Bimini finally

Well....here we are in the Bahamas.....at last. We left No Name Harbor at 2:50 a.m., and I hate leaving in the dark. There are boats anchored everywhere...some without anchor lights, and it is just scary. but....we made it out of the channel and while the wind was on our nose, we motored over to Bimini and arrived about 12:00. We convinced the dockmaster to leave all three boats at the end of the T dock...the best place to be and all the boats with reservations had to go to the inside slips. We told him we would help them all dock...and we did; but there were some really bad sailors...no dock lines ready, lost control of their boats....it was crazy! Bimini is a busy, but rural island. We walked the couple of streets and there is a great beach. We plan to stay until Monday as a big "BLOW" is to come through tommorrow. We bought local lobster tails as our dinner, and each boat made a dish, and we shared dinner in our cockpit. This is a great way to live...it is half the work...or actually, one third the work for everyone! We plan to go to church tomorrow morning...which is always an interesting and uplifting experience. So.....we will now be able to start exploring the Bahamas as boaters....which is very different from a resort visit. Nanc

Moving on

Plan on pulling the anchor at 0900 in the morning and heading down to No Name Harbor for the crossing on Sat. I spoke to our weather forecaster, Chris Parker, and he said Sat should be good, but stay in Bimini until Mon or Tue due to a strong cold front moving thru the Bahamas Bank on Sunday with gusts to 40 knots. We went to Publix tonight and bought a few more groceries and dinner. I had a 60 gal bladder which I put on the floor of my dingy, and filled with water. I had a spare water pump, and I went to ACE hardware and bought some items and can now pump water from the dingy to the boat without carrying any jugs if the spigot is close enough to fill the bladder. I have the generator running, and Nanc watched American Idol but is now in bed reading her Kindel. I do not believe we will have much connectivity in the Bahamas, but we hope to use Skype to phone home, and Nanc bought an ATT unlocked phone to put a SIM card in. She spends a lot of time staying in touch with her work, but we walked quite a bit today. She gets tired, and I hailed a cab back to the dock. I will still send FindmeSpot GPS locations. You can make up the thoughts. As I was getting some items for the water transfer the dingy broke loose and floated away. Our buddies on Madame started their dingy and brought her back. We use to call our ole dingy Pita for Pain in the A--. I need to name this one Pita II. Good night, S

South Beach again

We sailed from Boca Chita Key yesterday in a brisk wind back to here. Nanc stopped talking, and I put a reef in both sails. She smiled and started talking again. I am sitting at the Nav station listening to Chris Parker on SSB for the weather to the Bahamas on Sat. We enjoyed Boca Chita, but are looking forward to going over to Bimini and the Bahamas. Got another gas can yesterday to have more petro for our Honda 2000 to charge the batteries on Marcnicliz. She is an energy hog. I had planned on installing solar panels, but put everything on hold due to Nanc's issue. The wind generator needs over 12 knots to do very much, which it did last night. Our Link 2000 does a good job of keeping me abrest of the batteries state and needs. I need a larger alternator and charger. I have a big charger back in the garage in Deltaville which I never had the chance to install.. S

Boca Chita Key

I just got off of the phone with mom and dad and they are anchored for the night at Boca Chita in a National Park. They sailed down behind DK and Carlene with the depth alarm going off repeatedly. Dad said they only had a few inches of water between their keel and the bottom but they made it without running aground thankfully. They wandered around the little island before dinner taking in the sights and sounds before enjoying yet another beautiful sunset. Dad said they spotted a Glossy Ibis along with some land crabs during their walk around of Boca Chita. They will spend the day tomorrow there and eventually they will make their way to No Name Harbor to wait for the appropriate weather window to cross. The Gulfstream is the most powerful sustained ocean current and they must cross it in order to reach The Bahamas. The current flows from south to north and it's important that there not be any northerly component to the wind when they cross. As you might imagine, when a strong current flows from the south and is met by a wind from the north, it makes for very high seas. Currently it's looking like the next weather window that will allow for their passage will come next Saturday. There are many boats in the area that are also waiting to cross. The boat that is anchored behind them tonight is from Rhode Island and there are other boats from far and wide that are also looking to cross when the weather allows. It will take the better part of a day for them to cross from No Name Harbor to Alicetown, Bimini.

Our connection was dropped before I could get many of the details but it sounds like they are having a wonderful time. Mom's leg is doing well and she's getting around just fine and they are in very high spirits. I can hear it in both of their voices when we speak and I'm glad the stress and strain of the past many months has been replaced with an "audible smile". There was some other detail about the islands to the north being made of sand and the ones to the south of them being made of coral but I didn't hear the rest of that before I lost them. As the commercial says, "can you hear me now?" Not so much....

