Hi Everyone:
All down the ICW, one of the first question you heard was “Where are you going?” Once you said “Bahamas” the next question was “Where in the Bahamas?” We dutifully replied we were going to Exumas and George Town. In truth, we knew only vaguely what that meant, except that all our friends and advisers were clear, that this was THE way to go. In this “chapter” we arrive in the Exumas, and begin our adventures in the northern part of this beautiful island chain.
We reach the Exumas (Wed, Jan 9)
All the weather gurus seemed to say this was a good day to leave Nassau and head SE to the Exumas, so we checked out of the marina and asked for some one to help us with the docklines. It seemed easy enough as we backed out, but let’s just say everything went well until our line handlers refused to cast off the last line. Wind and current did the rest and soon we were bouncing off two neighboring sailboats and threatening a third. When the dust settled, we were back in our slip, bow out ready to start again. This we did with much more precision, and soon we were motoring out the eastern harbor entrance.
We raised sail and were soon going 5.0 knots toward Allen’s Cay in the Northern Exuma Cays. We had to cross the Yellow Banks, which was a concentration of coral heads, “most” of which were deeper than our keel, and all of which were easy to see (IF the sun was high enough and behind you) and maneuver around (IF you kept a sharp look out). As we approached this area, the wind began to die down and the wind chop began to increase, so we started the motor to give us the maneuverability we needed. For the next 50 minutes (4.5 miles) Brian acted as lookout and Sue manned the helm, as we “read the waters” and dodged around maybe 10 dark spots that identified the coral heads that were in our path. We never really saw anything “yellow”, so I guess it’s something you only see if the weather/sun conditions are right.
Once we passed the last coral head on the bank, it was a straight forward motor sail over to Allen’s Cay, and to a relatively crowded anchorage. Due to the depth, we couldn’t go too far into the harbor, and had to settle for a marginal spot at the southern end, exposed to strong currents and the easterly wind. We backed down hard on the anchor and then Brian used the dinghy and our trusty clear bottom “viewing” bucket to be sure our anchor was well buried in the white sand bottom. Everything checked out, so we finally were able to enjoy the sunset on another leg of our voyage. We were planning to make the Exumas our home for the next 3 months!
The tidal current was pretty strong at times, but all the boats managed to swing in unison at our anchors. We kept our GPS and navigation software on all night to be sure we were not getting too close to a large rock about 100 feet to our west. Every so often we tended to swing that way, motivating Brian to awaken at each tide change to check we were still swinging clear at each turn of the current. Some anchorages are more relaxing than others! (Sue seems to have problem sleeping during these events.)
Iguana Days (Thurs, Jan 10)
Like most cruisers, our first priority the next morning was to go to SW Allen’s Cay, and see the iguanas. These little guys (some got about two feet long) look like they could have been cast in some 1950’s dinosaur movies, have the run of the place and are protected by law. You’re not supposed to feed them, but they’ve obviously been very skillful in getting handouts anyway. The minute your dinghy approaches the beach, they come half-way down the sand to greet you – with the biggest ones making sure they get first shot at any handouts.
We took plenty of pictures, and walked across the island to the southern side to see the lone palm tree that stands conspicuously on the island. An occasional rustle in the brush, let us know that the iguanas were still looking for some food. We had brought some cheese and crackers for a picnic snack, but we decided to go over to the beach at Leaf Cay.
It turned out that Leaf Cay had an even bigger iguana settlement, but we decided to go ahead with our picnic, despite all the beady eyes watching us. Fortunately for them, another dinghy arrived, bearing some French Canadians who enthusiastically fed them some chips and candy snacks. With that diversion going on, Sue was free to get out the needle and thread and do some repairs to a zipper and bow cover on our inflatable dinghy.
Hook, Line, and Calamari (Fri, Jan 11) Allen’s to Highborne Cay
Highborne Cay, our next stop, was only five or so miles south, so we got off to a leisurely start at around 10. The winds were from the SE, so we could enjoy a one-hour sail south, before tacking east to our anchorage off the Highborne’s western shore. There were 3 other sailboats there when we arrived, but by sunset we were surrounded by six more cruisers, and three 65-foot plus motor yachts.
Highborne Cay has a nice marina, so we dinghied around the southern tip to check it out and see if we could find some bait to go fishing. The marina was populated with many power boats, including a good size mega-yacht and its assortment of nautical toys (center console fishing boat, two jet skis, etc.)
The store was surprisingly well stocked with staples and some fresh vegetables and meat. As you might guess, the prices were pretty amazing for some common items, like paper towels ($5.10 for one roll), corn flakes ($5.85), large can of corn ($1.85), etc.
Fortunately, our “ships store” is – and remains – in good shape. The supply of “Highborne Cay” Tee shirts was pretty much exhausted, so we settled for some tropical color napkins as a souvenir, and a box of frozen squid for our bait. We then took some time to relax at the marina’s beach with some beverages we had brought along.
We knew next to nothing about fishing, but we happily drifted among the rocks with our handline setup, managing to “catch” the bottom only once, and thankfully not hooking our inflatable at all. The fish were not biting off Oyster Cay or in our anchorage when we returned to Sogno. On the plus side, we now had some “calamari” in the fridge for future fishing trips. Instead of a fish dinner, it was linguini with white clam sauce. Cruisers and fisherman always have a “plan B”.
Running A Tab in Norman’s Cay (Sat, Jan 12)
The winds were very light, when we motored out in the morning for Norman’s Cay, a trip of only 10 miles or so. This was a chance to try out our fishing pole and one of the lures – the pink one. We knew the best fishing was out in the deeper Exuma Sound, but we wanted to figure out how to rig the pole for trolling off our stern. With an assortment of bungee cords, we managed to rig something relatively secure, but the reel didn’t click even once to indicate anyone was go for our sexy pink lure.
We secured our fishing operations as we turned in toward Norman’s and were anchored among 3 sailboats (2 Dutch, 1 Canadian) in short order. There appeared to be very good holding in sand, but a little shallower than expected.
Norman’s Cay had a wild history from 1979 to 1988, when it was the center of a major cocaine smuggling operation. The airstrip is still in operation, but things have become much quieter. The old Norman’s Cay Club that served as the smuggling headquarters is now in ruins.
We dinghied ashore after a light lunch to find the Norman’s Cay Beach Club and see about dinner at the island’s only restaurant. Near the decaying dock ashore, we found a paved road that led us on a 15 minute walk across the island to the airstrip and the Beach Club. When we walked in to “McDuff’s Bar and Grill”, the NFL playoff game was in full progress, the customers were having a good time, and we were greeted by Beth, one very friendly bartender. Soon we had the dinner menu to peruse and a couple of beers (not necessarily in that order). We mentioned we were planning to coming back later for dinner – no problem. Beth: “We’ll just open a tab for you and when you come back we’ll settle up after dinner.” We could just leave it open and resume when we came back for dinner. How’s that for customer convenience – and trust!
We tried to find a short cut back to the dinghy, but only managed to get Sue’s knee scraped when trekking (and therefore, falling) through some underbrush. It was low tide by the time we were back aboard. The tide was just beginning to come in, and as Sogno swung around to point into the current, we quickly noted that we were bumping ever so gently on the sand bottom! Shortening our anchor rode stopped that, but this would definitely not be a good spot to be when the cold front forecast for Monday arrived.
Our dinner that night at the Beach Club was fantastic: grilled mahi-mahi, salad, and some delicious warm bread. We dined out on the deck to enjoy the light SE breeze, and then adjourned to the bar to watch the end of the Green Bay – Seattle game. (It wasn’t lost on us that the game was being played in the snow.) Needless to say, it is a wondrous age we live in that allows high definition snow flakes to be broadcast to a small bar and grill in the Northern Exumas!
We had to take a pass on the Pats game, closed out our tab, and headed back to the beach, flashlight lanterns in hand, for the dinghy ride back to Sogno and our next X-Files episode. A little civilization and a chance to talk with new friends, does indeed uplift the spirits.
The Mighty McDuff Burger (Sun, Jan 13)
Brian was up to check our depth at low tide (4:40 am), and it turned out to be around 1 foot under the keel. We didn’t bump the bottom this time, but first thing we did was to re anchor a little bit to the north and east, where the water was deeper, and we would be in good shape when the wind shifted to the NW on Monday with the arrival of the expected cold front.
Today we decided to do begin with some dinghy exploring. Our first stop was a very small island (50 yards long) with a single palm tree, located near the mouth of Norman’s Cay harbor. It was your classic “deserted island” and it looked approachable only around high tide. We had fun looking for conch shells, and taking pictures of ourselves with the palm tree (See how easy it is for us to keep ourselves occupied when we’re off the boat.)
Our next adventure was to go around the shores of what is a large (but very shallow) harbor that extends 3 miles north of where we were anchored. With the outgoing tide starting to carry us north, we only managed to get half way before the water was too thin even for our outboard. We retreated to Sogno and decided now was as good as any to try one of the famous Beach Club (McDuff’s) hamburgers.
The McDuff burger (with cheese) lived up to its reputation, and then some! It was at least 8 oz., and managed to occupy us for at least 20 minutes. French fries were also very tasty. I don’t know if it had much HDL, but this was definitely “good” cholesterol. Our digestive systems were working in overdrive, as we talked with the Beach Club manager, and watched new arrivals land at the nearby airstrip. A walk back didn’t energize us very much either, so it was back to Sogno for a siesta (Sue) and blogging (Brian). No need for any dinner tonight.
The anchorage, however, was getting a bit tight (13 boats), so after talking with our neighbor Solange IV (Kevin) we let out another 20 feet of rode, so we would both have nearly the same scope.
Sogno Dances ‘Til Dawn (Mon, Jan 14)
Tonight was not a quiet one on the anchor. There was a SE wind that made the boats dance about as the current changed from a NE flood to a SW ebb. To the south of us, we could see lots of searchlights coming on as some boats moved to re-anchor, and as a large “mail boat” maneuvered to tie up in the dark at the dock.
Brian got up to check our position around 3am. (Sue sleeps, of course, through most of this.) Looking about, we appeared to be staying the same distance from our 2 closest neighbors, but checking the chartplotter made it look a lot scarier. Sogno was swinging in circles over the bottom, and the circles were moving to the SW. We didn’t seem to be dragging, but the anchor rode was making noises as it rubbed against the hull. Brian stayed up for the rest of the night with a novel, monitoring Sogno’s travels on the chartplotter screen and popping up every 30 minutes to see if everyone else was staying in step. Everything seemed a lot more normal once the sun was up, but it was a reminder that strong wind and current, can make for a not so peaceful anchorage.
Based on the weather forecast, we decided to dinghy over to nearby Shroud Cay (about 3 miles) and check out the mangrove swamp and creeks. We used our handheld GPS to help us avoid some rocky and shallow areas, and arrived at the NW end of the island around 11:30. We wound our way through the shallow mangrove areas and arrived at a beautiful beach on the other side of the island. We strolled about, talked to Seas The Day (Terry and Nancy) about “must see”, and had our picnic lunch. We then hiked up the 65 foot hill to “Driftwood Camp.” The view from the summit revealed an island whose center was mostly under water (the swamps) and was ringed by hills and beaches. The swamp is a “marine nursery” protecting the baby marine life, until it can later fend for itself in the open water. Shroud Cay is a protected area and is part of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.
