peak, the highest point in the Exumas, all 130+ feet! We were able to see both the Exuma Sound with the deep blue/purple colour and the Exuma Banks with the multiple turquoise colours. We also dinghied right up to and and silently floated over many rays which were in the area, some seeming to span 4 feet in width.

Perry's Peak on Lee Stocking Island (Exuma Sound in the background).

Ray in the water.

Our dinghy with a sunset.

Turtle at Little Farmer's Cay.

We basically made the same stops up the Exumas with Bill and Lynn as we did on the way down, as Jorge and I were familiar with those areas and wanted them to experience the highlights we had experienced the previous year. Our stops included Little Farmer's Cay (Oven Rock and the cave), Black Point, Staniel Cay (the swimming pigs and Thunderball grotto), O'Brien's Cay (the sea aquarium and sunken plane), Norman's Cay (the drug runner Carlos Lehder's hangout, another sunken plane, conch field and one palm beach), Allen's Cay (the iguanas) and finally Nassau. They also experienced wet ass dinghy rides, cockpit showers, fantastic sunsets and numerous happy hours! Some of the major points of a cruiser's life.

Bill, Lynn, Jorge and Kim chillin' after a swim at Little Farmer's Cay.

Shark at Black Point.

Bill and Lynn at Staniel Cay.

Lynn and Kim at Norman's Cay.

We had a few awesome sails between the islands with Bill at the helm at lot of the time. Along with the Gravol and sea bands, being at the helm helped keep him focused so there was not a repeat of the first day out from George Town lol! We also had a few days of motor sailing but all in all Bill and Lynn were happy with the sails and the vacation in general. It was good for us as well, experiencing the Bahamas again through the eyes of first-timers.

Once in Nassau, the four of us rented a car and toured part of the island, enjoying lunch at the Fish Fry and seeing how the rich vacation, there certainly are some mega hotels on the island! We also visited the British Colonial Hilton where Jorge and I stayed many, many years ago on a vacation. It was undergoing renovations at that time. What we paid for the total vacation then probably would only pay for one night now!

We had wonderful weather while Bill and Lynn were here, a few cool and windy days but better than being in Ontario at this time of year. Basically 26C to 28C during the day and 24C at night. We had the odd bit of precipitation but nothing that needed shovelling lol!

Well, its back to the old routine again now that Bill and Lynn have left. Provisioning, changing engine oil, laundry, etc., guess our holiday is over as well! The winds are supposed to be strong for the next couple of days. We are thinking of sailing to the west side of New Providence for shelter before backtracking and making our way east to Spanish Wells on the island of Eleuthra. (Did I say we were heading east? We need our heads examined!)

I have no idea why, but my pictures are now downloading!!!! I am soooo happy.

Our friends Bill and Lynn arrived last Thursday, February 19, as scheduled. Because of the high winds, they took the water taxi to CS'ta Time, rather than taking our dinghy across the harbour. Smart move as Jorge and I got soaked by the waves crossing the harbour, getting back to the boat!

What a coincidence, Bill and Lynn's neighbours from across the street in Parry Sound arrived the same day in George Town for two weeks! The six of us had lunch on Friday at Fish Fry Village to celebrate their anniversary.

Friday was also the official opening of Regatta 2015. As the winds were still high, we opted to take the water taxi to opening night, along with more than half the boats in the anchorage. Again a good move to avoid getting wet, but the lineup for the taxis was long and a bit of water rage occurred as cruisers were getting restless, wanting to get "home", also it was a cool night, not at all Bahamian weather.

We've been chillin' the last few days, visiting Chat and Chill, hiking Monument to the ocean side, sitting on the beach and enjoying happy hours. The guys also took in the small boat races (blind dinghy racing, kids kayak races, etc.), as part of the regatta events. The first big boat race scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to the high winds. Bummer, it would have been great to see the boats racing up and down Elizabeth Harbour.

Today is Monday, February 23, and we were at Exuma YC at 0900 to water and fuel up, as were 4 other boats. The gas attendant showed up at 1000, complaining of food poisoning (aka a hangover I'm sure). Oh well, it is what it is, lol. It is giving me a minute or two to blog.

The plan is to start our way up the Exuma Cays with Bill and Lynn, first stop being Lee Stocking Island. The winds have certainly calmed, from the forecast 25+ over the weekend to 8 - 10 kts today.

(It is now 1100, we are watered up and are presenting fueling up.)

Clarence Town, Bahamas and beyond.

February 2, 2015

Jim and Sue picked us up and we dinghied into town with them, arriving at 1000. We rented a car and "did the island". It was really a business day. We visited an autobody shop as Jim needed something for a boat job, then it was off to a liquor store before visiting the airport where Jorge and I tried to clear in. The marina informed us that we needed to clear in at the airport, a 1-1/2 hour trip up the island. Upon arriving at the airport, the authorities informed us that the marina should have called them and requested an official visit us at the anchorage and clear us in! What a fiasco, I'm sure the marina has cleared in a gazillion boats in the past. What was up? Anyhow, we had to meet the official back at the government dock at 1700 as he was clearing in a cargo ship and would clear us in at the same time. We had an extremely late lunch but one of the best burgers we have tasted in a long time.

We met the government official as scheduled at 1700, paid our $300.00 and were cleared into the Bahamas.

February 3, 2015

As we still had the car until noon today, Jim and Sue again picked us up in their dinghy, at 0800 this time. This was a tourist day. We visited Dean's Blue Hole, a momument to Christopher Columbus, and toured around Clarence Town, visiting first the Anglican Church and then the Roman Catholic Church where were had an interesting conversation with the priest.

Jim and Sue visited with us on CS'ta Time for happy hour (and it really lasted only an hour this time) as we were getting ready to leave Clarence Town the next morning. We said our good-byes as they were planning on leaving for TCI in a couple of days.

February 4, 2015

We were up and out of the anchorage by 0640. We had an awesome sail up the east side of Long Island, around Cape Santa Maria and anchored for the night in Calabash Bay. We sailed the entire way, right into the anchorage. Winds were 13 - 16 kts and seas 3' - 4'. Skies were sunny and temp was warm. We set anchor at 1500.

February 5, 2015

We were up at 0600 and left Calabash Bay at 0625. We had good winds from a good directionw and we sailed to North Channel Rocks at the south end of Elizabeth Harbour using the genoa only. As the going got tricky through here, we brought the sail in and motored to George Town and anchored in Kidd's Cove, setting anchor at 1130. It was good to be back in George Town!

We stayed in Kidd's Cove for a couple of days before moving to the anchorage in front of Chat and Chill, necessary because of a change in direction of the wind. We stayed there a couple of days before moving to Goat's Cay againn because of a change in direction of the wind. We have been in Goat's Cay since but will be moving tomorrow because . . . a change in the direction of the wind again! We are still getting used to the winds clocking with the fronts moving in, lol. As Jorrge put it, we are always hiding behind rocks.

We reconnected with some friends we met and travelled with last year, namely Dave and Rose on Cloud 9, Annie and Tom on Makani Olu, Anne on Crazy Lady and Bill on Providence to name a few.

We have also been doing some major spring cleaning over the past few days, long overdue.

The George Town 2015 sailing regatta starts this weekend and promises to be a good time. Our good friends, Bill and Lynn from Parry Sound, are arriving on Thursday so they will catch the opening of regatta. Unfortunately one of the races has already been canceled due to high winds (25 to 30+ kts) forecast for this weekend!

Grrrrrr . . . I need a 10 year old to help me with my problems uploading pictures! Until then, my blog will remain picture-less.