Goodbye North Carolina

6/21 - 5:30 am comes early and it's already light out. A quick shower and coffee and we're off. The 100 something foot yacht passes us before we can get away from the dock and the catamaran sailboat ahead of ujs is getting ready to pull out. We're all trying to make the 8:00 am opening of the North Landing Bridge.
At 7:00 am, we pass the North Carolina state line. Our plan is to stop in Norfolk and top off the fuel and then run steady to Look Out Point, MD where we plan to spend the night. Over the radio, we hear warnings from the Coast Guard of war ships in the vicinity (25 miles out) warning boaters to stay five miles away. It certainly reminds us we live in a time of war.
We make the bridge about 15 minutes early. At 9:00 am, we go through the Great Bridge Locks. We passed a tug and huge barge on our way in and on our way out. There's a sign on the wall of the lock that says, "209 miles to Washington, D.C." This was an easy lock. We tied up to the port side because it was lined with rubber bumpers - nice - and had large, easy to reach cleats to tie off to. We only go down about 2 1/2 feet. Again, I am reminded of our trip down the ICW in the high winds and rain and having to go through locks. I like this way better.
At 10:05, we pass the sign where the ICW splits off to the Great Dismal Swamp. We passed this way last year, November 7. Warm memories of that run. Hope it is open for years to come so more boaters can enjoy this wonderfully scenic waterway.
We get through the last bridge at 10:30 am and have to wait for it to open because the railroad bridge right after it is down for repair. There's lots of room and water to hold the boat. More pleasure boaters are coming up behind us, lining up for the opening. We have been on the water 4 1/2 hours and have only gone less than 50 miles! Glad this is the only section like this.
As we pass Norfolk, two small Coast Guard gun boats pull out in front of us and we, quietly and politely, follow. There is security everywhere here becuase of all the Navy ships.
The Chesapeak Bay is absolutely flat! We can't believe it. David comments that it's like running on a huge lake. We have never seen the Bay calm like this and we are very thankful for it. We're making great time and reach Point Look Out Marina at 4:00 pm. We have heard so much about this marina from other boaters, but we are disappointed in what we see. The marina must be at least 20 years old and the docks are so old that they move back and forth when you walk on them. It looks like they haven't put any money into this marina in years. The Spinnaker Restaurant that we've heard so much about is closed on weekdays, something we didn't know. Not sure why so many boaters like to gather here, but it sure is not for the marina!
We call Jeremy at our marina in DC, James Creek, to let him know we'll be home tomorrow. We're hoping they have held out old slip for us. Jeremy doesn't confirm or deny so we'll just have to wait and see. I call Jennifer and let her know we'll be home around 4:00 pm. She, Ken and the baby, Abby, plan to meet us there.
Today was along, but successful run, and tomorrow we're home!

Only a few days left of the great adventure

6/20 - Winds are 10-15 mph, but gusting. Weather report says one foot waves in Pamlico Sound so we are hoping it's the same for Albermarle Sound. We have 15 miles to cross and this body of water is dangerous in high seas. A couple of guys help me with the lines. They came in last night in the dark - one boat pulling the other with engine problems. They are from Virginia and their boats are 20 and 24 feet. They came across the sound in 2-3 feet waves yesterdayh. Scared them! They wish us luck on our crossing.
The sun is starting to break through the clouds and when it does, it shnould calm the wind and waves. We plan to run about 80 miles to Coinjock, NC and then we will be only 50 miles to Norfolk.
We turn onto the Alligator River-Pungo River Canal. We're on this stretch of water for 21.3 miles. We'll make good time. The water is smooth and we just go straight up the middle with the auto pilot on. What a difference it is to take this route in the summer. We had rain, gray clouds, high wind and choppy to high waves all the way down the ICW last year. I like this much better!
We pass four sail boats with their sails up. They must be traveling together because they are all from Kiwah, Texas. They move starboard and slow down so we can pass with no wake. This is the most traffic we've seen since leaving Florida.
We get into Albermarle Sound with 10 mph winds and one foot seas. Not exactly smooth, but certainly more than acceptable. We set the magnetic course and put her on auto pilot. But wait! What do we see? Crab pots on either side of the channel! What a pain! I know crabbers have to make a living too, but why so close to the channel?
We cut the corner too close and we find ourselves in 3 feet of water! But now we have experience in how NOT to ground. David pulls back on the engines and lets the current pull us back into the channel. The water level slowly goes up - 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, etc. It reminds us how easy it is to get too comfortable running the boat. You have to always be mindful of where you are and your surroundings. One foot out of the channel can put you in two feet of water.
We dock at Coinjock Marina at noon. It's 1200 feet of linear dock solely for transient boaters on their way North. By 5:00 pm, the dock is completely lined with mega yachts and once again, we're the smallest. But that's okay. 48 feet of boat is all I can handle. I wash down the boat for the last time before we get home.
We have dinner at the marina restaurant, which is very popular with boaters and the locals. The food is good and the service excellent. We plan our strategy for tomorrows run. We have 10 bridges, including railroad bridges, to get under and the most are on the hour or half hour opening schedule. We'll leave Coinjock at 6:00 am to get to the first bridge opening by 8:00am. It does not open at all from 6:30 - 7:30. This will make for a long morning.

The countdown is on!

6/19 - we leave Beaufort at 7:30 am. The skies are clear and the water smooth. We pass two sailboats going North and a huge barge being pushed by a tug going South. But it's a wide channel and we have no problem passing. We have an 8-10 mile stretch where we have to run at no wake speed because there are so many private docks and public marinas. We pass the cutest little tug on a lift. It is so small that it looks like a toy. I take a picture.
It is great weather to cross the Neuse River. Wind is calm and the water is almost flat. This can be a very dangerous passage in bad weather and it is recommended to stay out of it if there are storms are high winds. We pass a couple of trawlers heading North, but they are probably heading for a short stay at a marina. We have yet to talk to anyone who is headed by North for home. I think we are the last of the "snowbirds." We cross the Neuse River and the Pemlico River by following magnetic directions on the charts. David puts the auto pilot on and sits back. This is a nice break for the captain.
We come upon Bellhaven, NC where we are going to spend the night at River Forest Marina. We stayed here last year in November and really liked it. The docks are very old, but the service and staff are the best and it's right off the ICW so it will be easy to get back on track tomorrow morning.
After lunch, we take a loaner golf cart and head for the grocery store. The marina has about four of these carts and it makes for a fun and easy trip. We have just run out of the basics (coffee, kleenex, coffee filters, cream, etc.) and this shopping trip will give us some food stuff left on the boat after returning to DC. The town is small enough that it's not far to Food Lion from the marina and all the cars on the road are used to seeing the golf carts and so are very careful when passing us. They smile and wave as they go by.
We unload the groceries and head up to the restaurant/hotel where they have WIFI on the back porch. That's how I am able to update the blog. It is gorgeous here. We bought a roasted chicken and corn on the cob for dinner on the boat tonight. We are really getting into this laid-back lifestyle.