After lunch, we headed back to the west side of the island by another creek. The tide was falling by now, and for a second it seemed as we might have to get out and walk, but eventually we found our way back to open water. After fiddling with the GPS a bit, we set up a return route and made it back to Sogno without incident.
South Anchorage – Less is More (Tues, Jan 15)
With the weather looking favorable, we arranged for an Exuma Park mooring at Warderick Wells Cay and began the short 12 mile trip at around 10:45. We had another great sail, reaching down Exuma Sound at around 6-7 knots. Solange IV was also assigned to the same South Anchorage as we were, and as we made our final approach, radioed us that there was “plenty of deep water in the middle”, and “to get our camera’s rolling” because it was an absolutely beautiful anchorage! With breakers crashing against the shore, we slipped around Hog Cay, and beheld the beautiful (and flat calm) blue green waters and white beaches of the South Anchorage. It was an image right out of a Bahamas travel poster, and we were grinning from ear to ear as we eased past Solange IV to tie up to our mooring ball.
We eventually came off our high enough to dinghy a mile to the North Anchorage and register with the Park. We joined the “Support Fleet” which gives you a break on the mooring fees, and of course met up with many of the boats we had seen along the way (Werplayin, San-I-Tee, Sucia, and Highlander). We returned in time to have cocktails aboard Solange IV (Kevin, Melissa, and young sons James and Caleb). We all agreed that this was a very special spot and that it was like having our “own island.” The North and Emerald Rock anchorages were more popular (near to HQ, more moorings, Wi-Fi, more trails nearby, etc.) but our snug little harbor finally offered a chance to get off the “beaten path” and relax at our own pace.
We “Hit” the Trails (Wed-Thur, Jan 16-17)
The next two days we took time to explore more of Warderick Wells:
Wednesday - A big breakfast (eggs, hash and blueberry muffins) got us off to a good start and we dinghied north to join a Nature Walk, conducted by Bill (Highlander) who has been volunteering at the park for many years. We learned about whales, humming birds, mangroves and the impact of man and storms on the island. We climbed up the limestone path to Boo Boo Hill (where cruisers leave carved signs and to see the blow holes), had our lunch snack at Boo Boo beach, and then ventured out on our own to a few more trails. We then visited with “Werplayin” (Deb, Paul) on their mooring, to find out more of their adventures since we first met them in Staten Island, NY. We were also joined by Solange IV. (Both couples were from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, but hadn’t met until along this trip.) Deb and Paul’s hospitality was impressive with homemade minestrone and cookies topping the menu! We hated to leave and paid for it, with a stiff SW breeze making the return trip a real soaker.
Thursday – We started our exploration of the South Anchorage with a trip over to Escape Beach and a climb to the top of a hill to get a panoramic view. Brian then scrambled over a look at a blow hole above a “tunnel” that leads to the Exuma side. Sue could finally relax when he made it back without falling! Lunch at Capture Beach was followed by a visit to the mysterious “Pirates Lair” in a palm tree grove, where pirates supposedly met to relax. Then we hiked the Wild Dilly trail to Bush Basher Beach. Sue fell on this very rocky trail, and managed to “bash” a finger and her tailbone in the fall. We carefully retraced our steps more carefully and made it back with out further incident. We invited Solange IV over for drinks and learned more about each other’s boating plans. They were cruising south 6 months at a time and then working 6 months back in Edmonton to refill the “cruising kitty.” They were planning to store Solange in Charleston, SC this Spring, so they could be back home by May. Thursday ended under a moon so bright, we could see our dinghy’s shadow on the sandy bottom, along with a sting ray (and pilot fish companion) slowly moving about. A grilled steak dinner brought the day to a successful close.
How Green is My Water (Fri, Jan 18)
We started Friday by taking care of the basics. In this case it was our dwindling supply of fresh water. Brian tested one of the two 6.5 gallon water jerry cans we keep on deck, in addition to our normal 110 gallons. The water was distinctly “tinged” green, but given that we were down to our last 40 gallons of fresh water, we decided to chance it and put it in our empty bow tank to use for showers. By the way, the Exuma Park doesn’t have any water, food, fuel, or garbage facilities available, which turns out to be a very effective way of making sure the cruisers don’t overstay their welcome.
After this little chore, Sogno did some bartering with Solange (we traded a box of Triscuits for two cans of cream of mushroom soup) and tool lending (we loaned a battery hydrometer and borrowed a dental pick for a definitely non-dental project). For recreation, we went to Tiny Beach (yes every patch of sand in the park has a name) and did some snorkeling around a beginner’s coral reef site. We didn’t see any sign of the barracuda that Kevin had spied the day before, but we removed our rings so we wouldn’t any attract the interest of any hungry fish. We did see some colorful fish and coral, but when Brian’s big moment came to use the digital camera carefully sealed in its new underwater case, the camera merely said “change to new battery.” No pictures this time! If you haven’t figured it out yet, we are definitely new to all this snorkeling stuff, so we learn something new every time we don our gear. We also learned how fast you can get sunburned on your back if you don’t keep covered up.
After lunch, we left our special anchorage to motor a few miles to the North Anchorage. We ended up on a mooring only one boat from “Werplayin” and a short 5 minutes to the Park HQ. Even more important, we were within range of the Wi-Fi antenna! After a brief initial success, software problems with the Wi-Fi access site shut us down for the time being.
By the end of the day, our “green water” shower experiment seemed successful. At least we certainly felt much better. It was a relatively early dinner (Chicken Creole), early X-file episode (Brian fell asleep) and an early lights out!
Things Get Hairy (Sat-Mon, Jan 19-21)
Saturday - The first chore, was Brian’s beard trim in the cockpit. Sue did an excellent job, but now Sogno had a “hairy” coat on the transom to go with the salt and sand that could be found everywhere. Even the dinghy did not escape the downwind hair “spray.” The rest of the day was spent reading, relaxing, and prepping Sogno and our mooring lines for the strong cold front expected on Sunday. The highlight of the day, was the “Saturday Happy Hour” on the Beach. Cruisers supplied the snacks and drinks, the Park supplied the ice and bonfire. Over 20 boats arrived and we had a great time making new friends on the beach and learning more about all the great places to go in the Exumas.
Sunday - Today we went into get maximum Wi-Fi strength, so we could make some phone calls over the internet (Skype service is what we use.) Things worked ok, but the reliability is still somewhat suspect – at least on our old laptop. We returned to Sogno to wait for the first sign of the cold front, and it obliged promptly at 4:11 pm when all the gray clouds finally delivered a blast of wind from the North, which quickly built to 25 knots, with some occasional rain squalls. From then on it was turn on some relaxing music, do some reading, and generally get used to the sound of the wind in the rigging. After dinner, for “fun”, we decided to watch our “Perfect Storm” DVD, which did indeed mask the sound of the outside wind, and did remind us that our weather was far from anything serious -- so far!
Monday - We had a reasonably restful night with no excitement in the anchorage. On the positive side, the rain washed away most of the salt and hair, and some of the sand! The wind was more in the 15-20 knot range for most of the morning. This gave Sue a chance to inventory the ship’s stores and for me catch up on “Buds at Sea”. Hopefully this installment will get posted today or tomorrow.
Going forward
We’re planning to depart shortly for Cambridge Cay, which is at the southern end of the Exuma Park. From there we need to stop for some water, laundry, fuel, etc. The logistical challenges are becoming more apparent as we head down the islands toward George Town. Sue is creating a spread sheet as I write this, and soon we’ll know how many days before we run out of something we can’t live without! Fresh water (at $0.50 per gal.) is one thing I know we need to live. Running out of tonic water is another. We’ll let you know how we’re doing in our next installment
Don’t forget to send us your comments. When we get a chance to see them, they really make our day. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
No Name Harbor, FL to Nassau & NW Bahamas
Hi Everyone:
For months, we studied everything we could about crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas, and it was always a topic of discussion with other cruisers. Where are you jumping off, where are you heading, and what does the weather window look like? The questions were always the same, but the answers evolved as we grew closer to the jumping off harbors.
This “chapter” covers “THE CROSSING” and our initial cruising in the Northwest Bahamas.
The Crossing (Tue-Wed, Christmas Day to Dec 26)
It was rise and shine at 5 am and anchor up at 6. Sue and I were on our way. Despite a full moon, it was cloudy and darker than expected, but we sorted out the Florida Channel buoys and marks and by 0640 were rounding Cape Florida. We set our initial heading to 104 degrees by compass.
This was 19 degrees to the right of the direct course line to Bimini and North Rock. The adjustment was needed to counteract the effect of the 2.5 knot Gulf Stream which would set us to the North as we crossed it at a boat speed of around 6.5 knots. This was our heading for the next 48 miles. As we motor sailed, we tracked our position on the paper chart. We initially stayed south of our course line. Halfway across the stream, we were back on the course line; then north; and then near the end we came back very close to our intended way point of North Rock. It worked just like the theory said it would!
Sue was first to spot South Bimini Island, and by 2:30 pm, we were passing North Rock and our depth sounder clearly announced we were “on the Bank.” Depths were now around 20 feet even though it looked like we were in a calm area of the open ocean. If the lack of ocean swells couldn’t convince you, then you just had to look over the side and clearly see the bottom. Kind of scary, but the clear blue green water was already working its magic. We set the sails and turned off the motor. We had made it to the Bahamas!
Plan A was to continue crossing the bank slowly through the night so that we would close in on the Northwest Channel light at dawn. The slowly dying wind made it easy to move slowly, but once it got dark, and the current began to affect us, it was a lot easier to just slowly motor.
Sue prepared a great hot dish of chicken and rice which we ate in the cockpit – in the dark. It was a perfect preparation for the first watch by Brian from 5 to 9. Sue napped and then took the 9 to 12:30 watch, and made the course adjustment at Mackie Shoal. Brian then took the next watch, switched from sail to motor and kept a lookout for some overtaking motoring sailboats, plus an occasional commercial vessel traveling toward Bimini. We eventually overtook some of the other boats which slowed down before dawn, as well as a couple of boats who just dropped the hook just short of the Northwest Channel.
Not all the lights and buoys were as charted, but Brian eventually got it sorted out. We passed Northwest Channel light at around at 0610. Sue took it from there and Brian crashed for a few hours, before getting up to let Sue sleep a few more hours until noon.
Nassau slowly came into view and by 1:00 we received permission for Nassau Harbor Control to enter the harbor. We contacted Nassau Yacht Haven, and were happy when they said they had some room for us. We tied up at 2:30 in a mild breeze with some excellent dock line help from John. We now had to wait for Immigration and Customs to clear us in.
We cleaned up Sogno (lots of salt spray) and Immigration arrived within half an hour and we were done in less than 10 minutes. Customs was another matter, but after verifying that there was a Customs officer working her way through other boats in the marina, we just had to wait until around 5:00 or so to answer a few questions and pay our $300 cruising permit fee. Yes – we had arrived! Down went our yellow quarantine flag, and up went our Bahamas courtesy flag. We were free to move about the country!
