Lyric Scott Stout and Family

On The Road Again

On The Road Again

We left the boat at the dock of some wonderful, gracious friends. She is safe while we are gone and they are former cruisers so they can take her for a spin (er sail) if they want! We are making a list of things we hope to do to her before we leave on the next trip.

We made extremely good time driving - especially compared to our speed in the sailboat!! Made it to Dallas before the weekend and are glad to have a little time to visit here. Perhaps we brought some rain with us - some last night!

Yes, we are close enough that if that grandbaby comes a few days early, we are THERE! Amarillo is a mere six hours away. Can you almost hear the drumroll crescendoing!!

Drove north to the panhandle of TX and had several days to visit friends and family. It is always great to get to visit with everyone. At least it is not as hot here as it was last summer. The wind has been BLOWING, however.


Baby Lyric Scott Stout was born on his expected date at 3:15 pm. He weighed in at 9.03 pounds and measures 21.25 inches tall. Jessica had an easy time with labor and delivery and both mother and baby are healthy. He is the prettiest baby I have ever seen. Yes, I might be somewhat prejudiced. lol I think I am going to LOVE being a grandma!!!!

We plan on staying here thru the 18th of October to help my dad celebrate his 84th birthday. Then we plan to begin making our way back toward Florida. We are considering staying around the Keys for a few weeks after our return before heading east to the Bahamas and beyond. The Dry Tortugas are on our list to see and perhaps this would be a good time to visit there. Hope the rains have stopped soaking the Keys by the time we get there!

Family photo

     From St. Augustine, we beat a path south to Cocoa Beach and had a great couple of days with Dan and Stephanie!  We bought a television for the boat!  Over two years without one and now we've done it!  It will also serve as a large screen for the computer. 
  We stopped in Melbourne and enjoyed time with Gary and Mary (Packet Inn).  Found out she (the boat) is for sale :( !!  Sorry guys, hope it doesn't sell. 
  At Ft. Pierce, we finally got the weather window we needed to go "outside" and make some miles. We sailed for 28 hours straight for 155 miles and anchored in our old spot (Blackwater Sound). Good to be home!!
     Total miles traveled this trip was 2060. In reflecting on the trip:
1.  We all three enjoyed it immensely!
2.  We motored a lot more than we expected.
3.  We can skip some of the "destinations" next time but some are must stops. 
4.  There WILL be a next time if it is in our power to do it. 
5.  Most memorable and often told story was going thru a Hurricane (Irene) when we were actually leaving Florida to escape them!!
6.  A huge thank you to all our friends along the route for entertaining, putting up with us and Roxy, and lending assistance when needed. 

     

     Thank goodness Jose, Katia, and Nate have been no threat to us. Maria is still forming out in the Atlantic. Gonna continue south and hope the predictions are correct that she will follow the path of Katia. 
     We have been traveling about 50 miles a day in the ICW. Now near Jacksonville and getting some needed items at a West Marine near here. Then we will be "on the road again"!
     Stopped in St. Augustine and enjoyed a meal and music at Mi Casa last night. Enjoyed breakfast and a visit with Dick and Nelda (former owners of Alibi). Like Darrell said, Dick lovingly touched everything on the boat. I don't know if they enjoyed the visit more or we did. I wish we could have cruised WITH them!
     As I read many things in the news and on Facebook, I'm reminded of the many liberties that we enjoy because some gave their lives. I am humbled and proud to be a US citizen on this and every day. I will never forget!  Heart 9/11


     

     Hurricane Irene
I have been watching her since her birth off the coast of Africa. She has caused havoc in the Bahamas and now is heading our way. We left the Keys to get away from this stuff!
     We spent a few days in Beaufort and finished up Lyric's bedding, then shipped it. We scoped out sites to sit out the storm - in case it headed this way. Found a great spot on South River off the Neuse River. Southwest Creek had an amazing lagoon up against banks lined with pine and cedar trees.  It is straight across Neuse River from Oriental but has NO cell coverage or Internet access. So we left on a quest for getting word to friends and family where we were going to be. Ended up back in Oriental for one more night before coming here to begin preparations for Irene. This is our first big storm to weather on the sailboat. We have too much experience tying up dive boats for wind and surge (2005-2010 in the Keys).  One step is to get anchors ready and lines to shore ready. Another is to completely strip everything off the above deck area. We were extra careful during all of these tasks as an injury at that time could mean disaster for us and the boat.  When we returned from Oriental, there were 2 boats in Southwest Creek - but neither one had found "our" spot!!  We decided to have a hurricane party after all the chores got done. After all, we had 2 pounds of fresh shrimp. Met some cool cruisers - boats are Saga and Island Girl. Fun party but ooooooohhhh the fun was about to begin!!  They left in mid afternoon and the outer bands had already begun. About 10 pm on Aug 26, the winds started and didn't let up until the eye of the Hurricane came over us at 8:10 am and stayed for 2 1/2 hours - it was eerily calm and HUMID!  Then the wind on the back side came in. As I write, it is 2 pm and hasn't let up yet. One of our new  friends' boat has been dragging anchor and we may be donning life jackets and foul weather gear to go help him - no engine and single handed sailor. He did get anchors to hold and we didn't have to go help him. 
     We were talking about how some terms we have encountered lately don't produce confidence. Cape Fear is one. The other is the river close to where we are anchored. The Neuce River pronounced like the knot used to hang someone. In spite of these terms, we have persevered over Mean Irene!
     I almost forgot to tell about how we cooled off after all our hard work prepping the boat. As I said, we were in our own little deep lagoon. The three of us went skinny dipping. Nice diversion from the stress. 
     Time to begin the travels south if the weather will cooperate. 
     

