Back To The USA!

We made many great memories in Great Harbour, but it was time to cast off and sail West to the USA.  Our course for two days was going to be sailing the Great Bahama Bank!  There is a lot of beautiful water, but as I have mentioned before, it is quite shallow and oh so clear.  Looking down, you can see the bottom with all of the sand or sea weed.  Steve decided to try "dragging a line" and was quite successful with catching baracuda.  The only problem with these fish, is they aren't really good for eating.  They eat fish that are on the reef and become infested with toxins that are NOT good for humans.  So after the thrill of the catch, they went back into their own environment!  When the reel starts to get pulled, it does add some excitement to your trip. We decided to anchor at Mackie Shoals surrounded by a few otheer boats.  I don't know about their luck, but our anchor just wanted to drag.  When that happens our alarm goes off, and we have to fix the problem.  Not what you want to hear in the middle of the night!  Oh well, we made it and were off to Bimini in the AM.  Due to the winds, waves, etc., we decided to go into the Bimini Harbor.  We ended up at the Blue Water Marina!  Another difference about Bahama life versus US lifestyle shows up when you try to schedule a reservation for a slip to park your boat.  Steve always calls on our radio to the marina, and makes our reservation, gets all the info we'll need and that it that.  In Bimini, it is a whole different story.  You can call and call and call and no one answers.  I guess they feel there are only so many places and you'll finally pick one as you sail by.  As luck would have it, good ole Blue Water Marina was the only place that answered our call, so that is where we landed!

Our final leg of the journey back to the States, was the forty some miles across the Gulf Stream/Straights of Florida to Miami.  We chose to "go in" to Miami since we needed to clear customs (there was an office close to our marina)!  Mia Marina was our choice to land!  If anyone has gone out of Miami on a cruise, this marina is very close to all of the huge cruise ships.  Also, there is a large market area with all sorts of stores, shops, restaurants and live music.  Our first adventure upon arrival, was to eat dinner and then find the customs office.  This didn't seem like that would be too hard.  Wrong!  We found a place to eat very easily.  The customs office....not so much.  Steve had the address from the internet, so we hailed a taxi and were off.  WELL, our poor taxi driver just wasn't quite sure of where the customs office was, but he "thought" he knew.  Well, as the meter kept rolling, we were NOT finding our spot.  Finally, the driver flagged down a police officer, who kindly offered to escourt the taxi to customs.  Upon arrival, the officer personally escorted us to the second floor where this business took place.  SUCCESS!  We WALKED back to the marina!!!!  Mia Marina offered us a day to do our laundry, walk around downtown Miami, eat some good food and listen to some Latin music.This isn't hard :)

Another suggestion we had received, was to stay a few days in Dinner Key in Coconut Grove.  GREAT suggestion.  It was a short sail from downtown Miami, and was a lovely marina and mooring field.  The days we were there were very hot and humid.  Everyone was commenting that summer had really arrived early.  Whew, it was warm, especially when you have to walk everywhere.  We decided on the public bus system to get us to Publix's for groceries, BUT we were first time users of UBER on our return to the boat.  Boy, that was slick!!  The other good "find" was our favorite restaurant of the whole trip!  Stata was an Italian restaurant within quite close walking distance from our boat.  The food, wine, and dessert were fantastic! (not to mention our wonderful waiter, Elliot!)  The second night, we ate at their "sister" restaurant across the street and it was ALMOST as good!  I keep hearing us both say the word "diet" but so far haven't tried it!!!  All in all, Coconut Grove was a fun destination, but we needed to get back to Key West, so off we sailed!  More tales on our next blog!

Stiltsville in Biscayne Bay South of Key Biscayne

Grand Harbour Cay....The Berry Islands

Our stay at Port Lucaya had come to and end and we were ready to move on!  Our first plan, was to head to the Abaco Islands, but after waiting many days, we could not get a good, steady weather window, so The Berry Islands were our next location for adventure.  !t was a long, day sail in beautiful water with a rather rapid current, which saved us a little time.  Obviously, all of you know we have a sailboat and it has a keel that "hangs below the boat" which is called our draft.  (Sorry for insulting anyone's intelligence)!  Our draft is about five feet, so it is important to know the depth of the water in which you are sailing.  All of the "everything you should know sailing " give lots of information on reading the color's of the water.  One doesn't want to run into a coral head, for example and there are colors to look for to avoid such things.  Since we are first time sailors in the Bahamas, we were extra cautious.  Two to three miles out from the entrance to our new marina, I stood on the front of the boat and looked for anything suspicious!  It was very shallow, but we made it...whew!

