May 17, 2010
Exuma Cay Land And Sea Park Headquarters on Warderick Wells Cay. We have been here for a couple of days. We finally got to see our friends Jerry, Sandy, Skip, and Jeannie on the boat “No Agenda”. We snorkeled some coral heads at slack tide yesterday and Roxy romped on the sand bar behind us at low tide. Darrell saw two big eagle rays and the rest was your same variety of creatures that we see in Florida. When No Agenda got settled, Sandy came snorkeling over to Alibi. She is a fish!! They all came and had cocktails with us then we dinghied over for cocktails and dinner. We brought the five cleaned conch and they made cracked conch appetizers. We had a wonderful time and great food. Darrell was impressed with Ann’s night vision to bring the dinghy back home after dark - he was in no shape to drive thanks to Sandy’s bartending skills - LOL. We also want to comment about the beautiful trawler that No Agenda is - she has LARGE, clean engine rooms and beautiful accommodations. What a beauty! We are preparing to leave today to go south to Big Majors or Staniel Cay to get Ann’s flight arrangements made - otherwise we would stay and go scuba diving with Jerry and Sandy.
And by the way - knock on wood - the water pump is still functioning properly. More adventures later folks. We love you guys!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
May 9-15, 2010
May 9-15, 2010
Well as you can see it has been quite a while since we had internet coverage. We are still doing fine and having a great time!! We made it to Chub Cay by 2 PM on Mother’s Day and enjoyed brief conversations with our Moms and as you know we had internet coverage at that anchorage - Yahoo!!
We left Chub on Monday morning for New Providence Island at about 2 PM. It was a tough crossing but we made it into West Bay, NP and stayed there for a couple of days because it was too nasty to try and go around the northern coast to get to Nassau. On the crossing, ann was fishing and lost a big one when she set the drag on the fishing pole too tight. DARN!!!! The plan was to get some needed provisions there before going on. On one day (Tuesday), we did laundry by hand in a five gallon bucket - Darrell did! Ann baked two loaves of homemade bread. We also got the oil changed on Alibi and were able to take trash to shore in a dumpster there. Most of the shoreline where we were anchored was private so not much to do in the way of excursions. We did have company from two boats named Aftermath and Lady Blue - can’t recall all four names of the people but we enjoyed some conversation and some homemade fresh bread with them.
On Wednesday, it was deceptively calmer in the morning so we took off for the Exhumas at 0745 AM. It was a tough slog up wind for about 12 hours but we made it to Highborne Cay just after dark. That is the problem……we couldn’t get here any sooner than we did but navigating these waters without VPR (visual piloting reference) is not recommended. We made it safely into a straightforward spot and stayed for 2 nights.
We have been having issues with water pumps since we bought the boat and we think we finally have solved the problems. The original pump had a new pressure switch but still wasn’t working so we replaced it before we left. The NEW pump worked fine before departure but sometime during the first few days started working overtime and we figured out it was losing it’s prime. We kept standing on our heads in the compartment where it lives and working on it. Finally a couple of day ago, we took the elbow fitting loose from the main water tank. We found, as we had in the pre-pump filters, small bits of coral shells clogging the pipe at the elbow. We blew it out and it has been working for the last couple of days - keep your fingers crossed! This is all downplayed about a thousand times - at least Ann’s frustrations with it.
We refueled at Highborne Cay Marina yesterday at around 1 PM and sailed south to Norman Cay. We arrived here about 2 PM after a nail bighting trip into this anchorage at low tide. The waters are strewn with coral heads all over and Darrell was standing on the bow of the boat giving me hand signals on directions to steer the boat. He looked like he was dancing or doing a puppet show with all the hand signals! We have decided to leave here at high tide which in in about an hour.
We went ashore to MacDuff’s Bar and Grill and had late lunch/dinner and cocktails yesterday. We had come here to find out information about flights to Ft. Lauderdale since there is an airstrip on this island. The flights are sporadic and a little costly unless you share the ride with other travelers so we are headed south to make Staniel Cay by Monday to try and get reservations for a week from this Monday for Ann to fly back to do some office work. Between here and Staniel is the Exuma Land and Sea Park that we hope to spend some time ashore exploring.