     Another story I forgot to tell in my last update was our dolphin. We see bottle nose dolphins a lot. While traveling the ICW to get to Oriental, we had one following us. The crazy thing swam right beside the boat and surface every few minutes and "blow" air/water at Roxy. It stayed there for several miles and only left us when we had to slow down for a draw bridge opening. Funny thing is that almost every time it "blew", it scared me!  Darrell tried to get pictures but digital cameras are too slow!
     We spent a few days in Beaufort and even visited a dive shop!  Nice town and nice people. We completed the crib set and room decor for Baby Lyric while here. Mailed them to Amarillo on the 22 Aug for the next baby shower. 
     Now we are moving inland to try to escape the wrath of Hurricane Irene. Not sure where we will ride it out. Hope she misses us and all our friends!  I have been keeping a wary eye on her since she exited Africa!  Where we are headed and how it will be is kinda like the best boat name we have seen so far:  Damifino

     Charleston, South Carolina
     Man, you don't realize how much of the boat is interrelated!  Small thing, take off the transmission - no big deal. However the ground for most of the boat is to water, through the shaft. Big deal if all your electrical systems aren't grounded. I make it habit to check house battery levels daily and I began noticing the levels weren't as high as they normally are with input from the wind generator and two solar panels. Voilà. There were some wires we had to disconnect to get the transmission off. 
    Important, since it will be about a week before the rebuilt transmission comes from Colorado. Yes, I said Colorado. It was rebuilt in Grand Junction last month and is the only one we could find in the USA for sale right now!  We could order a new one from Japan and wait who knows how long for it to be shipped to us here. But with the word of the eBay seller to take it back if it doesn't work, we decided to try it.  Good news is that in our searching for the tranny, we learned of a rebuilt Yanmar engine like we have - should we ever need one of THOSE!!
     I guess we needed some time to work on a few small projects that we have been putting off. Got many of these done in spite of the heat!  But nothing quite as big as the transmission work. 
     Transmission arrived at 11:30am on Aug. 1 and we had it installed by 4 or 5 that afternoon. It sure went in a lot easier than it came out - thank goodness!! We had the motor for the windlass (electric motor to raise anchors) rebuilt while we were here so that is next on the list to get finished.   I told Darrell that we are getting a new boat one part at a time. 
     A few days later, we said good bye to Charleston and traveled on the "outside" (as opposed to the Intra Coastal Waterway ICW) to Georgetown, SC. A very cruiser friendly town but not fun to enter at night!
     We have decided to travel the next several days to get to Oriental, NC where we will meet up with Al and Martha again (Daytona last).  They want to show us their home water/country. On one stretch of water we had a good laugh. Much of the time we are scanning the horizon for the next channel markers. In Snow Cut, near Carolina Beach, NC, I thought I spotted a green can buoy near the shore (out of place). I asked Darrell to double check me on the location and he saw it but said it was moving. When we got closer - thankfully I didn't go toward it - it turned out to be a man wading next to shore fishing . . . . in a green shirt!  By the time we reached him, he was on the shore!  Don't trust every day marker. lol
     We reached Oriental on Friday afternoon and got lucky to get to tie up at the town dock. www.towndock. net see us on the harbor cam!  Made it here to learn that Al and Martha can't sail with us because they have some necessary rudder/shaft repairs to make. Anyway we got some repairs done (boat things only break if you USE them) and explored the town with the free bicycles we can get here. This is a very, very cruiser friendly place!
     In the next few days, we hope to visit the Outer Banks (on my bucket list for a long time) and go to Beaufort, NC plus Morehead City before considering our options weatherwise for heading south.  
     Many places are ones that we want to return to - like Carolina Beach plus many others. Darrell went exploring yesterday morning and returned with 3 pounds of fresh shrimp - I mean off the boat FRESH!  Can't beat it!  
     Baby Lyric is due in just about six to seven weeks. We have got to decide if we want to take this boat farther south with the peak of hurricane season coming soon.

