We are in Bequia, the Grenadines.  We will be here for four or five days as a tropical wave is coming through.

We are running short of time for our scheduled haul out in Trinidad so we did the Leewards south of St. Martin in 7 days.  We will visit these islands for longer times next season or on our way back in a couple of years.
 
Places we stayed along way.

St. Barts, Colombier Bay.  This is a beautiful beach, no houses (except Rockefellers); free mooring balls as long as you don't go on a weekend when all the locals come out for a day at the beach.  The entire bay was owned by Rockefellers but they donated it for a marine park.  We did not check in so we did not go to Gustavia.  Great little town (been thee on a charter a few years back).  Outer anchorage is rolly.  We met Paper Moon again and left with them the following morning.
 
St. Kitts did not check in - anchored for night at south end of island at White House Bay.  Only goats and cows on shore. 

Montserrat - did not check in - stayed north end at Rendezvous Bay for one night (you cannot anchor at the south end because of the active volcano).  On our way to Montserrat we passed the Kingdom of Redonda (a big rock).  There is an actual king but who it is depends on the courts to decide in England at the moment. 

We left the next day and attempted to go north around the island to go down the windward side as the guide book suggests to get a better sailing angle on Guadeloupe but the seas were too high (the end of each island has higher wind and seas due to the "island effect") so we turned around and Paper moon went back to the anchorage, and we continued down the leeward side to Guadeloupe.  When traveling along the shore of the island you need to be at least two miles out but you can still see the town of Plymouth in ruins covered in ash.  We did see smoke coming out of the volcano.

Guadeloupe - Stopped in Deshaies just for the night.  Deep harbor need to get close to shore on sides or toward town to find reasonable depths to anchor.  The guide says immigration only there in morning but other cruisers said there in pm.  Either way we missed them.  Only stayed night and left next am for Iles des Saintes and the little town of Le Bourg.  What a great place - we got there early enough to go ashore (still did not check in as only staying one night and no place to check in here). Went out to dinner but this is French so the restaurants do not even open until 7 pm.

Dominica - We picked up a mooring in Roseau.  We did not chick in as only one night.  This is the most rolly places ever been. We picked up a mooring as the water stays deep up to the shore.  We were three hundred feet off shore and the water was still 100 feet deep.  We encountered our first boat boy here.  To stop rolling  we could have put out our stern anchor or tied to shore to keep bow into swell but as we were leaving at 6 am did not want to deal with dinghy - so we had a bad nights sleep.

This the last island in the Leewards

Note:  The prevailing winds are east or south of east and range from 15-25.  We had moderate trades for our trip.  The wind is stronger as you approach the north end or south end of each island and the seas also are bigger, especially mid day.  As you approach the south end of an island from the north the island bends the wind direction so it is on your nose.  We planned our trip to anchor as far south on each island so that we could cross the south end of each island as early in the day as possible when the wind was lighter.  The crossings between islands averaged about 20 nm.  As we approach the north end of the next island the wind picks up but the island tends to bend the wind direction so it is on your beam or behind you.  The lee side of the islands was a piece of cake and sometimes had to motor, in fact on some islands the wind stopped and then switched to an on shore breeze (from the west).  Most of the time we had good 15 -20 knot winds and had great sails.

We left Ponce at midnight when the easterly trades are lighter and headed east to Puerto Patillas.  Puerto Patillas is a lovely anchorage but it was very rolly from the swells that broke over the reef to the east.  We stayed here three nights waiting for weather.  Maribel and Pete on Paper Moon were anchored in Salinas (west of Puerto Patillas) where they rented a car.  On their sightseeing trip they stopped at Puerto Patillas to have lunch with us, and we ended up driving to San Juan.  One night
we had a pot luck on shore with the other five boats anchored here.  We met two young men who had just graduated from college and had apparently made some money playing poker so they bought a sail boat (a Tartan 38) and sailed the Caribbean for a year and were now headed back to the States to continue with their lives.  These guys never sailed before.

From Puerto Patillas we left in the morning and headed to Sun Bay at Esperanza on the south side of Viequez.  We picked up a free public mooring.  The anchorage was a bit rolly.  Esperanza is a beautiful little town with a brick walkway along the harbor front.  Of course they have the required harbor front bars.   From Esperanza along with Sol y Mar and Moon Sail we took a cab to Isabel Secunda on the north side of the island.  Of course we had to try the harbor front bars on this side of the island.
 

We left Viequez and headed for St. Thomas.  Fortunately, both Puerto Rico and St. Thomas are associated with the US we did not need to check in with Immigration.  We anchored in the outer harbor at Red Hook.  The numerous ferries coming and going made this anchorage very uncomfortable.  So we had pizza at American Harbor and did the laundry and went shopping first thing in the morning and left Red Hook.  We went across the sound and picked up a mooring at Caneel Bay, St. John.   Caneel bay was also
a little rolly due to the ferries that went by on their way to Tortola.

We headed to BVI and checked in at Sopers Hole before heading for the bight at Norman Island.  We were being decadent in picking up moorings instead of anchoring out like a cost conscious cruiser.  You could tell the charter boats when they came in (other than the big Moorings on the sail cover) as at least 2 and sometimes 4 people are on the bow to pick up the mooring pennant.  The really inexperienced charters make 2 or 3 tries at the mooring ball.  There was one large cat drifting towards us until
the hired captain came to the rescue and took over the controls.  We had chartered in this area many times and I'm sure we looked just like these guys did.

From Norman we went to Marina Cay and stayed two days as John had some maintenance to do on the engine.  The engine has been running a little hotter than usual.  The happy hour at Marina Cay featured Michael Bean, a one man band, doing a pirate themed act. ARRRRG. It was very entertaining with a lot of audience participation.  For example, any audience participant that answered pirate questions correctly or had a pirate toast that they shared with the crowd got a free shot of rum.  John got a shot
of rum for being a dinghy captain.     
 
We then headed for Leverick Bay, Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda to stage for our crossing to Sint Maarten.  We met Sea Schell who we last saw in Luperon and then Paper Moon arrived both of whom were also staging to cross.  While in Leverick we met Craig and Andy from the Malletts Bay Boat Club, our home club in Vermont.   

While in Leverick Bay we went to the Friday night entertainment at the resort that included a band and an appearance by the Jumbies.  The Jumbies are a native dance group who dance on stilts.  The group appeared to be a family with the height of the stilts proportional to the height of the person.  The kids were on relatively short stilts with the adults on six foot stilts.  

The day before we left we took a dingy trip over to the Bitter End Yacht Club and Resort.  A very impressive resort.  The resort sprawls over a very large peninsula with several restaurants, bars, pools, boat rentals, etc.  The grounds are well maintained and filled with many different varieties of flowering shrubs.

