The Silver Foxes Great Loop Trip & Bahamas excursions

Key Largo-Anchorage Resort to River Forrest Yachting Center-Signing off

2011-05-26T21:10:00.000-04:00

The weather remains in our favor. Today the 21st we travel some 33 miles timing the high tide so we can travel through some very shallow areas of Florida Bay ending up at a very pretty anchorage in the lee of Fiesta Key. Not much tide help here in Florida Bay but every inch counts. This time we slipped through very easily with no less than 5' of water in some spots.

Conch Shell Dump Site. The dumping of Conch shells by the locals in the water at West End in the Bahamas is no longer permitted on the beach front. Instead they must take them to the Conch shell dump site. Conchs are prolific in the Sea of Abaco. A very large shell that produces a small amount of Conch meat

After a peaceful night at anchorage, we leave early for our next stop which is an anchorage off the beach at Cape Romano which is actually in the the Gulf of Mexico. 107 miles of travel-a long day for us but the ride was delightful, with very light winds. This will be our last night at anchor with Mitch & Barb. We have some tuna in the freezer that we purchased in Spanish Wells, so I launch the dinghy and pick up Mitch & Barb for our farewell dinner. What a delightful time we have had in the past 2 1/2 months. We have seen a lot, had a lot of laughs, had some scary times as well as the best of times. It was hard to say good bye, but we are all anxious to get home.

The Bahama Travelers at Staniel Cay

We all pull anchor at 6am and we are glad to leave the anchorage. At about 5 am the wind changed, the swells started coming from the south and the current kept us in a easterly direction, so we lost a few things off the counter as we were not prepared for rolling from side to side. However after getting under way, the swells were on our stern for a very pleasant ride home. In our case, it was to our winter home for a one night stay at Legacy Harbor in Fort Myers. For Mitch and Barb, it was Lands End II arriving at their home, Lands End. They arrived at 4pm, we at 2pm.

After an overnight stay at Legacy, doing some work to get the boat ready for storage and picking up a rental car, I leave to go up the Coloosahatchee River to make the 4pm Franklin Lock. Due to the low water in Lake Okeechobee, they are only opening the lock twice a day. Judy is driving the car to meet me and do some errands. The distance is some 40 miles so I won't arrive until 8pm after traversing 2 locks single handed.

The next morning on the 26th, the fine people at River Forrest Yachting Center pulled the boat. As we left the Silver Foxes, the bottom was being pressure washed, in preparation for her being stored inside a hurricane proof building for the summer.

Signing off-Starting at Mitch's house we have traveled 1446 statute miles to the Bahamas and back. Hope you have enjoyed our written adventures and for those of you that have been, perhaps the memories were revived. For those that hope to go someday, I hope it gives you additional incentive. For others, I hope you have been able to picture the remoteness and beauty of the Bahamas. It is truly amazing! Thanks for your indulgence

May 19-21 "the crossing" and travel to Anchorage Resort

2011-05-21T09:44:00.001-04:00

After a false start the day before to cross the Gulf Stream to Florida we eagerly anticipate another try today. The wind direction has changed from the south to more easterly and those large swells that intimidated us the day before are supposed to be gone. Ideally we would cross over to Lake Worth. From that point we would head north and then west directly across the Okeechobee Waterway. However Florida has been extremely dry and the Waterway is too shallow for us to navigate so now we must travel south around the trip of Florida, adding several miles to our trip to get home.

So our destination for our crossing the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream is Fort Lauderdale. It will be a long day as we must travel a little farther south so as not to let the Gulf Stream keep punching us in the nose to slow us down. Shortly after leaving port we know it is going to be a great crossing. Some 1-2' swells and somewhat on our stern. The seas get even better as the day rolls on. As we approach Fort Lauderdale the wind picks up but by that time the waves are directly on our stern. The Gulf stream did not give up its grip on us until we were some 8 miles from Fort Lauderdale

A magnificent home overlooking the waterway in Fort Lauderdale

After dodging some huge freighters coming out of the channel at Port Everglades at Fort Lauderdale we travel a short distance up the ICW to a beautiful anchorage in Lake Sylvia which is a small body of water surrounded by some magnificent homes. Arrival time was shortly before 7pm. Miles traveled today-103. Miles since leaving Mitch's house- exactly 1200. A few more to go before we get home

After a very restful night at anchorage at Lake Sylvia we arise early to pull anchor. Oh I forgot to mention earlier that Mitch's electric anchor windlass gave up the ghost at Great Sale so now he and Barb are chanting "heave ho" in unison to pull up the anchor chain. Lots of bridges to go under as we work our way south. Most have restricted openings-so we must time our moves and do some waiting as we approach the low bridges. The Miami skyline is magnificent as we approach. Miami is also a busy cruise ship port but our travel down the ICW lets us avoid the the channel where the cruise ships dock. Good thing as that channel is closed to pleasure boat travel when the cruise ships are docked. Arrival time at at Anchorage Resort, the very familiar place where we spent considerable time before commencing our journey was 4pm. I needed fuel at Gilberts which is across the way. Diesel $4.89 per gallon.

The Miami skyline as seen from the waterway

May 17-19 Lucaya

2011-05-21T08:29:00.001-04:00

Mitch & Barb discussing the days events

The marina here is delightful. A nice large pool, well manicured landscaping and a nice Tiki Bar. Judy remembers the giant hot dogs at the Tiki Bar so we arrive just in time to have a few Kaliks and a giant hot dog.
Then it is nap time or cleaning the salt off the boat from our last few days of travel. Both got accomplished on both boats but I am not sure in what order.

The next day we take the water taxi across to the Lucayan Village. A multitude of gift shops, restaurants, knick knack stores and and everything in between. Mitch is looking for some cigars. Lots of Cuban cigars available. He says I am not smoking $20 bills, so he bargains for a couple of $10 ones. Lunch at a local Bahamian eatery. Jerk chicken for me. Very good

The reason we are here is that we are looking for a weather window to cross over to the States. The weather looks favorable for a Wednesday crossing to Fort Lauderdale. Up at the crack of dawn for the crossing. The clouds look ominous but the weatherman says a 20% chance of rain. It didn't take us long to decide that the wind blowing the night before had built up some large swells that would make the 12 hour crossing uncomfortable so instead we made a uey and were tied up back at our slip by 8 am. We rented a car and headed to the west end of the island stopping at Paradise cove and Deadman's reef for lunch

Paradise Cove

Barb's brother in law Campbell owns some property nearby so we made an inspection.

May 13-16 Green Turtle to Lucaya

2011-05-21T08:23:00.000-04:00

Our next stop as we step away from Green Turtle Cay is the middle of nowhere. An overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay. An island in the middle of the Bahamas Bank. Nobody lives there-no nothing. It is some 60 miles away. Barometer Bob's weather forecast calls for tolerable southeast winds 11-15 mph. Instead they switch to the south, southwest at 15-20. The proposed anchorage inside Great Sale Harbor won't work so we move to the northwest side of Great Sale-not ideal but it gives us a good nights sleep. The anchor holds well in the sand.

Sunrise after leaving our Great Sale Anchorage

The next morning we pull anchor at 6am-necessary timing to travel to the Lucayan Waterway which cuts across Grand Bahama Island and gives us access to Lucaya which is near Freeport. We must time our arrival so that we enter the Waterway at mid tide. Not much water here. 5' at mid tide. The ride is bordering uncomfortable, the wind is blowing 25-30mph out of the south, Half of the journey it is on our beam. Every once in awhile I hear an "o my" out of Judy as the boat momentarily leans precariously from the beam seas. As we make our turn towards the Dover channel and the Lucayan Waterway we take the waves on our bow. A little more comfortable ride, but our next concern is that the wind will blow our tide out. It is our lucky day. The tide overcomes the wind and the lowest reading we record going through the Dover Cut is 5'.

The Lucayan waterway was built circa 1970. It is a dredged cut that was expected to spur waterway development in Lucaya. Instead it fell flat. No development along the dredged canal. A few houses. It is sad but never the less it is our waterway today.