    Oh man did we start the next portion of the trip out with a bang!!  After traveling through pretty uninhabited Georgia, we opted not to stop in Savannah but press on. After crossing the Savannah River, Darrell commented that I should head more to port when we stopped cold!!  Grounded with a falling tide (2 hrs until low) and not budging. A power boat came along, heeled us over using the main halyard. My eyes about bugged out of my head when he almost dipped the rail in the water. With an anchor set to kedge us off and him pulling and me driving, we got her off - rather than wait 4-5 hours for enough water to float free. Whew!!!!!
     Next stop Beaufort, SC. A little more cruiser friendly than we found coastal GA. Tons of history, good food, and friendly people. Why Bill's Liquor Store staff even drove Darrell to the marina and back to the grocery store!
     It was hard to depart such a lovely and friendly place but we have been making plans. Next stop Charleston - home of Dean, Patt, and their dogs!  Yes we have been missing them since they moved from Miami. Drove most of the way there but got slowed down by a rain and thunderstorm. Lightening strikes galore - even saw one strike a channel marker about 1/2 mile ahead of us. Thank the Lord, we were spared!!
     Arrived at Wappoo Creek on Friday. All the next weekend we spent with Dean Revels and Patt Roldan. What a great time seeing most of the top sites in Charleston and eating like kings and queens!  It would be difficult to say what our favorite has been but the USS Yorktown has to rank up there!  WOW!  Dean and Patt have been such good hosts and sightseeing companions!!  
  The next week, we decided we needed to look into our increasing shifting issues a little farther. With Jason and Nicole expected the end of the week, we would take off the transmission to get it looked at. Shipped it to a mechanic we had been in contact with in Jacksonville. The tranny is history - too worn out to be cost effective to repair. Now, we are at a marina in Charleston trying to find one (new or used). 
     Meantime, Jason, Nicole, Kelsey, and Ava arrived in Charleston. We had dinners together, went fishing, exploring (Aquarium and Farmers Market) and swimming with the kids while they were here!  Good times as always!!  
     

East Coast Tour

     This trip is as good or better than either of us imagined it would be!  The museums, architecture, and hospitality of St. Augustine have been wonderful.  It is time to move on, though. 
     We are going to stop in Jacksonville, FL for long needed repairs. Our autopilot has not worked since our lightening experience. There is a company in JAX that works on our brand. Going to have it looked at to see if it is worth repairing or replacing. We will see, it would be very difficult to compete with St. Augustine for our favor!
     If we have a long wait on service or parts, we can get started sewing for our grandson. We have the honor of getting to make the crib set. We have had the fabric and notions on board since we left and of course we would like to remove excess "baggage". 
     We have had time to sew and have completed some of the parts. Hope to get the whole set finished and shipped to Jessica and Craig soon. 
     We moved inland on the St. John River while waiting on parts to be shipped from England for the autopilot. Did a little exploring while killing time.  Back towards JAX for July 4th. We found a Publix grocery store only 2 blocks off the river - so we got some more provisions! Looking forward to having a good spot to watch fireworks. And were we ever rewarded!!  The best fireworks show either of us has ever seen. Done in stereo - 2 barges with near simultaneous displays! Great!
  Then we got the autopilot fixed and recalibrated. We left Jacksonville that afternoon. Having that is gonna be nice!
     Today, off Jekyll Island, we were part of something pretty fantastic. We went exploring by dinghy just before sunset. We saw some boys scooping water from the river and splashing something white near the shore. We drove closer and asked what they were doing. They had been fishing and caught a southern stingray ( fairly large). While she was on their fishing line, she gave birth to four babies. After they got the stingray loose from the line, she was upside down in shallow water and couldn't get turned back over - enter DnA. We were able to get close in the dink and use our oars to get her flipped over so she could swim off!!  Incredible!  Sorry no pictures - the camera was back on the big boat.

     Shifter issues all but solved thanks to the help from Gary, Dan, and Walt!  At least now when you put it in gear, you KNOW it is going into gear. Just a little "tweaking" to make it a good fit. 
     Three glorious days with Dan and Stephanie. We had a great time and hope to see them again on the way back through. 
     We left Cocoa Beach Sunday morning and anchored near Titusville for the night. Monday, we made our way to Daytona Beach. On the way, we picked up a stowaway. An Osprey landed on top of the mast and rode there for about a mile or more. He/she only left when we had to turn and the sails began to flap. While it was riding there we passed under a bascule (draw) bridge and the bridge tender at Haulover Canal Bridge took some pictures. We get goosebumps just thinking about it - incredible experience!
     We are in Daytona for a few days and hope to sort out "issues" with the windlass - the motor that helps raise and lower the anchors. Yep Darrell has been manually placing and pulling them for a few days - bummer!  I might even go shopping for myself a birthday present while we are here. 
     We are looking forward to seeing Al and Martha while we are here. Had planned to leave the boat and travel inland to spend a few days with them but don't feel comfortable leaving the boat unattended. Most of the planned projects were taken care of and we got to go out with Al & Martha - good times!
    We left and traveled to St. Augustine. In a mooring at the municipal marina here with a short dinghy ride to a dock and TONS to see and do here. 
     We have narrowed down the "must see" list and hope to start on the list tomorrow. Only problem is that many of the tours don't allow dogs - that means Roxy has to stay on the boat. We have seen pirate ships, Eco tours, parasail boats, and a power boat just "waked" us. Museums will be the highlight of what we see and do. Hopefully, it won't rain on us again as much as it did yesterday - we were all SOAKED!
     Next stop is Jacksonville, where we have some things to look into. There is an electronic shop there we hope to have look at our autopilot. Hasn't worked in over 2 years so we want to check it out. 