On Monday, May 14, John along the three other captains took a taxi to Spanish Town to clear out of the BVI's.  That afternoon at 2 pm we left for Sint Maarten in company with four other boats.     

Sint Maarten

We arrived in Sint Maarten at 7 am after an uneventful crossing and anchored in the Baii (bay) to wait for the bridge opening.  We decided to go into Simpson Bay Lagoon from the Dutch side.  We checked in and made the 9:30 bridge opening into the Lagoon.

If you are going to the Lagoon you can check in on either the French side, Marigot Bay ($8.50 for a month) or the Dutch side, Simpson Bay ($ 10.00 for a week).  We came in the Dutch side with Sea Schell as the Dutch side has a bigger bridge and channel but for boats our size it does not make any difference. We anchored on the Dutch side near the end of the runway of the airport.  Fortunately not too many planes take off, mostly in the afternoon.   We are also anchored near Shrimpy's who has free
wifi in the bar.

The Lagoon has 2 large marine stores on the Dutch side at the extreme southeast end of the lagoon.  The prices are better than the states.  The number of restaurants are too numerous to name.  Many of the restaurants have a happy hour on different nights of the week.  The Lady C, a floating boat restaurant, has all you eat ribs for $11.00.  There is a weekly publication that lists the locations of the happy hours each night.  The local yacht club had a happy hour with $ 1.00 beers Friday night.
They are located next to the draw bridge so we can watch the 5:30 opening with all the yacht traffic (the bridge only opens three times a day, 9:30 am, 11:30 am and 5:30 pm).

John worked on the engine again as the temperature was still a little hot.  He found some grass partially blocking the heat exchanger.  Hopefully this was the problem and the engine will run at the correct temperature now.   

Our last day in Sint Maarten we dinghied over to the French side to Marigot where we had lunch in a French restaurant along the dock.  The enticement from the waiter was that they had poor service but great food.  That night we had sundowners with Sea Schell as a good bye as they were staying another week to have repairs done on their boat.

We arrived in Puerto Rico about 44 hours after we left Luperon, DR.  We were traveling with NonLinear and Cheetah II.  The wind was E to SE so was pretty much on the nose all the way.  So we motor sailed the entire way.  The Mona Passage was relatively calm and, therefore, we had an uneventful crossing.  We passed several sailboats traveling north during the second evening. 

We entered Mayaguez and anchored near the ferry dock.  There was not a good place to land the dinghies and we had to tie up to the ferry dock.  We were the only boats checking in on Sunday.  Contrary to some countries US officials want all crew members in check in - not just the captain.  Although the cruising guides say that we are only to enter the country in ports with immigration officials, the officials told us that most of the cruisers go to Boqueron and take a taxi to Mayaquez to check in.

The next day we traveled the short distance to Boqueron, a resort town.  We spent a week in Boqueron enjoying the city.  We took a one day trip back to Mayaquez where we went to the Tropical Agricultural Research Station that was originally part of a large plantation from the 1800's.  Many species of tropical plants from all over the world are on display.  The garden is part of the University of Puerto Rico and is administered by the USDA.  In downtown Mayaquez is an elegant plaza with a statute honoring Christopher Columbus.   

We headed for Ponce on the central south coast with an overnight stop at Gilligan's Island (Cayos de Cana Gorda). In Ponce we took a slip at the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club for week to spend time exploring inland.  With Cheetah II and NonLinear we rented a car for one week.  We did a three day trip around the island.  Our first day was to drive to Fajardo on the east coast and on to the El Yunque, the Caribbean National Forest, a rain forest in the Luquillo Mountains.  There are 240 species of trees,150 species of ferns, 50 species of orchids and 137 species of land and aquatic animals.  Our trip in the forest included the LaCoca Falls along the road, and an hour hike to the La Mina Falls.  That night we stayed in a hotel near San Juan.

The next day we spent in Old San Juan.  We visited Castillo de San Felipe del Morro and took a trolley ride around the old city.  In addition to the forts there are still portions of the original wall that surrounded the city that are still intact.  The streets are very narrow and lined by beautiful structures typical of Spanish architecture and in the pastel shades found in the Caribbean.  A distinguishing item on all the Spanish homes that we noticed here and in the Dominican Republic is the front door.  Most of the doors are very ornate and made of wood and none are identical.  The streets are so narrow that the power lines are run above the rooftops.  The city has a free trolley that runs around the city.  That night we stayed in a hotel in Arecibo.

Our third day we planned to see the Radiotelescopio de Arecibo that is operated by Cornell University.  This is the largest radiotelescope in the world with a 1000 ft diameter spherical reflector.  But as luck would have it the facility would not open to visitors until 12 and we got there at 9 so we moved on to our next stop, the Parque de las Cavernas del Rio Camuy.  This a massive cavern within hugh sinkholes created by the river Camuy that runs under the cavern.  Large stalactites and stalagmites are spread throughout the cavern.  Our trip back to Ponce included a section of narrow, curvy and steep mountain roads.  We got a great sampling of the mountain roadways!

Our last day with the car we toured Ponce and again experienced the beautiful parks, fountains and Spanish architecture of the area.

My last posting described our problematic crossing to Provo - however I neglected to mention the hi-light of the evening sail.  The micro-organisms in the water were phosphorescent.  In the churned up white water from the boat action there was sparkling blue flashes of light.

We finally left Provo for So. Caicos across the banks.  It was a 50 mile trip with numerous coral heads to dodge about halfway across.  We were heading east into an easterly trade which was not condusive to sailing.  (It was not the best day to cross but we were tired of Provo.)  As we did not leave at the crack of dawn we had to anchor on the west side of Long Cay with a short hop around Long Cay the next day into Cockburn Harbor (South Caicos).  As we were anchoring in the lee of Lang Cay I was
on the bow and then this thing comes flying past my head and lands on the deck.  It was a squid and it was pumping out ink all over the deck.  What a mess.  As I threw the squid back into the water you could see the ink trail behind it as it swam away.  The ink stained the deck and I could not get it out with any of the products we purchased in the states.  However a product called Krazy Klean that we bought at Top II Bottom in Georgetown worked great.  Who ever heard of flying squid? 

South Caicos has the clearest water that we have seen so far.  We were anchored in 10 feet of water and could see every detail of the bottom.  The town itself was disappointing.  There was not much activity with few things of interest to see.  We did have a nice chicken lunch at a local restaurant.

Once the weather forecast improved for a passage to Luperon we set out for Great Sand Cay in the Turks where we stayed overnight.  What a beautiful island (uninhabited).  Wonderful sand beach on the lee side and great beach combing on the windward side.  When shelling with Marcia from Non-linear and Jane from Cheetah II.  The island has a light on it but typically it was non operable.  Apparently the lights in Turks and Caicos are frequently vandalized.  This light was missing its solar panels.
We stayed overnight at the island and left at 5 pm on Wednesday for arrival first thing in the am at Luperon, a 77 nm trip.  We had a perfect sail - 10-15 knots on a close reach and a full moon.  We had all our sails out and were doing 5-6 knots.  Only problem was that our auto-pilot died and we had to hand steer all night.  
 