Miami Still

The weather window closed on us, and we will probably still be here thru next Thur. Enjoying Miami. Had a great Pefier Steak at the Hoffbrau House on the end of Lincoln St. Drinks and snacks on Madame this evening. Will sail to No Name Harbor on Monday for something to do and maybe Boca Chita. S

End of ICW

Off the mooring ball in Ft Lauderdale at 0900 this morning and ran outside in 2 to 3 foot waves to Miami's Government Cut, and we are now anchored at the Venetian Causeway. This is the end of the ICW. 1089 statue miles. We put the dingy in the water for the first time since last summer and motored over and took the bus to down town Miami for dinner with the other two couples. We will fuel on Sat and top off the water tanks and hope to leave for the Bahamas on Sunday if the wind is out of the South. S

Venice of the South

Anchor up at 0650 and out into the Atlantic which was pretty rough. Once outside it was not too bad. Sailed outside all day sometimes at 8.5 knots. to here. We bypassed over 20 bridges and do not miss any of them. We arrived for the 1430 and dropped the anchor around 1500. Nanc had trouble picking up the mooring pendant, and lost her headset overboard. I went forward and rigged a snubber and managed to get it on with hand signals. Entertainment for everyone. We are at the Las Olas bridge and will spend tomorrow night here. Ate at a hamburger place close by and Normond ferried everyone to the landing in his dingy after extensive cocktails and snacks in our cockpit.My cousin who lives here is coming by tomorrow night. Saw flying fish, and I saw one fish jump stright out of the water, up eight feet and back in. DK said it was probably a Spanish Mackerel. You cannot belive the wealth concentrated here. More mega yachts than you will ever see anywhere including Monte Carlo. Cold front coming Thur. I have to go outside to Miami due to a low bridge between here and there. Should be a two hour run and then wait for a weather window to cross over. S

Happy birthday Nancy Palm Beach

Anchor came up at 0720, and we stayed inside due to higher winds than anticipated which caused us to transit many bridges. Some open on the hour, some the half, and others the quarter. Holding position in high winds from behind can be sporting. A cold front went thru, and it was decidedly cooler this morning and most of the day. Many, many power boats to contend with. All seem to want to run by as close as possible and create a wake to contend with. I am always concerned for Nanc's safety; since the radiation has weakened her thigh bone. I yell and she grabs hold, although she spends most of the time topside with me. She couldn't stand my close manuvers at one of the bridges, so whe went below and called Kath. I don't know whether she was telling on me or what! We arrive at about 1430. The anchorage here is very tight with boats and many are derilect with some one living on most of them. I now understand why the folks in Florida have trouble with those who anchor close to their places. I will take a picture to send. I had to move the boat three times to find a good spot. We hope to go outside tomorrow to Ft. Lauderdale. S

Ft Pierce

We spent two nights with Diane and Carlton Wine who we knew in Winchester. They have a beautiful condo on the ocean, and our stay was very pleasant. WE made several trips to West Marine, and managed to buy more food. If all of you reading this come to stay with us, we can feed you for a month. We attended church with them on Sat night and heard two good speakers. We celebrated Valentine's Day by buying the ladies roses, which we forgot this morning. I'll pick them up on the way back. tomorrow is Nanc's birthday. Untied from the dock at 0720 and met DK and Carlene and pressed South to here. Made several attempts to find a good anchorage, but too many boats and the anchor would not dig in. I moved several miles, and we are both now on the hook. Nanc is going to prepare a pot roast in the pressure cooker tonight and Carlene and DK are bring carrots which we do not have. Looked like storms would get us by the Sirrus feed I get on the Raymarine 120, but we went between them. We are going outside to Lake Worth tomorrow and Ft Lauderdale on Tue where the third boat is having their inverter repaired. Chris, all the high bridges are at least 64 feet at high tide. I will attach a picture for you. Pleasant dreams, S

Indialantic

The anchorage last night was super with a good dinner and drink. We started out at 0700 after wiping all the dew and condensation off the windows. I finally put them up so I could see. We saw our first Roseata Spoonbills at the cross over from the Mosquito Bay to Indian River. We could see the Space Shuttle on pad 39 as we passed behind Kennedy. I had to put the windows up to let air in, and put my short sleve shirt and shorts on. We stopped in Titiusville and got some new charts at West Marine that I needed and saw two Manatees as we left the dock. DK and Carlene stopped at Coco to see old friends, and we came on to see our friends Diane and Carlton Wine at their oceanside condo. Made the Marina here at 1600, refueled, put on water, and hooked up shore power. We put the boat to bed and are saying here for the next two nights and then back outside to Lake Worth. The third boat , we are meeting in Miami, is having some issue with their inverter overheating and may delay our cross to Bimini, but who cares. We plan on being in Miami on Tue. S