Sunday in Beaufort

6/18 - I love this town! It is my favorite so far. Everything about it, including the people, is so friendly and gracious. One of the guys on the boat next to us caught a 501 pound fish (don't know what kind) yesterday. Needless to say, the guys crewing that fishing boat were on a natural high! We ended up staying onboard last night. I fell asleep on the couch and then didn't feel like getting cleaned up. But that's okay because I feel great this morning!
Today is Father’s Day and David was so glad to get a call from his daughter, Amy. They live in Richmond and have a 33 ft. Sea Ray Sundancer. One would say that boating runs in the family! We stayed over an extra day in Beaufort to attend church. We found a wonderful Episcopal Church, St. Paul’s, and we can walk to it. It's a beautiful morning, but you can tell it is going to be hot in the afternoon. The church service is wonderful. The church was founded early 1800’s and the building is original. The congregation is so very friendly, with lots of children of all ages, and the people who talked to us have that wonderful Southern accent. I love this town! (Have I already said that?)
On our way to church, we pass houses with historical markers dating from the1700’s! They are proud to own a house that was built and owned by someone from the 18th Century. They all have placques on the front of them with the date and the name of the original owner. We have Sunday brunch at a restaurant on the waterfront, Spouter’s Inn, and then head back to the boat. I go shopping for about an hour and buy nothing, but it’s fun. A lot of the stores are closed on Sunday (no surprise). Lots of boating stuff and beach house furnishings.
In the afternoon, we go to the Beaufort Dock Restaurant to spend the last of our chips for a free drink. They have a ‘60’s singer who has difficulty keeping a tune, but puts us in a melancholy mood anyway. We keep thinking that we'll be home this week and we are trying to figure out how we feel about that. We leave the restaurant and have dinner at Finz on the waterfront, just up the boardwalk. Our young waiter went to school at Virginia Tech and now his father, who is in the military, is in Beaufort. It was nice to talk to an “almost” DC-er.
After dinner, we go back to the boat and watch some TV. At 8:00 pm, transient boaters are still coming into dock for a day or two stay. I would highly recommend Beaufort, and especially this marina, to anyone going to the outer banks! You have got to experience the boater's life here. It's the best!

It's back to the ocean today

6/17 - we slept in today and didn't get up until 6:00 am and we'll out of the marina by 7. They packed us in last night and put as many boats - bow to stern - as they could on the transient dock. This is a busy marina since it is so close to the inlet. It's also the most expensive one so far - $1.85 a foot and diesel $2.92 a gallon. David slips us out of our tight spot and heads out to sea. The winds are 5-10 knots with 2-3 foot waves. It's a bit choppy when we first get out, but it smooths out as the morning passes. We have to go out three to four miles off shore. There is an area outside Camp LaJeune that is restricted. David calls first thing this morning to see if there are going to be any gun practice out to sea today, if there is, we have to go even further. But we're clear.
It's a fast trip, only four hours, and it's a good ride. We pull into the Beaufort Inlet around 11:00 am and call Beaufort (pronounced Bow-fort) Docks Marina, which is located right downtown Beaufort. There are boats coming in and out of the channel in every direction. This is a boating town! We get docked with no problem. The two staff people tie us up and tell us where we can plug in our electricity. That's it - we're on our own to do the rest. But one of the guys tells me that when we're done, he'll buy us a beer. Interesting... We finish getting the boat tied down and the fenders out and head up to the office. We get registered and sure enough, they give us two wooden cheques for free beer at their restaurant right on the waterfront. Everyone here is "down home" friendly. We decide to stay two days and head out Monday for Ocracoke. Once to Ocracoke, we are only about 200 miles from Norfolk! It's hard to believe that we are living our last days of our big boat adventure. We left home last November 4th and will be home within the next two weeks. Just can't believe it.
I have to wash down the boat and David has a possible migraine coming on so he takes a nap. The last thing we need is for the captain to become incompacitated! There's a band playing over at the marina restaurant tonight. We might just have to check that out!

More of the ICW

6/16 - we pull out of Georgetown Landing Marina at 6:20 am. It's a little foggy, but the water is smooth and there's no wind. We're heading to Southport, NC and take the Wacamaw River at about 18 knots. Since the ICW is surrounded by Cypress tree marshes on either side, we have to be constantly watching the water for floating logs.
At Myrtle Beach, we pass some beautiful huge houses along the water and several gorgeous golf courses. It's a beautiful day for golf and the courses are busy with guys in shorts driving golf carts and hitting little balls with sticks. Not my idea of how to spend an afternoon, but each to their own.
At 11:-00 am, we cross the stateline and we are in North Carolina. We arrive at Sunset Beach Highway Bridge (a pontoon bridge) at 11:08 am - 8 minutes after opening! We have to wait until 12:00 N before it opens again. What a pain and the amount of car traffic is amazing! Why don't they build a big bridge? There are boat arriving within this hour and we are all waiting for the opening. Plus there are boats on the other side waiting. I'm surprised the boaters don't put pressure on the state to fix this problem.
In spite of the hold up, we get to Southport at 1:00 pm and we decide to go further to Wrightsville Beach, which will make our trip to Beaufort shorter. Since there isn't much in Southport anyway, we go the extra 30 something miles. We pull into Seapath Yacht Club at 4:00 pm. It's located just a short way from the Masonboro Inlet where we have to enter the ocean tomorrow. So it's a good location. We fuel at the dock and head out for dinner. We're back early to the boat and watch a movie. It's been a long day - 125 miles, but no problems navigating the ICW. We are happy boaters!!

More of the ICW

6/16 - we pull out of Georgetown Landing Marina at 6:20 am. It's a little foggy, but the water is smooth and there's no wind. We're heading to Southport, NC and take the Wacamaw River at about 18 knots.

ICW

6/15 - we are pulling out of Charleston City Marina at 6:30 am. Since we have our stern facing the only exit out of the marina, David has to turn us around with mega yachts on both sides and does a great job. We're headed to Georgetown, SC. Skies are overcast, temps are in 70's, and the water is smooth. What a difference experience makes! We take the ICW without a care of concern and David reads the water depths on the charts and figures in the tide and it's smooth sailing. It certainly is different from November 2005.
The Coast Guard hails us on 16. They passed us about a half hour ago. They read the name on the back of our boat and want to warn us of a 30 foot tree floating just ahead of us. They are trying to tie a line onto it and drag it ashore. Nice of them to give us a heads up.
We dock at Georgetown Landing Marina around 12:00 N. They have a long transient dock and you can fuel up right there. It's right off the ICW so will be very convenient for our trip out tomorrow. We have lunch at the restaurant next door, Lands End. Good food and service. Then we go back to the boat to clean off the salt and get our bikes ready to go exploring the Historic District, which is less than a mile from the marina.
There isn't much to see here. It was founded in 1729 by the English. Georgetown is the South Carolina's third oldest city. Rice was a major crop and export, as well as indigo dye. These crops required a large labor force and more and more African slaves were imported into the colony - 85% of the total population in the 1800's. With the Civil War, all the South lost their labor force and, consequently, went through some tough economic times. Today, it is the steel mill and paper mill that supports this small town.
After our visit to the town, we decided to have dinner on the boat tonight and watch some tv. It was a good day.