We arrived at Luperon at 8 am on Thursday, April 5 and had handy Andy lead us into the harbor.  After anchoring I noticed another sea creature on the deck.  This time it was a flying fish.

Our first day in port we paid $25 for immigration and an $11 port fee at the office at the government dock.  Then we had to go back to the boat and wait for the agriculture officer and pet officer to come to the boat.  The agriculture officer instructed us to place our foreign (imported) trash in the round barrel on the dock and the trash from Luperon in the square container - $ 10 please.  (At night they set fire to both containers which are next to each other on the dock - what's the point???).
 The pet inspector said any pets, and we said no, and he said $10 please.  Later that day another official came to the boat, and we had to acquire tourist cards for each of us, $ 20 please.

Luperon is a vibrant town although quite poor.  The people are out in the streets socializing. All the children say Allo as we pass.   People are cutting up fish in the street.  Scooters are the main form of transportation and zip around sometimes with three people on them.  Of course there are cars and horses and donkeys.

That first night we went to Capt. Steve's for dinner.  Steve is an ex-Patriot. 

Friday, the second day, I went to the falls with the other cruisers.  John stayed on the boat to work on the autopilot.  Sea U Manana had a spare autopilot computer that we brought from him. 

The falls had 27 levels but we only did the first seven.  The stream carved a narrow channel through the rock.  So the channel had towering cliffs on each side of the stream.  There are a series of falls along the stream. We climbed up the falls through the water.  Rock climbing with water rushing against you.  We had three strong guides who helped us up the falls.  Could not have made it without them.  One section of the stream between the falls was flowing so swiftly that we had a rope to pull
ourselves along.  Going down it was like water slides and the last one we had to jump off a cliff into the pool below.  They actually made us wear helmets and life vests.  My arms and legs are tired and sore.  Part of the trip to the falls was suppose to be lunch at a native restaurant but as it was Good Friday the restaurants were closed so we were invited into a private home for lunch.  We had fish (that's all that is served on Good Friday), salad (lettuce, corn and cucumbers with lemon dressing),
a beet, egg and potato salad, and a bean (looked like lima beans) and squash soup type dish served over rice.  For desert we had a traditional Easter dessert comprised of sweetened condensed milk, coconut, chocolate, and cinnamon sticks cooked in a large kettle over a wood fire in the back of the house.  Tasty but very sweet. 

Tomorrow pig roast at yacht club.

Click on the below link to view a tracking chart Island Time positions.

http://www.winlink.org/positions/PosReportsDetail.aspx?callsign=KB1KYU

The trip from Long Island to Provo was not one of our better sails.  We set out with about six boats for the 240 mile trek (about 40 hours) to the Caicos Banks.  We planned the trip in one continuous sail as the weather window was small otherwise we could have jumped island to island.  The wind was supposed to start SE and then switch to the NE so it would be a good sail.  There were supposed to be scattered squalls when the front passed but with the radar we could avoid them.  Well, as to be expected
the weather did not cooperate.  We had a terrible crossing.  The first day wind did not switch to the north when predicted so we were into the wind the first day and then we had numerous squalls at night.  When the pre-frontal trough passed we had a massive squall with 40 knot winds.  The next day the wind did switch north and then died.  The wind picked up later in the night along with more squalls but then we had to slow down so we didn't get to the Caicos banks until day light.  When the sun came
up all the boats crossed the banks to Sapodilla Bay in Provo (Providenciales).  We have been anchored here for five days (so far) waiting for weather.

During the crossing we also had engine problems.  John had to replace the intake impeller on the engine the first day and then replace the fuel filter and fix a plugged fuel line the second day (the rough water stirred up the junk from the fuel tank). The third day (at harbor at least) he fixed a broken wire on the alternator.

Sapodilla Bay is not close to any facilities.  The bay has a nice sand beach and beach front homes.  The customs check-in is around a point at the government dock.

We rented a car one day for a sightseeing trip.  Most of the island is developed with resorts.  We did go to the local conch farm where conch is raised for sale to the states.  The farm was actually started by a fellow from Mystic, CT. The farm has an inventory of 5.5 million conch.  The life cycle of the conch starts with an egg mass with 500,000 eggs which are colleted by divers, and the egg masses are brought to the hatchery.  The eggs hatch to larvae and after 22 days to free swimming veligers
(baby conch).  After 22 days the conch are transferred to the metamorphosis facility where they change from free swimming larvae to bottom dwelling baby conch. During the free swimming stage the conch are fed liquid algae.  After metamorphosis the baby conch starts growing their shells.  As the conchs grow they move to the on shore nursery for 1 year olds (2-4 cm) to 3 year olds (6 cm).  The conch are fed pelletized algae.  Once the conch are about 6 cm they are transferred to the Sub-sea pastures
(fenced pens in the sea).  Growth to adulthood takes about 2 more years.  The fenced pens not only keep the conch from escaping it also protects them from predators (lobsters, sting rays, tulip shells, crabs, octopus, turtles and porcupine fish).  The sea bed for the conch farm is leased from the government and in lieu of cash the farm releases 1 million conch to the environment per year.  Not only are adult conch marketed so are 1-3 year old conch sold as ceviche appetizers.  The end of our tour
included hands on look at two adult conch, Sally and Jerry.  When our tour guide picked up the conch they actually came out of their shell.  About 1 in 10,000 conch will grow a pearl.  The farm had some examples of the beautiful pink pearl.

Long Island is south and east of Georgetown.  We had a great sail for the 40 miles to Thompson Bay.  We finally sailed south of the Tropic of Cancer which was a milestone for us.  Long Island seems to have a slightly different climate than the Exumas.  It seems greener and better able to support some agriculture.  We saw many banana trees.  Much of the agriculture is pothole farming where natural or manmade holes in the rock filled with fertile soil are used for growing vegetables. We saw an advertisement
for a corn festival next month.

We rented a car with Idunno and traveled the island from one end to the other.  In Clarence Town (south end) we had lunch at a local Bahamian restaurant.  My meal had a side dish of plantains - very good.  In Clarence Town we visited an old Catholic church built by Father Jerome.   The church has twin spires that can be seen for miles as it sits on a high hill.  He also built the older Anglican church in town (before his conversion to Catholicism) which also sits on an adjacent hill.  The church
has a great view of the harbor.  The harbor itself is formed by reefs and small islands with one narrow entrance. 

The north end of the island has a monument to Christopher Columbus up on Cape Santa Maria, a bluff over looking the ocean - excellent views. 

