It has been almost a month since I last left an entry on this blog. We are in Stuart Florida, at the recently opened Sunset Bay Marina just above the bridge on the St. Lucie River. We have about a 4 hour trip to the final destination of Indiantown Fl. where the boat will be prepared for her trip back to Fenelon Falls. We are sitting here at the marina this morning because the lock that we have to go up along the Okeechobee Waterway is on a reduced schedule because of the fairly severe drought that the state has experienced. I will note, however, that we have had heavy rains regularly pretty much every day since we began our trip back from the Exumas. We are about 8 miles from the lock and it will only be opening at 1:00 this afternoon so our "free" time is being spent catching up. It has been relatively hard to maintain the blog because internet service, while available in some places, is usually over satellite services and is not really fast enough for our needs.
We have covered a lot of ground since Nassau. I will try to fill in some of the highlights and get a few photos up when I have a bit more time. As it is, my goal is to try to get back to Fenelon Falls around the middle of June.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
We're in the Bamahas
After Kent and Karen started on their trip north, we prepared the boat and left the security of the marina the following morning and headed for an anchorage in No Name Harbour across Biscane Bay. It was a very protected area located in a state park. We anchored there for 2 nights where we ran into a couple who we had met on another boat- Molano, on the trip down back in the fall. We arranged to meet with them and another couple - Tom and Jerry for a BBQ the following afternoon. Terry and I did a walking tour of the park and climbed to the top of the lighthouse on Cape Florida. We had a great view of the channel leading out into the ocean and spied schools of rays cavorting in the shallow waters near the beautiful beach.
We felt that the conditions, while not perfect for a crossing, were a bit more promissing than those over the past few days so we decided to go with the crossing of the Gulf Stream on May 3rd. It would be a full day and our destination would be the Island of Bimini. At 6:40 a.m. we pulled the anchor and headed out into SE winds of 10-15 knots. For the first 15 miles or so we dealt with confused seas of around 4 feet. Things settled down a bit once we were into the Stream but it was still a moderately rough crossing since the wind was right on our nose all the way across. We did have the mainsail up and that had a bit of a steadying effect. After about 10 hours, we finally spotted the Island of Bimini and 12 hours after we left, we were tying up at the Bimini Bluewater Marina. We stayed there for 3 nights, and soent the days exploring the island, visiting the local restaurants including Sherry's Bar which was right on the beach of the west side of the island. They fed us a great drink and we enjoyed a sample of her conch fritters. Sherry and Terry struck up a conversation and soon, we had committed to dinner there the following night. It was great. We were joined by another half dozen or so people from boats. A large bonfire was lit on the beach; the local lads brought out their drums, and we had a bit of a "junkanoo" right outside Sherry's bar in the middle of the road.
We struck out for Chub Key - a 2 day trip, on Wednesday morning, crossing the Great Bahama Bank and then about 15 miles of the Tongue of the Ocean. Our choices for wednesday night were to either anchor on the banks, or continue through the night. We elected to anchor on the banks in about 12 feet of water near the Russell Beacon. It was a rocky night since the winds that we have been dealing with were still on our nose about 10 to 15 knots.
We got up about 6 the following morning after a largely sleepless night and continued on to the Chub Cay Club Marina where we took a slip for the night. The location was fabulous; the marina basin very protected, the swimming pool out of this world, but the services for the boater left a lot to be desired. I had a chat with the manager - he had been appointed just a few days earlier; the marina was in receivership, the banks on the hook for $106 million!!!!
We stayed there only 1 night ($190.) and left the next morning for the 35 miles crossing to Nassau which we reached at about 3:45 on Friday afternoon. We tied up at the Harbour Club Marina which is where Dan and Sue leave their dive boat when in Nassau. After arriving, we enjoyed their pool, and made our plans for the work that had to be done here before we left for the Exumas - likely on Monday.