The Water way is some 7 miles long. After successfully negotiating the thin water cut at the north end of the canal we must now exit the south end into the Atlantic ocean and travel 4 miles in the Ocean to the Bell Channel at Lucaya. As we approach the exit to the ocean we see lots of breaking waves. Remember we are heading directly into the ocean where the wind has been blowing generously from the south all day. Judy says this won't be fun! How right she was. After we became air born going over the first 6 footer we turned tail and came back into the docile waterway. Having been here before, I knew there was a man made bay off the waterway where we anchored. After an exciting day on the waterway, we settled into a very delightful evening.

The next morning dawned peaceful, so we pulled anchor and made a delightful journey to the Grand Bahama Yacht Club at Lucaya

May 11-13 Green Turtle Cay

2011-05-13T23:30:00.002-04:00

To get to Green Turtle Cay we leave Treasure Cay and cross the "Whale". The Whale is totally exposed to the northern Atlantic Ocean and although only a short distance of travel, can be quite treacherous. If the whale gets in a "rage", that is large northerly swells , opposed by an outgoing tide, it can be vicious and dangerous. Today it is a pussycat. Some swells, but we transit the passage with delight.

The entrance markers to Black Sound on Green Turtle cay. You really have to look close to see if they are marked with red or green. In this case there is a little red faded paint on the pole

We are headed for the Leeward Yacht Club in Black Sound. Mitch says this place is not even on the charts, how did you find this place? Local knowledge I reply. In reality I had scouted the place out last year when we were here and I had found it to be a a very good marina. New docks, a swimming pool and a recently opened Tiki bar. We immediately head for a delightful lunch at the Tiki bar. The landscaping is unmatched anywhere.

Green Turtle welcoming us

The next day we take the Nike express to town (20 minute walk) to rent a golf cart. The island is long and narrow so in order to tour it properly a golf cart is a necessity. In our tour of the island we go to the Green Turtle Club and the Bluff House Marinas where we have stayed before. At the Bluff House marina we see the boat,Diva, Margaret & Ben, some friends of ours from Boat Harbour, so we have a nice visit with them.

The bar at the Green Turtle Club & Resort

The harvesting of lobsters is a big business here in the Bahamas. Everywhere we have been, from Spanish Wells to here in Green Turtle, we have seen lobster Condos being built or ready for deployment, Ah what is a lobster condo you say. It is simply a piece of corrugated galvanized roofing material nailed to a 2x6 and put on the ocean floor. The lobsters like the hiding place and then they are easily harvested.

Barb surveying a pile of lobster condos ready for deployment . The season for harvesting spiny lobsters, doesn't open until the first Monday in August. This is a big event here

The main street in New Plymouth which is the town in Green Turtle. Interesting -the street is is narrow there is only one way traffic. Lots of golf carts. An occasional car or truck

The sand road that runs along the ocean front as viewed from our golf cart. All the golf carts here have all terrain wheels as the off road traveling is tenuous at best

The Atlantic Ocean as viewed from the island

Mitch & Bab exploring the beach on the Atlantic ocean side

This is one of my favorite places in the Abacos. Everything is so neat and orderly. The population is 450-500 people. The school is up to 6th grade. Beyond that they must take the ferry to Cooperstown or Marsh Harbour. A boat ferry ride, and a bus ride. As we travelled down the streets of New Plymouth we got stuck in a golf cart line. Moms waiting to pick up their kids from the ferry. Life is different here but yet it is the same

May 10 Treasure Cay

2011-05-13T22:02:00.000-04:00

The beach at Treasure cay

A peaceful night was spent at Guana Hideaways dock. The owner came by around 10 am to collect his $30. No dockmaster to help us get away from the dock. That is not necessary as the wind is gently blowing. I have not mentioned the weather in any of my postings. Let me give you a one word summary. perfect! The temperature has been mostly 85 degrees during the day and it cools down at night with a nice breeze to keep the boat cool. Every once in a while we have run the AC when at a marina but not often. The winds have been kind to us except when waiting for weather windows to cross the Ocean, and that us to be expected.

We traveled a couple of hours to Treasure Cay. There is a nice anchorage and mooring area just outside the Marina. For 12 bucks we picked up a mooring and spent the night. After arriving we visited the spectacular beach at Treasure. The Cocoa beach bar was nearby so we indulged in a Goombay Smash before heading back to the boat

May 9 Great Guana

2011-05-13T20:56:00.000-04:00

View of Settlement Harbor on Guana from our flybridge

After our short stay at Man O War we will travel a short distance in the Sea of Abaco to Guana Cay home of the famous Nippers Bar as well as Grabbers. The Guana Hideaways docks are relatively new but the water and electric have never been installed. The price is right-only $30 per night It is a little bit eerie as we are the only 2 boats here. Only a handful of boats across the way at Orchid Bay Marina. Our arrival is late afternoon so we enjoy the rest of the day watching the boats come and go to the Government dock

Ring Toss-is a simple game available at all the bars in the Bahamas. A ring tied to a string, and the object is to loop it on the S hook the length of the string away. Looks easy, but not so.

The next morning we take a left turn from the docks and stroll down to Grabbers. The are not open for lunch yet but we have our sight set on Nippers for lunch. After taking in the the view at Fishers Bay we take the main road to Nippers . Not many stores in between but we visit Milo at his fruit and jewelry stand.

The girls looking at Milo's wares. Tough way to make a living. I think Milo has a new sign

After looking over Milo's produce we head up the sand path to Nipper's for lunch. Not many people at Nippers. This is Monday. It is early but the time to visit Nippers is on Sunday. Some people call it silicone Sunday.

The road to Nippers bar. A sand path. Wide enough for golf carts which is the preferred mode of transportation

The view of the Atlantic ocean from Nippers

Not many people here today but the view is spectacular

Another day a different time

May 8-9 Marsh Harbor & Man-O-War

2011-05-10T09:31:00.001-04:00

It is a short trip from Hopetown to Marsh Harbour. We elect to spend a couple of nights at Mangoes Marina which is actually located in the harbor at Marsh Harbour. It will give us time to tour the town. Barb, Mitch and I go snorkeling at Mermaid Reef which is a nice walk from the marina. On Sunday Judy and I go to St. Frances DeSales church. Not sure if the bus is running, so we take a taxi. Before church starts we see Obie the bus driver and he is happy to deliver us back to the Marina. And of course our visit includes a trip to Steak night at the Jib Room. It is packed and the steaks are as good as ever.

A visit to our old home of Boat Harbor at the Abaco Beach resort

Saying good bye to Susie in Hopetown

Saying good bye to Glenn

Marsh Harbor is a cultural shock for everyone. Barb says I am not used to all of these cars zooming around, when can we go back to the quiet life! Man-O-War Cay is our next stop and we will be back to the quiet life of golf carts, bicycles, narrow streets, quaint shops and a laid back way of living. Man O war is a working community consisting of several boatyards. If you need work done on your boat, this is the place. No alcohol served on the island. One restaurant called the Dock & Dine. Thats what we did. We took the short 4 mile trip across the Sea of Abaco to Man O War where we tied up at the marina. Ate lunch and then toured the town

Ladies sewing hand made bags at the sail cloth shop

A typical street at Man O War

May 6 & 7 More of Hopetown and then on to Marsh Harbour

2011-05-09T22:18:00.000-04:00

The ladies gathered at the party

This was the men's area. Tall tales about boating were told. Karl on the sailboat White Pepper is a retired doctor. He recently came out of retirement to sew up a boater in the Exumas that required 15 stitches

On Friday evening Glenn's CEO from the States is visiting so Glenn & Susie have a party. We are invited along with some fellow boaters we have met in Spanish Wells, the Izzy R, Jeff & Izzy,and their guests. Also the crew on the sail boat White Pepper. It was a fun gathering. Pizza was the main course. Pizza has been a distant memory on this trip so it tasted especially good.

It was a late night. We resisted the temptation to have "just one more" as we had to climb in our dinghies and motor over to our boats tied to the mooring ball. The next morning we met for breakfast at Captain Jack's restaurant and then toured the town. Only a few delivery vehicles here. The preferred mode of transportation here is by golf cart. We are on the Nike Express today (hoofing it)

A typical street in Hopetown

Judy and Barb at the Museum in Hopetown. A very worthwhile stop. Admission is $3. We always watch the very informative video explaining how the Loyalists settled in the Bahamas

The main street in Hopetown. If you are looking to be entertained you won't find it here. You can't drive here or fly here unless you come by ferry from Marsh Harbour

After touring the town we go back to Susie & Glenn's house to wish them good bye. What lovely hosts they have been. They are headed with their boat back to the States soon. Perhaps we will see them again along the way.