New Smyrna Beach

We departed at 0730 because of the Bridge of Lions opening schedule this morning and went back out into the Atlantic and down to Ponce de Leon inlet and are at anchor, arriving at 1745. Another long day; however we have arrived were the weather suits our clothes. I sailed about three hours and made about 6 knots most of the time. We passed the other boat several times as he motored. Beautiful sunset with a Mount Gay and coke in hand. Nanc is fixing a shrimp dish for dinner, and we spoke to Rich about selling him off to finance our life style. He was not amused. We will stay at Indiaatlantic tomorrow night with friends and leave Marcnicliz in a marina below Coco Beach. Take Sat off to relax and hope to be in Miami by Tuesday of next week. The other vessel is stopping in Coco, so we will move out at full speed tomorrow and stay in the water way to be behind Kennedy in case of a missle shot closing the Atlantic. S

St Augustine

The story from the female perspective tonight! We departed Fernandina Beach with the sunrise. It was another beautiful day. Last night we met really interesting people from Idaho. They had been on a cruise through the Panama Canal and as we chatted and watched the sunset, they couldn't understand anything about a sailboat so we gave them a tour...and they bought us drinks. Folks are great. After two hours on the Intercoastal waterway, we heard that a bridge might be closed so we went out the St. Johns River into the Atlantic for another ocean voyage. We actually sailed for two hours! We came into St. Augustine about 5:00 and have really struggled with the anchorage. There is a strong tide and a strong wind so we feel like we are "twirling". We actually got to eat dinner in the cockpit tonight and enjoy the outdoors. Speedy has sailed off his charts and needs to buy new ones in the morning. Our charts said Norfolk to FL.....but they didn't include FL. We can already tell the difference in the boating situation now that we are in FL. There are derelict boats and crowded anchorages. We are staying in St. Augustine tomorrow. While we were sailing today, we went by DK and robbed him of his wind....and he howled like a banshee! The entrance to St. Augustine was hard to discern but we made it in with out a problem. Nancy

Beaufort, SC to Kildenny Creek, SC to Fernandina Beach, FL

We left Beaufort after a good evening on the town. We anchored in Kilkenny Cheek after passing Savannah and stopping to talk very quickly to an ole friend, Steve Westgate at the Savannah Yacht Club. Had a lot of shallow water to go thru. Our buddie boat went aground several times as he led the way. We got up early this morning and went out into the Atlantic and made it to Fernandina Beach in 10 hours on a glassy sea. DK and Carlene saw a Right Whale. We are tied to the dock tonight and had a super dinner in town. Will press on to St. Augustine tomorrow and spend several days. Good night, S

Beaufort

We left Charleston at 0720 this morning and arrived here in Beaufort at 1645. Long easy ride with the tides behind us most of the way. Many more birds now that it has warmed up. We know we are in the South because of the Spanish Moss; we had to take our jackets off and put on short sleeve shirts this afternoon too. Had one of the best cheeseburgers ever this evening and will be on the anchor for the night. Anchor up at 0700 in the morning, and we will run past Savannah tomorrow. S

Charleston, SC

We pulled out this morning after the coldest night yet. Pulled the anchor at 0730 with hoar frost all over the outside. We were on the dock at 1230 because the Sawyer Bridge open early for us. I filled the fuel tank with 40.3 gals, filled the water tanks, and got rid of all the trash. I then put on my bathing suit, heavy winter coat and got out and washed the boat inside and out. It really needed it and was driving me crazy.Temp was not too bad. We have shore power tonight, and I have turned on the air condition/heat exchanger for tonight. I was afraid to try it until now, due to the rear unit possibly freezing up, and then a real problem. Kept Nanc really close on those cold nights. Plus's to everything. We will head to Beaufort tomorrow and anchor out somewhere tomorrow night. Temp is on the way up for next days and should be very pleasant. I had to take my coat off this morning about 9; since the temp was good inside the enclosure. Nanc just showered and put on her new outfit to go to dinner tonight. She explained this is her birthday month, and therefore she can wear it now. S

Heading for Charleston, SC

Just a quick update here. I just spoke to dad on the phone and they are anchored for the night on Harbor River and intend to make Charleston, SC tomorrow afternoon where they intend to meet friends for dinner. The day started very early when mom woke up and saw the clock and thought they were waking up late. The proceeded to get up and get dressed and moving before they realized that it was actually 5:50am. I wonder if that clock on the cabin wall has been adjusted to reflect what time it actually is now?