We hope this finds all of you healthy and happy. We still have not been able to find our friends on “No Agenda” - a trawler that left the USA a couple of days after we did for the Bahamas. They could be stuck in or around Andros with all the winds but we hope to see them in the next few days. Winds are predicted to be down on Wednesday so they may cross to here (Exumas) then.
Oh, I forgot to mention how great Darrell has become at gathering conch and we have both become much improved at cleaning them - we have five in the fridge waiting for me to make him some cracked conch or some more ceviche. For those that don’t know there is an art to getting the muscle out of the shell and not a lot to show for all your effort after you do - but we LOVE conch!
Hugs and Kisses,
DnA and Roxy
Current location is Exuma Land and Sea Park on Warderick Wells Cay in central Exumas - with the slowest internet connection I've seen in a long time!! But I do have internet!!
No pictures today at this speed!
Well as you can see it has been quite a while since we had internet coverage. We are still doing fine and having a great time!! We made it to Chub Cay by 2 PM on Mother’s Day and enjoyed brief conversations with our Moms and as you know we had internet coverage at that anchorage - Yahoo!!
We left Chub on Monday morning for New Providence Island at about 2 PM. It was a tough crossing but we made it into West Bay, NP and stayed there for a couple of days because it was too nasty to try and go around the northern coast to get to Nassau. On the crossing, ann was fishing and lost a big one when she set the drag on the fishing pole too tight. DARN!!!! The plan was to get some needed provisions there before going on. On one day (Tuesday), we did laundry by hand in a five gallon bucket - Darrell did! Ann baked two loaves of homemade bread. We also got the oil changed on Alibi and were able to take trash to shore in a dumpster there. Most of the shoreline where we were anchored was private so not much to do in the way of excursions. We did have company from two boats named Aftermath and Lady Blue - can’t recall all four names of the people but we enjoyed some conversation and some homemade fresh bread with them.
On Wednesday, it was deceptively calmer in the morning so we took off for the Exhumas at 0745 AM. It was a tough slog up wind for about 12 hours but we made it to Highborne Cay just after dark. That is the problem……we couldn’t get here any sooner than we did but navigating these waters without VPR (visual piloting reference) is not recommended. We made it safely into a straightforward spot and stayed for 2 nights.
We have been having issues with water pumps since we bought the boat and we think we finally have solved the problems. The original pump had a new pressure switch but still wasn’t working so we replaced it before we left. The NEW pump worked fine before departure but sometime during the first few days started working overtime and we figured out it was losing it’s prime. We kept standing on our heads in the compartment where it lives and working on it. Finally a couple of day ago, we took the elbow fitting loose from the main water tank. We found, as we had in the pre-pump filters, small bits of coral shells clogging the pipe at the elbow. We blew it out and it has been working for the last couple of days - keep your fingers crossed! This is all downplayed about a thousand times - at least Ann’s frustrations with it.
We refueled at Highborne Cay Marina yesterday at around 1 PM and sailed south to Norman Cay. We arrived here about 2 PM after a nail bighting trip into this anchorage at low tide. The waters are strewn with coral heads all over and Darrell was standing on the bow of the boat giving me hand signals on directions to steer the boat. He looked like he was dancing or doing a puppet show with all the hand signals! We have decided to leave here at high tide which in in about an hour.
We went ashore to MacDuff’s Bar and Grill and had late lunch/dinner and cocktails yesterday. We had come here to find out information about flights to Ft. Lauderdale since there is an airstrip on this island. The flights are sporadic and a little costly unless you share the ride with other travelers so we are headed south to make Staniel Cay by Monday to try and get reservations for a week from this Monday for Ann to fly back to do some office work. Between here and Staniel is the Exuma Land and Sea Park that we hope to spend some time ashore exploring.