One day we dinghied over to a cave and did a little spelunking. There were eight of us each with a flash light and it was still very dark.  There was one section of the cave where it was open at the top allowing sunlight to infiltrate and trees were growing inside the cave up through the hole - it was very interesting.  Of course there were many bats but they were all sleeping.  John saw one crab, and we were told there were tarantulas in there but we didn't see any (whew).

One night the local Bahamian restaurant had a buffet ($10), and we had about 30 cruisers.  As usual with any gathering of cruisers we had a potluck on the beach one night.

We arrived in Georgetown in time for the cruisers regatta.  The regatta lasted ten days and was comprised of games, sporting events, entertainment and boat races.  (Summer camp for adults.)   The first night had the opening ceremonies with a pet parade where the categories included dogs, non-dogs (cats and a crab) and other.  What is other?  Well we had a rare spotted haggis (A guy with spotted clothes on all fours being led around on a leash).  There was a best pirate costume contest (this year's
theme).  The winner looked just like Johnny Depp.  The musical portion of the evening included the appearance of the Blues Brothers, the California Raisons and Elvis.  All this followed by a pirate's ball.

John and I participated in the Coconut Challenge.  We were on separate teams of four people for the coconut challenge.  The challenge was comprised of four events.  The first and wettest event involved collecting floating coconuts in the water using dinghies.  The dinghies were propelled by fin power.  Each person had one swim fin as a paddle to be used with your hand - all feet to stay in the boat.  This is where big feet help i.e. large fins.  Our friend Linda can leave her fins at home.  We were
not allowed to steal coconuts from another boat but if they floated out by themselves they were fair game - that's where the buckets came into play - pouring water into other boats.    The second contest was bowling with coconuts.  For each Kalik bottle knocked over in four minutes you got a point.  Rolling the coconut was not an option as they do not roll straight, so you had to throw them at the bottle.  The third game was to throw the coconut through a tire.  Again one point was earned for each
successful throw in four minutes.  The last coconut contest was coconut basketball.  In the end my team came in almost last.  John's team was in the middle of the 24 teams. 

The next event that we participated in was the scavenger hunt.  We had a team of six and had to find various items on Stocking Island and in Georgetown itself across the harbor.  (The boat with the largest dinghy motor went to town.)  Some of the items we had to find were duct tape, a pirate movie, cars movie, February pilot chart of the Caribbean, count the number of boards on Queen Anne's dock, a canvas bucket, a cold Kalik beer (for the judges), and expired flares (the oldest flares got extra
points - the oldest flares were from 1974! - people actually had these on their boats).  We also needed a brownie at least 1" x 1" so I spent the time on the boat baking brownies (if our fiend Nile was there that would be his job).  We did well but didn't finish in the top three.

The big event was the around Stocking Island boat race - about 18 miles.  We sailed on Idunno with Mike and June and Bob and Carol from Time Enough.  The wind was blowing 15 knots with good sized waves.  We had a great race and won the baking contest.  Yes baking.  In addition for prizes for winning the race, prizes were given for the best baked item prepared underway, biggest fish caught while sailing and the best picture taken.  We won the baking contest with a Crème Brule (our friend Linda's favorite).
 Bob did a great job separating eggs with a 20 degree heal on the boat.  We even browned the sugar on top with a torch.  Carol created a great presentation with palmetto leaves arranged around the serving dish. 

The other events that were held throughout the week included beach golf, tennis, Texas hold'em, bocce ball, bridge, small boat races, in the harbor boat race, softball, fun volleyball, regulation volleyball and sand sculpture.

The last night of the regatta was the variety show with singing, instrumentals, comedy skits and a conch horn serenade.  As they say - a great time was had by all.      

The regatta had all the organized games.  Of course any gathering of cruisers will have the requisite sundowner parties and potlucks on the beach.  John and I went to several southbound cruisers meetings.  This is where we met other cruisers who are also heading south to Trinidad and other parts south.  The day after the regatta ended we headed for Thompson Bay on Long Island.

We stayed in Vero for 16 days waiting for weather.  Vero is a great place to wait as shopping, the beach and not to forget the cruisers breakfast and sundowner parties.  We dinghied to the Riverview to watch the Super Bowl with several other cruisers. 

Our crossing was uneventful.  We stayed at the Old Bahama Bay Marina for the night where the manager had a cocktail party.  We cruisers are always up for freebies. 

With Idunno we headed to Nassau for a 22 hour overnight sail.  The stars were magnificent.  There were cruise ships all night long to keep us company.  There are lit up like white lighted Christmas trees and it was difficult to find those little red or green running lights so we could tell which way they were traveling.

We stayed anchored in Nassau for three nights while we waited for a cold front to pass.  We did a little shopping and had a sundowner party on Seaduction who we had met in Annapolis. 

Wednesday, February 14, we left Nassau for Norman Cay in the Exumas.  We had a great sail all the way to Norman.  Even less of the airplane remains in the water to the east of the main part of the island.  We had a great Valentine dinner on Idunno.

The next day we motor sailed to Cambridge Cay in the Exuma Land and Sea Park.  New park moorings were in place so we picked up a mooring.  We stayed at the Cambridge Cay for four days to sit our two fronts.  The latter of the two fronts had winds approaching 40 knots - I was glad we were on a mooring.  Between fronts we had sundowner parties and a party on the beach with the entire anchorage invited.  This area is absolutely beautiful, expanses of sand beaches between coral outcrops.  Massive sand
bars.  We went snorkeling at the Sea Aquarium off O'Brien Cay.  This feature is touted as a miniature wall dive.  The fish are plentiful and very colorful.  The highlights of the trip were the two Queen Angel fish and a triggerfish.

Jan 28, 2007 -  Vero Breach, FL

We are currently in Vero Beach (aka Velcro Beach), Florida awaiting a weather window to cross. Looks like next weeekend may work but the cold fronts are moving through every two-three days. Gulfstream has 12-15 ft waves today due to the north wind. We will probably go to Lake Worth at the end of the week to stage for the crossing. Ideally, you want two days of south wind. One day for the seas to lay down and the second for the crossing.

Vero is very nice with free bus service from the municipal marina to downtown. Typical Florida town with strip malls and funky shops. The ocean is a short walk away. We are rafted on a mooring with our friends on I Dunno a Tatosh 42. We met them last year in the Bahamas and they are going again. Originally they planned on going to Trinidad but have some fuel tank problems and are not going. We still plan on it but will make the final decision in Georgetown.

We stayed in Vero for 16 days waiting for weather.  Vero is a great place to wait as shopping, the beach and not to forget the cruisers breakfast and sundowner parties.  We dinghied to the Riverview to watch the Super Bowl with several other cruisers. 

