Bahamas Crossing

After spending 4 days in Miami we were ready to set out into the “big” water and make the crossing to the Bahamas.  After listening to Chris Parker we set out at 7:30 A.M.

The big factor in crossing to the Bahamas is the Gulf Stream and the wind direction and if they are in competition you can have a rough ride.  We started out motor/sailing but soon found that the wind was on our nose and the sails were slowing us down.

It wasn’t too uncomfortable but Helen spent as much time as possible laying down on the settee cushion.  she was able to take over some of the watch at night so Joe could close his eyes.  Now that we have AIS (automatic identification system) on our GPS it’s not as scary traveling at night.  If we see a light near us we can look at the screen and it will tell us the name of the vessel, their speed and course and the closest point of approach.  Two big sport fishing boats passed us-no problem.

In the morning we decided to just keep on going since conditions weren’t too bad and the predictions were that they wouldn’t get any better.

After being underway for 33 hours we anchored at Highborne Cay.

Early to bed that night.

the next day we got underway at 7:45 A.M. and again had a motor boat ride to Black Point.  Anchored at 3:00 so we were able to go ashore for a walk and check email.

If we’re going to make it to George Town for Christmas we need to keep moving because a Cold Front with winds up to 30 knots out of the north is predicted for this weekend so we got underway again and arrived at one of our favourite anchorages in William’s Bay.  Seeing other boats that we know from George Town made us feel like we’re getting closer.

We went out the cut at Black Cay  at 7:30 A.M. and finally had a good wind for sailing-big jib and main up, dragging two fishing lines.  No luck with the fish and we came into the cut at George Town at 10:30 A.M.  Sailed right into the anchorage.  Brian and Yvonne came over to welcome us and to let us know about “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” party at St. Francis Resort.  Got things settled and put on our party clothes.  

It started blowing hard that night so after we went ashore for “Beach Church” decided to move the boat to a more protected anchorage.  The wind blew over 30 knots all day and night.

On Monday we took the boat around to Kidd Cove and went into town to get checked in, buy an internet card for our phone and a few groceries.  Moved the boat over to the monument beach anchorage.  

The weather has been beautiful all week with sunny skies and lots of wind to keep the generator happy.  

Our days are filled with water aerobics in the a.m. and volleyball in the afternoon.  Lots of catching up to do with our cruiser friends.

Christmas Eve we’ll join friends on the beach for a bonfire and carolling.

On Christmas Day we’ll go over to town so Helen can go to Mass at St. Theresa’s church, then we’ll come back across the Harbour for the potluck dinner.  

We are cooking half a turkey for our table.  Can’t fit a whole turkey in the oven so Yvonne and I split one.  

Hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday celebration.

Miami Bound

We moved the boat to the anchorage next to the Lake Worth Inlet so we could get underway early on Wed.

Restless night knowing we wanted to be up and underway around 4:00 A.M. When we got up the skies were still overcast but we decided to go anyway.  On the way to the Inlet as Joe tied everything down and got sails ready to put up Helen noticed flashing to the south and Joe agreed it was lightening.  At that point we were in the inlet so made the decision to keep going.

Not too bad going out against the current and wind and we knew once we cleared the inlet we could get out of the swell and then motor/sail close to shore.  The squall clouds were all around us with some rain but not too bad.

We stay within 1/2 mile of the shoreline in order to stay out of the Gulf Stream that flows north along the coast of Florida and which can run as fast as 5 knots and considering we we’re motor sailing at 7 knots we wouldn’t be making much headway.  It was nice to see the sun come through the clouds.

Not a bad motor sail but we were glad to come in near South Beach at the Port of Miami at 2:30.  Exciting seeing all of the cruise ships and container ships being unloaded there with the Miami skyscrapers in the background.

When we were in Lake Worth, we passed by a container ship that had lost a couple of their containers offshore.  Later we saw on the news that people were picking up some of the cargo on the northern beaches - containers of Joe’s favourite coffee “cafe bistro”.