December 26, is a big holiday in the Bahamas, so almost everything was closed. After taking showers, we ran into George and Lynn (Sunspot Baby) who told us about the weekly cruisers lunch on Thursday (tomorrow). We also got a rundown on what bars and restaurants were open in the area from the friendly security guard. Crazy Johnnies Rock and Roll Bar was our first stop, and we sampled our first Bahamian beer – Kalik. From there we went to a nearby Outback steakhouse, where we got an ok meal, with very indifferent service. We reckoned our waitress was not very happy about working on Boxing Day, and let it go at that. It was time to get some sleep.
Nassau is fun, but Cruising is Better (Thur-Sat, Dec 27-29)
Nassau is on New Providence Island -- the capital of the Bahamas. Nearly 80% of the country lives in and about Nassau. It’s a good sized city, that depends heavily on the tourist industry. We stayed in Nassau for 4 days, and had a chance to organize Sogno, provision, do laundry, meet other cruisers, fix a few items and see some of the sights. At the Cruisers Lunch (Green Parrot) we had a chance to meet local legends Nick and Carolyn Wardle . They helped organize the Bahamian Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) and are always helping out arriving cruisers with weather reports and other useful information.
We finally got a handle on the local bus system, and managed to make it out to the Ardastra Gardens to see the flowers, wildlife and flamingo show. The local marina restaurant (The Poop Deck) was a good place to hang out, sample some conch fritters and talk to other cruisers. Watching other cruisers arrive is always fun especially when you have seen them during a cruise such as Event Horizon II (Peter and Cheryl). They shared an anchorage while riding out Noel off the Alligator River. Our self-conducted tour of Nassau included downtown, the Library (originally an old jail), Fort Fincastle, the Water Tower and the Queen’s Steps, plus shops in the area around the cruise ship docks.
By day four, we were getting a bit depressed, since the weather and wind were still not favorable for continuing south --- to the Exumas. We finally decided to head northwest to the Berry Islands, and check out Little Harbour and Cabbage Cays. It was time for us to go cruising and that meant going wherever the wind was bound for!
Reading the Waters in Little Harbour Cay (Sun, Dec 30)
After a stop at the fuel dock, we were underway at around 10am for our 38 mile sail to the Berry Islands and Little Harbour Cay. The skies were clear and we got an hour of sailing in, but the winds were weakening, and from dead astern. We finally had to motor the rest of the way, to be sure we got in with some adequate light.
We arrived at the Little Harbour Cay entrance at 3:45. The sun was just high enough for us to still “read the water colors” and work our way around the brown and dark spots (shallow) and stay in the blue and blue green areas (deep) as we headed for the anchorage. Brian was at the bow busily waving his arms to indicate where Sue should steer - - left, right, more right, left, etc. As we approached the charted anchorage, the depth kept decreasing, and soon all we saw around us were dark spots and depths of 6 or 7 feet. We were close to where a bunch of other boats were anchored, but we couldn’t get any further “local knowledge” so we turned around and headed for High Cay (aka Frozen Cay) which would also give us some shelter from the SE winds.
Our first anchoring attempt (35 # CQR) wouldn’t set, so we changed locations and ended up anchoring near a bunch of other boats who seemed to be riding nicely. Given all the room, we probably were a little closer that we should have been, but we still had adequate swing room, and we didn’t have much time left before the sun set. We declared ourselves anchored and set about preparing to properly watch the sun set.
There was a little bit of roll, but as anchorages go this was a keeper and we slept well after Sue put together a great shrimp and broccoli pasta dish followed by a “Beautiful Mind” DVD.
Ringing in the New Year at High Cay (Mon, Dec 31)
New Year’s Eve day, we dropped our dinghy and did some exploring. Flo’s Conch bar was closed, so we continued motoring about Little Harbour Cay, Comfort Cay and Lizard Cay. The water was shallow enough (less than 2 feet) that we had to row for a while. After getting back in good water, we headed for the local beach and all the cruisers enjoying the water. There were 3 sailboats and a trawler present, and we found out the local scoop on Flo’s (conch, fish, lobster, French fries, and rum punch), how to get a conch out of his shell, where the good snorkeling was, and how to burn your garbage on the beach. We clearly had a lot more to learn.
We headed back to Sogno, and took some time to look at how our anchor was set, using a clear bottom viewing bucket. It was kind of scary to see that the anchor was only 50% buried in the sand, even though it was holding fine. In any event we spent the afternoon recharging the battery, while two of the boats moved over to the Cabbage Cay – Little Harbour Cay anchorage. A grilled steak dinner, some local fireworks and a bonfire we could see on the beach finally put us in a New Year’s Eve mood. We toasted the New Year in a bit early (thanks Dan and Elaine for the champagne) and turned out the lights on what had been a very special year. What would 2008 bring?
Riding Our First Norther (Tues – Sat, New Years Day - Jan 5)
We began the New Year, with a mimosa brunch, followed by a change of anchorage on a rising tide. Going over to join the other boats near Cabbage Cay was not a problem if you came in from the south. What WAS a problem was anchoring. After 3 attempts near where the charted anchorage was, we finally moved out to deeper water and managed to set the anchor with 90 feet of chain and 40 feet of nylon rode. Hooray! We then took another giant step toward Bahamas cruising, by breaking out the snorkel gear and taking our first tentative exploration of the local sea bed off the beach. Needless to say, Sue and I were just thrilled with what was probably pretty tame stuff, but we liked what we saw, and decided that beach people might have something going after all.
We were glad we got this beach time in, because by midnight, the wind began to howl and our first cold front with accompanying “norther” had arrived. For the next 4 days, there was not much to do unless you wanted to go around and get wet (plus salt) in your dinghy in the 20-25 knot winds. We elected to focus on various improvement and repair projects, this blog and just catching up on our reading. Sue kept up morale with food (quesadillas, pasta, brownies, etc.)
One “funny” incident occurred when one night Brian went to bed at around 8:30. We didn’t know it, but around 9 pm one of the boats close to the shore (San-I-Tee) had started bouncing on the bottom and had been forced to re-anchor near us. When Brian woke up at 12:30 and checked the anchorage he saw San-I-Tee and thought she was dragging anchor. On went the search light and he sounded the alarm on our air horn. Once we all got on the radio, we found out what had happened and could all go back to sleep. Brian was “complimented” on watching out for others, but it was clear the wind was wearing on peoples nerves.
By Saturday, the wind was beginning to lessen, and two of the larger sailboats elected to leave for Nassau. The rest of us elected to wait for Sunday, which the weather gurus said was a better day.
Our Best Sail So Far (Sun, Jan 6)
We all got going at around 6:45 am and made it out the entrance at high water with no problems. The wind was a steady 15 knots or so out of the ENE so we had a great sail all the way to Nassau, averaging 6.5 knots, with Sogno leading the way. There was a brief squall to greet us as we approached the harbor entrance, but all went well and we were back in Nassau Yacht Haven by 1:00.
After getting cleaned up a bit, we did some provisioning and stopped by the Poop Deck. We of course talked with more cruisers, including John and Maryann (Lucky Girl) who were docked near us and invited us to stop by in the morning to go over the Exuma charts with them.
Back on Sogno it was a grilled steak, brownies and an X-file episode on DVD. It had been a very good sailing day!
Enjoying Nassau and Getting Ready for the Exumas (Mon-Tue, Jan 7-8)
The weather reports Monday morning were looking good for a Wednesday departure for Allan’s Cay in the Exumas. We did spend some time over at Lucky Girl, learning about good anchorages, snorkel areas, marinas, and hiking areas down the Exumas chain. John and Maryann had spent a number of years in the Bahamas and we thank them for taking time to help out some first timers.
After that we jumped on a bus into town and explored the local Straw Market. We found it more like a tourist flea market, and kind of limited in the local crafts available. We then went out to Arawak Cay (aka “the Fish-fry”) to get some local seafood. Mondays are a slow day there, but we did get some advice from one restaurant owner (“Full Belly”) and had some excellent grilled conch and grouper at “Seafood Haven.” We were so full, we only took the bus back to town, and then walked the rest of the way to the marina to get some exercise.
On Tuesday, we topped off our fuel tanks and jugs and then went off to Paradise Island. It turned out to be an easy walk over the bridge, and we immediately checked out the Atlantis resort. It has a fabulous little aquarium that can be seen for free in the grand hotel lobby. The scale of the whole things is tremendous, and we only saw the casino, marina, and other public areas. The whole resort represented an investment over $1.9B.
After we got back to the marina, we decided to finally buy some fishing gear, and got considerable help from a nearby marine store. After an hour we emerged with rod, reel, hand lines, gaff, lures, and assorted other “accessories”. With a little luck, we should be able to eventually catch something. We’ll keep you informed on how we do.
We’re planning to depart for the “Far Bahamas” tomorrow, crossing the Yellow Bank. Sounds exotic, but we’re assured that it’s a pretty easy run of 35 miles or so, if the east wind stays tame. Stay tuned …
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
For months, we studied everything we could about crossing the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas, and it was always a topic of discussion with other cruisers. Where are you jumping off, where are you heading, and what does the weather window look like? The questions were always the same, but the answers evolved as we grew closer to the jumping off harbors.
This “chapter” covers “THE CROSSING” and our initial cruising in the Northwest Bahamas.
The Crossing (Tue-Wed, Christmas Day to Dec 26)
It was rise and shine at 5 am and anchor up at 6. Sue and I were on our way. Despite a full moon, it was cloudy and darker than expected, but we sorted out the Florida Channel buoys and marks and by 0640 were rounding Cape Florida. We set our initial heading to 104 degrees by compass.
This was 19 degrees to the right of the direct course line to Bimini and North Rock. The adjustment was needed to counteract the effect of the 2.5 knot Gulf Stream which would set us to the North as we crossed it at a boat speed of around 6.5 knots. This was our heading for the next 48 miles. As we motor sailed, we tracked our position on the paper chart. We initially stayed south of our course line. Halfway across the stream, we were back on the course line; then north; and then near the end we came back very close to our intended way point of North Rock. It worked just like the theory said it would!
Sue was first to spot South Bimini Island, and by 2:30 pm, we were passing North Rock and our depth sounder clearly announced we were “on the Bank.” Depths were now around 20 feet even though it looked like we were in a calm area of the open ocean. If the lack of ocean swells couldn’t convince you, then you just had to look over the side and clearly see the bottom. Kind of scary, but the clear blue green water was already working its magic. We set the sails and turned off the motor. We had made it to the Bahamas!
Plan A was to continue crossing the bank slowly through the night so that we would close in on the Northwest Channel light at dawn. The slowly dying wind made it easy to move slowly, but once it got dark, and the current began to affect us, it was a lot easier to just slowly motor.
Sue prepared a great hot dish of chicken and rice which we ate in the cockpit – in the dark. It was a perfect preparation for the first watch by Brian from 5 to 9. Sue napped and then took the 9 to 12:30 watch, and made the course adjustment at Mackie Shoal. Brian then took the next watch, switched from sail to motor and kept a lookout for some overtaking motoring sailboats, plus an occasional commercial vessel traveling toward Bimini. We eventually overtook some of the other boats which slowed down before dawn, as well as a couple of boats who just dropped the hook just short of the Northwest Channel.
Not all the lights and buoys were as charted, but Brian eventually got it sorted out. We passed Northwest Channel light at around at 0610. Sue took it from there and Brian crashed for a few hours, before getting up to let Sue sleep a few more hours until noon.