We hope this finds all of you healthy and happy. We still have not been able to find our friends on “No Agenda” - a trawler that left the USA a couple of days after we did for the Bahamas. They could be stuck in or around Andros with all the winds but we hope to see them in the next few days. Winds are predicted to be down on Wednesday so they may cross to here (Exumas) then.
Oh, I forgot to mention how great Darrell has become at gathering conch and we have both become much improved at cleaning them - we have five in the fridge waiting for me to make him some cracked conch or some more ceviche. For those that don’t know there is an art to getting the muscle out of the shell and not a lot to show for all your effort after you do - but we LOVE conch!
Hugs and Kisses,
DnA and Roxy
Current location is Exuma Land and Sea Park on Warderick Wells Cay in central Exumas - with the slowest internet connection I've seen in a long time!! But I do have internet!!
No pictures today at this speed!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
May 8, 2010
After the last entry, we walked up the hill to have a rum runner and prepare for the hike back to our harbor. Well on our walk up the hill, a very nice local stopped and offered us a ride saying how hot it was and we deserved a ride. His name was Lawrence and he was born and raised on Great Harbor Cay. We went snorkeling near our anchorage and had a great time. Roxy has a ball at every beach running and swimming. We caught two conch and had conch ceviche for our dinner. Darrell’s new name is “Conch Slayer” and ask him how easy it is to remove the conch from the shell.
We started a little late this morning to leave the anchorage and sailed about 10 nautical miles to Devil’s-Hoffman anchorage. It is beautiful here and a definite one that we want to return to. Pictures show a Blue Hole on Hoffman Cay and some beautiful sunset shots of our boat at anchor. We really like the Berry Islands and could just stay here for the entire Bahamas visit.
We are sitting here now listening to the Nascar race and planning the day’s route for tomorrow. We NEED to be in cell phone coverage to call our Moms tomorrow. Plan is to head south to Frazer’s Hog Cay or somewhere near Chub Cay. When the cold front moves through, we hope to get some good winds to cross over to New Providence Island - where Nassau is. We plan to get some provisions, do some laundry and head south to the Exhumas after that.
After the last entry, we walked up the hill to have a rum runner and prepare for the hike back to our harbor. Well on our walk up the hill, a very nice local stopped and offered us a ride saying how hot it was and we deserved a ride. His name was Lawrence and he was born and raised on Great Harbor Cay. We went snorkeling near our anchorage and had a great time. Roxy has a ball at every beach running and swimming. We caught two conch and had conch ceviche for our dinner. Darrell’s new name is “Conch Slayer” and ask him how easy it is to remove the conch from the shell.
We started a little late this morning to leave the anchorage and sailed about 10 nautical miles to Devil’s-Hoffman anchorage. It is beautiful here and a definite one that we want to return to. Pictures show a Blue Hole on Hoffman Cay and some beautiful sunset shots of our boat at anchor. We really like the Berry Islands and could just stay here for the entire Bahamas visit.
We are sitting here now listening to the Nascar race and planning the day’s route for tomorrow. We NEED to be in cell phone coverage to call our Moms tomorrow. Plan is to head south to Frazer’s Hog Cay or somewhere near Chub Cay. When the cold front moves through, we hope to get some good winds to cross over to New Providence Island - where Nassau is. We plan to get some provisions, do some laundry and head south to the Exhumas after that.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Berry Islands
May 7, 2010
We arrived in the Berry Islands on Thursday early morning hours after crossing the Great Bahamas Banks. Left Bimini at 11:30 AM and traveled 81 nautical miles mostly under sail but some motroing because of no winds. After anchoring in Slaughter Harbor to sleep a few hours, we decided to leave when the cruise ships arrived with the megaphone announcements to the passengers, the wave runners tours, kayakers, and the parasail boats running all around us. We felt like we never left Key Largo!!
We pulled anchor and did a short, pleasant sail around Great Harbor Cay to Petit Cay and a beautiful anchorage. It is a big lagoon with sandy beaches around most of it. We had breakfast at the Beach Club and walked over to Bullocks Harbor - Great Harbor Cay Marina to get wifi. After getting directions to the marina, we started off and turned back thinking we were lost (within about 100 yards of the turn to the marina).