Surviving Alberto

6/14 - I get up at 7:30 am and David is sleeping with his clothes on from last night. He wakes up and tells me that he's been up most of the night. Never a dull moment! Playing babysitter all night is not his idea of fun boating. He said it rained on and off all night with 40 mph winds. When the center of the storm got due West of here, he could see lightning everywhere. He says it is one of those exciting nights that he prefers not to do again. I slept through everything and got up at 7:30 am. I figured I couldn't stop whatever was going to happen and I'd rather not see it. Think that was a bit of denial on my part. It is cloudy, but still wind gusts of 35 mph. As the day progresses, the sun comes out and there is blue skies with big puffy white clouds. The water at 3:00 pm is calm and there is only a light breeze. Hard to believe we had a water spout in this same water yesterday! I have a great picture of the sailboat that got blown against the fishing boat by the tornado. I'll post it as soon as I learn how. I have a new camera and haven't learned all the ticks on how it works yet. All the mega yachts around us seem to have come through the storm without any ill effects. We survived our first tropical storm and want to get out of the path of any possibility of another. Thank goodness we were in a great marina!
We are trying to decide what to do about leaving tomorrow. Our next stop is George Town, SC, about 75 miles from here. We would probably have to take the ICW since Alberto seems to be churning the seas. David wants to leave and the weather report on the ICW is calm water and warm weather. So we'll probably head out bright and early.
We got the dink fixed and we have to pick it up at 3:30 pm today. Should be a very simple run up to Wappoo River now that the waves and wind are down. We'll have dinner and go to bed early (especially David).

Alberto and Water spout!

6/13 - We get up early to meet the boat taking us to Ft. Sumter. The boat is pretty full of visitors and it's a 30 minute boat ride out to the Fort. It's cloudy and starting to rain. David and I brought out rain gear from the boat so we are prepared. We land at the fort and spend an hour going through it. It is now run by the National Park and a ranger gives us a really good talk on its history. We then walk around the grounds and see the cannons used in its defense during the Civil War. We only have a short time to go through the museum before we hear a final call for boarding. We had no idea that the stay would be so short. We're sad to leave and would have liked to spend a couple hours in the museum, but the rain is picking up and everyone heads for the boat.
We get back to the dock and go through the musem attached to the dock. It gives some interesting history on slavery in Charleston. I learn that President Lincoln did not want to abolish slavery, but wanted to prevent its spread into new states that joined the Union. But, of course, the Southerns felt this a real threat to their wealthy livlihood and seceded. South Carolina was the first. There are many quotes from South Carolinians trying to convince others (and maybe themselves) that slavery was their God-given right. Even after reading all that, I can't imagine how one human being could even want to own another human being.
It's raining more and we understand Alberto is supposed to arrive in Charleston this afternoon. We stay in town and have lunch at a famous restaurant, Jestine's, known for its great Southern cooking. There's a long line waiting when we get there and we join it. The food is good, but not sure worth the wait. After lunch, we go through the City Market, but it is beginning to rain harder and we call for a pick up.
Once onboard, I start updating the Blog and David works on his computer. I am working on the deck when I hear someone screaming, "HELP!" and, at the same time, our boat is blown out hard against the lines. It's a water spout and it went right down between our boats! The cry for help was from a woman on a 40 foot catamaran sailboat that was trying to get to the inside of the dock when the tornado went down between us and it pushed it down against a big fishing boat. The force of the 40 mph wind pulled the hatch lids right off the sail boat, blew seat cushions, and picked up the top of one of the dock poles, sending everything floating rapidly down the water. I jumped up and call for David, who is sitting in the salon. It happened so fast that I didn't actually see the water spout but only felt its affect. How scary! Everyone goes out and puts more lines out and more fenders out to try to protect the boats. Marina staff run for the sailboat and help to get fenders out on the fishing boat to try to limit the damage. I'm a little concerned but everyone is staying put on their yachts. The rain is pouring down now and there is a tornado warning out for Charleston. The rain and wind gusts up to 40 mph are to continue through the night and blow (literally) out of here tomorrow, with the rain ending tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to bed and pull the covers oven my head!

Dink goes to the doctor

6/12 - We wait for a call from the guy who is going to fix our dink. He calls us around 11 am and we put her in the water. We run it up the Wappoo River to a landing where Steve, who runs Air Sea Safety & Survival, Inc., is waiting with a trailer to pull her out. Once on the trailer, he takes us back to the marina. He hopes to have it done by 5:00 pm tomorrow. He drops us off at the marina and we go to the marina restaurant for lunch.
Once back to the boat, we lather up with sunscreen and take the marina van into Charleston. We go to the Visitor's Center and arrange a bus tour of the city and a tour of Ft. Sumter tomorrow. We're the only two for the bus tour so we get a guide all to ourselves. She is very good and gives us lots of information on the city. She points out wonderful mansions, many privately owned but open to the public. There are so many old mansions from the 1700's still in great condition. There is City Market that covers several blocks that is very much like Eastern Market in DC. She lists many great restaurants that we can't begin to taste them all in the short time we're here.
After the tour, we go back to the Visitor's Center and go to the movie they have that gives an overview of the history of Charleston. It's not very good and lacks focus. It barely mentions slavery and stresses the good food and beauty of Charleston. It's around 5:30 pm by the time it's over and we call for a pick up to go back to the marina. We have dinner onboard and enjoy our cable tv before heading to bed.

Praying where George Washington prayed...

6/11 - We go to St. Michael's Episcopal Church - the oldest church in Charleston, 1764. A great service and the congregation exhibit the wonderful southern hospitality that you hear about. After church, we are given a tour by a member of the church. He tells us that during the Civil War, the congregation painted the church black so Union war ships in the inlet could not aim for the center of the city using the church as it's point of attack. The church has many stunning Tiffany glass stained windows. There are big plaques on the wall giving the wonderful attributes of some of the people buried out back in the grave yard. I notice that one in particular said that the gentleman being eugolized was a "humane and kind master." A little eery.
We then walked a couple of blocks to Diana's, a nice little restaurant for brunch that even locals eat. Then we call the marina to pick us up and we head back to the boat. It is 100 degrees out and the heat has literally sucked the life out of us. We nap and read for the afternoon in the cool air conditioning of our boat. The first tropical sotrm of the season, Alberto, is coming ashore in Key West, and will be here Tuesday. We'll just hunker down here until Wednesday or Thursday.
Tonight, we have steamed shrimp at Fleet Landing Restaurant, sitting out on the deck. There's a strong breeze, which keeps us cool as we watch the big ships coming in and going out the harbor. A school (group?) of dolphins play off the pier and a Navy war ship is docked just next door. A perfect place to end the day.
Once back on board Capitol Hill, the wind picks up and we get gusts up to 30 mph blowing against us. David goes out and double ties lines, just in case. The wind dies down before we go to bed, thankfully.

Charleston, SC

6/10 - The sky is cloudless and not a ripple in the water. After getting our Krispy Kreme donuts delivered by the dock master, he helps me untie the lines and we are off for Charleston. It's a little foggy, but the sun rising takes quick care of that. We're at high tide, which makes our run out the Savannah River to the ocean easy. Our local shrimpers are out and dragging their nets. The ocean water is smooth with doolphins jumping out of the water to welcome us out to sea. We pass a huge container ship loaded with bright colored boxes. We go out about seven miles with smooth rolling of waves. The sun reflects diamonds off the water.
We pull into Charleston inlet without any problems and pass Fort Sumter on our way to Charleston City Marina. They put us on their Mega Dock, where they put the 100 foot and bigger yachts. We look like a baby in comparison, but it's a great marina with wonderful staff. We have floating docks with fuel at your slip. The marina provides a shuttle van on the hour into town and will pick you up on request. We hose down the boat and get cleaned up for dinner. We find an absolutely wonderful little Italian restaurant, Pane e Vino, that has patio sitting. We had an inexpensive gourmet meal in a wonderful atmosphere. A great way to begin our stay in Charleston.