Nassau slowly came into view and by 1:00 we received permission for Nassau Harbor Control to enter the harbor. We contacted Nassau Yacht Haven, and were happy when they said they had some room for us. We tied up at 2:30 in a mild breeze with some excellent dock line help from John. We now had to wait for Immigration and Customs to clear us in.
We cleaned up Sogno (lots of salt spray) and Immigration arrived within half an hour and we were done in less than 10 minutes. Customs was another matter, but after verifying that there was a Customs officer working her way through other boats in the marina, we just had to wait until around 5:00 or so to answer a few questions and pay our $300 cruising permit fee. Yes – we had arrived! Down went our yellow quarantine flag, and up went our Bahamas courtesy flag. We were free to move about the country!
December 26, is a big holiday in the Bahamas, so almost everything was closed. After taking showers, we ran into George and Lynn (Sunspot Baby) who told us about the weekly cruisers lunch on Thursday (tomorrow). We also got a rundown on what bars and restaurants were open in the area from the friendly security guard. Crazy Johnnies Rock and Roll Bar was our first stop, and we sampled our first Bahamian beer – Kalik. From there we went to a nearby Outback steakhouse, where we got an ok meal, with very indifferent service. We reckoned our waitress was not very happy about working on Boxing Day, and let it go at that. It was time to get some sleep.
Nassau is fun, but Cruising is Better (Thur-Sat, Dec 27-29)
Nassau is on New Providence Island -- the capital of the Bahamas. Nearly 80% of the country lives in and about Nassau. It’s a good sized city, that depends heavily on the tourist industry. We stayed in Nassau for 4 days, and had a chance to organize Sogno, provision, do laundry, meet other cruisers, fix a few items and see some of the sights. At the Cruisers Lunch (Green Parrot) we had a chance to meet local legends Nick and Carolyn Wardle . They helped organize the Bahamian Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA) and are always helping out arriving cruisers with weather reports and other useful information.
We finally got a handle on the local bus system, and managed to make it out to the Ardastra Gardens to see the flowers, wildlife and flamingo show. The local marina restaurant (The Poop Deck) was a good place to hang out, sample some conch fritters and talk to other cruisers. Watching other cruisers arrive is always fun especially when you have seen them during a cruise such as Event Horizon II (Peter and Cheryl). They shared an anchorage while riding out Noel off the Alligator River. Our self-conducted tour of Nassau included downtown, the Library (originally an old jail), Fort Fincastle, the Water Tower and the Queen’s Steps, plus shops in the area around the cruise ship docks.
By day four, we were getting a bit depressed, since the weather and wind were still not favorable for continuing south --- to the Exumas. We finally decided to head northwest to the Berry Islands, and check out Little Harbour and Cabbage Cays. It was time for us to go cruising and that meant going wherever the wind was bound for!
Reading the Waters in Little Harbour Cay (Sun, Dec 30)
After a stop at the fuel dock, we were underway at around 10am for our 38 mile sail to the Berry Islands and Little Harbour Cay. The skies were clear and we got an hour of sailing in, but the winds were weakening, and from dead astern. We finally had to motor the rest of the way, to be sure we got in with some adequate light.
We arrived at the Little Harbour Cay entrance at 3:45. The sun was just high enough for us to still “read the water colors” and work our way around the brown and dark spots (shallow) and stay in the blue and blue green areas (deep) as we headed for the anchorage. Brian was at the bow busily waving his arms to indicate where Sue should steer - - left, right, more right, left, etc. As we approached the charted anchorage, the depth kept decreasing, and soon all we saw around us were dark spots and depths of 6 or 7 feet. We were close to where a bunch of other boats were anchored, but we couldn’t get any further “local knowledge” so we turned around and headed for High Cay (aka Frozen Cay) which would also give us some shelter from the SE winds.
Our first anchoring attempt (35 # CQR) wouldn’t set, so we changed locations and ended up anchoring near a bunch of other boats who seemed to be riding nicely. Given all the room, we probably were a little closer that we should have been, but we still had adequate swing room, and we didn’t have much time left before the sun set. We declared ourselves anchored and set about preparing to properly watch the sun set.
There was a little bit of roll, but as anchorages go this was a keeper and we slept well after Sue put together a great shrimp and broccoli pasta dish followed by a “Beautiful Mind” DVD.
Ringing in the New Year at High Cay (Mon, Dec 31)
New Year’s Eve day, we dropped our dinghy and did some exploring. Flo’s Conch bar was closed, so we continued motoring about Little Harbour Cay, Comfort Cay and Lizard Cay. The water was shallow enough (less than 2 feet) that we had to row for a while. After getting back in good water, we headed for the local beach and all the cruisers enjoying the water. There were 3 sailboats and a trawler present, and we found out the local scoop on Flo’s (conch, fish, lobster, French fries, and rum punch), how to get a conch out of his shell, where the good snorkeling was, and how to burn your garbage on the beach. We clearly had a lot more to learn.
We headed back to Sogno, and took some time to look at how our anchor was set, using a clear bottom viewing bucket. It was kind of scary to see that the anchor was only 50% buried in the sand, even though it was holding fine. In any event we spent the afternoon recharging the battery, while two of the boats moved over to the Cabbage Cay – Little Harbour Cay anchorage. A grilled steak dinner, some local fireworks and a bonfire we could see on the beach finally put us in a New Year’s Eve mood. We toasted the New Year in a bit early (thanks Dan and Elaine for the champagne) and turned out the lights on what had been a very special year. What would 2008 bring?
Riding Our First Norther (Tues – Sat, New Years Day - Jan 5)
We began the New Year, with a mimosa brunch, followed by a change of anchorage on a rising tide. Going over to join the other boats near Cabbage Cay was not a problem if you came in from the south. What WAS a problem was anchoring. After 3 attempts near where the charted anchorage was, we finally moved out to deeper water and managed to set the anchor with 90 feet of chain and 40 feet of nylon rode. Hooray! We then took another giant step toward Bahamas cruising, by breaking out the snorkel gear and taking our first tentative exploration of the local sea bed off the beach. Needless to say, Sue and I were just thrilled with what was probably pretty tame stuff, but we liked what we saw, and decided that beach people might have something going after all.
We were glad we got this beach time in, because by midnight, the wind began to howl and our first cold front with accompanying “norther” had arrived. For the next 4 days, there was not much to do unless you wanted to go around and get wet (plus salt) in your dinghy in the 20-25 knot winds. We elected to focus on various improvement and repair projects, this blog and just catching up on our reading. Sue kept up morale with food (quesadillas, pasta, brownies, etc.)
One “funny” incident occurred when one night Brian went to bed at around 8:30. We didn’t know it, but around 9 pm one of the boats close to the shore (San-I-Tee) had started bouncing on the bottom and had been forced to re-anchor near us. When Brian woke up at 12:30 and checked the anchorage he saw San-I-Tee and thought she was dragging anchor. On went the search light and he sounded the alarm on our air horn. Once we all got on the radio, we found out what had happened and could all go back to sleep. Brian was “complimented” on watching out for others, but it was clear the wind was wearing on peoples nerves.
By Saturday, the wind was beginning to lessen, and two of the larger sailboats elected to leave for Nassau. The rest of us elected to wait for Sunday, which the weather gurus said was a better day.
Our Best Sail So Far (Sun, Jan 6)
We all got going at around 6:45 am and made it out the entrance at high water with no problems. The wind was a steady 15 knots or so out of the ENE so we had a great sail all the way to Nassau, averaging 6.5 knots, with Sogno leading the way. There was a brief squall to greet us as we approached the harbor entrance, but all went well and we were back in Nassau Yacht Haven by 1:00.
After getting cleaned up a bit, we did some provisioning and stopped by the Poop Deck. We of course talked with more cruisers, including John and Maryann (Lucky Girl) who were docked near us and invited us to stop by in the morning to go over the Exuma charts with them.
Back on Sogno it was a grilled steak, brownies and an X-file episode on DVD. It had been a very good sailing day!
Enjoying Nassau and Getting Ready for the Exumas (Mon-Tue, Jan 7-8)
The weather reports Monday morning were looking good for a Wednesday departure for Allan’s Cay in the Exumas. We did spend some time over at Lucky Girl, learning about good anchorages, snorkel areas, marinas, and hiking areas down the Exumas chain. John and Maryann had spent a number of years in the Bahamas and we thank them for taking time to help out some first timers.
After that we jumped on a bus into town and explored the local Straw Market. We found it more like a tourist flea market, and kind of limited in the local crafts available. We then went out to Arawak Cay (aka “the Fish-fry”) to get some local seafood. Mondays are a slow day there, but we did get some advice from one restaurant owner (“Full Belly”) and had some excellent grilled conch and grouper at “Seafood Haven.” We were so full, we only took the bus back to town, and then walked the rest of the way to the marina to get some exercise.
On Tuesday, we topped off our fuel tanks and jugs and then went off to Paradise Island. It turned out to be an easy walk over the bridge, and we immediately checked out the Atlantis resort. It has a fabulous little aquarium that can be seen for free in the grand hotel lobby. The scale of the whole things is tremendous, and we only saw the casino, marina, and other public areas. The whole resort represented an investment over $1.9B.
After we got back to the marina, we decided to finally buy some fishing gear, and got considerable help from a nearby marine store. After an hour we emerged with rod, reel, hand lines, gaff, lures, and assorted other “accessories”. With a little luck, we should be able to eventually catch something. We’ll keep you informed on how we do.
We’re planning to depart for the “Far Bahamas” tomorrow, crossing the Yellow Bank. Sounds exotic, but we’re assured that it’s a pretty easy run of 35 miles or so, if the east wind stays tame. Stay tuned …
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
Vero Beach, FL to No Name Harbor, FL
Hi Everyone:
This “chapter” covers our adventures from Vero Beach, FL to our Bahamas crossing departure point, No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL.
Hello and Goodbye to the Ditch (Wed, Dec 19)
We got an early 7am start, and were soon on our way to Ft. Pierce. We had decided that we would try our best to avoid the dozens of restricted draw bridges that lay ahead, and go outside (to the ocean) at the Ft. Pierce inlet. By the time we turned at Ft. Pierce to go out the inlet we were making great time, with a favorable current. That ebb tide soon became our nemesis, as a strong east wind began piling up steep 8 foot waves at the entrance. Sogno, and her 63 hp diesel were up to the task, but we still managed to “drive through” (smash) through a number of waves and send the salt spray flying into our cockpit and on us. Soon the mainsail was up, and we were motor sailing down the coast toward our next stop, West Palm Beach. It was fun not to have to glance at the depth finder all the time, and worry about whether we’d be too late for the next bridge opening.
We crossed an ICW milestone of sorts even though we were off shore, by passing south of the ICW 1000 mile mark. It seemed much more than 51 days since we were rushing by mile 0 in Norfolk, VA to make it to the Dismal Swamp locks.
We arrived at West Palm Beach around 4:30 and anchored in Lake Worth. There were plenty of other boats, but there was still a lot of room for more. Lake Worth is a popular jumping off spot for cruisers going to Grand Bahama Island and the Abacos. Our plan though was to go further south to Miami, with a stop at Ft. Lauderdale.