Continued in the ICW to Dinner Key and found a spot to anchor. Looking forward to spending a couple of days here so we can re-connect with our old friends Don & Olga.  We met them in 1977 when we first cruised in the Bahamas onboard the original DejaVu, a 30’ Trimaran.  Since then our paths have crossed a few times and we have always kept in touch.

The next day we took the dinghy to the dock at the Coconut Grove sailing club that Don & Olga belong to and they met us at the dock.  So good to see them and it’s just amazing how we all look just the way we remembered.

Spent a wonderful day with them-did laundry at their condo, enjoyed a delicious  lunch at Versailles a world famous cuban restaurant.

We took them out to DejaVu and continued sharing our stories until Olga totally lost her voice and they had to go home.

The next day we saw some of our other cruising friends coming into the harbour. Everyone is staging to head over to the Bahamas.

All of the captains listen to the weather guru, Chris Parker, on the SSB radio at 6:30 A.M. and he tells everyone when they could expect the best wind and weather to cross to the Bahamas.  In order to make this 24 hour trip across the Gulf Stream and the Bahama Banks in relatively comfortable conditions we would like to have light wind out of the south.

On Sunday we’ll get the boat and crew ready and hope to head out early on Monday.

Leaving Vero Beach

The weather guru has given us a one day window to get further south before a wet and windy cold front comes through.  We went to the fuel dock got diesel, gas and filled up the water tanks, said goodbye to our friends and got underway early on Thurs.  Not much wind, foggy and a bit overcast so we motor sailed.

As we get further south, the biggest challenge travelling in the ICW are the bascule bridges ( 20 ft) Some will open on demand but many of them are on a schedule and that varies from every 30 mins to every 20 mins and we have 8 of them before we reach Lake Worth in North Palm Beach.  You have to call the bridge tender on the radio and request the next opening so of course, that jobs is Helen’s (the commodore of communications).

You know when you’re getting into Palm Beach as the houses and yachts tied up in front them get bigger and in between are the golf courses. As we approach the PGA Bridge I know we’re almost there.

Lake Worth is a big area with lots of room for anchoring and as we enter we recognize several cruising boats.

Spent the next 5 days here and went ashore to shop in between the rain storms.  The saving grace of being stuck here is that there are several good stores within walking distance of the dinghy dock-Publix, Stein Mart, Tuesday Morning and of course a huge West Marine.  Joe was getting anxious to get me out of here so I would quit shopping.

We also used this time to bring out the Christmas decorations, listen to Christmas music and bake some cookies.

Enjoyed a pizza party on our boat on Sunday with George and Joanne from “Bristol Cream".

Hoping to move this afternoon to the anchorage near the inlet so we can be ready to go out early on Thurs morning.  We go outside for the run to Miami in order to avoid the boat traffic and going through 26 bridges.  Next stop Miami.  

Getting underway

Nov. 26th, 2015 - Left the dock at Reynolds Marina at 7:45 A.M.  Perfect day to be getting underway, Thanksgiving and our Anniversary (38 yrs.).  Captain Joe had his happy face doing what he loves best.  

The unfortunate part of keeping our boat in the St. Johns River is we have to go north 14 miles before we can head south.  Of course, the winds and current were against us but thank goodness the 2 diesel engines were purring.

We approached the 1st bridge which is normally not a problem with a height of 64’ but they are doing some repairs to it so had a warning sign that the clearance could be 60’ depending on the tide.  We need 61' so slowly approached and held our breath as the antenna just touched in a couple of spots.  Phew, we made it.

Approaching Jacksonville there is a railroad bridge which is normally open and immediately a lift bridge which must be opened by the bridge tender. As we got closer Joe noticed the railroad bridge was closed which either means a train is coming or the bridge is broken.  Helen called the Main Street bridge tender and he assured us he would open both of the bridges and we proceeded to go under them.