Playing tourist in Savannah

6/9 - Good thing we're not going out today. Forecasts are for 4-6 foot waves in the ocean. Well, the patch didn't hold and air is slowly leaking. David calls a couple of places and finds out that there is only one place in Charleston that can fix it. So he calls and they can take us on Monday. By the way, I haven't mentioned that Krispy Kreme donuts and USA Today paper are delivered to every boat each morning. Six donuts per boat! David is in donut heaven!
We decide to go into Savannah and visit the museum and Juliette Gordon-Lowe's birthplace. It's supposed to have the most original furnishings. The museum is very well done. We start out watching a movie that gives an overview of the history of Savannah. The movie is told from General Olgelthorpe's perspective - the founder of Savannah. His idea was to leave London and set up a state where everyone would share in the work and wealth. Nice idea, but not realistic. Within 20 years, the harder workers (or smarter) rose to the top and built huge plantations and had slaves to work the land. So much for sharing the work and wealth. But the city survived, even if it was in a different way that Oglethorpe planned. The movie glosses over the slavery history and says Savannah's first money-making crop was rice. It said it brought African slaves who grew rice in their native tribes to Savannah to work the fields. They said the women were experts in growing rice and they "just left them alone to handle the farming of the rice." Meanwhile, they didn't need the men on the rice farms, so they rented them out to people in town because these slaves were experts in carpentry and tools. The movie says these slaves became the middle class of Savannah. Yeh, right!
We then spent a couple hours going through the museum. We go through a special exhibit of ladies and children clothing from the 1700's. There are lots of civil war artifacts and written history, as well as pictures. They take you from the War of 1812 to WWII.
We then went to Juliette Gordon-Lowe's birthplace. It was everything we wanted it to be. Great guide and original furnishings - even the walls were painted their original color. There is a huge crystal chandelier made by Tiffiny's in the entrance way. The Gordons was a wealthy family. He was a factor (accountant) for the cotton industry.
We head back to the boat and have dinner at a nearby restaurant, Tubby's, a great little place where tonight they have a performer singing Key West tunes (Jimmy Buffett) and men are playing "toss the ring in the cup" in the front parking lot. Did I mention everything here is slow paced? But a wonderful place to visit.

Work and bus tour

6/8 - We're up early and working on the dink. We get the bolts replaced and it's sitting up on the frame again. We double patch the hole and cross our fingers that it'll hold. We head out to Savannah around 1:30 pm and take a trolley tour of the city. We have a great guide who not only tells us history, but also gives us a little gossip about the historic characters. She tells us about Juliette Gordon-Lowe, the founder of Girl Scouts. She was a beautiful young lady when she married an extremely wealthy man from London. She moves to London only to have her husband take up with another woman and files for divorce, but Juliette doesn't want a divorce and inlists her father and brother (both attorneys) to fight it in the London courts. They are still fighting it four years later when he ups and dies, leaving everything to his mistress. No way! Juliette's family fight that and she eventually gets the mansion in Savannah and some money. Girl Scout troups travel to Juliette's birthplace home in Savannah to pay homage. Juliette was quite a strong and determined woman. Good for her!
We get back to car and go to another restaurant on the river front for dinner. We have decided to stay in Savannah through Friday.

A short trip on the ICW

6/6 - We're up early, 5:30 am. Weather forecast is not good today for ocean travel, but we decide to try it. We get muffins and newspaper delivered to our door by the dockmaster at 6:00 am. Very nice touch. We head out the inlet and the water is choppy, but nothing like the ocean! When we make our turn north, we are hit by four foot waves that hit us with such force that water is splashed up over the bow and onto us! This is not good and we both look at each other and nod in agreement to turn around and go back inside and go up the ICW. It means three more hours of running, but we don't want the beating from the high winds and waves in the ocean.
By 8:00 am, we are starting up the ICW and a 40 foot fishing boat passes us. It's obvious by the way and the speed he takes the curvy channels that he knows these waters so we follow him. He calls us on the radio and we tell him we'll just stay behind him and follow him up. He's a good ole boy from Charleston, SC on his way to an overnight in Hilton Head before heading up to Charleston. He's run these waters many times and he,too, had tried the ocean this morning before turning back into the ICW. We weave our way through the ICW and notice that our depth finder is going in and out. Good thing we can follow this guy.
At 11:00 am, our leader calls us on the radio and says he's had enough of the low water and the zig zag of the ICW and wants to try the ocean again. He calls a couple of people who are currently outside and gets a pretty good report on the waves and wind and decides to try it. We agree and follow him out Sapelo Sound to the Atlantic. The water is choppy, but not too bad. We hear boaters talking on the radio that the ocean was really rough earlier in the morning. It's a good decision to go back outise and we follow our leader all the way up to the inlet at Savannah. About 1:30 pm, he splits off for Hilton Head and we follow the markers into the inlet. We have no problems in the Savannah River and pull into Thunderbolt Marina at about 2:30 pm. The docks here are floating docks, but are in pretty bad shape due to the last few hurricanes to hit here. They are getting new docks in July - we're a month early, but the staff is very friendly and helpful. It's been a long run today and we're glad to be docked.
For dinner, we walk a few blocks up to Bubba's - a great restaurant that is enjoyed by tourists and locals. We have an early dinner and early bedtime. We plan to stay here a couple of days to tour Savannah.

A great place to experience Southern hospitality

6/5 - Wind is calm and we get out of the marina at 6:30 am. Forecast is for 2-4 foot waves and 15-20 mph winds. Not great, but we decide to check it out. Our stop today is the Golden Isle Marina in St. Simon's Island, GA. We stayed there last year in November on our way down the ICW to Florida. It's about a 75 mile trip - four hours to the inlet. The sun is just coming up and it is beautiful! By 9:00 am, the water has smoothed out - almost no waves. Passing Fernando Beach, we see several shrimp boats with their nets in the water. Dolphins jump in front of us. We can smell the petroleum chemicals even six miles off shore. It's an wonderfully uneventful run and we pull into Golden Isles Marina early, 11:00 am. I start cleaning the salt off the boat and by 12:30 pm, we'are done and ready to go into town. Rose, the marina administrator, gives us a lift. We have lunch at Brogans, which overlooks the ocean. Great food and service. We then take a short walk to tour the lighthouse, which is maintained by the Coast Guard and volunteers. David comments that everyone on this island seems to be schooled in excellent customer service. We climb to the top of the lighthouse (159 steps) and the view of the island is amazing. We did some windown shopping and stopped for happy hour at Rafters, where we had some of the best Alaskan snow crab we've ever had. Alex is a great bar tender. We meet a young man working for the Navy and had a nice conversation about the love of boating. It's time to head back to the boat and review the charts for tomorrow's run.

A day back in history

6/4 - We get a ride into St. Augustine from the staff at the marina. It's only about a five minute drive to the heart of the town. We're dropped off near a coffee shop and we stop for breakfast. We go through the Old Spanish Quarter where they have people dressed in period costume (1770's) and working as a scribe, carpenter, leather man, blacksmith, and townspeople. You can stop at each little shop and talk with the people who tell you what live and their job was like in the 18th Century. Very informative.
We then walk up to Ft. Augustine. It costs $6 a person to get in or it's free for National Park card holders, of which we are one. Park rangers give tours of the different sections of the fort. We learn that the fort was occupied by the Spanish, English, Confederates, Union and American Indians, but it was never taken by force. Back when we were settling the West, different tribes of Indians were brought to the fort to try to "tame" them. Once released, these tribes stayed in Florida and became what is now called the Seminole Tribe. There were 77 cannons that could shoot a distance of 3 1/2 miles. In WWII, the Coast Guard used the Fort to set up radar to monitor submarine traffic. The fort is a great place to visit and is filled with a lot of American history.
We stop into a Sangria Bar and have lunch and plan our run tomorrow. We have dinner on the boat and go to bed early for an early start to St. Simons Island tomorrow.