Feb 8, 2007 – Lake Worth, FL

We are leaving from Lake Worth tomorrow 2/9 headed for West End on Grand Bahama Island maybe going as far as Grear Stirrup in the Berrys if the weather holds. We will have email via Winlink

John kb1kyu@winlink.org

Genie kb1kyv@winlink.org

We will check these addresses daily. See you in June. Our plans are to go as far as Trinidad.

Feb 10, 2007 – Bahamas, Grand Bahama

Our crossing was uneventful.  We stayed at the Old Bahama Bay Marina for the night where the manager had a cocktail party.  We cruisers are always up for freebies. 

With Idunno we headed to Nassau for a 22 hour overnight sail.  The stars were magnificent.  There were cruise ships all night long to keep us company.  There are lit up like white lighted Christmas trees and it was difficult to find those little red or green running lights so we could tell which way they were traveling.

We stayed anchored in Nassau for three nights while we waited for a cold front to pass.  We did a little shopping and had a sundowner party on Seaduction who we had met in Annapolis. 

Wednesday, Feb 14

We left Nassau for Norman Cay in the Exumas.  We had a great sail all the way to Norman.  Even less of the airplane remains in the water to the east of the main part of the island.  We had a great Valentine dinner on Idunno.

Thursday, Feb 15

The next day we motor sailed to Cambridge Cay in the Exuma Land and Sea Park.  New park moorings were in place so we picked up a mooring.  We stayed at the Cambridge Cay for four days to sit our two fronts.  The latter of the two fronts had winds approaching 40 knots – I was glad we were on a mooring.  Between fronts we had sundowner parties and a party on the beach with the entire anchorage invited.  This area is absolutely beautiful, expanses of sand beaches between coral outcrops.  Massive sand bars.  We went snorkeling at the Sea Aquarium off O’Brien Cay.  This feature is touted as a miniature wall dive.  The fish are plentiful and very colorful.  The highlights of the trip were the two Queen Angel fish and a triggerfish.

Friday, Feb 16 - Southern Exumas

We sailed from Cambridge Cay over the banks to Big Majors near Staniel Cay.  The pigs are still at the beach waiting for handouts.  The day we arrived at Staniel the local school was holding a benefit bar-b-que.  We had a wonderful steak meal on the town beach for $12.  We spent the following afternoon in Staniel Cay Yacht Club using their free wifi. 

The next stop was Black Point where we did our laundry at the best launder mat in the Exumas.  Of course we went to Loraine’s for dinner.  I had conch and John had fish – wonderful as usual.   Before we left the next morning we got a loaf of Lorraine’s mother’s famous coconut bread.  Swirls of coconut are cooked into the bread.  We anchored the next night around the point from Black Point settlement to get some wind protection.   There was a beautiful white sand beach (deserted of course). 

Sunday Feb 25 - Georgetown

The following day we left for Georgetown at 0600.  We left the banks at Galliot Cut and sailed through Exuma Sound to Georgetown, about 40 miles.  The wind was on our left back quarter so we had a nice downwind run in about 15 knots of wind.  

We returned to the boat on January 9.  We rented a car and spent three days provisioning the boat for our trip.  We filled the freezer with meat, the spaces behind the settee with canned goods and the space under the settee with beer, soda and wine.  

John assembled the deck box (that he had made at home over Christmas).  The deck box is for our life raft that we had in the aft cabin.  Now it’s out of the way.  We left the marina on Sunday, January 14 and anchored south of St. Augustine.

The following day we arrived in Daytona Beach where we decided to stay at a marina and have preventative maintenance work on the engine.  We wanted to retorque the head, have the valves adjusted and add new antifreeze.  For you NASCAR fans, we were told that the slip we were in is the one used by Jeff Gordan during the Daytona 500.  Apparently Jeff owns one of the condo’s adjacent to the marina.  Daytona has a great bus system.  We each got a three day pass for six dollars and were able to travel all over Daytona and the adjoining cities. After five days we moved on.  As race car season was approaching we had to give up our slip for the 100 footers who were coming for the races.  Apparently, the marina costs quadruple for race season. 

We continued our trip south and soon entered the Indian River where we have our favorite traveling companions, the dolphins.  They swim along next to the boat.  We had the same dolphin for over a half hour swimming with us.  We could tell it was the same animal as it had a distinctive notch in its fin.  We anchored in Cocoa Beach for the night and then moved on to Vero Beach where we joined Idunno.  The municipal marina maintains moorings but requires rafting so we rafted with Idunno and a third boat.  We will stay in Vero until the weather improves so we can plan our crossing.  Vero is a great place to wait as it has free bus service around town.

Cape Cod

We waited in Rockland Maine for some reasonable weather.  There were two hurricanes off shore kicking up swells and a coastal low along the MA coast creating overly windy conditions.  We finally left the following Monday.  We decided to head for the Cape Cod canal in one trip which involved an overnight.  The winds died on us as we headed south but the swells increased.  As we approached Cape Cod Bay the following morning the swells were 10-12 feet.    Tuesday morning motor-sailing through the bay we encountered whales again.  We had a whale off to the port so I turned to Starboard and yikes another whale to starboard so just turned back to original course and kept going.  We reached the Cape Cod canal about 30 minutes before the tide changed so Island Time and about 5 other boats were milling around to wait for the favorable current.  Once through the canal we again stayed at Onsett Beach over night. 

Bristol, RI

The following day we went to Bristol RI to visit Janet and Rhonda from the mighty vessel Promise.  We met Nile, Linda, Jay and Pricilla in Bristol and went to the Newport Boat show.  Always a great time.  Saturday we had dinner with Janet and Rhonda and the crew of Seaductress who Janet and Rhonda met in the Bahamas last winter.  Sunday we went to the boat show again this time by boat on Promise,   We picked up a mooring in the harbor and took the water taxi to the show.  Great fun.

Stonington

The next day we headed for Stonington Harbor.  We hit fog, again!   We had to find the narrow channel between Fishers Island and Westerly by radar and GPS.  Just as we passed the channel markers the fog cleared and we easily found our way into the harbor, Seaductress came in later and anchored behind us as did Moonstruck (who we met in Rockland Harbor).  We were trying to make time so we did not venture into Stonington and left the next morning for Old Lyme, CT. 

Old Lyme

As with the trip north we stopped at Old Lyme Marina for a trip ashore to see friends and family in Connecticut. From Old Lyme we headed for Port Jefferson, NY.

Cape May

We stayed in Port Jeff waiting for a cold front to pass.  Our friends from Idunno were not there as they were already in Cape May.   We left Port Jeff at daybreak and headed toward NYC.  Abreast of City Island we met Seaductress and headed for Cape May via NYC together.   The timing for Hell’s Gate was perfect we had a fair current all the way to NY harbor.  For a while the western side of Roosevelt Island was closed as the UN was in session.  The East side of Roosevelt Island involves a drawbridge and I did not relish waiting for a bridge with a 4-5 knot current pushing the boat toward the bridge.  Fortunately we heard other boats on the radio who took the west side route without a problem (three patrol boats with mounted guns to keep you away from the UN).