May 5-6 Hopetown

2011-05-09T21:32:00.000-04:00

The mooring ball line was dropped about 9:30 am so we could visit a Blue Hole before heading to Hopetown. What is a blue hole you say. Well it is a deep hole in relatively shallow water that some times leads to a water cave on an island. We go into the Bight Of Old Robinson as far as we can with our boats, throw out the anchor and then hop in our dinghies and head into the shallow backwater where it is only a foot deep at the entrance. The water gets a little deeper but then the blue hole appears and you can't see the bottom. Barb hops in the water and snorkels over the hole. The rest of us watch from our viewing buckets

Arrival time in Hopetown is around 2pm after a short jaunt of some 15 miles. Glenn & Susie have graciously offered us their golf cart to go to Tahiti Beach. Tahiti Beach is large sandbar off of Elbow Cay where Hopetown lies. On the way to Tahiti, Glenn's golf cart gets topped off. Gasoline here is around $6 per gallon
Diesel fuel is $5.39 to $6.35. It pays to shop around

Mitch & Barb shelling on the Tahiti Beach

Barbs shells placed around a baby starfish that is in shallow water on the beach

So many great photo ops at Hopetown, it is hard to chose the best. After returning from Tahiti Beach, Glenn & Susie insisted we stop for our usual 5:30 pm cocktails on their lovely deck which overlooks Hopetown Harbor and the lighthouse.

View of Hopetown Harbor from the deck of Glenn & Susie's home in Hopetown

After Mitch completes a carburetor tear down on his dinghy motor we dinghy over to the Lighthouse. I don't know how many times I have climbed to the top, but it is enthralling each time to be able to show the indescribable sight to someone new.

View of the harbor from high atop the light house

Posing on the lighthouse catwalk

The lighthouse at sunset from Glenn & Susie's dck

One of my favorite restaurants in all of the Bahama's is Cracker P's. We use Glenn's large inflatable boat to travel the 3 miles to Cracker P's. Just as we arrive, a wedding party of 40 people or so arrive from Hopetown. This isn't good I say to our group. There are usually 10 or 12 people here for lunch. They will run out of the fresh fish before we are served! The end result was surprising. We received very good service and the fresh tuna was outstanding. I love the peas n rice with some Cracker P's hot sauce added!

Cracker P's after the wedding party cleared out

The sign says its a long way back home

May 4th travel to Little harbor in the Abacos

2011-05-09T08:57:00.001-04:00

We have been patiently waiting for a good weather window to head north across 50 miles of the Atlantic ocean to Little Harbor. Our weather sources tell us the wind will be fairly light today, less than 10 knots, out of the east, southeast. However the wind has been blowing pretty good lately so there are some 5-8' swells. Another boat left early and gave us a sea state report. They said it was sloppy and rolly but doable. So we left the dock about 9:30 am to head out the Spanish Wells channel and through a narrow reef strewn passage to the Atlantic. Some people use a local pilot but Glenn had been through the cut before so he led us out with out a problem. We are on our way!. It is rolly with some huge swells but only a light wind chop on top of the swells. The waves are on our beam, but it is a gentle roll with one of those mountainous swells letting you know who is in control. Our ETA to pass through the Little Harbor cut into the Sea of Abaco is 3:30 pm which is dead low tide. Our ultimate destination is Little Harbor which as the name implies is a neat little protected harbor. One small obstacle is at low tide there is only 3.5' of water in the entrance so we throw the anchor down. Glenn is pulling his huge inflatable boat, so we hop in it and go into Little Harbor and visit Pete's Pub, drink a Kalik, and make dinner reservations.

Path to Petes Pub from the Atlantic ocean side. There is nothing at Little harbor except a few homes , Pete's Pub . Petes Pub is a little hut in the sand with a saw horse for a bar stool as well as a few chairs and some picnic tables

After the tide came up, we went into Little Harbor and picked up a mooring ball. Beautiful evening topped off with dinner at Pete's at a picnic table in your bare feet in the sand. Fresh tuna or dolphin. The local fishing is in full swing, so all the fish is right out of the ocean

Pete's. The ceiling is littered with tee shirt's

May 3-4th Spanish Wells

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Spanish Wells is probably one of the best kept Islands we have seen so far. The houses are very neat and well cared for. This is definitely a working boatyard and fishing community. In most locations we have visited, including the states, the fishing boats look like they are rust buckets. Not here. They are all well kept and in very good condition. The lobster season is closed now, so lots of maintenance being done on the boats

The cemetery in Spanish Wells

A typical home in Spanish Wells

Glenn and Susie Patch whom we had met in Highboune arrived a few days after we did. They are on their way to Hopetown where they own a home so all three boats will be traveling together to the Abacos

The lady's section of our usual evening get together for cocktails. Judy, Melanie from Starlight Express, Susie, and Barb .

April 28-Ma2 Spanish Wells Eleuthra

2011-05-03T22:10:00.001-04:00

We are about to say goodbye to the Exuma Islands and head north to Spanish Wells Island which is in the Eleuthra chain of islands. See my post of March 29th for a map to get the lay of the land. Every time one sets forth for a new Island the apprehension builds. This time we must travel some 70 miles across water that ranges from 8' to 20' deep. In amongst the course we travel are what they call coral heads. These are patches of coral that rise from the sand bottom of the banks to who knows how close to the surface of the water. Imagine patches of sparkling clear water over sand which yields indescribable beauty and these big black patches of coral. In spots it is like traveling through a minefield dodging the coral heads. Some people pass right over the top of them saying there is plenty of clearance. Not us-we are too cautious. It is windier than forecast. The wind is out of the east southeast which means we have 3-4' seas on our beam. The ride was rolly and somewhat uncomfortable. During our travels we hear this boat calling for help. I answer but their English was not the best and they could not tell me where they were located or what the nature of their distress was. We were not able to help. Later we surmised it may have been a Haitian boat floundering about. After traversing Current Cut via what they call navigating by "Visual piloting " (navigating by watching for sandbars on either side of your path) we arrived safely at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven around 4:30pm. A long day and time to celebrate

The view down the channel from our Marina looking across the bridge which goes to Russell Island

Our next stop is crossing 50 miles of the Atlantic ocean to the Abaco Islands. We will hole up here until we get a favorable wind and wave crossing. It is a beautiful little Island. Probably the neatest and best kept island you will see in the Bahamas. Everybody has said you need to visit Harbor Island and Dunmore Town which is some ten miles away. You can get there by Ferry (similar to the Jet Express going o Put In Bay in Lake Erie) or take your own boat over. The only problem is with taking your own boat over is that the route is perilous. So you must hire a pilot to take you there. We elect to take the Ferry to see if we want to spend time in our own boat there. Supposedly it is an island where movie stars go to hide. Didn't see any, if they were there. In a nutshell it is nice island, very impoverished, with lot of very expensive shops, and some not so expensive. As most anywhere in the small islands, the shops are open on a limited basis. The local lumberyard and hardware store was open 8-5 weekdays and closed on Saturday and Sunday. We were there on Saturday so our rating of the hardware store did not take place.

The view from the Coral Sands Resort looking at the Atlantic Ocean. They say the beaches are pink sand but our take on the view was a dusty sand beach. Never the less very beautiful

One of the main streets in Dunmore Town on Harbor Island in the Eleuthras the Bahamas Golf carts prevail here

.The fast ferry takes the same route over Devils Backbone that the pilot boat takes you only at a much higher speed. After visiting Harbor Island we much prefer the neatness and the beauty of Spanish Wells. So we have made the derision. We will be here on Spanish Wells until we cross to the Abacos. Much more on the beauty and neatness of Spanish wells in the next edition

The straw market in Harbor Island

April 27-28 Highbourne Cay

2011-05-03T17:04:00.002-04:00

The internet in the Exumas mostly comes via satellite. You purchase an internet card for $10 and it is good for 24hrs or 100mb (sometimes 200) whichever comes first. We have turned off Windows update and all those other things that eat up the megabytes. Skype is not prohibited or blocked but you are strongly discouraged from using it as it chews up bandwith.

