Merry Christmas

I have had a very nice Christmas day in Marsh Harbor. I miss being with Bev and everyone and I miss the "white" Christmas my family is enjoying in Minnesota but I have met many friendly and interesting people here.

Brock and Brianna came zooming in with a rented 24 ft powerboat just in time to help me turn Summer Snow around so the bow will be facing the big wind predicted for the next two days. I skyped with Mac and family so I did get to talk with most everyone so that was fun.

The marina sponsored a pot luck Christmas dinner so I made a loaf of bread and also some scalloped corn. There was probably 60 or 70 people and the food was fantastic. I ate too much and there was none of my corn and just the heel of my bread left when it was over.

Patrick and Jessica are on the late flight from Ft. Lauderdale and will arrive at 6:50 this evening. I have arranged with my friend Joseph (a taxi guy) to pick me up at 6:30 so we can pick them up.

Boats and Marinas

Most of the boats that are here are sailboats and are here for the winter. I would guess that about half are from Canada with a few from Europe and the rest from the USA. During the peak of the winter season there has been as many as 100 boats in this harbor but the economy has taken its toll here so numbers have been down the last few years. There is very little agriculture or manufacturing in the Bahamas so their major revenue source is tourism and therefore they have really felt the economic downturn.

Of course I am in the Abacos which is less developed than the major tourist ports of Nassau or Free Port. I'm not really into water parks and tourist traps so the Abacos really fits my style. Marinas are about half the cost of similar marinas in Florida and are very nice with swimming pools and restaurants on site. Marsh Harbor has many restaurants and shops along with two large supermarkets.

In the Abacos you can sail to a different island every few days so in a few hours you can experience a whole different flavor of the Bahamas. The second largest coral reef in the world is here so snorkeling and diving are major activities along with all types of ocean fishing. The temperatures here average 70's during the day and 60's during the night. If you are looking for very warm weather you should probably go the the southern Bahamas but I find these temps "just right".

If you come without your own boat there are ferries that provide regular service to most of the populated islands. You can also rent sailboats (Moorings and Sun Sail) or power boats here in Marsh Harbor. I have included a short slide show of powerboats near me in an attempt to make John's day ;>)

Boat Repairs

Everything was in working order when we left Florida but by the time we arrived in Marsh Harbor we had quite a list of necessary repairs.

The "no reverse" problem is fixed. It was just a linkage problem, or I should say, a storage problem. I have this huge spotlight, which really came in handy when we were motoring south on Lake Worth at 3:15 AM, which was stowed in the sail locker. Unfortunately it is so big it was blocking the shift linkage from moving back so I couldn't hit reverse. I have found a new place for it so problem solved.

I put mid-ship cleats on both sides of Summer Snow which will take the place of the sliding cleat that I have been using for the spring line. The sliding cleat is the one that broke when we were docking. I replaced the stock stern line cleats last spring with big 8 inch heavy duty cleats and so I will use the old stern cleats for the new mid-ship cleats. I sure am glad I have my portable drill with!

The toilet became difficult to flush the other day so that became my next project. Brock opted to go to the Internet Cafe while I worked on the toilet. I put on my oldest cutoffs and t-shirt, got out some rubber gloves and my snorkel mask and prepared to do battle with the feared "JOKER VALVE". The joker valve, I don't know who named it that, is the part of a marine toilet that seems to give the most problems because it is the part though which all the "stuff" goes through. Yuck!. My strategy was to dump a few pails of sea water in the toilet and force it through to clean it out as much as possible first. The first bucket was very difficult to get flushed but the second was much easier. I did a third and wa-la, it was back to normal. Yippee!!!