Once we got to the Harbor we unfurled the sails and had a great 24 hour sail past the Statute of Liberty, under the Verazzano Narrows Bridge and on to Cape May, NJ.  Throughout the trip we checked out progress with Seaductress (it is nice to have a buddy boat).  We anchored in Cape May with Seaductress.  As happened last year we were anchored near Spellbound with Page and Jed (homeport Charlotte, VT).

Chesapeake

We left Cape May the next day (at day break) for the trip up the Delaware.  We took the shore route around the Cape. (Always a little unnerving as one needs to go close to shore near the lighthouse.) (Our mast is too tall to go under the bridges in the Cape May canal.)   The current was fair – but no wind – but we made good time and made it through the C&D canal to the Sassafras River  We anchored about 3 miles up the Sassafras River.  We stayed two nights as a severe cold front was approaching.  We were lucky as the storm brought a tornado to the neighboring county. 

Our next stop was Back Creek in Eastport (Annapolis area).  Back Creek is tight will suspect holding.  We ended up anchored close to another boat and we were about to pull anchor and retry when the boat owner came on deck and said don’t worry about us – a miss is as good as a mile.  That was Jim on Seaduction II from Nova Scotia. Jim and Carol Ann are a great cruising couple.   Idunno came two days after we arrived and found a place to anchor.  We were planning to go to the boat show on Friday but another strong cold front came through with heavy winds and rain.  We had two anchors set but with the close proximity of the anchored boats to each other and to the docks, an anchor watch was in order.  We did not have a problem but several of the boats did drag and spent some time in the wind and rain to reset their anchors.  The wind started to diminish on Saturday so we were able to go to the SSCA gam where we met Pam and Bruce and Bob and Lorna from MBBC and Bob and Carol on Time Enough.     Dinner at Rich and Lynn’s capped off our stay in Annapolis.  We finally made it to the boat show on Sunday. And then to the break up of the show on Monday.  Of course our stay in Back Creek included all the mundane things like laundry, shopping and filling the propane bottle. Seaductress had motored through the anchorage before the storm but could not find a suitable spot so they went on further south.  Hopefully we will catch up with them further on.

Our next goal was to make New Bern, NC for the southbound cruisers meeting the last weekend in October.  So we left Monday morning and headed to the Solomon’s for one night and then headed to Mill Creek off Ingram Bay.  This is a very protected anchorage, and we planned to stay two days as another cold front was anticipated.   This time the forecast was wrong and we missed a great day for sailing, oh well.   Cruising is a small world, anchored next to us was Destiny who we had met last spring at Anchors Aweigh Boat yard in NC.  (They let us use their mooing in City Island).  From Mill Creek we headed for Norfolk, VA.

ICW to New Bern 

In Norfolk we anchored at the hospital point anchorage which happens to be at Mile 0 of the ICW.   In early evening the Coast Guard came along and said we were too close to the fireworks barge.  Fireworks??? As there was no wind, we were able to shorten scope to move us a little further from the barge – that seemed to satisfy them.  So we had a front row seat for the fireworks.  I never did learn the occasion for the fireworks.  After the fireworks we let our scope back out.

The next day we left heading south on the ICW we only had one lock, and about six draw bridges to traverse (most of the bridges were on a fixed schedule so we did a lot of waiting).  We decided not to go the Dismal Swamp route but go down the Virginia cut (we wanted to go the restaurant at Coinjock for the great prime rib dinner).  We had made reservations at the marina which was good as we were the last to arrive and we were at the end of the face dock half hanging off.  We decided to stay an extra day so John could replace the engine’s raw water pump that was leaking.  As boat projects go we ended up five days as he needed to order some parts.  There is little to do in Coinjock except for the restaurant.  The only entertainment is watching all the boats leave in the morning and watching all the boats come in the pm.  Getting on and off (especially) can be tricky as there is a fairly strong current through there at times.  Our timing was such that we arrived on Sunday and the next day was Monday – so called black Monday, as this is the day that all the large power boats (some 100 foot plus) arrive from the Annapolis power boat show. which was one week after the sail boat show – so what took us one week these behemoths did in one day.  I don’t know why the marina calls it black Monday when is should be green Monday.  These boats fill up will 2000 gallons of diesel per tank – yikes glad that’s not my bill.

We finally left Coinjock and only traveled ten miles to Back Creek just before Albemarle Sound.  The wind was fairly stiff across the shallow sound making short steep waves and with the wind on our nose the crossing would not be pleasant so waited one more day and had a nice sail across the sound (ended up a motor sail later in the day).  We anchored at the west end of the Pungo-Alligator River canal just before sunset.  The following day we headed for New Bern River where we anchored for the night just south of New Bern.  The following day we took a slip at the Bridge Pointe Marina where planned to stay for the Southbound Cruisers meeting (three day event) and afterwards for a quick trip home to Vermont.   We arrived at the marina one day earlier than planned as another cold front with high winds was anticipated. 

The meeting had some great speakers.  Skipper Bob spoke on cruising the Bahamas, Chris Parker from the Caribbean weather center was there, Dr. Bentley Smith (Catspaw) spoke on first aid items for your boat, there were also speakers on safety at sea and communications at sea.  We had a knot tying class and of co**** a pot luck.  Eileen Quinn provided music one evening.  We met a lot of cruisers we met during the last year – Moonstruck, Nice n Easy, Southern Cross, Scandia, and Idunno, and we met cruisers for the first time.

New Bern is very lovely little town with a historic center.  The waterfront has a beautiful park, there are many restaurants in town and an old fashion hardware store that has almost anything that one would need.  Our marina was very homey with very pleasant management.  We left the boat for 10 days while we went home.  Three plane changes to get from New Bern to Burlington.  So it was a long day.

New Bern, NC to Jacksonville, FL

After returning to New Bern we left for Beaufort, NC where we stayed in Town Creek (anchored next to a boat we met in Georgetown the Bahamas).  From Town Creek wee motored down the ICW to Mile Hammock (on Camp Lejeune).  The marines were doing night training so we had helicopters taking off right overhead (they had no lights on – I’m glad that our anchor light was working).  The following day we anchored in Wrightsville Beach where we planned to stay for several days as another strong cold front was approaching.  The current here is strong so usually we are turned with the current and not the wind.  We only hade one anchor out put we had placed our second anchor on deck in case we needed it.  The front was very strong with tornados in the area.  No one in the anchorage had any problems.  I can do without this type of weather!!!!. 

After the front went through we headed south to the Cape Fear River and to sea for an overnight to Charleston, SC where we stayed at the City Marina where we weathered another storm – this one from a low that developed off the Carolina coast with up to storm force winds 45 +.  In Charleston Harbor the winds were to approach gale force. After the storm we rented a car and went to Greenwood, SC to spend Thanksgiving with family.