Hold up in Cape Canaveral

6/3 - We leave the marina at 6:15 am to make the lock opening at 6:30. Knowing what to expect makes the lock easier and I see another manatee on our way. We get through the lock uneventfully and head out to sea. There are about 30-50 fishing boats in front of us as we head out the inlet. There's a fishing tournament today. Two Carnival Cruise Ships are in dock and we can hear their music and the people participating in some group activity. It's a five-mile no wake zone and we have to go out three miles in the ocean to get past the Cape Canaveral security zone or it's a $50,000 fine or five years in prison. We plan to be at least five miles off shore, so no problem for us. Several tournament boaters are off to our port throwing out nets to catch bait fish. Lots of activity for so early in the morning!
As we come to the end of the inlet, David powers up the engines only to feel a vibration coming from the engines. It's vibrating the whole boat! We quickly turn around and I call a marina close by to see if they can pull her out of the water and take a look. We go to Cape Marina just a mile from the inlet. What a great, professional place. We are really impressed. They are able to pull us out to inspect the props, but any serious repairs can't be done until Tuesday - no mechanics on duty on weekends. We're lucky - it's only a plastic net wrapped tightly around the port prop. They take it off and we're back in the water by 10:30 am with no damage done to it! We are blessed. It's only five hours to St. Augustine, so we decide to head out.
It's a rather boring ride straighty up the coast in the ocean out about six miles and we're clipping along at 22-24 knots. Oh no! Spoke too soon. By 2:00 pm, we can see black clouds across the horizon! I see lightning strike on shore. The closer we get, the darker the clouds. We see an opening in the clouds and go closer to shore and through the small, clear opening in the clouds. The rain is starting, but it's the wind that spooks us. It has changed directions to the northeast, the temperature drops 20 degrees, and it's blowing at 30 mph! We struggle to get the eising glass windows rolled down. The waves are only between 2-4 feet, but the wind is still blowing hard. We check the marine radio and they are telling small craft to get off the ocean and seek shelter immediately. But there is no inlets that we can get into until we get to St. Augustine. The saving grace is there are no high waves beating at us. David has radar up on the screen and can see where the storm stops. The further we go, the calmer the water is getting and the rain and wind are slowing down. We have survived our first ocean storm and we hope it's our last.
We pull into St. Augustine inlet around 4:30 pm. It is wide and deep and David navigates it easily. It's just a couple of miles to Comachee Marina. We hail them on 16 and a very competent staff person gives us specific directions to our slip - a floating dock with fuel at the slip. We're docked and fuled by 5:30 pm. What a day! Boating is not for the faint of heart. You never know what awaits you everytime you turn the engine key!

Beginning the trip back to D.C.

6/2 - Ft. Lauderdale to Cape Canaveral. We pull away from the dock at 6:45 am. It's been a great few months at Bob's house and his son, Mark, has been a terrific neighbor. But the time has come for us to start our way back up the coast to our home port, James Creek Marina. The weather for this first leg of our trip home is beautiful - sunny, blue skies and no wind. By 7:30 am, we are through Hillsboro Inlet and out into the Atlantic Ocean. We've decided to come up the coast on the outside (ocean) rather than take the slower and shallower inside (ICW) and since we're old hats at ocean running since the Bahamas, we feel comfortable with the run.
At 8:00 am, we see a giant rainbow. I believe it's God's message to us: "It's okay; I'm here." We go through two light, short rain showers (typical of Florida weather this time of year) and now it is clear blue skies and unbelievable calm waters. We pass a lot of fishing boats and two large container barges being pulled by a tug boat.
We have our first lock to go through in Cape Canaveral. I'm mentally preparing myself for it. At least, I know where to put the fenders to protect the boat, and David has almost eight months experience behind him now.
Skyscrapers appear on the horizon as Port St. Lucie comes into view. Huge billowry clouds hang over the land and clear blue skies are over us. Straight ahead, we see the St. Lucie River nuclear power plant. The water is a dark aquamarine in color and just rolls in front of us with too little force to even make waves. Dolphins are popping up in front of us and quickly diving as they hear us coming. Suddenly, a huge sea turtle pops up on our port side. It's nesting season and they are swimming to the beaches to lay their eggs. Police officers patrol the beaches and rope off the nests. Oops! Another sea turtle pops up his head off our starboard and takes a quick dive out of our way.
2:00 pm, we come up to the Cape Canavarel Inlet and we can see the launch towers. We're coming in on diesel fumes - only about 50 gallons left. We fueled up at Sunrise Marina about a mile inside the inlet and take on 299 gallons - we only hold 350! We've decided not to run that far and that close on fuel again.
We come to the lock at 3:00 pm and get in line with three other boats to go through to get on the Barge Canal, where our marina is located. While getting the lines ready, I see my first manatee off the bow. We tie off on the port side and before I can even get the stern tied completely, the lock doors open and we're ready to leave. We dropped maybe a foot - not worth the effort! We pull into Harbor Town Marina at 4:15 pm. It's a nice marina - a mix of old and new. Our stay costs only $50 - including utilities. Our first day out is a great success!

QE2 and Europe

May 28 – We’re back! What a great three weeks! On May 8, we flew to Southampton, England to board the Queen ElizabethII for our 10th anniversary cruise. She is a real beauty! She is about 38 years old and named, of course, after the current Queen of England. Our ports of call were Lisbon, Portugal; Barcelona, Spain; Marsailles, France; Palma de Mallorca, Spain (where we spent our honeymoon); and Rock of Gibraltar. We visited 12th Century churches, took walking tours, and took a tour inside “The Rock.” Amazing history! The cruise was a formal cruise where ladies wore formal gowns for four nights and cocktail attire for the remainder. Men were expected to wear a tux for the formal evenings and suit and tie for the rest. Luckily, David loves dressing up. We went to musical shows onboard and even celebrated an early (or late, depending on your view) New Year’s Eve party with hats, noisemakers, and champagne. We dined on lobster and filet mignon and met some of the most fascinating people. The Sea of Biscayne was rough in both crossings with eight to 12 feet waves. But not a problem for old “Salty Dogs” like the Blacks.
After 10 days onboard, we disembarked back at Southampton and headed for Waterloo Station and the Eurostar train to take us through the Chunnel to Paris for four days. This was our first experience on this relatively new way to get to Paris, but the ride was smooth and took about two and half hours. With all the security stuff going on at airports, this is definitely the way to go.
Our first visit is a tour of the sewers of Paris (remember Phantom of the Opera?). David has tried on several occasions to see this engineering marvel, but it has always been closed. Lucky for me – the sewers were open for visitors. But seriously, after the initial feeling of YUK, I found it very interesting. Napoleon III gets the credit for the major improvements to handling all the waste of the Parisians. I recommend it. We also went shopping, drank wonderful wine, visited Picasso Museum, had dinner at our favorite restaurant – one of the oldest in Paris, spent an evening at Harry’s New York Bar where they served cocktails from the 1920’s and even visited Hemingway’s Bar located in the Ritz. You don’t miss too many famous bars when you travel with Dr. Black!
After Paris, we went back to London and spent three days. I got to see the play, “Jane Ayre.” I read the book when I was 16 and was so excited to see the play. It was wonderful - everything I expected it to be and more. We rode on the London Eye, the huge ferris wheel overlooking the famous Thames River, and we took an all-day bus tour to see Leed’s Castle (bought by an American heiress in the 20’s and restored to its glorious state), the White Cliffs of Dover (as in the wartime song from the ‘40s), and Greenwich where the Royal Observatory is located and where navigators measure East and West from that point. Exact time is measured from here as well. David thought he was walking on hallowed ground!
May 26, we came back to reality and a flight back to Ft. Lauderdale on May 28 to get ready for our return with our boat back to D.C. It’s the life!