Only 9 miles to Highbourne Cay Marina. We were here a short while ago. $44 per night for electric. Ouch! It is not metered so use as much as you can. Not a good deal for us. Most marinas in the Bahamas meter their electric at 40 to 65c per Killowatt hour. When it is metered, even with the AC running we only use around $15 per night.

We met Glenn & Susie Patch at Highbourne. They are members of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht club at Boat Harbour in the Abacos. Glenn & Susie on the right

This is a light news day. It is just an overnight stop so I will tell a Staniel Cay story. At Staniel Cay we heard that there was some James Bond memorabilia from the movie Thunderball at the the library. The Library is in a little Yellow building, but the door is padlocked. An inquiry at the nearby Bakery said to call "Moonglow" on the VHF radio. We did and shortly a very nice lady came rolling up in her golf cart. She opened up all the doors and windows as there is no electric in the building. She said she was going to leave the Library open for the weekend and we didn't need to close up when we left. No Thunderball artifacts but we did peruse the many books. There was a donation jar and we added a few dollars to it. It wasn't under lock and key and the building was left wide open! "Moonglow" is Joann Mann as we later found out she is the local artist in residence and is very prominent on the island

Mitch studying in the library

April 26 Normans Cay Anchorage

2011-05-03T14:45:00.000-04:00

Normans Cay is famous for the escapades of the Columbian drug runner Carlos Leder of the 1970's era. This was in the days when the Bahamian Government allegedly would turn a blind eye towards such activiities. Several attempts to capture Leder by the US Feds were thwarted by insider information from someone within the Bahamian government. There isn't much development on Norman's, but there is a small restaurant called Norman's Beach Club. A call on the VHF radio secured our dinner reservation at 6:30pm. A short dinghy ride brought us to a path that led to the restaurant. No dinghy dock here-just land the dinghy on the beach and set the anchor in the sand so the tide doesn't carry the dinghy away.

Dinner at Normans Cay Beach Club

After visiting Rita and Robert in Staniel Cay we took advantage of the internet and enjoyed a Kalik at The Yacht Club Restaurant

Mitch and barb went dinghy exploring and found the wreckage of one of Leder's overloaded drug laden airplanes. It was in shallow water and they were able to snorkel over it.

April 25-26 Big Majors Spot and the Swimming Pigs

2011-05-03T13:37:00.006-04:00

A pig swimming to the dinghy for a handout

Pigs on the beach at Big Majors Spot

It is a short jaunt of 8 miles from Black Point to Big Majors Spot. Big Majors is a nice protected anchorage in the prevailing easterly winds we have been experiencing. We will be here 2 nights for dinghy exploration and to see the swimming pigs. I thought sure the pigs would be up early and would be looking for breakfast ( we saved some garbage for them). So about 8:30am, we dinghied over to to the beach where they hang out in the scrub brush. Normally they hear the dinghy and swim out to you for a handout. No response to our dinghy and as we walked the beach I used my best hog calling voice (soooo sooo) I learned on my Grandfathers farm. No response, but about 10:30 am I looked out and the pigs were on the beach. This time they came swimming out to the dinghy. They are fast swimmers and they are able to keep their head above water as they chow down on leftovers

Anchorage at Big Majors Spot which is near Staniel Cay

We knew our friends Rita & Robert from Marsh Harbour were cruising in the area. They have been a step behind us in our travels. They were at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club so Judy and I hopped in our dinghy and had a delightful 8am breakfast with them on their boat.

Rita and Robert from Marsh Harbour with Judy

Black Point Settlement April 22-24 2011

2011-04-28T05:29:00.000-04:00

Black Point Settlement is just 5 miles south of Staniel Cay. We cast off the dock, dodging a huge megyacht that is parked behind us. The anchorage at Blackpoint is in a bay that is protected from the easterly winds we are experiencing. It is a beautiful anchorage. It is Good Friday afternoon so nothing will be open in town. On Saturday we launch the dinghy and travel a short distance to town, We wanted breakfast so we stopped at Lorraine's cafe. No one around but the place is wide open. We finally round up a neighbor. Oh Lorraine is getting her hair done as her brother in law is getting married on the beach today! The next place we stopped, the owner said she could get us something quick but she was getting ready for "the wedding". During the course of breakfast we were also invited to the wedding at 2pm. Apparently the whole town will be there so nothing will be open. At 1:45 we get in the dinghy headed for the beach. It is a lot farther around to the beach than we think. No way we will be there by 2pm. Judy says not to worry it is the Bahamas and it won't start until 4pm. She was almost right. It didn't start until 3:30. Anyway it was quit colorful. Chairs in the sand. A makeshift tent and a small real for sure tent. Half of the town was seated. The other half stood under the shade trees.

The wedding on the beach, The groomsmen's shirts matched the bridesmaids dress

One of the few stores in Black Point

Barb's new found friend at the Cafe

One of the reasons for stopping here was to attend church on Easter Sunday. We pick out the Baptist church in the center of town. Sign says 10:30 am. We arrive at 10:15 to beat the C&E crowd. No one there. It is apparent that nothing is going to be happening soon, so we wander up the hill to the Missionary Church. This is the place. Barb meets the pastor and he said Church will start shortly. It did and it lasted until 1pm. We sang a lot and heard a special preacher from Nassau. The church is small so a sound system was not needed, but that didn't matter, they had one and it was turned up full blast

April 19-21 Staniel Cay

2011-04-21T21:32:00.001-04:00

0ur trip from WW is a rather pleasant 25 miles although we don't know where we will be staying, Compass Cay Marina didn't sound to hopeful to accommodate both boats. Staniel Cay our preferred destination-well we are on the waiting list. As we get with in cell phone range, I call Staniel Cay Yacht Club and Suzzana says they have a couple of spots for us. Our docking was pretty easy but little did we know we would be moved to accommodate the megayachts that are coming in. This is paradise and paradise time (Easter week) for these big boys. One young gal that was a crew member on one of the yachts told us that all of our "tugboats" were cute and they all looked the same! After docking we called the golf cart rental place on the VHF radio and were soon on our way to the bakery and grocery store. This a very very small settlement and the grocery selection is limited. The mail boat just came in so the vegetable selection is okay.

Our first stop -the Bakery. A loaf of bread right out of the oven. Store signage is not a big thing here. Everyone knows where the bakery is. It is the yellow house. They sell bread right out of the kitchen. Watching tv in the next room

The general store and Grocery. This is the grocery side

The Yacht Club (definitely not your typical fine dining establishment) is the happening place for dinner but after a cocktail hour that lasted too long we set out on the golf cart to find a little local flavor for dinner. We stop at the Hot Dog Restaurant and Bar. The name would lead you to believe that they served food- but no sir we only serve drinks. They serve food across the street at Taste & Sea Cafe. They are closed-it's 8:30pm.The guy at Hot Dog hollers across the street for them to open up. I find a young man at the back door and tell him we want to eat. Talks to his mom and they say come on in, we will open up. We had the best Coconut shrimp, baked potato and salad for $15 and the Kaliks were $4. The power went off while she was taking our order but she said not to worry, they cook with gas and we can eat by candlelight. Sounded good to us. Oh by the way we have not had electricity at the marina since we have arrived, so we have run the generator and Air Conditioner a lot. Mitch & Barb were very confident they were going to catch fish the next day so we made arrangements to have Bernadette the cook at Sea Scape cook the "catch of the day" the next night.

Bernadette the Cook at Sea Scape restaurant. She prepared the fish Mitch & Barb caught

True to their word, the next day, Mitch and Barb went out in the dinghy, drifted across a small reef, caught a grouper, a porgy and a grunt. More than enough for a fresh fish dinner at Taste & Sea again. Another great evening.

The Dive shop here at the Staniel Cay Yacht club

The cottages for rent

The water here is magnificently clear. The nurse sharks and sting rays play under our boat all day long. You feel like you could reach down and pet them. Funny how lots of little fish get a free ride on the back of the sharks.

A picture of Nurse sharks below our boat in 10' of water

Today, Thursday, we went to Thunderball Grotto, which is a cave where the James Bond movie Thunderball circa 1965 was shot to go snorkeling. It was a spectacular aquarium of fish. The current is very strong through the cave, even though it was near low tide. The water is warm.