A Bridge Too Far (Thur, Dec 20)
We were underway and heading out the inlet by around 7:30. The waves at the inlet were again steep, but not as high as at Ft. Pierce. The wind was just off our bow, so it was going to be another day of motor sailing, with some occasional squalls to go through before we entered the Ft. Lauderdale inlet.
We had arranged to stay in the Downtown City Docks Marina run by the city. At the end of the inlet, we turned north on the ICW, leaving the big cruise ships in Port Everglades behind us. We waited for the 57 foot draw bridge to open, although we should have been able to clear it by 3 or 4 feet (we were clearly getting nervous about shallow water and low bridges) and then turned off on the New River.
At first it was just a narrow river, well marked that wound past some very nice houses. Then it began to get more urban, and soon it was like a Venetian canal, passing by large yachts “parked” near hotels, with cars driving past us besides the nearby canal walls. It was really wild, especially when we came up to a series of small draw bridges that seemed to open and close within 2 or 3 minutes (like very long traffic lights.)
We actually went one bridge to far, and had to back track (turn around) through the Andrews Ave. bridge before we found our assigned spot along the canal wall. (We actually were assigned a spot way too close to the Third Ave. bridge but were able to tie up at another spot so we would have some maneuvering room when it came time to leave. We were impressed with the constant flow of mega yachts up and down the river, many of them being towed to and from the large yards that were located further up the river.
After getting ourselves settled, and out of our damp foul weather gear, we discovered that our fresh water system was not working. The pump appeared dead. Luckily one of the “must do’s” in Vero Beach was fixing our manual galley sink pump, so we could still easily get water for most uses. But we didn’t have water for showers or the sink in the head and – you guessed it – this marina didn’t have showers! Tomorrow would be a busy day.
We decided to deal with this plumbing crisis in an adult fashion, and headed to the Downtowner Saloon (located a few yards from the marina office) for some quesadilla appetizers with a followup session of fish and chips at the Briny Pub Riverside across the river. We also had a chance to chat with a member of the catamaran Long Reach directly across from us. She and her husband, plus one other crewman were crossing over to West End, Grand Bahamas the following morning and would be underway well before the bridges were closed down for the morning rush.
It’s a Very West Marine Christmas for Buds at Sea (Fri, Dec 21)
The next day we headed off to the bus terminal, and boarded the bus that would take us to the nearest West Marine. We were so busy referring to our city maps,that one of the passengers (in broken English) took pity on us and pointed out where we were every few minutes. He even reminded the bus driver where we needed to get off, so that when we arrived, he made a loud announcement that we were at our stop. We have always found that fumbling with maps will always attract some help from nice people – at least during the day.
The Ft. Lauderdale store, is the largest West Marine we’ve ever seen, with one huge retail area, and a separate building catering just to inflatables. It was suddenly Christmas shopping time for us and Sogno. Besides the exact water pump replacement we needed, we found a lot more things to buy (e.g., some water filters to use when filling our tanks from shore water). Needless to say we had quite a lot of stuff to tote back on the bus.
The water pump was successfully replaced, we took our showers, and we even found some free Wi-Fi to do some email. Things were definitely going well, so we headed to the Downtowner’s happy hour for some spinach and artichoke dip and other special price items! The bartender even remembered our name! We then headed for the shopping and restaurant area on Las Olas Blvd and decided to have some great pizza at the Café Europa. We slept well that night.
Circles in the New River (Sat, Dec 22)
Our getaway the next morning was not pretty. The run to Miami was a little more than 20 miles down the coast, so we didn’t get going as early as usual. Secondly, we had some hiccups to deal with in our navigational PC and electronics, which involved some software re-installs. By that time, there was a good ebb current flowing toward the bridge, and we took nearly 30 minutes walking Sogno back along the wall to give ourselves more maneuvering room.
When we were all set, and there was no other traffic nearby, we cast off our lines, and put it into reverse, neatly backing away and swinging around in the current which was taking us toward the Third Ave. Bridge. From there we simply shifted into forward to pull away from the Bridge and request an opening. Easy to describe, but certainly a thrilling way see that your engine and transmission is in tip-top shape. I’m sure the bridge keeper had watched our struggles and was happy to get us on our way.
The rest of the trip out of the city, was in bright sunshine and very pleasant. We had to wait for a mechanical delay of the big drawbridge near the inlet – it would not open -- , but by 12:30 we were on our way out the inlet. Wind was light, so it was another motoring day, and we arrived at the entrance to Miami around 3:45. We called TowBoat/US to confirm that Government Cut (where the Port of Miami passenger ship terminals are) was closed to pleasure craft for security reasons. This meant we had to detour down Fisherman’s Channel, go north on a section of the ICW, before we could turn east to our planned anchorage along the Venetian Causeway. f
Venetian Causeway is a series of bridges and islands that crosses from Miami on the mainland to Miami Beach. For Sogno, the initial channel is pretty shallow and narrow, but it opens up to a broad bay with good water with many potential anchorage spots. The first ones we looked at seemed to either have some significant current or were in cable areas, where you shouldn’t anchor. We finally settled on spot behind a small un-named island, just north of Hibiscus Island.
After dinner, we were pleasantly surprised to see a parade of lighted boats coming out our way, with Salsa music blaring. We had finally lucked out and been able to see one of these Christmas parades. The weather was perfect and the parade went on for at least 40 minutes, so we had a chance to see quite a variety from big yachts to small runabouts. No sailboats were in the parade, apparently since the parade route included passing under a 35 foot fixed bridge. It was nice end to a day that had begun somewhat badly.
Grocery Shopping by Dinghy (Sun, Dec 23)
After breakfast, we launched our dinghy so we could go for one more provision trip. On the way we stopped to chat with Shamrock, our neighbor in the anchorage. John and Jennifer were from New Jersey and were slowly working their way down toward the Keys. They filled us in on the Collins Canal that would lead us to Publix where we could do our grocery shopping.
With some further directions on the Miami Beach side, we motored for 15 minutes up the very small canal (you ducked as you went under the small bridges) which ran alongside a city street. We locked our dinghy to a cable someone had securely installed along the bank, and just had to cross the street to be in the Publix parking lot. This was very cool – and convenient.
We were back aboard Sogno, re-stowed and under way by 2pm. We followed the ICW south to Biscayne Bay, took a trickier than expected short cut over to Crandon Marina on Key Biscayne and topped off our fuel tanks. We then headed down to No Name Harbor near the southern end of the island.
No Name Harbor is a popular jumping off spot for cruisers going to Bimini in the Bahamas and was pretty full when we arrived around 4:30. We finally positioned ourselves comfortably apart from other nearby boats on our second anchoring try. The harbor is very snug and protected, and located in a Florida State Park. The weather forecast for the following day was a hot topic of discussion among the fleet, but we decided that it would be safer (and more comfortable) to wait an additional day.
Christmas Eve in No Name Harbor (Mon, Dec 24)
After a hearty pancake breakfast, Brian spent the morning preparing our navigational plan (and alternates) for going to Bimini and then on to Nassau. If the crossing was good, Plan A would take us north of Bimini by late afternoon, crossing the Great Bahama Bank by dawn, and then down the Northwest Channel to Nassau by mid afternoon. Sue focused on creating a weather cloth to protect the cockpit from the annoying engine exhaust spray that occurred when the wind was blowing over port side.
That afternoon, we had a pot luck dinner organized by some of the cruisers planning to depart the next day. It was a very different kind of Christmas Eve party, with most of the talk about when people were leaving (anywhere from 4am to 8am), where they were going to clear customs (Bimini, Gun Cay, Nassau) and where they were going after that (Exumas). We also wondered how the boats that had left that morning had fared, but no one had gotten any emails or calls. We broke up just after sunset (we saw the green flash!), and made our way back to Sogno for a very early lights out.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
This “chapter” covers our adventures from Vero Beach, FL to our Bahamas crossing departure point, No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne, FL.
Hello and Goodbye to the Ditch (Wed, Dec 19)
We got an early 7am start, and were soon on our way to Ft. Pierce. We had decided that we would try our best to avoid the dozens of restricted draw bridges that lay ahead, and go outside (to the ocean) at the Ft. Pierce inlet. By the time we turned at Ft. Pierce to go out the inlet we were making great time, with a favorable current. That ebb tide soon became our nemesis, as a strong east wind began piling up steep 8 foot waves at the entrance. Sogno, and her 63 hp diesel were up to the task, but we still managed to “drive through” (smash) through a number of waves and send the salt spray flying into our cockpit and on us. Soon the mainsail was up, and we were motor sailing down the coast toward our next stop, West Palm Beach. It was fun not to have to glance at the depth finder all the time, and worry about whether we’d be too late for the next bridge opening.
We crossed an ICW milestone of sorts even though we were off shore, by passing south of the ICW 1000 mile mark. It seemed much more than 51 days since we were rushing by mile 0 in Norfolk, VA to make it to the Dismal Swamp locks.
We arrived at West Palm Beach around 4:30 and anchored in Lake Worth. There were plenty of other boats, but there was still a lot of room for more. Lake Worth is a popular jumping off spot for cruisers going to Grand Bahama Island and the Abacos. Our plan though was to go further south to Miami, with a stop at Ft. Lauderdale.
A Bridge Too Far (Thur, Dec 20)
We were underway and heading out the inlet by around 7:30. The waves at the inlet were again steep, but not as high as at Ft. Pierce. The wind was just off our bow, so it was going to be another day of motor sailing, with some occasional squalls to go through before we entered the Ft. Lauderdale inlet.
We had arranged to stay in the Downtown City Docks Marina run by the city. At the end of the inlet, we turned north on the ICW, leaving the big cruise ships in Port Everglades behind us. We waited for the 57 foot draw bridge to open, although we should have been able to clear it by 3 or 4 feet (we were clearly getting nervous about shallow water and low bridges) and then turned off on the New River.
At first it was just a narrow river, well marked that wound past some very nice houses. Then it began to get more urban, and soon it was like a Venetian canal, passing by large yachts “parked” near hotels, with cars driving past us besides the nearby canal walls. It was really wild, especially when we came up to a series of small draw bridges that seemed to open and close within 2 or 3 minutes (like very long traffic lights.)
We actually went one bridge to far, and had to back track (turn around) through the Andrews Ave. bridge before we found our assigned spot along the canal wall. (We actually were assigned a spot way too close to the Third Ave. bridge but were able to tie up at another spot so we would have some maneuvering room when it came time to leave. We were impressed with the constant flow of mega yachts up and down the river, many of them being towed to and from the large yards that were located further up the river.
After getting ourselves settled, and out of our damp foul weather gear, we discovered that our fresh water system was not working. The pump appeared dead. Luckily one of the “must do’s” in Vero Beach was fixing our manual galley sink pump, so we could still easily get water for most uses. But we didn’t have water for showers or the sink in the head and – you guessed it – this marina didn’t have showers! Tomorrow would be a busy day.
We decided to deal with this plumbing crisis in an adult fashion, and headed to the Downtowner Saloon (located a few yards from the marina office) for some quesadilla appetizers with a followup session of fish and chips at the Briny Pub Riverside across the river. We also had a chance to chat with a member of the catamaran Long Reach directly across from us. She and her husband, plus one other crewman were crossing over to West End, Grand Bahamas the following morning and would be underway well before the bridges were closed down for the morning rush.