I can't say too many good things about Grand Harbour Marina. The harbor master, Hans, and his crew run a clean, neat, efficient operation!  Everything is done with a smile on their faces and always there to help with any problem.  A good example was the "welcome pack" we received upon checking into the marina.  Anything you wanted to know, where to go, tours to take, etc. were all in this little bag.  Most of the evenings they had a special event planned such as pot luck night, pizza night, bbq night, and a book signing.  In addition, they took orders for homemade bread baked by  the ladies on the island, which were delicious, I might add.  We were lucky once again, to have friends Carl and Barb, whom we met in Grand Harbor, in the marina, too!  This was their second visit, so they were well versed in how and where everything was on the Island.  Our biggest adventure with them was our dingy ride through the mangroves in the middle of the island out through the north coast.  To say it was shallow, would be an understatement!  Then, you must plan your trip with the tides, or you will be "walking" your dingy!  On the way back to the marina, we stopped at the "famous" Bardot Beach.  Legend has it that Bridgett Bardot use to frequent the island back in the fifties and sixties and sun bathe on this beach (which is a bit remote....use your imagination).  Also, around this time the Rat Pack were visitors there, also!  Barbara and Carl introduced us to a fun restaurant overlooking the water called the Beach House.  GREAT views....just like a postcard.  Another day, Steve and I rented one of the marina's golf carts for a day.  This allowed us to drive all over the island, visit the grocery stores and make dinner reservations at a place called Coolie Mae's. The gal at the office would call for you to see if one, they were going to be open, and two, what was on the menu for the evening.  It was a family owned and run restaurant, which also, overlooked the water.  Quite delicious food, I might add.  The other "touch" that warmed my heart came on Mother's Day.  When Steve and I were out for a walk and returned to the boat, on the captain's seat was a bouquet of island flowers!  Ahhhhh!  Loved it!

Carl & Barbara

Barbara & Nancy at the Beach House

 Beach House

Swimming  Pigs From Book Signing

As much as we loved the Bahamas, there are some things that really make you appreciate home.  First of all, we are so lucky in the USA to have fresh fruits and vegetables and packed grocery stores readily available at all times.  I often complain about the price of food in our stores at home, but the Bahamas were eye opening for prices on many items.  Everything that is fresh, comes in once a week to most of the islands on a boat.  In Grand Harbour, that was Thursday.  You had better be there early for a good selection or wait until the next week.  The prices, due to the transportation, are quite high.  For example, apples are priced individually!  (I really enjoyed my $1.69 apple!)  Water and electricity are used sparingly!  WiFi was good in our marina at Grand Harbour but not anywhere else we traveled on the islands.  Like I said, it makes you appreciate what you have.

While sailing, you must always be aware of the winds and weather.  That determines when you can have a good departure and sail to the next location.  So, with that in mind, we had fair winds to set sail back to Bimini and then to the good ole USA!  Stay tuned for that trip and beyond!

Golf Cart with Heated Seats (broken exhaust pipe)

Freeport, Bahamas....Now We're in the Big City

The sail from Bimini to Freeport was a lovely cruise!  For a long while, we just sailed along under only sail power, NO motor!  The problem (if you want to call it a problem) is that you don't get to your destination as quickly as you might like.  It became apparent that we weren't going to be to Freeport until around midnight!  Oh well, it is what it is!!!  On a very clear night, you were able to see the lights of the city from a long distance.  Also, standing by waiting to get into the large ports, were many ships and cruise liners.  So the night was lit up with all sorts of lights.  Steve never likes to go into an unknown channel or marina at night, so we decided to anchor out off of Port Lucaya near Freeport.  Now mind you, this is 12:30 AM by the time of our arrival.  Two tired sailors and rolling and rocking seas!  It takes both of us to "set the anchor" which we finally accomplished.  I had just layed down to go to sleep and I hear the anchor warning sound go off....the anchor wasn't holding!  SO, let's try this again!!!!  I like to think I am a patient person (not comments please!) but I just wanted to go to sleep, but, we would do it again!  SUCCESS!  The anchor held on the next try and we settled down for a rolling and rocking night on Kathryn!

When the sun came up, it started to look like Paradise again!  Everything looks better in the AM!  We had to motor around for an hour or so to wait for the tide to rise!  We then headed into Bell Channel and into the Port Lucaya Marina.  This marina sounded GREAT in the books, but it was right next to the Market Place which is a big tourist attraction!  Fun place to visit, but not the best neighbor for living next to every day.  Also, they had a "sister marina" across the channel and that was where the showers, laundry facilities, pool etc were located.  If you needed any of those things, you had to call for the boat tender to come and take you across!  After two days, we decided we wanted to be across the channel where all the "good stuff" was at our command.  So, we moved to Grand Bahama Yacht Club and fell in love with the facilities.