The last project was to replace the broken anchor locker latch. There is a marine supply store in Marsh Harbor so I walked up town to buy a new latch. The store guy was very helpful and pointed out the latch I needed. $65 BUCKS! NO WAY! It's just a little latch, it can't cost that much. I say "thank you very much but I think I'll find a different solution". So back to the boat I go. I have this habit of keeping lots of junk stashed in secret places and that is where I found the old latch that I had bought for the sail locker but never used. It works just fine and actually looks like it belongs there :>)

Sailing The Sea of Abaco

On the 17th we filled with diesel fuel (4 gal) and checked out of the marina. The weather looked great with SE winds. We headed back out into the straits and headed north so we could enter Indian Cay Channel safely. I had programmed the waypoints for the channel into the chart plotter so we had no problem finding the entrance. As we entered the channel (there are no markers on this channel) we noticed our depth meter started to read 8’ , then 7’, then 9’, then 7’ and we began thinking we should have taken the longer deep water route. Once beyond our 3rd waypoint the depth went to 10’ and stayed there the rest of the day. After the 3rd waypoint we raised our sails and began a beautiful cruise as we headed for Mangrove Cay (uninhabited) where we made a course change to head for Great Sale Cay (uninhabited). We anchored in 10’ of water on the west side of Great Sale Cay along with 8 or 9 other boats. The low brush like trees of Great Sale Cay gave us some comfort but the reality was that there was nothing on the horizon in any direction except for this tiny island. Brock had bought some lobsters from a local fisherman at West End so we feasted on boiled lobster and boiled potatoes for supper (yum!)
On the 18th we raised our anchor at 7 AM and motored south to avoid Great Sale Reef, then turned east toward Little Abaco Island. A low front that was predicted for Sunday was arriving early and we were looking at strong winds out of the S and since both anchorages near Great Sale Cay are exposed to any south wind we felt better off getting in the lee of Little Abaco Island. The winds picked up and we proceeded under sail. We made our waypoint to turn SE and were able to keep out sails up (close hauled) but decided to stop at Spanish Cay rather than try to make Green Turtle Cay in the dark. Spanish Cay is a very nice marina and we met up with our buddy boats again. Spanish Cay is a private island and there is no town on the island but the marina welcomes transient boats. The harbor master, Dan, helped us into a slip and his wife, Sue, checked us in. It turned out that Dan and Sue run the whole thing, that is, they run the marina, then run the bar, and then run the restaurant. The beer was cold and the food was excellent! All the boaters ended up at the bar telling stories and just having a good time.
The 19th was a whole different deal. All the sailors were checking the weather at 7 AM and it looked “iffy” at best. The front was making the sea rough and some sailors were maybe’s to leave and others were staying put. We fell into the maybe, maybe not group. The problem was that it was blowing 20 nts from the NW and would shift to the NE next. A NE wind would make a Whale Cay passage impossible and you must do that passage, which includes exiting the Sea of Abaco and sailing on the Atlantic Ocean for a few miles, to get to Marsh Harbor. We knew that we would have fairly large breaking waves on the ocean but with a NW wind we would not face a “Rage” in the passage itself. A “Rage” is a phenomena that is the result of opposing wind and currents that cause breaking seas that even large ships must avoid. If the wind switched to NE we would most likely be spending Christmas in Spanish Cay. We decided to go and follow the sailboat “Private Island” which is a 40+ ft cruising ketch. We figured that if they got in trouble we could turn around and they agreed to radio back conditions for us.
We headed SE and the wind pushed us at 6.5 nts with no sails and the motor barely working. We passed our last “safe harbor” which was Green Turtle Cay at about 11:30 AM. We were committed. We watched as SV Private Island (75,000 lbs of boat) bounced in the breaking waves ahead of us. Well, all I can say is that it was a rough passage but Summer Snow got us through again. We were weather beaten and tired when we finally got back into the Sea of Abaco but knew then we were “home free” and going to make Marsh Harbor for the holidays! We arrived in Marsh Harbor and headed for Harbor View Marina. As we approached the fuel dock as directed by the harbor master, I went into docking mode which includes putting Summer Snow in reverse to slow her down. NO REVERSE!!! I abort the docking and circle while trying to figure out what’s the matter. Can’t see anything wrong but still the transmission will not shift into reverse. Well we have to dock so the harbor master points to an empty slip and we go for it. Brock readies the spring line which should stop us. A dock attendant catches the spring line which is suppose to stop us and when he secures it to the dock , POP. What in the hell was that??? It was the spring line cleat breaking off from Summer Snow and we are still moving toward the end of the slip!! Brock has his stuff together as he jumps ship with bow line in hand and secures it stopping the boat. Lesson learned – every docking you walk away from is a good docking!