     Boy, Alibi's crew made up for all those days of not moving!  After four days, we traveled 217 miles up the coast of Florida. 
     We anchored Wednesday night near Melbourne and had dinner with Gary and Mary from "Packet Inn" that we met in the Bahamas. It was a great reunion!!  Lots to catch up on and we didn't stop talking all night. They are great friends!!  They even helped us by being a taxi for parts!!
     We stopped overnight at Elliott Key, Lake Worth, ft. Pierce, and Eau Gallie. We are going to put Alibi at dock for a few days and visit with our friends Dan and Stephanie. That is always a welcome visit!
     When we get back on the move again, we hope to get to Daytona and park the boat again while we visit with more friends - Al and Martha of "Journey". We are going to hook up and sail with them later this summer up farther north. The way MJ writes makes this blog seem boring. Oh well, it's our story!
     We are having shifter "issues" so this seems like a great place to stop and see about it. We were passing under a draw bridge on Wed. morning and the boat didn't want to go into forward gear. Made our hearts skip a beat or two to be under an open bridge, current pushing you backwards, wind trying to push you sideways and the *%#> boat wouldn't go into gear!!!  Darrell had to go below and manually put the transmission lever in gear. Whew a close call!!!
     Stay tuned for more .........

Wow, it's hard to believe we have been back for more than a month!!  The anchor that we put down on the day we arrived back in the USA almost didn't want to come up. Thanks to Darrell, we were able to unwrap it and leave that spot.  
After that, Alibi spent a couple of weeks at the dock. 
We took a road trip to Amarillo for Jessica's college graduation. On the way there, we stopped at the Island Packet plant in Largo, FL. We got to meet Bob Johnson, the designer of our great boat!  Even got his autograph!!  We had hoped to get a tour of the IP plant but they were closed. 
While we were in TX, we learned that our first grandchild will be a boy.  We even got to be there for the sonogram!!  Our next sewing project is to custom make the crib set (bumper pads, quilt, valance, skirt, etc.) for him. We are so excited!!
We are dreaming about the next trip on Alibi. We are going to leave soon for a tour of the eastern US coast. Probably as far as Chesapeake Bay this time. We want to see the coast of Maine but time, weather, and the birth of our grandson will keep us from getting that far north. 

May 21, 2011. 12:45 pm
Whew, Alibi is back on the hook!!  A HUGE thank you goes to Jack and Sue for looking after her while we were gone!  She is itching to go sailing and we are too. She looked mighty nice in that dock space!!

We changed our minds about going to San Salvador after a pretty rolly night in the anchorage at Rum Cay. We decided to go back to Conception to see the green turtles in the creek over there before heading to Cat.  That was a great choice!!  We saw a lot of the very shy little guys!

The great white hunter is now spearless. Lost it in a good sized grouper here at Rum. We came back and got scuba tanks to try and find it - but no luck. 

I just got reminded to tell a story on myself. On Conception, the beach is pretty surf/ surgy. When I took Roxy to shore one afternoon, I landed the dingy in the usual fashion. While we were playing, the waves were filling the dink up with water. It took a lot of bailing with my little cup to get it empty enough to make the run back to the big boat. You can bet I will never do that again!!!  But I did - haha!

We made our way to Cat Island (birthplace of Sidney Portier).  There is a treasure here called The Hermitage. It is a hike up the highest hill in the Bahamas but not too bad. Beautiful place built by Father Jerome in the early twentieth century. A highlight of the trip so far for us. 

We are currently making our way to a protected anchorage to ride out the passage of the next cold front.   A place called Rock Sound Harbor. Good protection from many directions and shops as good as in Georgetown. 

Next stop Governors Harbor for a noisy night. A youth basketball tournament and LOUD music until about 10 - 12 PM.   I hear they have great street parties there on Friday nights. 

Onward to Royal Island for protection from another blow.   Pretty place with good protection from most directions of the wind. 

After a crew meeting, we decided instead to go to Nassau to try and hook up with our friends Michael and Jennifer. It turned out to be a good choice because we spent a few days there getting some supplies, meeting other cruisers, and getting ready for the homeward bound portion of the trip.  The marina was as good or better than Yacht Haven and cheaper  Too bad we missed Mike and Jenn but we DID find our new friends, Gary & Mary on Packet Inn (another Island Packet just like ours). They were about to make the trek back to FL also. 

The most difficult part of the stay at Nassau Harbor Club was talking to cruisers going the other direction. We wanted to go with them back down the island chain!