Two ships passing in the day....

Canyon Hobo at Guana






Capitol Hill leaving Marsh Harbor

Back in the U.S.A.

4/29 – we wake up to the boat slamming into the dock – CRACK! The wind has really picked up and we are bouncing all over the place and into the dock – particularly in the middle of the boat. We try putting the fender on the boat, but it rocks so much that it only protects us occasionally. We try putting it on the piling on the dock, but the boat hits so hard that it keeps moving it down and around the pole. Finally, I suggest we put the fender long-ways on the piling and put nails above the lines to keep them from falling down the pole and it works!
We head to Sawgrass Mall, a huge discount mall off of Sunrise Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale, to buy David some new clothes for our cruise. This mall is supposed to be the longest in the world and we cover a good portion of it. We are out most of the afternoon and stop to have dinner at the big restaurant located outside the mall called Grand Lux Cafe. A fun place with delicious food. When we get back to the boat, the noise from the boat rubbing against the rubber fender is loud and annoying, but we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to try to fix that problem – all the stores are closed. We can only hope it doesn’t wake the neighbors!
Pat calls me around 9:00 pm and she says they made it to Ft. Pierce but are holding up because of the wind. They are heading north to Coco Beach to stay with some very good friends for a week or two before heading up the ICW and back to New Jersey. They left home last year in July and hope to be home in June this year. They are doing the Great American Loop cruise and will close the loop when they are back in homeport in New Jersey. They have some wonderful pictures and memories of their travels in Michigan, Canada, Mississippi, Florida, etc. and have been on an amazing journey that very few boaters have done. They both feel a little sad that it is coming to an end soon. Pat and I vow to keep in touch.
We’ve come to the end of our first day back in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s been a busy day, but it’s nice to be back in the U.S.A.

A storm's a comin'

4/28 – We get up at 6:30 am and listen to the marine weather report. The wind is supposed to kick up and by 11:00 am, there will be small craft warnings out in the Gulf. David decides that we need to leave at 7:30 am to insure we are off the Gulf waters before the warning is issued. We skip breakfast with Dick and Pat (unfortunately) and they help us with the lines. I hug them and tearfully say so long, but boating is a small world and we know we’ll meet again. There is just a breeze right now and David pulls out of the slip easily, down the channel to the Gulf (there are four boats following us), and out into the open water. There are rollers, but the wind is at our back and we run pretty smoothly heading south. It only takes about an hour and a half to get to the Hillsboro Inlet (Lighthouse Point), but there is a 15-foot bridge just inside the inlet so we call the bridge master for opening times. We have to wait 15 minutes before it opens so we stay out in the ocean for 10 minutes because we don’t know how much wind and the depth of the water inside. But, the entrance into the Hillsboro Inlet turns out to be trouble-free and we are through the bridge in short order. Once inside the inlet, the sea wall breaks all the wave action from the Gulf and the water is calm and there is very little wind. We are now safe within the ICW and head home to Ft. Lauderdale.
When we pull in, Mark is outside and helps us with the lines. We tie up and decide to take the dink down and go to Shooters for lunch before cleaning the boat. Shooters has the best salads anywhere and it’s fun to sit on the water and watch the boats go by. Once back at the boat, David makes phone calls and I start cleaning the boat. He calls Marine Max to try to get our boat in to prepare it for our trip back up the ICW at the end of May, but since we didn’t buy her there, they tell him it will be at least six weeks before they can take her. So David calls a Cummins engine guy to change the oil and check out both engines, put new zincs on, and check out the impellers and a diver who will come down and clean the bottom of the boat and put new zincs on the shafts. We’ll have all the work done here, which works out just as well. David helps me finish the boat and we we're done around 6:00 pm. We’re too tired to do anything but eat dinner and go to bed. It’s been a long day but we made it back to homeport safely, which makes this day a very good day indeed!

Buses, Immigration and New Cameras

4/27 – We rise this morning to a sunny, but windy day. This is the day we have to report to immigration. We meet up with Pat and Dick and go have breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. They surprisingly have a wonderful breakfast menu. After eating, we try to hail a cab, but after 10 minutes and no cabs, we give up. Instead, we go to a nearby bus stop and wait for the bus, which arrives shortly. We buy an all-day pass for $3.00 per couple. It doesn’t take us long to get to the port and we arrive at Immigration just as two couples are clearing. We exchange greetings and discover they are just returning from the Bahamas as well. Dick and Pat go first and the process is simple: give her your passports and the immigration number we got from the call to Customs. In only a few minutes, they were cleared and we cleared a short time thereafter. No questions, no forms to fill out, nothing – this was too easy.
We grab the bus back to the marina and Pat tells us that the dock master told her this morning that we could stay one more night if we wanted to. It is now afternoon and too late to start out anyway, so we both decide to take him up on his offer. Pat starts washing down Canyon Hobo from all the salt we got from the crossing. We decide that we’d wait a day since we are going out in the ocean again tomorrow, so we headed for K-Mart, Staples, and Super Target to look for a replacement digital camera. Dick comes with us. Since we have the all-day bus pass, it is easy. The three stores are located next to each other so we check them all out for the best price. I want to get my own camera so I don’t have to worry about carrying (and dropping or losing) David’s. We get the best prices at Staples (surprise?) and David buys a Cannon and I buy a Kodak. We are very pleased with our purchases.
At 5:30 pm, we have a champagne toast with our new friends to celebrate our successful travels and our new friendship. Then around 6:30 pm, we have dinner together on our boat. We spend the evening reminiscing about the Bahamas and the people we met and it is too soon that we have to part. We’ve already prepared the boat for our departure tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be good, so we make plans to meet at 8:00 am tomorrow for our last meal together.

Bye, Bye Green Turtle Cay and the Bahamas!