The Pool at Grand Bahama Yacht Club

Pool Bar Shaped Like a Boat

In Another Bar

From our pictures, I hope you can see the beautiful surroundings at this marina!  We spent a lot of time at the pool, at the pool bar (which hosted jazz night with entertainment, some good bar food, etc), and visiting with other boaters.   The first day at the fuel dock, we ran into a couple we had met last year at Snead Island.  As it turned out, Barb and Carl  were on the same cruise schedule as we were, so we had some great times together for Happy Hours and getting good sailing info!  Port Lucaya offered some fine restaurants, shopping (if you like"touristy things") and I even got a pedicure!  Woot woot!

Marina Mascots...Ozzie & Harriet Live Under the Dock

Here's Ozzie

The biggest news, was the day I was sitting outside the laundry facility close to the docks, just minding my business and viewing my Face Book page.  When out of nowhere, came around 10 law enforcement people yelling, "Stop that boat!" The captain and his partner were quickly handcuffed and seated on the deck of their boat.  The officers went down below for quite some time and finally emerged with 7 or 8 illegal immigrants from China and Equador all handcuffed, too.  They proceeded to take all of them off to jail and the authorities took off with their boat.  The next day in the Freeport news paper, their picture (in color) was splashed across the front page with large bold print explaining they had already been to court, fined and given jail sentences.  I guess they don't mess around in the Bahamas. Their plan was to take them to Maimi since their time here had expired!  Crime doesn't pay, folks!

The reason I have been so lazy with my blog writing, is that in an instant, we had been at Port Lucaya for around nine days!  Where that time went, I have no clue, but it is Paradise I guess, and you loose all track of time.  We had planned on going to the Abacose Islands next, but the winds never gave us good sailing, so we decided to set sail for the Berry Islands and go to Grand Harbour Cay (pronounced key). That will be my next blog for all of you "followers"!

Welcome to the Bahamas!

For the past few years, we have wanted to sail to the Bahamas AND this is the year!  Our "sea plan" was to leave Key West and sail all the way across the Gulf Stream (Straights of Florida) to Freeport, Bahamas.  Steve had checked with his "weather man" and all signs said GO!  We pulled away from the gas dock about noon and sailed out into the Atlantic for a planned overnight and arrival at noon the next day.  Well,  as all sailing goes, everything didn't go according to plan.  Once we were in the Straights, it gave us good speed, but the winds were such that we were "rocking" along.  This type of sailing gets very uncomfortable very quickly for the "whimpy" sailors on board aka Nancy!  We did our watches , as planned, but soon decided we were only going to go as far as Bimini!  (we would save Freeport for another day)!  Bimini is the first island where you can check into customs and enter the Bahamas.  Our first challenge was getting into the harbor!  The channel is very shallow and you also need to be aware of the tides.  WELL, to make a long story short, we had sailing book information but NOT local knowledge.  As we entered the channel, we went right down the middle (which usually works for us) between the red and green markers.  OOOOOPPPPPS, we drug bottom and got stuck for a few minutes (which seemed like a long, long time) and finally Steve "unstuck" us and we went back out in the ocean to wait for higher tide.  After watching other sailboats that have keels, we noted you must stay by the red markers and you are fine!  So, that's exactly what we did and we made it in!

Upon entering a country, you must fly your quarantine flag (it is yellow) until you check in and then you fly the flag of the nation you are visiting.  Steve (only the captain may leave the boat until you have checked in) took all our paperwork, passports, etc and ! to customs.  We finally had arrived and were legal!  We enjoyed Bimini, but were surprised about a number of things while we were there visiting.  First of all, it consists of two islands (north and south Bimini)  I believe the total population is around 1,000 people.  On north Bimini, where we were docked, there is only one main street lined with a smattering of shops, a library, police station, grocery stores and bakery.  The tourist folks have not decided to make Bimini their home, so there isn't the constant trying to sell you tee shirts, braid your hair or any such thing.  Big game fishing seems to be the best attraction!

Local Library

Main Street

Once again, local knowledge seems to be your best information.  Everyone bragged about going to CJ's for lunch or dinner.  Of course, you needed to try their conch!  CJ's is on a hill overlooking the beautiful waters of Bimini!  We ate two meals at the restaurant.  All was good, but I discovered that I have an allergy to conch....I won't say more, but it is NOT what I'm going to order anywhere else on this trip!  We, also, enjoyed the restaurant at the Big Game Club.  Now this place was FANCY for Bimini!!!!  

Views From CJ's

Part of the fun for us at all of these new locations, is getting to meet and visit with people from all over the world!  Belive it or not, a number of folks we met there had come from Texas!  Yee haw!  One day, Steve thought he saw a boat flying the Texas flag, so we went over to investigate!  The joke was on us, because they were from Chili!  I guess we aren't as well informed on our Texas flag as we thought!  The captain told us lots of other people had mistaken their flag for Texas, also!  But, they were delightful people and we had a nice visit with them!