BUT alas, we made our way to Chub Cay for a night before crossing the Bahamas Banks to Cat Cay. We strolled the beaches there and Roxy got plenty of beach time. We snorkeled some beautiful spots and got some conch while resting up between two LONG days of sailing. The snorkel spot was called Kitten Rocks (next to Cat Cay) - which one was bigger??

After a 15 hour day of sailing (and mostly motoring) we arrived just outside Port Largo canal in time to drop the anchor right before sundown. Man you don't realize how strong Mother Nature can be until you try and cross the Gulf Stream!  Yes, back in the good ol USA!  We had a wonderful time but it is good to be back!!!

Spring Break

Alibi Blog entered by Jim Fagan

I like the name of the Blog “My Alibi”.

This is my alibi for spring break.

I visited with Darrell, Ann and Roxy on Alibi in Key Largo Harbor in December. They told me about their plans to go to the Bahamas for several months. I was very excited when I received and invitation to visit while they were in the islands.

I emailed with Darrell and Ann and gave them a window of days for my arrival and departure. They said that they would meet me in George Town, Exuma. I quickly started researching airfares and flight routes. I explored many possibilities. I purchased the plane ticket on February 14 – one month prior to my arrival. We continued to communicate about my trip via email and facebook.

Darrell called me during my layover in Miami. He told me that they had found a taxi share via the “cruisers net”. He said that her name is Jacqueline and to find her at the gate in the Miami Airport or on the plane. I met her at the gate. She is from Charlotte, NC and was going to visit with a friend of her family who was on his boat in Exuma. We boarded the flight to George Town. It was a great flight and I enjoyed the view of the islands below out the plane window.

We landed at the George Town Airport also called Exuma International. It was the smallest airport I have ever visited. There are no taxi-ways -- just one runway. Baggage claim is a garage door that opened and they placed the bags out on the floor. Everyone from the plane appeared to be going to the Sandals Resort except us. We got a taxi to Exuma Market.

The taxi ride to Exuma Market took us through some rural areas with spectacular views of the ocean. We arrived at Exuma Market and met up with Darrell, Ann and Roxy. It was very easy to get from the airport to the meeting point with Darrell and Ann.

We boarded their dinghy that was at a dock behind Exuma Market. Darrell made two trips with the dinghy because 4 people, a dog and luggage for two would most likely overload the dinghy. After going under a bridge (more like a small tunnel), I saw Alibi at anchor in Kidd’s Cove. After everyone was on board, we pulled anchor and motored across Elizabeth Harbor and dropped off Jacqueline at her friend’s boat, the “Dolphin Leap”. The owner of Dolphin Leap invited us to join them the next day at Chat and Chill (a bar on the beach on Stocking Island). We gladly accepted the invitation.

We motored out of the cove and anchored off of monument point. Darrell and Ann gave me a full boat briefing -- including location of the safety gear, electrical panel and other operational items of the boat. We ate dinner at the table in the cockpit while the sun set off in the distance creating an amazing array of colors.

The next morning we got up early. Ann listens to a location specific weather report for the Bahamas every morning on the SSB radio. It is an interactive weather report during which, the broadcaster allows for vessels underweigh to radio him after his forecast and he gives them the weather forecast for the course they are traveling. Then he allows for vessels at anchor who are getting underweigh to radio and he gives them the weather for their route and advises if they should travel that day or wait for different weather to cross to their destination. After the weather report, there is a “cruisers net” on the VHF radio, which Ann has described, in a previous Blog entry. It was fun to listen to the “cruisers net” each morning.

After breakfast we got underweigh and went sailing! We sailed out of Elizabeth Harbor to the North and sailed around Stocking Island. We had perfect weather for the sail and of course (like everywhere in the Exumas), the view was picture-perfect. We anchored back in Elizabeth Harbor in the afternoon and took Roxy in the dinghy to the beach. Roxy loves riding on the dinghy and going swimming at the beach. In the late afternoon after some snorkeling and swimming, we met up with the crew of the Dolphin Leap at Chat and Chill. (And as the name implies – that is exactly what we did there.) It was lots of fun laughing and talking with our new friends.

The next morning after the weather forecast and the cruisers net, we took the dinghy to shore to explore George Town. The Exumas are very quaint and laid back when compared to Nassau. We walked around the small town. Everyone there was very friendly. I hung out outside one store with Roxy while Darrell and Ann were inside. Everyone that walked by said hello and several locals stopped and talked with me.

While at anchor that afternoon a couple named, Wayne and Sherri, stopped by on their dinghy. They are from New Smyrna Beach, Florida and they had met Darrell and Ann in Key Largo. They also have an Island Packet. They invited us to their boat for happy hour at sunset the next day.

That night the crew from the Dolphin Leap, Keith and his guest Jacqueline came over to Alibi for happy hour and hors d'oeuvres at sunset. We had a great time visiting with them and we had a lot of laughs. Many jokes were told. If you ever have the opportunity – ask Darrell to tell his favorite pirate joke.