We could not be south of Savannah, GA before December 1 (insurance restriction) so we left Charleston and continued down the ICW to Beaufort, SC  where we planned to wait a few days for both the calendar and the weather (another cold front).  Beaufort is a lovely southern town with a history that dates back before the Civil War.  We took a narrated horse drawn carriage ride through town – it was very interesting.    

The past couple times we started the boat the starter made a strange noise so John cleaned the contacts thinking that was the problem.

Finally, December 1st!   We left Beaufort and headed out to sea from Port Royal Sound for an overnight to Fernandina Beach, FL.  The wind was behind us so for the most part we had a downwind sail the entire way.  As we approached the St. Mary’s River inlet we went to start the engine and nothing happened!!!  After many futile attempts we called BoatUs to meet us the end of the jetties for a tow in.  The waves and the current were opposite at the inlet entrance and it was a little bouncy trying to attached the tow line that was thrown to us.  Finally after we attached the bridal we were towed in.  We’re glad we called for a tow as the current was so strong against us and the large wave chop it would have difficult to sail all the way into harbor.  The tow boat deposited us very gently at the marina dock in Fernandina Beach.  Boy am I glad we have a towing membership in BoatUs  - don’t leave home without it.   John put a new starter in (30 minute job) and the engine started right up. We could have done this at sea but with the rough conditions and at one step in the process we needed both of us, it would have taken longer than 30 minutes. We stayed in Fernandina Beach two days as this is one of favorite stops.   A nice little shopping district downtown and the post office is handy. 

Next and last stop is Bill Dye Marina in Jacksonville where we leave the boat for a month for our trip home for Christmas. 

Long Island Sound

We stayed at City Island (part of the Bronx) for two nights to recover from our

trip from Norfolk. We picked up a mooring that belongs to a couple we met in NC.  City Island is a great place to visit.  The island is comprised of one main road with restaurants and small businesses.   

Our next stop was a motor sail to Port Jefferson where we picked up a mooring.  We visited with June and Mike from Idunno the boat we traveled with throughout the Exumas.  We had a great visit and planned to catch up with each other for our trip back down to the Bahamas in the fall.

Our next stop was in Old Lyme on the Connecticut River where we left the boat on a mooring for 10 days while we went home to Vermont for a visit.

Upon our return to boat we headed for Block Island where we planned to pick up a mooring.  The trip through the race was close to slack so the current was not an issue.  However we did need to watch out for the submarine.

We arrived at Block Island the Tuesday before the Fourth of July weekend (the fourth was on the following Tuesday), and we got one of the last moorings as many of the boaters were planning to stay for the entire holiday weekend.  Block Island is a wonderful place.  We walked across the island to the main town for sightseeing and shopping.  We left for Bristol, RI on Friday early in the morning where we planned to spend the Fourth.  Our mooring was not vacant for more than a minute before it was snatched up by a trolling boat.

We were having a great sail from Block Island to Narragansett Bay until we hit the FOG bank.  Between Block Island and Port Judith we entered the heavy fog.  We are so glad that we have radar.  We could see the other boats on the radar and when we got close we would blow our horn.  The power boats we could hear their engines and as they got close we could hear them slow down and then all of a sudden we could see the boats about 100 yards away.  On the radio we heard one boat calling a securite with his boat location every few minutes - he did not have radar.  Fortunately before we reached Narragansett Bay the fog lifted and our 18 mile trip to Bristol was uneventful.  In Bristol we stayed at the Bristol Yacht Club as guests of our friends Rhonda and Janet from the mighty vessel Promise who we met in the Abacoes and sailed with back to the states as far as Charleston. 

Rhode Island

We had a wonderful time in Bristol.  The Bristol Fourth is great and our hosts were fabulous.  Our first night we had a lobster dinner at Janet and Rhonda’s house.  Rhonda lent us her car so that we could do provisioning and any other errands.  

The Bristol parade is touted as the oldest continuous parade in the country – it certainly is in the running as the largest also.  We had four hours of fire trucks, politicians, dance groups, marching bands (some from as far away as Wisconsin), Mummers, horses, etc.  The parade also had the dancing policeman from Newport.  I understand that he was a traffic officer who dances as part of his job of directing traffic.  Very entertaining.  The weekend also included a marching band contest.  About eight marching bands from across the country competed for best band.  The routines that the bands preformed were very elaborate with choreographed marching.  Each band had about 100 members that included the musicians and dancers. 

The culmination of the holiday was the fireworks.  We all gathered on the boats at the yacht club where we had front row seats for the fireworks.  These were the best fireworks we have ever seen.  The show was well planned with some types of displays that we have never seen before.  The finale included many different bursts that were all the same color.  Very spectacular.  We were very lucky to have Janet and Rhonda invite us to their club.  We understand that many of the guest boats made their reservation at the yacht club as early as the previous February.

Our departure from Bristol was delayed one day to repair a generator wire.  That evening John got to race with Janet and her friend Will on Will’s boat.

Before leaving Narragansett Sound we stopped in Newport where we anchored to the south of the harbor.  We took the water taxi into town for afternoon. 

Massachusetts

The next day we motor sailed to Cuttyhunk where we picked up a mooring in the inner harbor.  The mooring are very close – we must have had 10 feet bow to stern to the next boat.  The island is very remote, and very picturesque with mostly summer homes and a small grocery store and a few small retail stores.  

Our next stop was Onset harbor which is on the western side of the C&D canal. Where we entered the C&D canal at the end of Buzzard’s Bay the wind and current were opposite and the waves suddenly became steep 6 foot high and close together. Fortunately that did not last long.  Onset is a nice stop over while you wait for weather.  Onset has a grocery store for provisioning and a pizza restaurant.

We timed our departure from Onset to travel with the current through the C&D Canal.  With the two knot current we made 7-8 knots through the canal.  Our next stop was Provincetown where we picked up a mooring.  Provincetown is always fun for people watching.

Maine

From Provincetown we crossed directly to the Isle of Shoals on the Maine New Hampshire border.  The crossing was uneventful except several whale sightings.

The Isle of Shoals is a group of small islands mostly uninhabited.  We picked up a mooring that was placed by the Portsmouth Yacht Club.  The main island has a religious retreat where they welcome boaters to their evening meal.  So for $15 dollars we had dinner at the “boaters” table in the corner of the main dinning room.

The following day we headed north flirting will fog all the way.  Fortunately the fog was not heavy.  We anchored that night at Cliff Island in Casco Bay.  Anchored near us were fellow Vermonter on Summer Slopes from Killington.