They ran for about 11 hours today and dad got that anchor dropped while there was still some light left in the sky in order to keep his agreement with my mother about sailing in the dark. He said there won't be enough earrings in the world if they have to do more night sailing. It sounds like the moon is fairly bright now and he said it's really very pretty where they are anchored.

Today they were unlucky and lucky at the same time. They snagged a herring net that stretched nearly all the way across the river that only had some coke bottle floats which made it nearly invisible. Suddenly dad realized they had snagged it and turned ninety degrees and got the prop into neutral. Luckily it popped loose and he didn't have to put on his scuba gear and swim beneath the boat to free them. In those temperatures it would not have made for a good time!

Dad changed the oil and filter on the engine today and they are ready to head out in the morning. He said they are going to be in City Marina in Charleston tomorrow night. Tonight will be the coldest night so far since their journey began although it sounded like things were warm enough inside the boat.

I guess they are really in the lowlands of the Carolinas because dad said there is nothing but flat earth as far as you can see. They passed mile marker 436 on the ICW today. Dad said that they have to make it to Sawyer Bridge tomorrow before 4PM in order to cross under. He said they should be there in plenty of time.

I asked how the wildlife viewing is so far and he said that they haven't been seeing a ton of birds but that there were quite a few herons and they have repeatedly seen porpoises. They probably know that my mom is on board and loves them.

There will probably be an update from them tomorrow as I think they will be back in the land of wi-fi again.

2nd night in Myrtle

We stayed a second day in Myrtle due to cold weather. S

Myrtle Beach

The day started pretty bad, toilet failed to flush, and the anchor would not come up with the rain and wind at 25 knots, and the light creating conditions where we could barely see. We ran hard and made Myrtle Beach's Bare Foot Landing.We came by Oak Island and I called Gen Stewart and ole friend and he was just crossing the bridge just ahead of us and could see both boats. Amazing the small degree of life's separation. Nanc has her new ear rings that I promised for the second night's problems. We will stay here tomorrow and visit our condo and wash our dirty clothes. It was an easy run after we got going. Our broker got me stright on where circut breakes were located for the head and the anchor windless . We love Myrtle and will make Charleston on Friday where we have friends to meet for dinner. The wind blew at 20 knots most of the day and made the opening of bridges problematic. We made it thru the "Rock Pile" and watched DK get 90 degress to the dock for fuel. Been there and done that. Having a super time. Nanc and Speedy

Fifty nine miles today

We are at Wilmington and the Cape Fear River. Had the tides working against us most of the way which reduced our speed over the ground even though the boat speed was our usual 6 knots. I can do 8; however my buddie's 34 catalina which is pictured can only do six, so I hang back and let him run aground and then go around the low spots. The Coast guard tried to board us this evening, but I told them the boys from Cape Charles did that in June with no write ups. They wanted to see 2 life preservers and let us go; then they sped ahead and boarded my friend DK. We went thru four bridges which slowed or progress due to the limited opening hours; either on the hour or half hour depending on the bridge. One guy at Camp Lajune would not open even though we were with in one minue of the scheduled opening. said we were not close enough. I talked with him at lenght and found his commanding officer had dictated the restriction. I ask him to tell the General that Gen Lloyd who has spent time in the AOR commanding 329 Marines 2200 other troops had more common sense. We kept our speed up and made the anchorage we are in at 6pm as it was getting dark. I have promised Nanac no more night sailing and owe her some ear rings for the second night which I will get tomorrow at Bare Foot Landing in Myrtle Beach. We hope to make Charleston on Thur. It was warm today in our enclosure, but cooled down by about 5pm. I was back in my coat. It is suppose to get really cold by morning. Nanc is fixing dinner as I write this with the propane heater going and we are snug as bugs. I will start the Honda generator just prior to turning in, and put the electric heater on and propane off. I have a CO2 detector on board, but I do not trust it while I am sleeping.

My turn....nancy is very glad we won't do any more night sailing! tooo scary. We motored for 11 hours today which was long but we saw lots of wonderful wildlife..porpoises, egrets, herons, grebs and when the sun was out it was beautiful. There are so many huge houses along the NC coast....and more being built. someone doesn''t know about the construction recession! tomorrow is to be a short day with shopping and dining out! Yea.

Super Bowl

Well, we are watching the Super Bowl, just like most of you on Marcnicliz with our friends. We made 71 miles today and refueled, added water, got rid of trash, etc. We are hard aground at the slip which was suppose to be 7 feet of water, and we only draw 5.5. I am waiting for high tide tonight to move the boat back to get away in the morning at low tide. My buddie is rafted to my port side and will help me off if necessary. We have shore power, elect heat, and the tv has super reception. Who is coming to visit in the Bahamas again? S