After the weather and cruisers net in the morning, we got underweigh. We decided that the Red Shank Yacht Club would be our destination. The Red Shank Yacht Club is known for its luxurious amenities in a very remote area. It is in a beautiful harbor that is protected from the weather almost all the way around. I enjoyed the visit to the yacht club although I did not get to meet the commodore – he was not at the club. I did get to see his chair with a view of the harbor. We snorkeled a blue hole that was near the yacht club where Darrell and I saw a stingray. We sailed back to the anchorage near Chat and Chill that afternoon and we anchored near “Wine Down” – Wayne and Sherri’s boat. Wine Down is a 32’ Island Packet. It was fun to visit with them, see their boat and learn about the upgrades that they had done and their personal experience with their Island Packet.

On my final day (or what I thought was my final day), after the weather and cruisers net. We took the dinghy over to Dolphin Leap to say goodbye to Keith and Jacqueline. Then we went in to George Town to check out the Bahamian Music and Heritage Festival. In the afternoon I got a taxi to the airport. Upon check in, I was informed that the flight was oversold and I was being bumped. The airline gave me a generous voucher for air travel and paid for my taxi rides. I quickly called Ann’s cell phone and with great excitement told her that I was staying another night. I had never been so excited to be bumped off a flight. The same taxi driver took me back to the Exuma Market Dock. Darell joked with the driver saying, “We told you to take him away!” and asked “Why is he back?” I spent my last night, which I refer to as the bonus night on Alibi and Darrell took me on the dinghy to the dock early the next morning.

My trip was awesome; it was relaxing while being fun, exciting and full of adventure. We had so many great laughs. (Darrell told his mother on the phone that his face hurt from laughing so much.). My lifelong dream has been to cruise in the Bahamas. I learned more about cruising from Darrell and Ann on this trip. There are so many highlights of the trip to mention, I will have to mention only a few: visiting with great friends, good food, happy hour at sunset, awesome sailing, watching the sunrise from the boat while drinking coffee, hanging with Roxy (I never knew she was such a lap dog), dinghy rides with Roxy to the beach and making new friends.

Thank you Darrell, Ann and Roxy for an incredible week on “Alibi” in paradise. It is greatly appreciated

About the author of this Blog – Jim Fagan

I am a middle school teacher in Knoxville, Tennessee. I have been working in Key Largo during the summers as a boat captain and divemaster for 12 years. I met Darrell and Ann about 6 years ago through mutual friends, Tom and Lena Loveday. Darrell and Ann worked with Tom at Aquanuts / Kellys On The Bay prior to purchasing Island Ventures. My daily routine in the summer for the past 6 years has included stopping by Island Ventures on my way home from work to visit with Darrell and Ann. On my days off, I would stop by in the morning.

The boat guest has come and gone. I won't steal his thunder because he promised to write about his week aboard Alibi. I will say this, we really enjoyed his stay and if all guests are as great as Jim - we invite all of you down ( in groups of 2 or less of course). Thanks for a great time, Jim!!

We left George Town in the rearview mirror as soon as the weather allowed (way too much chatter on the radio). We sailed to Conception Island (wonder why it's not cay). It is much smaller, uninhabited and NE of Great Exuma. Stayed a couple of days trying to catch/kill some food from Mother Ocean but no luck. They all lived to tell their children and grandchildren of the great white (in a black wetsuit) hunter with the long spear and poor aim. 

So we left yesterday and motor sailed to Rum Cay. It is the most beautiful island I have seen. The water drops quickly to depths unimaginable and so many colors of blue as I have ever seen. 

The people here in the Bahamas are some of the friendliest and happiest I have ever seen. Always ready with a smile and a wave hello. It reminds me of being in TX where you wave at every passing car!

I have been honing my culinary skills on this cruise. I made my first tamales ever. We have had meals from stir fry to fried rice to lasagna and of course the fresh Mahi-Mahi (we have caught a couple).  I thought I was going to lose weight with the extra activity associated with sailing - HA. 

The no-seeums got to us last evening and this morning pretty bad. We are talking of moving on to San Salvador soon. And making our way to Cat Island and Eluthera next. We stayed last night in Sumner Point Marina and I had Internet (off and on) all night so I didn't sleep much. I admit it - I'm a junkie!!  While we were sitting here this morning, a pretty good sized spotted eagle ray glided under our boat and back down the canal toward the ocean - spectacular!!!

Wow this life is great!  We are going to be grandparents in the fall !!!  We are so excited and happy for Jessica and Craig. 

Well, we stayed in the George Town area a lot longer than we had planned - for those of you on Facebook, you already knew that. We took HAM radio licensing exams so we stayed there to take the tests on the 24th of Feb (weather also kept us there too).  We have 2 new technician class operators and one general class. The tests are very difficult with lots of electrical theory, etc. Anyway, I passed the general on the second attempt but Darrell didn't want any more punishment. These licenses give us another communication tool - with a special modem we can get e-mail and weather information via SSB. 