It’s a Very West Marine Christmas for Buds at Sea (Fri, Dec 21)
The next day we headed off to the bus terminal, and boarded the bus that would take us to the nearest West Marine. We were so busy referring to our city maps,that one of the passengers (in broken English) took pity on us and pointed out where we were every few minutes. He even reminded the bus driver where we needed to get off, so that when we arrived, he made a loud announcement that we were at our stop. We have always found that fumbling with maps will always attract some help from nice people – at least during the day.
The Ft. Lauderdale store, is the largest West Marine we’ve ever seen, with one huge retail area, and a separate building catering just to inflatables. It was suddenly Christmas shopping time for us and Sogno. Besides the exact water pump replacement we needed, we found a lot more things to buy (e.g., some water filters to use when filling our tanks from shore water). Needless to say we had quite a lot of stuff to tote back on the bus.
The water pump was successfully replaced, we took our showers, and we even found some free Wi-Fi to do some email. Things were definitely going well, so we headed to the Downtowner’s happy hour for some spinach and artichoke dip and other special price items! The bartender even remembered our name! We then headed for the shopping and restaurant area on Las Olas Blvd and decided to have some great pizza at the Café Europa. We slept well that night.
Circles in the New River (Sat, Dec 22)
Our getaway the next morning was not pretty. The run to Miami was a little more than 20 miles down the coast, so we didn’t get going as early as usual. Secondly, we had some hiccups to deal with in our navigational PC and electronics, which involved some software re-installs. By that time, there was a good ebb current flowing toward the bridge, and we took nearly 30 minutes walking Sogno back along the wall to give ourselves more maneuvering room.
When we were all set, and there was no other traffic nearby, we cast off our lines, and put it into reverse, neatly backing away and swinging around in the current which was taking us toward the Third Ave. Bridge. From there we simply shifted into forward to pull away from the Bridge and request an opening. Easy to describe, but certainly a thrilling way see that your engine and transmission is in tip-top shape. I’m sure the bridge keeper had watched our struggles and was happy to get us on our way.
The rest of the trip out of the city, was in bright sunshine and very pleasant. We had to wait for a mechanical delay of the big drawbridge near the inlet – it would not open -- , but by 12:30 we were on our way out the inlet. Wind was light, so it was another motoring day, and we arrived at the entrance to Miami around 3:45. We called TowBoat/US to confirm that Government Cut (where the Port of Miami passenger ship terminals are) was closed to pleasure craft for security reasons. This meant we had to detour down Fisherman’s Channel, go north on a section of the ICW, before we could turn east to our planned anchorage along the Venetian Causeway. f
Venetian Causeway is a series of bridges and islands that crosses from Miami on the mainland to Miami Beach. For Sogno, the initial channel is pretty shallow and narrow, but it opens up to a broad bay with good water with many potential anchorage spots. The first ones we looked at seemed to either have some significant current or were in cable areas, where you shouldn’t anchor. We finally settled on spot behind a small un-named island, just north of Hibiscus Island.
After dinner, we were pleasantly surprised to see a parade of lighted boats coming out our way, with Salsa music blaring. We had finally lucked out and been able to see one of these Christmas parades. The weather was perfect and the parade went on for at least 40 minutes, so we had a chance to see quite a variety from big yachts to small runabouts. No sailboats were in the parade, apparently since the parade route included passing under a 35 foot fixed bridge. It was nice end to a day that had begun somewhat badly.
Grocery Shopping by Dinghy (Sun, Dec 23)
After breakfast, we launched our dinghy so we could go for one more provision trip. On the way we stopped to chat with Shamrock, our neighbor in the anchorage. John and Jennifer were from New Jersey and were slowly working their way down toward the Keys. They filled us in on the Collins Canal that would lead us to Publix where we could do our grocery shopping.
With some further directions on the Miami Beach side, we motored for 15 minutes up the very small canal (you ducked as you went under the small bridges) which ran alongside a city street. We locked our dinghy to a cable someone had securely installed along the bank, and just had to cross the street to be in the Publix parking lot. This was very cool – and convenient.
We were back aboard Sogno, re-stowed and under way by 2pm. We followed the ICW south to Biscayne Bay, took a trickier than expected short cut over to Crandon Marina on Key Biscayne and topped off our fuel tanks. We then headed down to No Name Harbor near the southern end of the island.
No Name Harbor is a popular jumping off spot for cruisers going to Bimini in the Bahamas and was pretty full when we arrived around 4:30. We finally positioned ourselves comfortably apart from other nearby boats on our second anchoring try. The harbor is very snug and protected, and located in a Florida State Park. The weather forecast for the following day was a hot topic of discussion among the fleet, but we decided that it would be safer (and more comfortable) to wait an additional day.
Christmas Eve in No Name Harbor (Mon, Dec 24)
After a hearty pancake breakfast, Brian spent the morning preparing our navigational plan (and alternates) for going to Bimini and then on to Nassau. If the crossing was good, Plan A would take us north of Bimini by late afternoon, crossing the Great Bahama Bank by dawn, and then down the Northwest Channel to Nassau by mid afternoon. Sue focused on creating a weather cloth to protect the cockpit from the annoying engine exhaust spray that occurred when the wind was blowing over port side.
That afternoon, we had a pot luck dinner organized by some of the cruisers planning to depart the next day. It was a very different kind of Christmas Eve party, with most of the talk about when people were leaving (anywhere from 4am to 8am), where they were going to clear customs (Bimini, Gun Cay, Nassau) and where they were going after that (Exumas). We also wondered how the boats that had left that morning had fared, but no one had gotten any emails or calls. We broke up just after sunset (we saw the green flash!), and made our way back to Sogno for a very early lights out.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
Cumberland I, GA to Vero Beach, FL
Hi Everyone:
Well it’s been a long time since we updated you on our progress. This “chapter” covers our adventures from Cumberland Island, GA to Vero Beach, FL. (November 27 to December 18.)
We Reach the Sunshine State (Tues, Nov 27)
Sue got us off to a good start with a great breakfast (scrambled eggs with zucchini, onion, and tomato, and toasted bagel). The weather was overcast and threatening, so we decided to skip going ashore on Cumberland Island. Just as we were about to weigh anchor, two fisherman in a small boat came over to tell us that the owner of a nearby house had seen that we were from Massachusetts and wanted us to know we were welcome to tie up to his dock (he too was from Massachusetts). We still kept to our departure plan, but I must admit I wondered what adventures we missed by not going ashore.
The rest of the trip was uneventful (no nuclear submarines were in transit), and we even took time out crossing Cumberland Sound to try and align our autopilot compass with our regular magnetic compass. The electronic compass was off by 41 degrees. We had learned to “live with it” since the Chesapeake, but it had proved particularly annoying when using the radar in the St. Andrews sound fog. The procedure involved turning lazy circles in the water, but still no luck. We even called Raymarine tech but they couldn’t suggest anything but a new course computer (ouch!).
We crossed into Florida (hooray!), passed by the Amelia Island pulp mills (the odor was noticeable but not obnoxious), and picked up a mooring at the Fernandina Beach Marina just before noon. Some warm showers did their usual wonders, and soon we were off to explore the town. There were lots of shops to check out, plus O’Kane’s Irish Pub (lunch), a local Florida winery store (fruit wine tasting – Key Lime wine anyone?), and our last stop – the historic Palace Saloon (the oldest operating saloon in Florida). There we ran into the crew of Cassiopeia (Wayne and Isabelle) with whom we had shared a Thanksgiving anchorage in Kilkenny Creek, GA.
After all this “shopping”, it was back to Sogno for Chicken Piccata and an episode of “House.”
Dinky Do Goes Bump in the Night (Wed, Nov 28)
We had a noisy night on the mooring, with the mooring pennant eye slapping against the hull during another wind opposed to current situation. We awoke to find a small commercial fishing boat tied to the corner of “Dinky Do,” a small cabin cruiser at the next mooring over. Apparently the fishing boat broke away from its mooring and ended up lying against Dinky Do. Thank you to the owner who managed to secure it to his stern cleat, keeping it from marauding further through the mooring field (in particular Sogno!) By 7:30 am the fisherman came with Tow/Boat US to retrieve his errant vessel.
The rest of the morning we motored down the ICW (one draw bridge), and stoped at Palm Cove Marina, Jacksonville Beach by 1:00pm. We spent the afternoon on various projects (e.g., rearranging storage to accommodate the extra provisions we would need for the Bahamas). We then explored the local area, which was too far from the beach, and mostly shopping centers. We picked up some Chinese takeout and made it back to Sogno.
St. Augustine Lights Up the Holidays (Thur, Nov 29)
After some early showers, we made a graceful exit from our slip (no wind) and passed through the B.B. McCormick draw bridge (very friendly keeper). During the approach to St. Augustine, there was a bit of confusion between the inlet buoys and the ICW marks, but we sorted that out and tied up in the Municipal Marina at 2pm. The nearby Bridge of Lions draw was being completely repaired, and next to it was a temporary lift bridge that would be torn down at the end of the construction. Our slip was within 50 yards of some construction barges and tug boats, but we slid in nicely to our assigned slip.
St. Augustine is a popular stopping spot, and we ran into Werplayin (Deb and Paul) who we hadn’t seen since Annapolis. We stocked up on some more oil filters and the latest edition of Skipper Bob’s “Bahamas Bound” guide at the marina store, and then began wandering the downtown area, which was all decorated and lit up for Christmas. The plaza in front of the Lightner Museum was really spectacular. (We hope to visit the Museum someday.)
We of course couldn’t help but run into more boaters, when we paused for refreshments. Adam (a live aboard) was busy investing all his spare cash into rice, beans, and canned goods for a future trip. Gregg and Coreen, from Winnepeg, Canada (Gormet) were also heading for the Bahamas. We finished up at O.C. Whites for a nice dinner.
Planning and Flexibility are the Secret (Fri, Nov 30)
We wanted to stay another day in St. Augustine (Plan A), but the marina was expecting a large group of 45 boats that day, so we had to leave. After a thrilling exit (backing against the current toward the previously mentioned barged), we tried to find a suitable anchorage on both sides of the lift bridge (Plan B). No luck. So after calling a few other marinas we decided to press on down the ICW. Butler Beach basin (Plan C), despite an excellent Skipper Bob rating, was shallow with a lot of current, and Brian managed to touch bottom for a while. The cement plant canal (Plan D) didn’t seem all that inviting, so we finally settled on Palm Coast Marina (Plan E).
We didn’t do too badly during the landing, but it took as 40 minutes to sort out all 6 docklines we used to secure us in the slip. After a light lunch, we finally got the right guy at Raymarine on the phone, and within 5 minutes our autopilot compass alignment problem was solved. (If we had bothered to look in Sogno’s log book entry of 17 August 2005, we could have “refreshed our recollection” weeks earlier and saved ourselves a lot of grief.)
Thanks to the marina Wi-Fi, we got some quality time on the Internet, as well as some reading up on the Bahamas. Sue put together a “comfort food” menu for dinner (aka tuna helper) and on that note, we wrapped up another “flexible” day on the ICW.