4/26 – We are right on schedule and pull out of our slip at 6:00 am. The sun is barely up, but we follow Dick out the channel and say goodbye to Green Turtle Cay and the Bahamas. We are all a little sad; we would have liked to been able to stay a couple more weeks. But we have to get back to Ft. Lauderdale because we have airline reservations on Wednesday, May 3, to fly back to DC and then we leave on May 8 for London for a two-week cruise and a week in London and Paris before returning back to DC. It’s our 10th Anniversary and this cruise goes to Mallorca, Spain where we spent our honeymoon. So we can’t miss this one! We get to the channel that Dick was concerned about at 11:30 am and we pass through it without a problem. We have to pull into West End to fill up with fuel - we are down to a quarter of a tank. This little trip to the West End costs $700! I run to the gift shop for a Bahama magnet and a t-shirt for Taylor. We fuel in record time and are back on the water in 30 minutes. The ocean has 2-4 foot waves and it’s a little rough with water spilling over the bow and occasionally into the bridge and we have a three-hour trip ahead. It did get better the last hour. We pull into Lake Park Harbor Marina in West Palm Beach, FL about 3:30 pm. The wind is gusting and David has to try a few times to get into the slip, but we finally make it. Once docked, I call customs to tell them we are back in the States and the customs' agent takes all the information over the phone. She did ask if the letters for the state was WA (for Washington) or DC (for District of Columbia), so I was a little concerned about what she was putting on the form, but she gave me an Immigration Number and told me to report to the Immigration Office within 24 hours. We could go to either the airport or the office at the port in Riviera, FL, only a few miles from our marina.
David and I grab a cab and head for a FedEx office to send off his photos for his passport.
We get there 20 minutes before they close and get the pictures sent without any problem. David hopes they will process his passport and get it in a return FedEx (that we enclosed) to us by Friday.
We get back to the boat and Pat and Dick want to go out for ribs for dinner. We grab another cab and head for PA Ribs. The ribs were great and we celebrate a successful ocean crossing. Once back at the boat, we head for bed. Getting up at 5:00 AM is a little tough, but we are so grateful to have a good day for crossing.

On our way home...

4/25 – On our way home….Today is our last day in the Bahamas. A cold front is coming through on Thursday night, which means no crossing the Atlantic Ocean until Monday or Tuesday next week. Too late for us, so we head out tomorrow at 6:15 pm. Today is preparation day for our exit. I meet with Dick and Pat to discuss which marina to get reservations for in Lakeworth, FL (near W. Palm Beach) for re-entering the U.S. We decide on Lake Park Harbor Marina located just inside the inlet. We’ll call U.S. Customs on our way in to see if we have to rent a car on Thursday to drive to Immigration to get cleared back into the States. We pay up at the marina for our stay and get a fuel fill-up, then pull back into the slip. Dick gets his diving equipment on and dives under his boat to clean all the propellers (wheels) and shafts and put new zincs on. David goes down in our engine room and checks the oil and all the other fluids to make sure they are full, which they are. I finish t-shirt shopping for our kids. We’ll stop at West End, Grand Bahamas, if we need more fuel for the crossing. We’ll just have to wait and see. We agree with Dick to turn on our VHF radio at 6:00 am tomorrow and wait for his direction to pull out. We hope to be out by 6:15 am – just as the sun comes over the horizon. We put the bikes back on the boat and lay everything inside (pictures, lamp, etc.) down for the ride out tomorrow. We finish all our work about 4:00 pm and we head up to the pool bar at the Club for dinner. It’s the only place close by to get casual food (sandwiches). You can only get a formal dinner at the Club or ride our bikes a half hour into town to go anywhere else. We want to have dinner outside for our last night in paradise. It is beginning to cool down and there is a nice breeze. It’s very relaxing and Pat and I lament over having to go home. We head back to our boats around 6:30 pm and adjust our minds to moving out tomorrow. It’s been a really exciting and fun run these past three weeks and we’ll miss our new friends, Pat and Dick. We have their address and they plan a trip to DC this summer and promise to call us. We’ll try to get up to New Jersey sometime as well. The sun is sinking slowly in the West over the tall masts of sailboats anchored in the sound and our boat moves slowly to and fro in the gentle movement of the waterof the water.
Uh oh! It is 8:00 pm and Pat and Dick are at our door. They come aboard and Dick tells us that there is a channel near West End that is supposed to be shallower than usual at low tide and they won’t be able to get through it, so…he wants to leave at 6:00 am sharp to get to that passage before low tide at 1:00 pm. No problem for us. We agree to turn our radio on a little before 6:00 am and be ready to set out at Dick’s direction. So we say goodbye and head off to bed for an early rise tomorrow.

Easter Sunday, Guana Cay

Easter Pig Roast

at Nippers, Guana Cay,

Bahamas

Sunrise Service at Guana Cay

Bahama Pictures

Dick and Pat at Pineapples Green Turtle Key, Bahamas

Dick and me at the Hat Contest at Sapadilly's Restaurant in Marsh Harbor, Bahamas

Passport pictures and a visit to New Plymouth

4/24 – Monday. I get up early (7:15 am) to go for a run. The first time I’ve done that since leaving the States. It feels good to stretch the leg muscles. I drop off our bag of laundry by the laundry room to start when I get back from my run. Cars and golf carts pass me and it is just beginning to get hot. After a couple of miles, I stop to check out a house on the water that is for rent - $4,000 a week! Then start back to the marina. It is really hot by the time I get back. The locals say, “Summer is here!” It's 85 degrees and 100% humidity!
When I get back to the boat, David tells he has received an email from the passport agency that says they have a problem with his renewal. Great! And we leave for Europe in two weeks. David calls them and is told his pictures are not acceptable. He did a digital photo and printed it out on Michelle’s printer, which, I guess, was not good quality. What to do now? I go up to the Club office and get the name and number of the local photographer to get the pictures taken, but the only Fed Ex office is in Marsh Harbour. We would have to take the ferry over to Treasure Cay ($40 roundtrip), then take a taxi to Marsh Harbour ($160 roundtrip). We’ll have to discuss this when we get back from the photographers, which is in New Plymouth a three-mile bike ride.
Pat and Dick go with us and we do some sightseeing and t-shirt shopping after David gets his picture taken. We stop at the local museum and enjoy an hour tour given by a local lady who says she is 72 but looks 85. She has lots of pictures and furniture from the 1930’s, before and after the “great hurricane.” She said that there were 1500 residents of Green Turtle Cay at that time and now there is only 400. It was nice to see that Green Turtle Cay played a significant part in history. We have lunch at Harvey’s, which was recommended to us by a couple of locals on the pier. Not many people in the restaurant, but the food was good. We stopped off at the local pub, Wreckers, named after the people who used to salvage the ships that used to wreck on the reefs around the island. Pat tried their rum punch named after the pub. Yummy! And then we are off for the hot bike ride back to the marina.
We get together and decide our exit strategy to cross the ocean on our way back to FL. There is a cold front coming in from Florida on Thursday evening, which means we need to get out of here on Wednesday or we have to stay here until Monday or Tuesday when the weather is expected to calm down. We can’t stay that long since we have airline tickets home on May 5, so Dick agrees to lead us back to Florida on Wednesday. We’ll also wait to Fed Ex David’s passport pictures until we get back to FL since it takes two days from the Bahamas to get to the States via Fed Ex. The run from here to West Palm Beach, FL is 160 nautical miles, the longest we have ever run in one day, but we’ll stop in West End, Grand Bahama, to fill up on fuel before continuing on to Florida. Should take us about 10 hours in two feet or less waves - excellent boating conditions for ocean crossing! YUK. But we still have tomorrow!
Pat comes to get us around 8:30 pm to join them up at the Club for live music and dancing. A lady boater wants David to dance with her, but he declines. She’s been dancing around by herself and he says he doesn’t think she dances well. But he and I dance a couple of tunes and David is in rare form with lots of energy. It’s great fun! Then back to the boat and sweet dreams of snorkeling tomorrow! We hear it is only a five-minute walk to one of the best reefs on the island. So our plan is to snorkel in the afternoon. What a life!!

Goodbye Hope Town - Hello Green Turtle Cay!