We decided to pass by the “free docks” in Jacksonville and go on to the Sister’s Creek dock.  After going under the Sister’s Creek bridge we started to make our way to the dock.  with wind of   20 knots and a   2  knot current pushing us into the dock we were glad to see two fellow cruisers ready to take our lines.  Joe is absolutely paranoid about banging up his new vinyl sides.  The boat tied up behind us left Michigan in July and are happy to finally be in Florida.  They will sail down to the Keys and leave their boat in Florida next summer.

The next day we got underway at 7:45 and again had to go under the bridge at Sister’s Creek.  No problem but as we proceeded up the ICW we heard on the radio that the Sister’s Creek Bridge was locked in the down position and would not be repaired for several hours-wow talk about timing.

This just makes us realize that the condition of these old bridges is deteriorating quickly and unfortunately not much is being done about repairing or replacing them.

We anchored that night at Fort Mantanzas.  A sailboat called us on the radio requesting info about getting into the anchorage - they tried to come in and cut the corner too close so they were aground and would have to wait for a high tide to come in.  Joe gave them some tips on how to get into the anchorage and we saw them coming in slowly after dark.

Got underway at 8:10 A.M. and decided not to stop in Daytona Beach. Lots of memories here.  In 1978 we lived on our boat in the City marina here, the next year we moved into our new home and in 1980 Alison was born there.

Anchored at Rockhouse Creek for the night along with 6 other cruising boats.  Lots of boats headed south.

Underway on Sun. at 7:00 because we would like to make it to Melbourne and then on to Vero Beach on Mon. As we’re powering along we heard a bang on the hull and looked back to see a 4x4x10 foot board floating by-no damage done but Joe was worried about the new prop and the new vinyl wrap on the sides.   Going through the ICW in this area you see a combination of mansions, Florida Cracker Houses and mobile home parks.  We were greeted by 5 dolphins playing in our wake and in the Haulover Canal there were numerous manatees swimming around.  Since they recognize the prop noise as danger they don’t come too close to the boat.

Along the Canal which is only 200  feet wide, the fishermen are sitting in their skiffs or on the shoreline enjoying this beautiful area.  When we called for an opening at the Space Centre Causeway bridge the bridge tender told us that one of the port side spans was stuck in the down position so proceed with caution.  Doesn’t give us much room for error but we made it through ok.

Joe took a break so Helen was on watch as she past within 1 foot of a red marker and Joe came running out.  I knew we were ok but realize I shouldn’t come that close and give Joe a heart attack.  This was one of those perfect sailing days - wind out of the NE at   and we were in a wide open part of the ICW so we saw speeds up to 9 knots.  

Anchored at the Melbourne causeway and glad to see one of the cats that was stored with us at Holland Marine.  They are from South Africa and are headed to the Bahamas.  We launched the new dinghy to take some pics of our boat and then went over to see them.  They’re having trouble with their Honda outboard motor on the dinghy so we quickly said hello and went back to our boat.  Will catch up with them in Vero Beach

Got underway Mon. morning.  A bit overcast but by 9:00 the sun had broken through the clouds, it’s almost 80 and a beautiful day.  We’re motor sailing at 7.5 knots.

Vero Beach has this mooring field in a protected canal off of the ICW. There are at least 100 mooring balls and at this time of the year they are all filled with boats rafted up 2 and 3 deep.  We were assigned a spot rafted to a Maine Cat called Ortolan .  We had met them in George Town.  No one was onboard so we put out our fenders and tied on.  We saw a couple approaching the boat and realized they were not the same ones we had met-the boat had been sold and they were just getting settled on it.  Nice couple.

For $15.00 a day the marina provides a secure dinghy dock, showers, laundry, trash bins, water and the City of Vero Beach has “free” bus transportation to the beach and all major shopping areas.  As soon as we got ashore we started seeing lots of cruisers that we know from George Town.  Lots of hugs and getting caught up on what folks have been doing all summer.

Vero Beach also has many memories for us.  Helen lived in a condo right next to the marina and worked in a law office on the beachside when she moved here in 1976.  Joe and I met here in a beachside bar and as they say, the rest is history.  It’s good being back here.  Enjoyed a fun happy hour (more like 2 1/2 hours) on Dan & Kath’s boat Majics.