Seven Seas Marina (Sat-Mon, Dec 1-3)
Our next destination was Daytona Beach, but after a few attempts at anchoring (too shallow, or not enough room), we decided to try out the Seven Seas Marina at nearby Port Orange. At $0.80 a foot dockage, it was too good to pass up, and it turned out to be a great choice. There was a very narrow channel into the marina, but we were met by at least 4 persons who helped secure us to the side of the fuel pier in short order. The showers/restrooms were “basic” but the friendly owners and Pat’s Riverfront Café on the premises made it a special stop for us.
The first night we managed the usual dining out, with appetizers at DJ’s Deck and dinner at another place under the nearby bridge. After you ordered/paid for your meal, you could sit anywhere, and they still managed to find you. We took home half of our mahi-mahi and tuna dinners for a future meal. For good measure we ordered a Key Lime cannoli to go with the “Master and Commander” DVD that night on Sogno.
Pat’s Riverfront was a great old fashioned breakfast and lunch place: good food, service and prices. We managed to hit breakfast there 3 times in a row and really loved the omelets, pancakes, bacon and hash browns.
We also decided that this do-it-yourself yard was the place for us to have Sogno hauled. We knew our zincs needed changing and we wanted to see what the bottom was like. (Sacrificial zinc fittings are attached to the propeller shaft and hull and are designed to corrode instead of other metal parts below the water line – ours are usually used up in the course of a normal 6 month season back home). They hauled Sogno at the end of the day (Sunday) and left her hanging in the travel lift slings. We managed to change the zincs, clean up the propeller and knot meter paddle wheel, and wipe off only a light coating of slime on the hull. The bottom paint was definitely working well and still looked in decent shape for the rest of the trip. We must have certainly been a sight – water and blue slime all over us. All of our clothing went into the marina washer while we took showers. The Captain suggested dinner out so we went out for pizza and then spent the night rocking gently onboard Sogno – hanging in the sling. It was weird. The next morning they dropped us back in the water. The entire operation cost us under $100 and they didn’t charge us for any dockage that night!
Monday was spent as follows: going to Radio Shack for a new power cord for our backup computer hard drive and a head set for internet telephoning (Skype); washing down Sogno’s deck and cockpit; walking along Daytona Beach (cars have a 10 mph speed limit); provisioning; getting some quarters for the hungry laundry machines; and testing Skype on the internet. (See how we keep busy between meals!)
On the Hook in Titusville (Tues, Dec 4)
After one last breakfast at Pat’s, we were helped out of our dock and got back on the ICW. This stretch, had a number of shallow spots and we managed to dodge most of them except near “R2” mark near Ponce de Leone Inlet. We hit a shoal at around 5knots and Sue was sent tumbling on to the edge of the cockpit seat. Nothing serious other than the standard boat bruise, but it could have been worse. We managed to back off and proceed (more cautiously) through some more shallow sections, passing “Jubilee” (family of 5) which we hadn’t seen since Deltaville, VA.
We were now in manatee country, and there were many speed controlled areas. (Manatees are gentle marine mammals that feed on grass, and can be easily run over by power boats.) We think we saw our first one in Haulover Canal, but in general we didn’t see very manatees at all.
We finally got back in the anchoring game, and dropped the hook off Titusville in the Indian River. We managed to have a civilized cocktail hour, watch the news, grill a steak and watch TV (House, Boston Legal) with key lime cheese for dessert. Now that was a great anchorage!
Happy Hour Grazing in Melbourne (Wed, Dec 5)
Many boaters were opting to stay around Titusville for the shuttle launch scheduled the next day, but we decided to press on for Melbourne. (The launch was ultimately delayed a few days and then scrubbed.) We arrived at the Melbourne Harbor marina, fueled up, and then docked with our usual display of dock line tossing and piling lassoes to hold us in place. By now we were noticing that sailboats are given very easy docks to tie up if at all possible!
Brian’s cousin Joann, who lives in Melbourne, was still not answering our voice messages, so we set off to see how competitive the Melbourne Happy Hour scene was. First stop: Meg’s Restaurant and Irish Bar where we met John, a NJ snowbird and retired Wall St. guy, who kept telling us what a great thing we were doing. The Caribbean Jerk Chicken Wings we were eating were also a great thing. Next Stop: Main St. Bar where we met Frank (with broken foot) a former sail boat and trawler owner. He was a nice guy, but in a run of bad luck. Besides the foot, he was a real estate agent and the local real estate market was also broke. He filled us in on all the waterfront development disasters, which explained why all the high rises we had been seeing along the ICW lately seemed very dark. Last stop: Ichabod’s back at the marina where we had a most excellent Chicken Quesadilla.
We Arrive in “Velcro Beach” (Thur, Dec 6)
Our next stop was Vero Beach, widely referred to as “Velcro Beach.” The City Marina was so cruiser friendly, that once you got there, you found yourself stuck there for many more days than you had planned. When we arrived at 2:30 we were assigned to a mooring, but told to prepare our boat to raft with up to two other boats. This was a unique arrangement, but a great way to get a lot of boats into a well protected anchorage as well as an easy way to meet more cruisers. The daily mooring rental ($11) was also another incentive to stay. By coincidence, we were moored right in front of the Vero Beach Power Squadron club house.
During registration, we met Stan, an experienced ICW/Bahamas cruiser from Salem. He stood out from the crowd when I saw his Jubilee YC (Beverly, MA) tee-shirt. Stan and Judy (Rhumb Runner) were a great source of information, local transport, and just fun folks to have over for a sundowner.
Later, we walked over to the Riverside Café, which was quarter mile from where we were moored, and discovered this became a very popular place from 4 to 7 each day, when half price beers kicked in!
Stuck in Vero -- and Loving It (Fri, Dec 7- Tues, Dec 18)
We were going to stay 4 or 5 days, but ….
Why do cruisers get “stuck” in Vero? It has a free shuttle bus system to get you around town (donations welcome). All the usual chains are there (Home Depot, Lowes, Wal Mart, Target), along with super markets, banks, post office, library and of course the mandatory West Marine store (very small which saved lots of $$). A nearby beach, parks, restaurants are added bonuses, but the thing that really makes Vero special is the close community of transient cruisers and snowbirds wintering over. They help you in so many ways to get your bearings and help you with your ICW, Bahamas, and Florida Keys questions. There’s even a local “alumni society” of boaters who have come down to Vero to live permanently. They’re called CLODS (Cruisers Living On Dirt) and they organize a Wednesday cruiser’s breakfast, and other social events. One night the marina was treated to Christmas carolers who came by one evening in lit up kayaks to get us all in the spirit of the season. In short, Vero Beach and its marina is just the perfect place to catch your breath, send and receive your mail (Sue did the Christmas cards), focus on the next part of your trip or simply enjoy each other’s company.
Within two days of arriving, we rafted up with Flutter Bye (Steven, Genvieve) and Delphinus (Fred, Diane). Steven and Genvieve were from Montreal, and although language was sometimes a problem, we were able to help Genvieve out when Steven was called back to snowy Montreal for one week of work. Fred and Diane (veteran Bahamas cruisers) in turn helped us out in provisioning and what were the best weather sources for the Bahamas that we could tune into on our single side band (short wave) receiver. They also brought us a bag of fresh oranges and grapefruit –thanks Fred and Diane.
Vero also turns out to be a place to see old “friends” we had met along the ICW (Jubilee, San-I-Tee, Cassiopeia, Werplayin) plus many new friends who helped us with ideas and encouragement:
Tom and Susan (Gypsy Soul - which is a Gozzard 36)
Andrew and Carolyn (Pendragon, previously home ported in Boston)
Neal and Stephanie (Rhapsody, home ported in Portsmouth, NH)
Ernie and Carolyn (Hispaniola, also from Portsmouth)
A few days after we arrived, we finally connected with Brian’s cousin Joann and her husband Jack. We had a great dinner at a restaurant right on the beach (thanks Joann and Jack!) plus a chance to catch up on family news.
In the repair/improvement department, after thinking it over all the way down the ICW, I finally decided to buy a 44 lb. Claw anchor to backup our other two anchors. We also improved our Wi-Fi reception when we finally got the antenna/receiver we ordered back in North Carolina. (Thanks Dan for sending it, and thanks Sebastian for recommending it). I re-spliced our nylon anchor rode to the 90 feet of chain on our main anchor and made up two eye splices for our 150 towing line so it could be used as a backup anchor rode if necessary. We also got some spare propane fume detectors, when one of the two on board began to act up with false alarms.
At last the moment had come, when we finally had to admit that all the “must do” items were done and we really had packed our boat with enough food and drink. It was to time to go.
Don’t forget to send us your comments. Click on Comments below!
Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
Well it’s been a long time since we updated you on our progress. This “chapter” covers our adventures from Cumberland Island, GA to Vero Beach, FL. (November 27 to December 18.)
We Reach the Sunshine State (Tues, Nov 27)
Sue got us off to a good start with a great breakfast (scrambled eggs with zucchini, onion, and tomato, and toasted bagel). The weather was overcast and threatening, so we decided to skip going ashore on Cumberland Island. Just as we were about to weigh anchor, two fisherman in a small boat came over to tell us that the owner of a nearby house had seen that we were from Massachusetts and wanted us to know we were welcome to tie up to his dock (he too was from Massachusetts). We still kept to our departure plan, but I must admit I wondered what adventures we missed by not going ashore.
The rest of the trip was uneventful (no nuclear submarines were in transit), and we even took time out crossing Cumberland Sound to try and align our autopilot compass with our regular magnetic compass. The electronic compass was off by 41 degrees. We had learned to “live with it” since the Chesapeake, but it had proved particularly annoying when using the radar in the St. Andrews sound fog. The procedure involved turning lazy circles in the water, but still no luck. We even called Raymarine tech but they couldn’t suggest anything but a new course computer (ouch!).
We crossed into Florida (hooray!), passed by the Amelia Island pulp mills (the odor was noticeable but not obnoxious), and picked up a mooring at the Fernandina Beach Marina just before noon. Some warm showers did their usual wonders, and soon we were off to explore the town. There were lots of shops to check out, plus O’Kane’s Irish Pub (lunch), a local Florida winery store (fruit wine tasting – Key Lime wine anyone?), and our last stop – the historic Palace Saloon (the oldest operating saloon in Florida). There we ran into the crew of Cassiopeia (Wayne and Isabelle) with whom we had shared a Thanksgiving anchorage in Kilkenny Creek, GA.
After all this “shopping”, it was back to Sogno for Chicken Piccata and an episode of “House.”
Dinky Do Goes Bump in the Night (Wed, Nov 28)
We had a noisy night on the mooring, with the mooring pennant eye slapping against the hull during another wind opposed to current situation. We awoke to find a small commercial fishing boat tied to the corner of “Dinky Do,” a small cabin cruiser at the next mooring over. Apparently the fishing boat broke away from its mooring and ended up lying against Dinky Do. Thank you to the owner who managed to secure it to his stern cleat, keeping it from marauding further through the mooring field (in particular Sogno!) By 7:30 am the fisherman came with Tow/Boat US to retrieve his errant vessel.
The rest of the morning we motored down the ICW (one draw bridge), and stoped at Palm Cove Marina, Jacksonville Beach by 1:00pm. We spent the afternoon on various projects (e.g., rearranging storage to accommodate the extra provisions we would need for the Bahamas). We then explored the local area, which was too far from the beach, and mostly shopping centers. We picked up some Chinese takeout and made it back to Sogno.