4/23 – Sunday – We all go over to the Hope Town Harbour Lodge for breakfast because the other two restaurants are closed. It’s about 9:30 am and the guests are just beginning to come down to eat. It seems there was a wedding last night that went into the wee hours of the morning. They’re moving a little slowly. Weddings are very popular in the islands. We pick up a real estate brochure and houses on the water on a quarter acre lot start at half million and go up. Don’t think we’re in the market. We go back to the boats and we start the engines and are pulling out of the slip by 12:45 pm, heading for Green Turtle. The wind is pretty gusty and blows us back into the dock, but David gives her more diesel and we pull away and follow Dick out of the harbor. We wave goodbye to the lighthouse and the wonderful days spent at Hope Town. We make a stop at Marsh Harbour because Dick needs fuel. We anchor out in the harbor with about a dozen or more sailboats. I stand watch on the bow to make sure our anchor doesn’t drag and we end up in the cockpit of a sailboat. It takes about an hour and the wind and current blow us back and forth the whole time. Suddenly, the water breaks and two porpoises rise up and blow out air. They swam in and out of the water around our boat for about five minutes. What graceful creatures they are! Soon we hear Dick coming and we pull up anchor and get in line behind him out of the harbor. A ferryboat pulls in front of us causing David to pull back and call that captain a few choice names. But soon we are on plane and clipping along at 22 mph. We have to go through the passage at Whale Cay known for it’s sea rage in high winds, but by now the seas was pretty calm and the wind has started to die down. It makes for a very nice run.
We pull into White Sound and Green Turtle Club and Marina around 3:00 pm. We have to dock across the harbor from Dick and Pat because we need a finger pier to get off our boat and they can get off from their stern. But we’re only a dock away. We register and go up to the bar for happy hour. We meet a couple, Kathy and Frank, who live six months here and six months in Saugatuck, MI where they own a B&B and a small hotel. They said they absolutely love it here and don’t bother going to other islands. Another couple who are anchored out also join us and they have done the loop (same as Pat and Dick) and they share lots of boating stories. They plan to go to the Amsterdam Boat Show and buy a used boat and cruise the European canals for four months next year. We are not even in their league!
We have dinner at the Club at around 7:30 pm with snacks at 6:45 pm. We both have Abaco lobster tail, which is about 8 ozs and delicious. We share a bowl of curry lobster soup, which was different but very tasty (and hot.) It was really nice to have a sit-down gourmet dinner for a change after having sandwiches most of the time. We finished our evening with coffee in the screened-in porch. I was tired when we got back to the boat and headed for bed. Our time in paradise is short – only two more nights and we head back to Florida. Makes me sad.

Lazy day...

4/22 – Friday night must have been a rough one for the boaters (minus us) because there is very little noise on the docks. All of us are taking our computers and heading over to the Internet Café for the morning, but it doesn’t open until 10. No problem; we just run our dink over to Cap’n Jack’s and have breakfast. It’s another beautiful day in paradise. After breakfast, we just run about a block on the water and tie up to Harbour’s Edge. We have to buy something in order to get the password for the WiFi, so we order bloody Marys for everyone but me (don’t like ‘em.) We can tell – this is going to be a lazy, do-nothing day.
We stay at Harbour’s Edge until around 2:00 pm and then take a walk to the Wyannie Malone Museum, which closes at 3:00 pm. We thought an hour would be enough, but it doesn’t even begin to give you time to see everything. We had no idea about the history of the Bahamas and what interesting historical things would be in the museum. But promptly at 3:00, the volunteer found us and said she was heading home. Gives us another reason to come back to the Bahamas!
We try to do some more shopping, but everything closes at 4:00 pm so we head back to the boat. We fill up the boats with water because we have to check out of the marina this afternoon. Buddy and Rudy don’t work on Sundays. I get the total for our five days and it is only a little over $300 – the cheapest we have stayed at any marina and the best staff! Buddy is a character and is the outgoing of the two. He is in his 50’s and he says he is the only single guy his age on the island so he is in high demand with the ladies. Rudy has sold some of his interest in the marina to a couple of guys who are going to develop it – floating docks, restaurant, 45 slips, media room, the works. He says he’ll have to up the slip rent maybe by 25 cents. We’ll miss these guys!
We have happy hour and dinner on our boat. Dick offers his grill and we have chicken on the barby! David and Pat really like the Gumbay Smash drink and Pat a bought a couple of cans of the Smash drink (without rum) and she brought it over. It poured out in a green color and Pat wasn’t crazy about it, even with the rum in it, but David liked it. I furnished the potatoes and Pat brought the veggies. We had a great time eating and drinking and talking, and by 9:30 pm, everyone was ready for some tv and bed. Another great day spent doing much, but having fun!

Golf cart and Tahiti Beach

4/21 – Friday - we get up early this morning because we have to pick up our golf cart at 9:00 am and we have to take the dinghy over to the town side to get it. Plus we want to pack all our snorkeling gear, just in case there is a good place to go. But first, we have to make reservations for the next island we want to visit. We are out of here on Sunday. We go over to Pat and Dick’s and we decide to go back to Green Turtle for couple of nights, Spanish Cay for a night, and then on to West End and across the ocean to FL. By Tuesday, next week, we’ll know exactly when the weather window is best for us to get across the ocean.
With our next week’s schedule planned, we load the dinghy and head to shore. We tie the dink up and transfer everything to the cart. David drives and has to remember to drive on the left side of the road. Of course, we are all there to remind him. There is barely enough room for one cart, but we pass several others and a few cars along the way. We are headed to the end of the island and Tahiti Beach. We pass large, pastel colored homes on the way and we stop at the Abaco Inn for breakfast. Service is slow and we don’t get out of there until after 10:30 am. I stop into the gift shop and buy myself a beaded ankle bracelet that has a little turtle hanging from it. It will remind me of my first sea turtle sighting – for as long as this very inexpensive piece lasts. On our way out, we cross the yard to find what we are told are pieces of the Challenger Space Shuttle. The owner of the Inn has called NASA to tell them of this big piece of the shuttle that floated ashore, but they have not gotten a response. Then we walk over to the dock where several fishermen have come in with a good catch, however, one tuna is missing a body. It seems that as they were reeling him in, a shark got him first, leaving only the head on the hook. YUK!
We head out for Tahiti Beach, following this very curvy road, passed more beautiful homes. Where do these people work? We finally get to the beach and it was well worth the ride. The water is amazing and the colors of water from clear, light blue, aqua, to dark blue fall in layers across the sea. It is so shallow we can walk out 300 yards or more and be less than waist deep. Pat and I try our hand at snorkeling. There wasn’t much to see but I saw a small school of tiger fish and Pat found an area with several large conch shells. It is against the law to take shells with live conch inside out of the water, and we were afraid to pick them up and check it out. We stayed out about an hour and on our way back to the beach, we swim through hundred’s of fish that are so white they are almost clear. Walking in the water back to the cart, a manta ray follows us just out of our reach, but the water is so shallow and clear that we can almost touch it. Cool!
Once back on the boat, we clean up and all of us pile back in the dinghy to go over to Cap’n Jack’s Restaurant for dinner. The sun is going down and it is really getting chilly. Before we finish dinner, we have asked the waiter to lower the isinglass to block the cold wind. Funny how it is so hot during the day that we all get sunburned even with 30 sunblock on and as soon as the sun goes down, you need a sweater. We watch the sun slowly sink behind the lighthouse and agree that we have had another wonderful day inthe islands. We make our way back to our boat in the dark, dodging mooring balls and anchored sailboats. Our biggest concern? What fun thing to do tomorrow.