Mitch & Barb launching their dinghy for their fishing expedition

One item to do on our check list and that is to the see the swimming pigs at Big Majors island nearby. We will do that as we come back in a few days. Tomorrow we are off to Black Point

April 15-18 Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park Waderick Wells

2011-04-18T14:34:00.001-04:00

View of Hog Cay from Waderick Wells on our trail hiking expedition

It is a pleasant day's run of 35 miles from Highbourne Marina to Waderick Wells North Mooring field in the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park. The Park http://www.exumapark.info/ is a designated no fishing area and is a breeding ground for native fish , lobster, wildlife etc. At Waderick Wells they have provided mooring balls to which you can tie up and spend as many nights as you wish. We got our name on the waiting list the day before we came. We were fortunate enough to be able to tie up to balls #5 and 6. Quite a special view. The channel where we are tied up is narrow but deep (10-12') . On either side of the channel is a beautiful sandbar that is dry or nearly dry at low tide. We arrive just before the Park office closes at 4pm. So it is down with the dinghy which will be our mode of transportation for the next few days and head to the park office to pay for our mooring fee which is $20/night + $10 internet fee if you desire, which is for 24hrs or 100mb of data whichever comes first. No telephone service but the internet is okay, sporadic, and certainly not speedy. No time to do any exploring today (Saturday), only time to enjoy the beautiful view, the sand beaches and the gin clear water

Mitch & Barb at a sign on Capture Beach

Today is Sunday so off we go exploring in our dinghies. We run 3 or 4 miles to the south end of Waderick Wells and the south mooring field where the old Pirates Lair is located. The Pirates came here to hide and get water from a fresh water well located on the island

Barb-She forgot her pirates outfit

Judy at a monument on Capture Beach. No inscription so I can't tell you why it is there

We waited until slack tide to go snorkeling. We saw giant lobster and grouper as well as an assortment of other fish and very beautiful coral formatons. As the fish and lobster swim by you, they just laugh because they know it is illegal to catch or spear them. Also lobster season ended on April 1st in all of the Bahamas

Memorabilia of boaters visits left on top of BooBoo Hill

A must see when you come to WW is BooBoo Hill. It is a short hike to the top of the highest hill on the island. The view is magnificent. You can see for miles in all directions. To the east-The Exuma Sound which is very deep and to the west the Exuma Banks which is relatively shallow. Today the weather is magnificent and the view is postcard perfect. The Sound is flat calm and deep blue. The banks are varying shades from sand colored to green to blue depending on the water depth.

At the summit of BooBoo Hill boaters leave memorabilia of their visit. You are asked to leave nothing other than wood or driftwood. We knew about BooBoo Hill but forgot to prepare anything that would be noteworthy

View of the mooring field from atop BooBoo Hill. Note the deep water in the middle and the shallow area on each side`

Sunset at WW to the west. Look to the east and you will see the full moon coming up

Moon rise at sunset. A full moon no less.

Today is Monday. Nothing special planned. Time for me to catch up on the Blog. Mitch and Barb are off snorkeling now that slack tide has arrived. Tomorrow we are headed to Staniel Cay or perhaps Compass. Both marinas are full so it may be an anchorage.

April 13-14 2011 SW Allans Cay & HighbourneCay

2011-04-17T21:05:00.000-04:00

Diesel was a little cheaper here in Nassau than in the Exumas so we decided to top off our tanks here. Lands End went to the fuel dock first and after pumping 8 gallons of fuel they were in a quandary as to whether they were out of fuel or the pump had problems. It was finally decided they were out of diesel fuel but they said the fuel truck would arrive in 15 minutes. This is the Bahamas-no way that was going to happen! I pulled up next door to Browns fuel dock. Fuel was 7 cents more a gallon ($5.02). This whole process delayed our departure, so Lands End will wait until the next stop to top off her tanks. Off we go to Allans Cay where there is a beautiful anchorage and where the Iguana's are anxiously awaiting our arrival. The 40 mile trip across the Exuma Banks was delightful. Seas less than 1' and sparkling clear water

The Anchorage at Allans cay

The anchorage was rather crowded but we managed to slip in amongst the many boats. We were on the outer edge of the anchorage and as the wind picked up in the night, we rocked and rolled a little bit. Lands End was tucked farther in and they slept well. As soon as some boats left the anchorage, Silver Foxes moved into a more protected area because we still had some more exploring to do to see the Iguanas. As soon as we landed the dinghy on SW Allan Cay the Iguana's came out of the bushes to meet us. They were expecting a hand out. They were disappointed. But they did pose for pictures

Judy and Barb. Barb carrying a big stick to ward off any Iguanas that might try to attack!

One of the Iguanas looking like a statue and waiting for a handout

The Iguanas start coming out of the bushes

We also went to Leaf Cay where another colony of Iguanas live. Nice shallow water here, so Mitch and Barb got their snorkeling stuff out and looked around in the bay. Later in the day we took a leisurely trip to Highbourne Cay to spend a night in the marina. Not much to see here not even a restaurant. It is a private island but the Marina is open to transient boats. Most of the slips are for our size boats, but a 200' megayacht and another one not quite so big spent the night with us. We have seen lots of megayachts plying the waters in the Exumas

A 200' megayacht on the alongside pier. No name on the side and the name on the stern was small and hard to read

April 12-13 2011 Chub Cay to Nassau

2011-04-17T09:38:00.001-04:00

In the Bahamas, Cay is pronounced Key. If you recall, I mentioned Bimini was out in the middle of nowhere Well it is 98 miles across the wide open Exuma Bank to our next speck of land which is in the Berry Islands and it is called Chub Cay. The wind is fairly calm so we have a great trip across the relatively shallow (20') but clear water. 98 miles, that is a long way for us slow moving trawlers but we pick up the pace a little and arrive at the anchorage just outside of Chub. A very nice evening with little wind and that is good because there is not much protection from the wind in most any direction. However in the night the wind picks up from the south and our pleasant night was interrupted by swells coming in off of the Tongue of the Ocean which is a deep body of water next to Chub Key.

Our original plan was to travel to Allans Cay some 85miles the next day after arriving at Chub. However after a short nights sleep, the decision was recalled and it was decided to stop at Nassau which was only 45 miles away. A very pleasant ride to Nassau. 2 foot waves on the starboard quarter. We arrived in Nassau about 3pm. Lots of Cruise ships in port. You must call in to Port Control before you can enter the Port. Our destination marina was the Nassau Harbor Club. $2 per foot per day vs $7 per foot at the plush Atlantis

The Atlantis from Nassau Harbor

The Mail Boat delivers mail and sometimes passengers to the out islands in the Bahamas

The Library in Bimini had a sign but no sign of any activity

Dinner at the Poop Deck just down the street. Lots of Security guards around. The area looks okay but they warn us not to stray at night There is a shopping center right across the street from the Marina. Breakfast at Starbucks and fast internet. Also bought extra time for our phones and a case of Kalik beer. Surprise-- the girls did not even visit the grocery store, but I did. I bought some limes for the Kalik and a steak to fix on the grill when we arrive at Allans Cay.

April 10-12 Bimini to Nassau

2011-04-17T08:41:00.000-04:00

A day to prowl around Bimini. Bimini is a very small speck of an island quite far removed from any other of the Bahamian islands. It has lots of little locally owned shops that sell things to the locals as well as the boaters. One of our goals today was to purchase a cell phone we could use throughout the Bahamas. We purchased a relatively cheap cell phone ($80) along with a $20 with of cell time. To recharge the phone you go to most any store where they have a vending machine to purchase a card where you scratch off the numbers and enter it into the phone!

The Main street in Bimini

I was also in need of a haircut Several inquiries led us up a hill to a little cement block building. No one there. But shortly the barber man arrived on his golf cart. We suspect word had spread that I was looking for him.

The town barber shop

After walking the main street in town and the high street which over looks the Ocean, a pleasant dinner was enjoyed at the Big Game Club. Fresh Mahi Mahi.

Mitch says thumbs up-We have arrived!

The few cars that are on the streets speed along but the goats manage to survive.

April 10 Angel Fish creek to Alice Town Bimini Bahamas

2011-04-10T23:24:00.002-04:00

It is time to make the move back to Pumpkin Key to position ourselves to make the crossing to Bimini in the Bahamas. We leave Anchorage Resort about 2pm just as the weekend party starts to rev up at Gilberts Bar across the way. Gilberts is a happening place. It is a nice boat ride from Miami so lots of boats come for the day and or overnight.