Gulf Stream Sailing

We crossed the Gulf Stream on the 16th with NW winds (5 - 15 nts) that changed to E and SE. This was our first good sailing window since Brock got here. Summer Snow entered the Straits of Florida at 4:15 AM and began "south-ing" to compensate for the flow of the Gulf Stream. We motored with a big south component (sometimes at 3 nts ) until we were well into the stream. Then we turned toward West End and raised our sails. The wind caught hold, Summer Snow heeled, and we were plowing through 2 to 4's at 6.5 to 7 nts while grinning from ear to ear. What a glorious day! We had "green water" running down both sides of the deck as Summer Snow's sheets groaned and the water sizzled on our hull.

We had two buddy boats in view for the first half of the crossing but passed them both as we sliced the water toward West End. At 2:40 Jerry yelled "land ho" as West End's water tower came into view. At 5 PM we were checked in through customs and looking for the local restaurant.

Crossing

Brock and I will leave the Lake Worth inlet at 3 AM Thursday morning. We will raise our sails and put Summer Snow on a heading of 121 degrees M. We have calculated this heading to compensate for the Gulf Stream which flows north at 2 - 3 nts. We will check in at West End on Thursday afternoon and stay there over night. Most cell phones do not work in Bahama, particularly Verizon phones, so we will be out of communication for a few days. I will purchase a Bahama Cell phone ASAP, acquire Wifi internet ASAP, and check in with Bev as soon as I can.

We will sail to Great Sale Cay on Friday and spend the night anchored out. Then we will sail to Green Turtle Cay or Marsh Harbor depending on conditions. This will be a total of approximately 185 nautical miles or 213 miles. Piece of cake!

Snorkeling With The Manatees

Brock and I went to the American Pro Manatee Snorkel and Diving Center located in Crystal River Florida and snorkeled with the manatees today. This is prime time for seeing manatees because the manatees are attracted to the warm waters of Crystal River. We saw lots of manatees and some were huge, like many hundreds of pounds.

It was very cold this morning and the boat deck was ice covered but we "went for it" and had a great time. It was a little hard jumping in but once we were in it was great (we had wet suits on). Getting out was really tough. Imagine getting out of your wet suit and toweling off on an ice covered deck. If there were any "brass monkeys" out there they would be singing in a higher key this afternoon ;>)

Key Largo

Jessica is the best at finding activities but Brock is king of cheap motels. The Sunset Cove Motel has seen its share of sunsets. I checked the dumpster (which at first I thought was cabin 2) for CSI crime scene tape and found none so we checked in. The place was clean (by guy standards) but the bathroom was so small you couldn't turn around. Summer Snow has a bigger head. But it was cheap and our car was still there in the morning so we went diving.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Sweet Ride

We often find that the supermarkets are a mile or more from the marina so we use the folding bike to get there. I got the bike for Christmas last year and it folds up to the size of a small suitcase. It takes some "getting used to" but once you start riding it works good with it's 6 speeds. I don't have any head gear and am split on getting a helmet or as has been suggested, a Shriner's hat ;>)

So here's the deal. Please watch the video and then vote with your comments as to whether I should wear a helmet, a Shriner's hat, or black leather chaps with matching leather vest? To make a comment just click on the word "comments" which is near the bottom of this post.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

North Palm Beach Boat Parade

We have a very nice neighbor who invited us over to his boat to watch the lighted boat parade. The parade ran the length of Lake Worth and up the ICW a few miles. Our marina was the parade headquarters so we had the best seat in the house. Our neighbor owns a local nightclub and had a big layout of food and drink. After the fireworks 40 boats paraded by with lights and music and then the marina rocked with live music for the rest of the evening.

Bumper To Bumper

We're in for a week of ugly weather. North wind with high seas. Temps down in the 40s at night, burr !!

We have been in this anchorage before and there was never more than 6 or 7 cruisers here but tonight I counted 31 and more came in later. Hurricane season ended today and apparently cruising season began.

I would guess that most of these boats are planning on crossing to Bahama or the Caribbean as many of them are carrying extra fuel and are setup for serious cruising. Boats that stay are probably Bahama bound as this is the preferred staging anchorage for northern Bahama while boats that leave today are probably taking the ICW south to get a more favorable angle for crossing. A few may be headed for the Keys but they probably would not need to carry extra fuel.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5