The next day we headed toward Penobscot Bay again flirting with the fog.  As we headed for Tenets Harbor the fog closed in, and we could not see anything.  We lined up at the center of the harbor entrance using the GPS and found the bell buoy located at the entrance.  As we entered the harbor the fog lifted, and we could see where we were going which was great as the harbor was filled with boats and what seemed like a million lobster pot buoys and every conceivable color. We had to anchor near the mouth of the harbor in about 30 feet of water not including the 10 foot tide.

The following day we anchored in Rockland Harbor which we used as our home base for the next six weeks that we were in Maine. 

Side Trips from Rockland (No matter where we sailed we saw schooners everywhere.)

Pulpit Harbor is a well protected harbor with a large rock outcropping guarding the entrance hence the name.  We spent two nights here.  There is a grocery store within reasonable walking distance.

SSCA Gam (Seven Seas Cruising Association meeting) in Isleboro included a pot luck dinner and speakers on weather and anchoring.  Of course the night before the meeting we had a dinghy raft up sharing food.

We spent three days at Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island where we had a wonderful visit with Jack and Ruthie at their camp.  The first night we had lobster at the camp. We went sightseeing on the island including a ride to the top of Cadillac Mountain.  We went to Reel Pizza for dinner and a movie (the pizza is served in the movie theater). On the last day of our visit we went to the park’s famous restaurant for popovers and tea (tea is the tradition but we had café latte).

While in northeast harbor we met the couple who purchased our old boat, our 31 foot Island Packet. What a small world!

Back in Rockland, Nile and Linda came for a visit.  We traveled to Warren Island state park where we picked up a mooring (free) and explored the island.   We returned the next day so we could go to the Rockland boat show.  We had no fog this weekend much to Nile’s disappointment.

While in Rockland Harbor we anchor near Sam and Carolyn of Melaka II from whom we purchased Island Time. It’s truly a small world in boating.  

Belfast is a very nice town with limited groceries, small shops and restaurants.

Labor Day weekend we had a visit from our granddaughter, daughter and her boyfriend.  We took a sail up to Camden where we picked up a mooring.  We took a water taxi into town.  Things were hoping in town as the schooner fest was happening and many of the local schooners were in the harbor.  We had a great lobster dinner before returning to the boat.  Back in Rockland we had a birthday party for my granddaughter, Sophie, who was two.   

After Labor Day weekend the boating activity stopped.  The anchorages were empty, the docks are empty.  Must be time to head south.      

We have neglected our blog and I will try to fill in our exploits since arriving in the Abacos, the Bahamas.  The Sea of Abaco lies between a chain of islands and the main Abaco Island so it is protected from the Atlantic swells resulting in a pleasant area to sail.  This area is a major cruisers mecca with its own cruisers net in the morning.

Little Harbor

We arrived in Little Harbor on Easter Sunday but could not actually enter the harbor itself as we had to wait for at least half tide as the entrance channel only has three feet deep.  We anchored nearby for the night and went into the harbor on the next morning’s rising tide. 

Little Harbor was the home for sculptor/artist Randolph Johnson who created many bronze sculptures.  His son Pete sill runs the foundry where bronze castings are still produced and an art gallery.  Of co**** there is Pete’s Pub, a well known beach bar, which served wonderful food.

Hopetown

Our next stop was Hopetown where we picked up a mooring.  Hopetown is a beautiful little town.  Island homes in pastels with a profusion of flowers and flowering shrubs.  The streets are concrete about one car width wide with narrow lanes as cross walkways.  There is a lovely lighthouse that is open to the public.  Great pictures from the top.  Captain Jack’s had a trivia contest where we teamed with crews from three other cruising boats (two of which are Island Packets).  These three boats we cruised with off and on for the next month.  Our trivia team came in second in the contest. 

Marsh Harbor

Marsh Harbor is a large harbor with good shopping and a great restaurant.  We reprovisioned the boat and sat out one cold front.

Great Gauana Cay

This island is best known for Nippers beach bar.  We bided our time here waiting for the Whale Passage to subside before continuing north.   The whale passage is an area where we need to pass through an area where we need to jump out into the edge of the Atlantic and then pass back into the Sea of Abaco.  When the Whale is raging large swells are breaking across the passage making the passage very treacherous. The condition of the Whale passage as well as all the other passages is announced on the morning net.

Green Turtle Cay

We easily passed through the Whale passage and anchored in White Bay in Green Turtle Cay.  Green Turtle has many reefs with great snorkeling.  There are 18 sites with mooring buoys where we could tie the dinghy.

Back to the US

We wanted to make the jump from Great Sale Cay, Bahamas to Charleston, SC.  The plan was to ride the Gulf Stream north and then jump off for Charleston.  The weather window didn’t hold for us (front came through with northerly winds) so jumped off at Fernandina Beach.  We spent several days at Fernandina; it’s a beautiful little town.

When the weather improved we did an overnight sail to Charleston and after a brief stay in Charleston (and a repair of the alternator again) we did another overnight to Cape Fear River in NC.  Going up the Cape Fear River we developed a rumble in the engine so we hauled the boat in Hampstead, NC where we found that the engine was out of alignment.  While we had the boat hauled we had the bottom painted.

We followed the ICW up to Norfolk with stops at Bellehaven and Coinjock (the home of the 32 oz prime rib).  While passing through Norfolk their Harborfest was underway with a huge boat parade which was going south and of course we were traveling north so we were definitely going against the flow.  The boat parade had private pleasure craft, navy and coast guard ships and tall ships including the Eagle.  The fire boats were spraying their water cannons and it’s very impressive.

We waited three days in Norfolk for weather window to go all the way to New York (48 hrs).  We were two days ahead of Alberto.  We timed our arrival in NYC to be at the battery two hours after low tide (4:40 am) so we could ride the current through hells gate.  We timed it well so we had an 11 knot ride through the East River to City Island where we picked up mooring.  The mooring belonged to a very nice couple we had met in the boat yard in Hampstead.

It is Wednesday, May 10, 2006 and Island Time and Crew are in Fernandina Beach Fl (St Mary's Georgia) at the Marina.  The weather was not as forecast so we bailed from the Gulf Stream early to avoid sailing in the stream against a north wind to Charleston.  We did encounter squalls with thunder and lightening which are not pleasant in a small boat at sea.  Had a great ride in the stream for a while with southwest winds and waves pushing us at 9.5 knots speed over ground (SOG).  The revised forecast for northerly winds  was correct.  By the time the wind changed, we were at the western edge of the stream with the current at 1.5 kts.  This made really steep short period waves and a rough ride.  I am glad we weren't in the middle of the stream with the 3 kt current as it must have been miserable there.

We had a great sail last night and early today to  get here.  We meet our buddy boats and are going to dinner tonight to celebrate our successful stream crossing.  We will also plan our trip to Charleston when the weather is favorable.  Looks like this weekend.

John & Genie