View of Gilberts from our Boat. We could listen to live music every afternoon and evening. Some good and some bad!

Mitch says returning to Pumpkin Key is like "returning to the crime scene" but in contrast to our recent escapade there, we have a very peaceful anchorage. Pumpkin Key is a stones throw away from the entrance to Angelfish Creek which winds its way from the the Florida Bay side of the Keys to the Atlantic Ocean side. It is a narrow waterway with lots of red and green markers to help us wend our way through the Creek. It is shallow at the entrance and exit of the Creek (6.5') but our transit through the Creek was uneventful.

Lands End II pulling anchor at sunrise and heading towards Angelfish Creek

The Atlantic Ocean greeted us with some 3' swells as we departed the shallow reef which lies just offshore. However after about an hour's travel the seas settled down to less than 1' and we let the Gulf Stream give us a couple of mph push towards Bimini. We arrived in Bimini about 2:45 pm at Bimini Big Game Club Marina. After filling out a mile of paperwork we cleared customs and settled in to watch the Master's Golf tournament finish which proved to be exciting even for the non golfer that I am. Later a great meal at the restaurant at the Marina

A freighter on a collision course. I slowed to let him pass in front of me.

Arrival in Alice Town in Bimini in the Bahamas

April 5 -9 Anchorage Resort Key Largo

2011-04-09T10:03:00.003-04:00

View of the Anchorage Resort

Lands End's Dinghy won't run so we need to solve that problem. A call to the local Mercury dealer for help gets a reply that says if you need it in a couple of weeks we can get it running. So we find a " shade tree mechanic" to rebuild the carburetor. He appeared to know what he was doing but after a couple of hours and another trip to the Mercury dealer he gave up. It would run but not stay running. Further inquiry yielded "Dr Tom's" name. He was on the scene in a couple of hours after we called him and within 45 minutes he had the carb apart and found a tiny speck of dirt in one of the ports that Kenny had missed. The dinghy motor runs like a finely tuned sewing machine now.

John Catching shrimp

It looks like it will be a few days before we can cross to Bimini. So we rent a car. Barb doesn't have a TV in their bedroom. Also they cannot hear the Alarm on the GPS if their anchor breaks loose in the night or it fails to reset so we run a wire for a small speaker which can be hooked up to the GPS anchor alarm. Mitch's back is better now so we run the TV and speaker wire. While we have the car we travel on down the road to Islamorada and Tavernier and have lunch at a neat little outdoor bar called Robbie's

A manatee looking at us on the dock. There is also an alligator that lives nearby but he won't pose for a picture. He was by Mitch's boat one afternoon and I could have reached over to pet him but he heard me get my camera out and took a dive.

It looks like Sunday will be a good day to cross so on Saturday we will leave for Pumpkin Key. We are ready to move on. Although it has been fun, we have been velcroed to the dock for too long.

April 1- April 4 Anchorage Resort & Marina Key Largo Fl

2011-04-08T20:12:00.007-04:00

Barb & Mitch's son John Departing

The Anchorage Resort where we are staying is a little old but has a nice pool, Tennis Court and is near Key Largo. There could be a lot worse places to be stranded. The "Recovery Room" where Mitch, Barb and John are staying is a nice one bedroom suite. Were in the Keys Mon so life is great! Mitch is now on the road to recovery from the flu but he will throw his back out shortly. He was prepared for such an occurrence as he has some meds to help him recover. John and Barb take their newly borrowed dinghy for a lengthy ride and toward the end of the excursion the dinghy dies not to be restarted again. Thats another project when Mitch recovers

The shrimp are running right through the Marina here at night. The locals get the lights out and one was very generous to lend me a shrimp net. (A long handled fine mesh landing net). So catch shrimp we did. We have had fresh shrimp almost every evening for cocktails

Jim with a nice bag of shrimp caught right here in the Marina

John has rented a car to fly home so we had a car available for a few hours on Saturday so Judy and Barb went to the Grocery and I picked up a few supplies at West Marine. We will be here for awhile

Mitch Barb & John pictured with Mark the Tow Boat US Captain that rescued them from Pumpkin Key

March 29-March 31 Anchorage Resort & Marina Key Largo

2011-03-31T18:10:00.004-04:00

Obviously our crossing to Bimini is off for today. With the severe storms the Ocean has probably been stirred up real good and it would not be a good day to cross. On Tues morning Lands End II pulled anchor and limped slowly towards the Manatee Boatyard some 15 miles away where they said they could haul him and inspect for damage. The news was pretty good. Absolutely no damage to the hull, struts or shafts. Props didn't fare so well. They were badly damaged. A spare set of props was onboard so they changed the props and cleaned some water intakes and he was back in the water as good as new except for a slightly traumatized crew. John was just recovering from the 24 hour flu bug when Barb got the same malady as they were entering the marina Travel-Lift. John has recovered, Barb is recovering, and now Mitch has been stricken. They have a motel room here at the resort which will be deemed the "recovery room"

In our 8000 miles of travel this was without a doubt the most severe storm we have encountered while on the water. Winds reported to be in excess of 60mph What went wrong. We were too complacent about the weather. When we saw that first bit if lightning in the distance I should have tuned into radar on the computer and then we could have moved away from the island and let out more anchor line. There was plenty of open water so if we did drag anchor we would not have been close to shore

Bald Eagle along the waterway

We have all pulled into the Anchorage Resort and Marina which is near Key Largo. We pulled in Wednesday morning after spending one more night at anchor at Pumpkin Key. Will let you know when we leave here and attempt another crossing

Pumpkin Key Anchorage-A night from Hell-March 28 2011

2011-03-31T17:48:00.001-04:00

Silver Foxes: The weather radio during the day was giving storm warnings for southern Florida but they said the severe storms would likely break up before they reached the keys. The chance of storms was slight.
After a vey peaceful evening and marinated chicken on the grill we settled in to watch TV. We are only 35 miles from Miami so the over the air HDTV is crisp and clear. All of a sudden we hear all kinds of things rattling outside. I look outside and we had switched directions 180 degrees at anchor in a matter of minutes. It was pitch black outside. The wind was howling. The skies open up with driving rain. Mitch called and said he was dragging anchor. I started my engines and tried to keep from dragging but it was too late. I was dragging anchor and being blown toward the island. I tried to drag the anchor and the boat into deeper water but the wind was too strong to make any headway. I thought I was aground because all progress stopped and I was very close to shore. I knew I needed to get the anchor reeled in if I had any hope of moving. I attach a safety line to the anchor chain when anchoring to take the strain off of the windlass. I left the helm to cut the safety line and when I did that the rest of the anchor chain and 150' of anchor rope feed through the windlass and did not quite get to the bitter end of the rode as it knotted up just before that to keep it from paying out any farther. I knew then that the anchor had caught and was now set solidly but now the boat was rapidly heading to the mangroves and shallow water. I applied starboard reverse engine throttle to keep from going aground. Up to 2500 rpms at time. That kept my stern out from shore. How deep was the water?. Don't know because the reverse thrust kept the depth sounder from reading. I do know that we anchored in 9' of water before being blown towards shore. This was a slow moving storm--looking at the Nexrad radar it looked like there was one wave of red cells coming after the other. So I sat there at the helm until 1am with the starboard engine in reverse. About 2am the wind shifted so that I was held away from the shallow water by the wind and I was able to shut the engines down. Judy and I took turns the rest of the evening on watch but I didn't sleep much.
By morning the winds calmed and we were well off the island. It was time to reel in the anchor line. Would the windlass work? Yes! The anchor had dug itself (must have been buried 3') and it was difficult to retrieve but it had caught in about 5' of water. All was well after taking a test ride. Only damage was to the anchor roller where it bent the 1/4" stainless steel.