George Town is on the largest island of the Exuma chain. And it is the largest settlement for quite a distance. It is a very popular winter cruising destination and can have hundreds of boats in the harbor at any given time. It boasts an extensive "cruisers net" and I would compare the social activities there to a cruise ship. With all the boats comes a LOT of boat "chatter" over the VHF marine radio. We had to get away from that. 

So we stocked up last week on supplies and departed GT. Nice place to get supplies AND water is free there.  We crossed to Long Island and anchored in Joe Sound to weather out the next frontal passage. Monday (March 6) we sailed south for Thompson Bay/Salt Pond. 

There is a place here that caters to cruisers called Long Island Breeze so I showered, we did laundry, had a great cracked conch lunch, AND I was able to get an Internet " fix"!  I feel like I am a technical "geek" with my need for communication. I will add that we call family every several days to check in but at the international rates, the conversations are brief. 

We are preparing to head back to George Town because we have a guest coming. Captain Jim Fagan is coming to spend his spring break with us. He teaches school and works for a water towing service in the winters and works at Captain Slate's Atlantis Dive Shop in the summers (also worked for us too). We are excited about having company. 

We have been meeting other cruisers too. They hail from all over and many only cruise in the winter months. We exchange boat cards (business cards with contact information) and have quite a collection. One lady puts smiley faces on them if she likes you (her code is a frown if she doesn't).  We hadn't given them one yet so we plastered a big, red smiley face on ours - LOL!!  Then gave it to her. 

In the early part of our trip, I was beginning to wonder if cruising and/or "unemployment " was going to suit us as we seemed to be crossways a lot. Well, it wasn't anything other than the fact that Darrell was trying to quit smoking. Yes folks, he left Key Largo with one - yes, one cigarette!!  Am I crazy for starting this adventure like that or what!?!?!  Anyway we learned that he can smoke the brands they have here instead of the US brand of cigarettes for less than he would buy them for in the states. They just aren't available everywhere. Since I didn't kill him in the first few days of the trip, I think I'll keep him. Yes, we almost turned this boat around and came home!!  So glad we didn't!

I'm sure there will be many tales to write of after Fagan has been here so stay tuned. OR plan a visit yourself and you could have stories about you on the Internet -- LOL. Cheers!
Mellie, our current location is:
N 23 22.2'
W 075 7.58'

Pictures will be posted later - haven't had time to get them loaded on this computer. Sorry.....having too much fun!!! Current position, Mellie is N 23 degrees 30 minutes 14 seconds W 075 degrees 46 minutes 3 seconds.

January is over!!! Well we rested a day in Chub Cay Harbor and it was a beautiful day. We met a Polish man at the dock when Darrell was coming back from Customs - name was Kaz (probably shortened for his US friends). Turns out he owned the boat we saw that morning after it got light that was against the rocks on shore. Two days earlier, they had a front blow through there and he broke anchor in the 50 knot winds. Being a smart seaman, he started the engine to motor into the wind to keep his boat safe. But his anchor line fouled his prop and he ended up in the rocky shore. He told us the entire port side of his hull was a gaping hole and he was staying in the motel on the island and going to the boat once a day at low tide to salvage what he could from the boat. Darrell thought he was having a yard sale when he walked by his room on the way back from Customs (how they met). The day of the storm on Chub is the same day we tried to leave Key Largo and turned around because the waves were just too big for us - so glad we turned around!!!

We crossed the Northwest Providence Channel on Sunday to New Providence Island and entered Nassau Harbor. We docked at Nassau Yacht Haven for a night. Just about five miles before we got to the harbor entrance, Darrell caught a Mahi-Mahi (dolfin fish). Wooooo Hoooo fresh fish for dinner!! If we needed any supplies, this would be a good place to get them but we are still pretty well stocked up. We did a load of laundry (especially the bloody towels from the fish) and took showers before heading out again for the Exuma Islands. Mellie, the numbers at Yacht Haven are N25 4 49’ W077 19 2’. Nice place but not exactly what the name implies.

Roxy now has her sea legs back - that first day or two she was a lap dog. Whoever was not at the helm of the boat, she was in their lap. She got to go swimming at Chub Cay and passed up another chance the evening before we left. She is loving life now, complete with fresh fish and all that. As a matter of fact, we all are!!

We entered the Exuma Island chain at Highborne Cay and spent one night there before returning to one of my favorites, Norman Cay. There is a restaurant/bar there that reminds me of Key Largo. Anyway, we had to have a beer there before journeying farther south. We sailed south to Exuma Land And Sea Park on Warderick Wells for a night before leaving for Big Farmers Cay. We were trying to reach Farmers before Friday for the festival. It is called the 5F: Farmers Cay First Friday in February Festival. Smart business man, Terry Bain, owner of Ocean Cabin there. Get all these US people who want to watch the Super Bowl and party started early. Darrell said “I’ll bet these local folks are saying give away a bottle of rum and these white folks will do about anything”. We witnessed the best legs and best buns contest with about 6 to 10 men about our age in the contests - wow, I could have missed that! We were told it got even racier than that. We saw our first island sloop regatta. Boy was that something. They can really maneuver those boats - I had to pull our dinghy in closer to the boat because I was scared they were going to hit it. Here are a few pictures of one of the races.