We will stay here for at least one more day and then consider heading south. There is a weather front coming that offers a great opportunity to head south - we hope to get some sailing in the Exumas.
We arrived in the Berry Islands on Thursday early morning hours after crossing the Great Bahamas Banks. Left Bimini at 11:30 AM and traveled 81 nautical miles mostly under sail but some motroing because of no winds. After anchoring in Slaughter Harbor to sleep a few hours, we decided to leave when the cruise ships arrived with the megaphone announcements to the passengers, the wave runners tours, kayakers, and the parasail boats running all around us. We felt like we never left Key Largo!!
We pulled anchor and did a short, pleasant sail around Great Harbor Cay to Petit Cay and a beautiful anchorage. It is a big lagoon with sandy beaches around most of it. We had breakfast at the Beach Club and walked over to Bullocks Harbor - Great Harbor Cay Marina to get wifi. After getting directions to the marina, we started off and turned back thinking we were lost (within about 100 yards of the turn to the marina).
We will stay here for at least one more day and then consider heading south. There is a weather front coming that offers a great opportunity to head south - we hope to get some sailing in the Exumas.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Bahamas Trip
Arrived Bimini and leaving today May 5, 2010 for points east. The cut and paste feature that I thought would work is not working. Running out of time to depart slip without another day's fees. Will add the detailed information at next stop.
Below is the cut and paste version:
Saturday, May 1, 2010
1630 left Sundowner’s Anchorage heading north to Pumpkin Key. Anchored for the night near Ocean Reef. Spent the night and part of next day rearranging provisions and preparing the boat for the Gulf Stream Crossing. Left in the afternoon heading for Carysfort Reef. Arrived at Carysfort in the late afternoon and tied up to a mooring ball on the northwest corner for dinner. What a mistake!! We thought that the waters would be calmer behind the protection of the reef and they were……but!! With a southeast wind coming around the reef - we had a washing machine agitator going on with 3 ft waves. We moved moorings just before dark but to no avail! Have you ever tried to sleep in a washing machine???
We left Carysfort Reef at 0630 (later than earlier planned because of the waves and we were afraid to begin the crossing in the dark). This turned out to be a good call - wave height was 5-7 on the reef and five footers for the first hour. We had planned to stick our nose out there to be sure that we were ready for whatever the Atlantic had to give us - and we were good with the conditions - always willing to turn back if necessary. We began with SE 20 knot winds predicted to decrease and we began the trip with everything reefed to the max until we got comfortable. We eventually shook out all the reefs and Alibi stopped rolling so much - we set sail for Bimini. We calculated the course based on everything we had read and were accounting for about a 2.5 knot Gulf Stream flow (because of the SE winds for several days). Turns out that we underestimated the actual flow of the Gulf Stream but with the direction of the winds, we couldn‘t compensate any more - we ended about eight miles north of Bimini and had to tack back.
We arrived at Bimini at around 5:30 and by the time the anchor (note singular) was set it was about 6. Darrell took off in the dinghy with our important papers to get us cleared through Customs. After about a mile hike he found out they were closed and would reopen at 9AM. He reloaded Roxy in the dink and took her for a little exercise and potty break. After they were gone about 30-40 minutes, Ann heard something on the VHF radio that sounded like Alibi. It was Darrell calling. He said the dinghy was out of gas. What were we to do - Ann on the “big boat” all alone and Darrell & Roxy on a dock with security telling him he had to leave. After a fretful few minutes trying to figure out what to do - Darrell finally came up with a solution and it got him back. After Darrell’s arrival at Alibi - we were concerned that the changing tide might have us grounded - since we only had one anchor out. Darrell’s brother had called and since we don’t know Ann’s password to voicemail, we had to just go ahead and call him. After a short conversation, the phone went dead in Darrell’s hand. Since we were concerned about the tides, he didn’t try to call Mike back - sorry guys!