Bent bow pulpit on Silver Foxes

Lands End II :. Mitch, Barb, and John weren't quite so lucky. After their anchor started dragging, unable to see in the darkness and the rain they soon were aground near shore. Mitch was able to retrieve his anchor successfully but with the wind howling he could not get off. He was hard aground and thumping up against what he thought was rocks. TowBoat US arrived about 10:30pm. No guarantees he said but he would try to pull him off. An 18' enclosed boat with a 150hp outboard. Soon I saw the lights move slowly, another pause and then the slow but sure movement away from shore. Success! They pulled him out into deep water somewhat in the lee of the island where he set his anchor. While being towed to the anchorage his saga was not over. The dinghy strap broke dropping one end of the dingy in the water (Dinghy & motor are okay Hank!). Also the Weber Q grill blew off the flybridge into the cockpit nearly hitting Barb. Not much sleep for the Lands End II crew either

Travel to Pumpkin Key Monday March 28th

2011-03-31T15:16:00.002-04:00

Silver Foxes passing through one of the narrow shallow cuts
in Florida Bay

104 miles to cover today including a stop for fuel and water. The weather still looks good for a crossing to Bimini tomorrow hence the long distance today. We normally only travel 7-8 mph so to cover that distance at that speed would not work. So pick up the pace we must. At 7.5 mph I normally average a little better than 2 miles per gallon. Today we will travel at nearly 10 mph and I will average about 1 mile per gallon of fuel. In order to arrive at our fueling stop before 5pm we needed to pull anchor at the Shark river and be underway at 6 am well before first light. After dodging 2 sailboats without their anchor lights on and following our GPS track out the River we were underway on the Florida Bay. As the sun rose it was a most delightful day. A light chop on the Bay.

We are now headed to the Florida Keys traveling on the North and West side of the keys rounding the tip of Florida and headed in the direction of Miami. The route up the Keys this way is very shallow and you must follow the markers very closely. Judy and I had traveled this way before in 2008 and had never seen less than 5' of water. This time was different. Before entering Buttonwood sound our Depthfinder alarm would continually sound and in several places we saw 4.1' of water. The water draft of our boat is slightly under 4'. Lands End II draws a little over 4' so he touched bottom several times. The bottom is sand but it is still scary. We were traveling at nearly low tide. Not good timing. Tide here doesn't help much as it only about 8". In this case any tide would have helped This section of shallow water slowed us down to near idle but i had allowed for some slop in our travel time so we arrived at Gilberts Marina near Key Largo FL to take on fuel and water a little after 4pm. 13 miles to our anchorage at Pumpkin Key which is spitting distance from the entrance to Angelfish Creek. Angelfish Creek is a waterway that leads from the Florida Bay (West) side of the Keys to the Atlantic Ocean where we will depart in the morning for Bimini some 63 miles away. Arriving at our Pumpkin Key Anchorage, which is a beautiful small island, we set the hook at 6:30 pm. Gave each other the thumbs up for a successful day, talked on the radio for our plans for departure in the morning and then went about our way to prepare dinner. Little did we know our peaceful delightful anchorage would turn into a nightmare

One of the many dolphins that follow us-Great photo by John West

March 26-27 Naples & Little Shark River

2011-03-31T14:15:00.001-04:00

The weather looks great so we plan to travel to Naples some 70 miles away via the Ocean. We will travel a few miles to Charlotte Harbor where we enter the Gulf of Mexico through the Boca Grande Pass. An absolutely delightful day on the Gulf. Emerald Green water and waves less than a foot. After entering Gordons Pass at Naples we turned left into the second bay and set anchor. A delightful evening

Lands End II traveling the Ocean Blue

At anchor at a bay in Naples

Up early to weigh anchor at first light and on to the Little Shark River which is in The Everglades at the southwestern tip of the Florida mainland. Another trip of some 70 miles. We could have traveled inland to Marco Island and then out in the Gulf but we chose to travel the Gulf route knowing it would be somewhat windy and rougher. Both were true. Mostly 2-3' waves with a four or five footer thrown in quite often to bounce us around a little. The waves were on our bow so overall it was a good ride. Arrival time at the Shark River was about no-seeum time. (mosquitoes you can't see but you sure can feel them bite) so it didn't take long to close up the boat and start the air conditioner.

Sunset in the Little Shark River in the Florida Everglades

Departure Day Saturday March 26 2011

2011-03-31T13:22:00.000-04:00

After stocking the ships store with groceries and other essentials such as beer, wine and liquor we are prepared to leave the dock. A great time it was to spend at Mitch and Barbs home. I tried to earn my keep by helping him on his boat projects. Many enjoyable dinners at home as well as with Mitch and Barbs friends and family.

Our float plan has been set. It looks like Tuesday may be a good day to cross the Ocean and the Gulfstream to Bimini. We will depart Saturday morning and travel some 240 miles by Monday night to a point where we can make the crossing to Bimini. An ambitious plan but doable. Off we go!

Barb stocking the Ship's store

John, Mitch, Barb

John, Mitch and Barb's son will accompany us for the first week. He hopes to fly home from Nassau

Meeting the BAY

2011-03-31T13:03:00.000-04:00

The BAY a 63' Navigator

Our next door boat dock neighbors at Legacy Harbour in Ft. Myers are from Chicago, Claudia and Michael,and lived on their 25' Ranger Tug this winter. Somewhere along the line they got "boat itus" which is a disease most boaters get when they desire a bigger boat. C&M came down with a severe case. Over the Winter they negotiated and purchased a 63' Navigator boat. They have named it the BAY (Big Ass Yacht). The boat was located in Long Boat Key so when bringing it home they came right by Mitch & Barb's home on the waterway. So we took Mitch's small boat out to meet and greet and take pictures.

Claudia and Michaels 25' Ranger Tug

Preparing for Departure to the Exumas

2011-03-31T12:43:00.000-04:00

Our earliest departure date will be Saturday March 26th so we will have some time to help Mitch with his projects on the boat, have some fun time, and enjoy the view of the waterway from their home Mitch and Barb recently left the active day to day management of their True Value Hardware store in Englewood so they are living a lifestyle similar to ours sans boating but that is also about to change. After a leisurely start to the day we (Mitch & I) would hit the project list that Mitch had in his notepad

First project- finish installing the dinghy davits (the brackets that hold an inflatable boat to the transom). Mitch had done the heavy lifting by measuring and drilling, but he needed an extra hand to insert the bolts etc. Hank & Karen, their neighbors have a 12' dinghy with a 25 hp motor they have graciously allowed Mitch to borrow. This will provide great transportation for us when we get to the islands. All went well as you can see Hank & Mitch inspecting the installation

Several other projects successfully completed: Changing the water pump impellers on the Caterpillar 3116 engines. One impeller was missing lots of rubber so we had to tear the heat exchanger apart to find the missing pieces. That went well. Fixed the intercom from the lower helm to the flybridge.

One vexing problem that has bugged me since we brought the boat home. The tachometers either did not work or they would dance like windshield wipers. After much consternation and troubleshooting, I discovered they were hooked up to the alternator rather than the magnetic induction pickup on the flywheel so that problem was solved after hooking them up the proper way. The above perhaps way too technical and boring for some but of interest to others.

March 15- arrival at Cape Haze Florida

2011-03-30T12:26:00.000-04:00

Lands End II and Silver Foxes neatly tucked in to their docks at Mitch and Barbs House

Departing Ft. Myers it is some 17 miles down the Caloosahatchee River where a right turn heads up through Charlotte Harbor and a really neat anchorage in Pelican Bay at Cayo Costa State Park. There was some concern about the water depth upon entrance to the park but by hugging "the sign" we saw no less than 7' of water. After a peaceful night at anchor, a dinghy ride ashore the next morning took us to the State Park -$2 entrance fee honor system- and in short order we were in a "tram" headed to the seven mile beach on the Gulf of Mexico and a great walk on the beach.

Mitch & Barb were waiting for us as we arrived after clearing the 3:30 pm Boca Grande causeway swing bridge. Some of you may recall, Judy and I helped Mitch and Barb in October of 2009, deliver their newly purchased 42' Ocean Alexander from Cincinnati Oh to their home in Cape Haze Fl which is just south of Englewood. They have a beautiful home which overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. Silver Foxes slipped gently into the dock next to their boat. Mitch and Barb have prior commitments so our earliest departure for the Exumas will be March 26th -weather permitting. Besides Mitch has some projects to finish on his boat which he wants me to help him with.