We slowly worked our way farther and farther south over the next few days until we arrived here at Georgetown. Our friend Stephen called this Chicken Island because many cruisers get here and get afraid to go any farther south. I’m just the opposite - this gives me the wanderlust for places more distant. It is a beautiful harbor with tons of sailboats at anchor. We are stopping here for a few days to replenish fuel, water and some groceries. We also plan to do some laundry while we are here for a few days waiting on a front to pass through. Yesterday after we got settled, we went to town to explore. I took my phone to check out wi-fi spots. I felt like an internet junkie when I was able to make a connection = the first one since Farmers. I couldn’t type fast enough!! LOL Anyway, we found a café with free wi-fi so I type this on the laptop to take in and upload to the blog. After the next front passes, we hope to venture down to the Jumentos and Ragged Islands next or we might go farther east. So much to see!! Dick and Nelda (former owners of Alibi), we sure appreciate all the notes you took when you were here! And Jack, you were right, Elizabeth Harbor is beautiful! We are eating like royalty and getting darker tans but enjoying every minute! Oh and I have put more varnish on some of the teak with plans to do more in the next few days, Jenn and Mike!! Thank you, Jessica Scott, for checking our mail for us! And perhaps we will have a visitor in March - Jim Fagan has expressed interest in coming down. Any other wannabe sailors????

Whew! A couple of long days sailing to get here but we arrived last evening at Chub Cay. We had great winds for sailing through except that the winds died to almost nothing on the way across the gulf stream. We crossed the Great Bahama Banks yesterday with winds out of the NNW at around 15 knots and 3 foot seas on a beam reach. (for my sailing friends) The only slight negative point in the whole trip so far was the anchorage the first night at South Riding Rock - rolly and a bit rough. Not a lot of rest that night for the crew and that makes for grumpyness (if a word) the next morning. We finally perked up after a couple of naps and got a good night's rest last night. Darrell's notes: We sailed about 150 miles on about 10 gallons of diesel, the wind made our electricity, so we are being green as we can be.

Will continue to update as we go. We intend to take more time to stop and smell the roses this time around.

Thursday morning left Key Largo for a sail. Perhaps Bahamas bound. We will see what the Gulf Stream has for us with 15 kts of North wind. Prediction is for it to come down to 10-15 later. This is the maiden sail with the new genoa. A beautiful morning I might add. We had a great farewell dinner with some wonderful friends last night. Stay tuned for updates, hopefully from Chub Cay if all goes well.
Alibi Crew clear

Wow! Just a little over a month since the last post - not bad for the unemployed - right? We have sold the dive business and are busy preparing the sail boat for the first "cruise" of many, we hope!!

So many things have been going on, I have to stop and think what we need to write about. In mid-December, we hauled the boat out in the boat yard to take advantage of our friend Capt. Al's expertise. There she remained while we went to Texas for Christmas and we got her back in the water just before New Year's. Projects completed since then include: New bottom paint, new Navy Blue Boot Stripe, new gold pin striping up top, complete polish and wax of the hull (a six step procedure), new cutless bearing, almost re-made rudder. The biggest hold-up on the work getting completed in the boatyard was the rudder - she had some blisters when we bought her and we wanted to get those fixed. After over a week of letting the rudder dry and assisting with heat lamps, there was still moisture behind the fiberglass. We stripped it naked and let it dry as much as possible before re fiberglassing it with some moisture still in there - we don't know how long it would have taken to completely dry out!!!! Anyway we splashed her with 3 days of 2010 left and have not stopped working on her yet. We are completely redoing the teak while we have electricity here at Key Largo Harbor Marina. HOPEFULLY, this is the last time we will have to take it down to bare wood for the next few years - lesson to self - put plenty of coats on the first time and take care of "dings" as soon as they happen. She will be beautiful when we are done!!

The other reason we have not left for parts unknown is that we have some "year end" things to tie up before we leave the country. Yes, we intend to be gone as soon as all the pieces and parts get taken care of - destination Bahamas. Departure date unknown. Stay tuned here and you will learn of our whereabouts.

While we are still close to the house, we have moved KC (pronounced Casey) the Kitty Cat on board. This is a trial run for all of us that we just did last night. So far, KC has done pretty well. Roxy isn't happy having to share her bed, boat, and us with anyone. Biggest hurdle is getting her used to indoor living (ie cat box) and then transitioning from that to her using the head for her duties. Darrell has renamed the boat Noah's Ark!! LOL

While here at the marina, we have made some new friends and gotten to know some "old" ones better. We are parked next to some people from Connecticut that we met last year when he did his open water dive certification at Island Ventures. They are some great people and we hope to get to see them many more times in our future travels.