So we weighed the anchor (singular) and drove the “big boat” out a narrow channel in the dark. Not a great idea to navigate this course at night. Ann finally had to drive the boat out because she is better at following “bread crumb trails” left by GPSs and Darrell is better at night vision so we combined our two strengths to get us out into deeper water. Now, where is there a good anchorage for us to spend the night? None. We call a marina on the radio and go back in the same channel we just left (not recommended to do at night or in a west wind situation). Got her docked - Ann was even challenged at this because we were so tired!! We stayed at Bimini Sands Marina for the night - beautiful, clean and all the amenities of a US marina.
Darrell went to customs in the morning after a very restful night. We spent the day at the marina cleaning the boat, cleaning Darrell and Ann and Roxy, and resting. As we write this we are contemplating the next portion of our journey. After studying the charts and guide books, its off to navigate the Bahama Banks for about 16 hours of sailing to more islands (probably Great Harbor Cay).
P.S. For those who were skeptical when we bought a pressure canner and talked of canning meat: we have had spagetti with the hamburger and we had brisket with potatoes, garlic and onions last night that was so tender we cut it with a fork!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
It is hard to believe it is now a year since we became the new owners of Alibi!! We are so proud of her and so glad we have her.
Here is a brief recap of the year:
Five day sail from St. Augustine to bring her home.
Got hit by lightening about a week after getting her to Key Largo.
New alternator and regulator.
New exterior canvas including a bimini, dodger, and mainsail cover.
New Mainsail.
New electronics including Garmin chartplotter, radar, and sonar.
New lifelines.
Sand and varnish all exterior teak.
Hand rub all interior teak with Scott's Liquid Gold.
New water pump after many attempts to fix leaks on old one.
New wind generator.
New dinghy.
Several short sails around Blackwater Sound and a few longer ones around the islands of the Keys.
Dividers made by Darrell for settee storage to accommodate canning jars.
Ann has been learning to can meats for provisions for longer sail trips.
List still to do:
Recertify liferaft.
Fix autopilot.
Fix cockpit mic for VHF radio.
New inverter/charger (fried by lightening).
Recover cockpit cushions and interior cushions.
More coats of varnish on exterior teak.
Fresh bottom paint in the next year or so.
New foresail and staysail.
More sail trips to further destinations.
Stay tuned, if all goes according to our plans, we will be in the Bahamas the first part of May - perhaps into part of June. There will be more frequent posts here if/when this trip indeed happens.
Here is a brief recap of the year:
Five day sail from St. Augustine to bring her home.
Got hit by lightening about a week after getting her to Key Largo.
New alternator and regulator.
New exterior canvas including a bimini, dodger, and mainsail cover.
New Mainsail.
New electronics including Garmin chartplotter, radar, and sonar.
New lifelines.
Sand and varnish all exterior teak.
Hand rub all interior teak with Scott's Liquid Gold.
New water pump after many attempts to fix leaks on old one.
New wind generator.
New dinghy.
Several short sails around Blackwater Sound and a few longer ones around the islands of the Keys.
Dividers made by Darrell for settee storage to accommodate canning jars.
Ann has been learning to can meats for provisions for longer sail trips.
List still to do:
Recertify liferaft.
Fix autopilot.
Fix cockpit mic for VHF radio.
New inverter/charger (fried by lightening).
Recover cockpit cushions and interior cushions.
More coats of varnish on exterior teak.
Fresh bottom paint in the next year or so.
New foresail and staysail.
More sail trips to further destinations.
Stay tuned, if all goes according to our plans, we will be in the Bahamas the first part of May - perhaps into part of June. There will be more frequent posts here if/when this trip indeed happens.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
We're on the way back from the cold and snowy Texas Panhandle. When we get back, we have a list of things we want to get done on the boat. We have done quite a few things since the last post here..... Will update with a few pictures later. We are dreaming of a way to escape south Florida and go to the Bahamas. Stay tuned for the updates - sorry for the long time since the last post!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)