We felt that the conditions, while not perfect for a crossing, were a bit more promissing than those over the past few days so we decided to go with the crossing of the Gulf Stream on May 3rd. It would be a full day and our destination would be the Island of Bimini. At 6:40 a.m. we pulled the anchor and headed out into SE winds of 10-15 knots. For the first 15 miles or so we dealt with confused seas of around 4 feet. Things settled down a bit once we were into the Stream but it was still a moderately rough crossing since the wind was right on our nose all the way across. We did have the mainsail up and that had a bit of a steadying effect. After about 10 hours, we finally spotted the Island of Bimini and 12 hours after we left, we were tying up at the Bimini Bluewater Marina. We stayed there for 3 nights, and soent the days exploring the island, visiting the local restaurants including Sherry's Bar which was right on the beach of the west side of the island. They fed us a great drink and we enjoyed a sample of her conch fritters. Sherry and Terry struck up a conversation and soon, we had committed to dinner there the following night. It was great. We were joined by another half dozen or so people from boats. A large bonfire was lit on the beach; the local lads brought out their drums, and we had a bit of a "junkanoo" right outside Sherry's bar in the middle of the road.
We struck out for Chub Key - a 2 day trip, on Wednesday morning, crossing the Great Bahama Bank and then about 15 miles of the Tongue of the Ocean. Our choices for wednesday night were to either anchor on the banks, or continue through the night. We elected to anchor on the banks in about 12 feet of water near the Russell Beacon. It was a rocky night since the winds that we have been dealing with were still on our nose about 10 to 15 knots.
We got up about 6 the following morning after a largely sleepless night and continued on to the Chub Cay Club Marina where we took a slip for the night. The location was fabulous; the marina basin very protected, the swimming pool out of this world, but the services for the boater left a lot to be desired. I had a chat with the manager - he had been appointed just a few days earlier; the marina was in receivership, the banks on the hook for $106 million!!!!
We stayed there only 1 night ($190.) and left the next morning for the 35 miles crossing to Nassau which we reached at about 3:45 on Friday afternoon. We tied up at the Harbour Club Marina which is where Dan and Sue leave their dive boat when in Nassau. After arriving, we enjoyed their pool, and made our plans for the work that had to be done here before we left for the Exumas - likely on Monday.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Chapter 2: Off to the Bahamas
It is April 28th and Terry and I are sitting in a bookstore in Coconut Grove Florida, a few miles south of Miami. Resolute is safely tied up in the Dinner Key Marina and will sit as we wait out a spell of quite strong winds - too strong and from the wrong direction to get to the Bahamas. But I am getting ahead of myself. This chapter goes back to April 6th.
On that date, I left with a loaded car, in a late spring snow storm, heading for the U.S. border. I had my sister Mary Anne with me and after dropping her off at her workplace in Toronto, I continued on. I took 2 long days and 1 short one to get to Indiantown Florida, where Resolute had been stored last December. The boat was moved to the work area where I installed another 80 watt solar panel and did a few other minor maintenance jobs. I had the boat launched after a week and made my way to Fort Lauderdale where Terry was scheduled to arrive on April 20th. On the way there I anchored out at Peck Lake, a popular anchorage and took slips at 2 marinas when threatening weather was forecast.
We stayed in F.L. for 3 days, tied up to a dock that was offered to us by Terry's friends Dan and Sue, who live on the south branch of the New River in F.L. Because of strong winds, we stopped at the Turnberry Isle Resort Marina for 3 days and awaited a decrease in the wind speed. We pressed on despite the wind yesterday and arrived at the Dinner Key Marina, near Coconut Grove in the early afternoon. Biscane Bay had a moderate chop to it but because of the direction of the wind, it was not too bad and we were in fact able to sail for about an hour.
We were greeted here by Kent and Karen Caraway who I had sailed with for several weeks on the way down here back in the fall. It took us little time to get into our habit of sundowners starting around 5:30. They had spent a few months over in the Bahamas since January, so we had a lot of questions for them.
I will get a few photos up as soon as I can.
ttyl
Mike
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