St. Augustine Lights Up the Holidays (Thur, Nov 29)
After some early showers, we made a graceful exit from our slip (no wind) and passed through the B.B. McCormick draw bridge (very friendly keeper). During the approach to St. Augustine, there was a bit of confusion between the inlet buoys and the ICW marks, but we sorted that out and tied up in the Municipal Marina at 2pm. The nearby Bridge of Lions draw was being completely repaired, and next to it was a temporary lift bridge that would be torn down at the end of the construction. Our slip was within 50 yards of some construction barges and tug boats, but we slid in nicely to our assigned slip.
St. Augustine is a popular stopping spot, and we ran into Werplayin (Deb and Paul) who we hadn’t seen since Annapolis. We stocked up on some more oil filters and the latest edition of Skipper Bob’s “Bahamas Bound” guide at the marina store, and then began wandering the downtown area, which was all decorated and lit up for Christmas. The plaza in front of the Lightner Museum was really spectacular. (We hope to visit the Museum someday.)
We of course couldn’t help but run into more boaters, when we paused for refreshments. Adam (a live aboard) was busy investing all his spare cash into rice, beans, and canned goods for a future trip. Gregg and Coreen, from Winnepeg, Canada (Gormet) were also heading for the Bahamas. We finished up at O.C. Whites for a nice dinner.
Planning and Flexibility are the Secret (Fri, Nov 30)
We wanted to stay another day in St. Augustine (Plan A), but the marina was expecting a large group of 45 boats that day, so we had to leave. After a thrilling exit (backing against the current toward the previously mentioned barged), we tried to find a suitable anchorage on both sides of the lift bridge (Plan B). No luck. So after calling a few other marinas we decided to press on down the ICW. Butler Beach basin (Plan C), despite an excellent Skipper Bob rating, was shallow with a lot of current, and Brian managed to touch bottom for a while. The cement plant canal (Plan D) didn’t seem all that inviting, so we finally settled on Palm Coast Marina (Plan E).
We didn’t do too badly during the landing, but it took as 40 minutes to sort out all 6 docklines we used to secure us in the slip. After a light lunch, we finally got the right guy at Raymarine on the phone, and within 5 minutes our autopilot compass alignment problem was solved. (If we had bothered to look in Sogno’s log book entry of 17 August 2005, we could have “refreshed our recollection” weeks earlier and saved ourselves a lot of grief.)
Thanks to the marina Wi-Fi, we got some quality time on the Internet, as well as some reading up on the Bahamas. Sue put together a “comfort food” menu for dinner (aka tuna helper) and on that note, we wrapped up another “flexible” day on the ICW.
Seven Seas Marina (Sat-Mon, Dec 1-3)
Our next destination was Daytona Beach, but after a few attempts at anchoring (too shallow, or not enough room), we decided to try out the Seven Seas Marina at nearby Port Orange. At $0.80 a foot dockage, it was too good to pass up, and it turned out to be a great choice. There was a very narrow channel into the marina, but we were met by at least 4 persons who helped secure us to the side of the fuel pier in short order. The showers/restrooms were “basic” but the friendly owners and Pat’s Riverfront Café on the premises made it a special stop for us.
The first night we managed the usual dining out, with appetizers at DJ’s Deck and dinner at another place under the nearby bridge. After you ordered/paid for your meal, you could sit anywhere, and they still managed to find you. We took home half of our mahi-mahi and tuna dinners for a future meal. For good measure we ordered a Key Lime cannoli to go with the “Master and Commander” DVD that night on Sogno.
Pat’s Riverfront was a great old fashioned breakfast and lunch place: good food, service and prices. We managed to hit breakfast there 3 times in a row and really loved the omelets, pancakes, bacon and hash browns.
We also decided that this do-it-yourself yard was the place for us to have Sogno hauled. We knew our zincs needed changing and we wanted to see what the bottom was like. (Sacrificial zinc fittings are attached to the propeller shaft and hull and are designed to corrode instead of other metal parts below the water line – ours are usually used up in the course of a normal 6 month season back home). They hauled Sogno at the end of the day (Sunday) and left her hanging in the travel lift slings. We managed to change the zincs, clean up the propeller and knot meter paddle wheel, and wipe off only a light coating of slime on the hull. The bottom paint was definitely working well and still looked in decent shape for the rest of the trip. We must have certainly been a sight – water and blue slime all over us. All of our clothing went into the marina washer while we took showers. The Captain suggested dinner out so we went out for pizza and then spent the night rocking gently onboard Sogno – hanging in the sling. It was weird. The next morning they dropped us back in the water. The entire operation cost us under $100 and they didn’t charge us for any dockage that night!
Monday was spent as follows: going to Radio Shack for a new power cord for our backup computer hard drive and a head set for internet telephoning (Skype); washing down Sogno’s deck and cockpit; walking along Daytona Beach (cars have a 10 mph speed limit); provisioning; getting some quarters for the hungry laundry machines; and testing Skype on the internet. (See how we keep busy between meals!)
On the Hook in Titusville (Tues, Dec 4)
After one last breakfast at Pat’s, we were helped out of our dock and got back on the ICW. This stretch, had a number of shallow spots and we managed to dodge most of them except near “R2” mark near Ponce de Leone Inlet. We hit a shoal at around 5knots and Sue was sent tumbling on to the edge of the cockpit seat. Nothing serious other than the standard boat bruise, but it could have been worse. We managed to back off and proceed (more cautiously) through some more shallow sections, passing “Jubilee” (family of 5) which we hadn’t seen since Deltaville, VA.
We were now in manatee country, and there were many speed controlled areas. (Manatees are gentle marine mammals that feed on grass, and can be easily run over by power boats.) We think we saw our first one in Haulover Canal, but in general we didn’t see very manatees at all.
We finally got back in the anchoring game, and dropped the hook off Titusville in the Indian River. We managed to have a civilized cocktail hour, watch the news, grill a steak and watch TV (House, Boston Legal) with key lime cheese for dessert. Now that was a great anchorage!
Happy Hour Grazing in Melbourne (Wed, Dec 5)
Many boaters were opting to stay around Titusville for the shuttle launch scheduled the next day, but we decided to press on for Melbourne. (The launch was ultimately delayed a few days and then scrubbed.) We arrived at the Melbourne Harbor marina, fueled up, and then docked with our usual display of dock line tossing and piling lassoes to hold us in place. By now we were noticing that sailboats are given very easy docks to tie up if at all possible!
Brian’s cousin Joann, who lives in Melbourne, was still not answering our voice messages, so we set off to see how competitive the Melbourne Happy Hour scene was. First stop: Meg’s Restaurant and Irish Bar where we met John, a NJ snowbird and retired Wall St. guy, who kept telling us what a great thing we were doing. The Caribbean Jerk Chicken Wings we were eating were also a great thing. Next Stop: Main St. Bar where we met Frank (with broken foot) a former sail boat and trawler owner. He was a nice guy, but in a run of bad luck. Besides the foot, he was a real estate agent and the local real estate market was also broke. He filled us in on all the waterfront development disasters, which explained why all the high rises we had been seeing along the ICW lately seemed very dark. Last stop: Ichabod’s back at the marina where we had a most excellent Chicken Quesadilla.
We Arrive in “Velcro Beach” (Thur, Dec 6)
Our next stop was Vero Beach, widely referred to as “Velcro Beach.” The City Marina was so cruiser friendly, that once you got there, you found yourself stuck there for many more days than you had planned. When we arrived at 2:30 we were assigned to a mooring, but told to prepare our boat to raft with up to two other boats. This was a unique arrangement, but a great way to get a lot of boats into a well protected anchorage as well as an easy way to meet more cruisers. The daily mooring rental ($11) was also another incentive to stay. By coincidence, we were moored right in front of the Vero Beach Power Squadron club house.
During registration, we met Stan, an experienced ICW/Bahamas cruiser from Salem. He stood out from the crowd when I saw his Jubilee YC (Beverly, MA) tee-shirt. Stan and Judy (Rhumb Runner) were a great source of information, local transport, and just fun folks to have over for a sundowner.
Later, we walked over to the Riverside Café, which was quarter mile from where we were moored, and discovered this became a very popular place from 4 to 7 each day, when half price beers kicked in!
Stuck in Vero -- and Loving It (Fri, Dec 7- Tues, Dec 18)
We were going to stay 4 or 5 days, but ….
Why do cruisers get “stuck” in Vero? It has a free shuttle bus system to get you around town (donations welcome). All the usual chains are there (Home Depot, Lowes, Wal Mart, Target), along with super markets, banks, post office, library and of course the mandatory West Marine store (very small which saved lots of $$). A nearby beach, parks, restaurants are added bonuses, but the thing that really makes Vero special is the close community of transient cruisers and snowbirds wintering over. They help you in so many ways to get your bearings and help you with your ICW, Bahamas, and Florida Keys questions. There’s even a local “alumni society” of boaters who have come down to Vero to live permanently. They’re called CLODS (Cruisers Living On Dirt) and they organize a Wednesday cruiser’s breakfast, and other social events. One night the marina was treated to Christmas carolers who came by one evening in lit up kayaks to get us all in the spirit of the season. In short, Vero Beach and its marina is just the perfect place to catch your breath, send and receive your mail (Sue did the Christmas cards), focus on the next part of your trip or simply enjoy each other’s company.
Within two days of arriving, we rafted up with Flutter Bye (Steven, Genvieve) and Delphinus (Fred, Diane). Steven and Genvieve were from Montreal, and although language was sometimes a problem, we were able to help Genvieve out when Steven was called back to snowy Montreal for one week of work. Fred and Diane (veteran Bahamas cruisers) in turn helped us out in provisioning and what were the best weather sources for the Bahamas that we could tune into on our single side band (short wave) receiver. They also brought us a bag of fresh oranges and grapefruit –thanks Fred and Diane.
Vero also turns out to be a place to see old “friends” we had met along the ICW (Jubilee, San-I-Tee, Cassiopeia, Werplayin) plus many new friends who helped us with ideas and encouragement:
Tom and Susan (Gypsy Soul - which is a Gozzard 36)
Andrew and Carolyn (Pendragon, previously home ported in Boston)
Neal and Stephanie (Rhapsody, home ported in Portsmouth, NH)
Ernie and Carolyn (Hispaniola, also from Portsmouth)
A few days after we arrived, we finally connected with Brian’s cousin Joann and her husband Jack. We had a great dinner at a restaurant right on the beach (thanks Joann and Jack!) plus a chance to catch up on family news.
In the repair/improvement department, after thinking it over all the way down the ICW, I finally decided to buy a 44 lb. Claw anchor to backup our other two anchors. We also improved our Wi-Fi reception when we finally got the antenna/receiver we ordered back in North Carolina. (Thanks Dan for sending it, and thanks Sebastian for recommending it). I re-spliced our nylon anchor rode to the 90 feet of chain on our main anchor and made up two eye splices for our 150 towing line so it could be used as a backup anchor rode if necessary. We also got some spare propane fume detectors, when one of the two on board began to act up with false alarms.
At last the moment had come, when we finally had to admit that all the “must do” items were done and we really had packed our boat with enough food and drink. It was to time to go.
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Brian and Sue
Buds at Sea
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