All good things must end, so we decided it was time to finally move on to Freeport, so stay tuned folks!

A Good Use of Conch Shells

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Eastbound and Down

On April 2^nd Buford Eddy, Jim Tipton, and I left Corpus Christi City Marina starting our trip to Key West. We headed to Port Aransas where we topped off our fuel.  A final check of the weather showed the Gulf was still very rough from the previous day’s high winds.  We decided it would be better to wait until morning to head out.  We got a slip in the Port A Municipal Marina for the night.  Nancy and Marie came up and we all went out for dinner.

 We left Port A on the third around 7:40 am.  We had calm seas and little wind, so we had to motor most of the day.  As the sun went down, we picked up 10 to 15 knot winds from the south that allowed us to sail under perfectly clear skies.  Night sails like this, with the moon and stars, are one of the greatest experiences when sailing off shore.

After sunup on the fourth, the wind died and we started motor sailing.  The weather was great and the skies were clear.  It was so sunny we put up the center portion of the dodger so we could get some shade.

Around midday, we came across a pod of 25 to 50 dolphin.  The water was perfectly clear and dark blue.  It was amazing to watch the dolphins swimming ten or more feet below the surface and then come   to the surface and jump out of the water.  It was awesome!  We had a visitor of the feathered variety come on board.  Jim and the bird made friends.  See the photo of the two of them.

On the fifth, I talked to Chris Parker and we still have a good forecast to make Key West.  We are now heading a little north to try to get as far east as possible before the trades winds kick in out of the east later on Saturday.  We hope to stop motoring later this afternoon and sail on a NW wind.  This should keep up for several days.

On the sixth, we kept motoring most of the day.  We had our second pizza that night.  This one was much better than the first one, which I had burned badly. 

We did have a close encounter that night with a large oil rig that was being moved.  We were motor sailing and could see a large vessel that the AIS identified as being “limited maneuverability”. As we got closer to the vessel, I called it on the radio and asked them how they wanted me to proceed.  I changed course after talking to them, but after a few minutes we seemed to be moving directly into their path.  I called them again and they had us change course again so we would pass behind them.  We were much closer to them than we wanted to be, when we passed behind them, we were less than a ½ mile away!

About 2:00 am this morning we were hit by weather front from the northwest.   A line of rain and wind came from the northwest at about 20 to 25 mph.  The wind continued through sunrise and into the early morning.  We made very good time sailing for several hours.   I talked to Chris Parker who recommended we continue our current course and then work our way south as we approached Florida around FT Myers.  The weather for today was light winds and bumpy seas.  Later tonight, the winds were to shift out of the northeast at 15 mph and increase to 20 to 25 with gusts to 30.  Those winds will continue through Saturday.  It’s going to be a bumpy ride the rest of the way to Key West.  We are a little tired, but all of us are doing well.  Kathryn is also performing wonderfully.

One of the funniest things that happened during the trip was when I tried to tie a line to a zipper on the bimini top to keep it from unzipping in the 25 knot winds.  I reached up and grabbed the top of the frame with my left hand when a seagull, that was hitching a ride on top, bit my finger scaring the, you know what, out of me!!! The seagull must have decided it was too windy to fly so he was riding with us. He flew off, but in a few minutes came back and landed again.  I scared him off a couple of more times, but he kept coming back.  I think he continued to ride with us until the wind slowed down.

Of Friday the eighth, we were motor sailing in 25 knots of wind from the northwest and seas were bumpy.  The forecast was the wind would be shifting more to the north east and increasing to 25 to 30 knots.  This will allow us to start heading south toward Key West.  As we approached Ft Myers, we decided to stay on our current course and stop at Ft Myers Beach. 

We arrived there on Saturday the ninth around 6:00 PM.  I had a little trouble getting into the slip because of the strong tidal current.  We bumped the dock kind of hard, but didn’t do any damage to Kathryn or the dock, just my pride. 

We spend three nights in Ft Myers.  Buford found out that the people working on his boat in Kemah needed his help, so he arranged for a flight from Ft Myers back to Houston.  Jim and I sailed on to Key Wes,t leaving on the afternoon of the 12^th and arriving on the 13^th.  We got into Stock Island on Wednesday morning.  The Nancy and Marie arrived later that afternoon.

This was one of the best Gulf crossings I have made.  With three seasoned sailors on board, we were all able to get plenty of sleep and had time to relax and enjoy the beauty of the sea.  Thanks Buford and Jim for making it such a great trip.