We moved into their home. It was good to be on land again. Lands End is the name of their home-hence the appropriate name of Lands End II for their boat name

One of the many enjoyable dinners at Mitch & Barbs House

Winter in Fort Myers 2010-11

2011-03-30T11:36:00.001-04:00

Red Sox Spring Training in Fort Myers

Tom & Doris departing Legacy Harbou

Lauren & Terry departing

On a sunny warm day in January we took three other Decatur couples down the Caloosahatchee River to Rum Runners Restaurant for lunch

Our Boat Dock C neighbors Claudia & Michael. Claudia is the Captain and Michael is the Chief Engineer

After spending the last three winters in the Bahamas, we decided to go someplace different this year. On our Great Loop trip we had previously stopped at Legacy Harbour Marina in downtown Fort Myers Fl. We liked it so well we decided to return. There are many restaurants nearby as well as the theater. Good choice for us. Great boat neighbors on our C dock. Lots of fun. How did we get our boat there you may ask. Well it was stored in Charleston SC for the summer. In early November we departed Decatur and on Nov 9th we departed southward through the Intrarcoastal waterway for Ft Myers. Beautiful weather accompanied our 675 mile trip all the way through to our arrival in Fort Myers on November 29th. Lots of nights anchored out (as we say on the hook). There is a water route across the middle of Florida called the Okeechobee Waterway which crosses the massive Lake Okeechobee. It was our first time to travel this route. We spent three days crossing the waterway including a stop at Rolland Martins marina

It is now time to move on. All of our friends on the dock have departed, except our neighbors Claudia & Michael. They have just purchased a new boat-more on that in the next chapter-so they will be here for a while. So we are off to Cape Haze Florida where our good friends Mitch and Barb West reside on the waterway. They have dock space available and we will get ready for our trip to the southern Bahamas

Departure day March 14th

Our special time in the Bahamas Winter 2010

2011-03-29T20:13:00.008-04:00

Toward the end of our winter spent in the Bahamas we were fortunate to be able to rent a large house in Marsh Harbour so that our family could come and join us. They didn't all come at once ! The weather was almost perfect everyday so we spent lots of time at Hopetown, Tahiti Beach, Guyana, Little Harbor and lots of places in between

Pictured son Brad,granddaughters Allison,Elizabeth,Emily,
Brian's wife Amy,Janna's husband Matt, grandson Connor, daughter
Janna, and son Brian pictured in Hopetown

Judy,Brother-in-Law,Jim, Sister Debbie pictured on the Main Street in Hopetown

Judy's Sister Jane

Judy's Brother Mike & Judy pictured at Nippers

Back On the Blog Again

2011-03-29T14:30:00.013-04:00

We have been planning a new adventure, so it is time to start the Blog again. I know you have not been blog deprived since my last post in 2009. Yes I could do Facebook, which is probably more modern, but this is easier to share with whomever enjoys reading about our adventures. What you say is our new Advenure-well it is a trip to the southern Bahamas chain, the Exumas and Eleuthera. My personal opinion is that the Bahamas should be on of the seven wonders of the world. It is so beautiful, with pristine waters, and remoteness but yet it is so close to North America. The closest Bahamian Island which is Bimini only lies 60 miles east of Miami. So of we go to a new adventure-follow along if you like. We will try to keep you informed as internet permits. First I will post a few pictures of last years winter in the Northern Bahamas as well as bring you up to date on our winter in Fort Myers.

May 4-May 16 Ortega Landing Marina

2009-05-16T09:21:00.003-04:00

Wading into the River to see the Shuttle launch

Shuttle Atlantis lifts off

The crowd gathering and waiting for lift off

Judy and Gail found a shady spot

As we passed through Cocoa and Titusville we see the space shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour on the launch pads. Atlantis is scheduled to lift off May 11 and Endeavour is the backup rescue. What a spectacular view of the lift off if only we were about 10 days later. You can anchor within about 5 miles of launch and that is about as close as any humans get. After settling in at Ortega landing and Gail taking John to the airport we decide to rent a car on Monday the 11th, drive to Titusville to see the space launch. Not near as good as from the boat but still a good view from Space Launch Park in Titusville which is about 140 miles from Jacksonville. We arrive about 11am. Already lots of people there. It is hot-low 90's and no wind. By launch time there are 3000 people including those wading in the River to get a better view. We were probably 10 miles away. The picture of the launch does not come close to what you see. The shuttle is actually out of site by the time you hear the noise. Quite spectacular and worth the trip.

May 1- 5 the ICW Northward

2009-05-16T08:56:00.004-04:00

Judy Piloting on the ICW

Fishing from the pier on a Sunday afternoon along the ICW

We just learned that John needs to go home to see his Doctor. He has not been feeling well so he has made arrangements to fly home from Jacksonville. After some discussion Judy and I decided we would stay with Gail while he is gone. So we will slowly make our way towards Jacksonville. The weather is great. Upper 70's. We are off to New Symrna Beach. Nice stop. Anchored not far from town and John and I dinghied into town after repairing a electrical connection on his engine that had caused him to shut down one engine after he left the anchorage at the Haulover Canal. The next three nights we spent at anchor. At the Marina Dolphin Research Center, St. Augustine, and Reed Island off of the St. Johns River. This was our third trip to St. Augustine and we have enjoyed it each time. Jacksonville is up the St. John's River some 16 miles from the ICW. Our home for the next two weeks will be the Marina at Ortega Landing. A Condo complex under development but with a very nice Marina and related amenities and at a very reasonable price.

April 23-30 Back in the States

2009-05-15T09:03:00.007-04:00

Very nice home along the ICW

Sunset coming into the lake Worth inlet from the Ocean

My first fish caught on the trip. A Bahama Runner

Today is April 23, the weather man says conditions to cross over will not be ideal but doable
and get better as the day progresses. The trip if we take the direct route to the Lake Worth inlet is 91 miles. If we take the "back way" which means going back through the Lucayan Waterway into the Sea of Abaco and crossing to Lake Worth from WestEnd is 108 miles. The latter route was the chosen one since it would be much smoother until we hit the Atlantic. A beautiful ride through the protected Sea of Abaco. Gin clear water and very tranquil. I hooked up with my first fish pictured above. As soon as we hit the Atlantic the sea of tranquility ended. The waves were small but there were 5' swells from the north and then from the south. We rolled from side to side but it was not too uncomfortable. Arrival time would be after dark and we would see the sunset from the water. We found our way into the Fort Worth inlet after dark and found a place to anchor amongst the boats. When arriving by boat you must clear customs and a telephone call accomplished the feat easily with our Local Boater Option #. Our Canadian friends had to appear in person the next morning at the customs office but that also was very easy. Customs office is just a dinghy ride away. Judy and I had never been to Ft. Lauderdale so we rented a car along with John and Gail and toured Lauderdale by car. Every side canal contains megayachts and boats of every description. We also visited the Sailorman store. Unique boating store that mostly sells used boating stuff in an environment that violates most rules of retailing.

On Saturday April 25th we started our trek northward on the ICW. An anchorage near Jensen Beach left us with no much sleep as there was little protection from the wind. On Sunday we travelled to an anchorage near EauGaille and on Monday we settled into Cocoa Village Marina for a few days. John & Gails friends, Pam & Dave Bruce met us there. They had flown from Canada to Sun & Fun aero meet and after that flew to Cocoa. Salty Dawg (Pat &Pat) and John Henry (Wink & Wilma) were anchored here and came to see us by dinghy. On Thursday we departed Cocoa, took on Fuel in the Canaveral Barge Canal and the backtracked a few miles to the ICW and found a cozy little anchorage in a very tiny bay off of the Haulover Barge Canal. It was our first encounter with Manatees for an extended period of time. All evening they swam around the boat in spite of fisherman coming and going at all hours.

April 14-22 Port Lucaya Grand Bahama

2009-05-14T22:03:00.007-04:00

Banana Beach near Port Lucaya

Beach at Port Lucaya

Rock Creek in Lucayan National Park

We don't even mention that we are "stuck" here due to weather. We are near a somewhat large "metropolitan" area. A short water taxi ride takes us to Port Lucayan Village. A collection of retail shops of various quality and short term stays for various mega yachts of the world. On Friday we had dinner in the Village with Rita & Bob from Magnum Opus and Dave & Barb from Chablis both Boat Harbor boaters. Lots to do here. Other boats from Boat Harbor are also here. They left Boat Harbor before we did and tried to cross but turned back so if we ever get a good weather window there will be lots of company. Easter Sunday was celebrated with a dinner on John & Gail's boat. On Monday we rented a car and headed east. Visited the Lucayan national Park-not as grand as we know them but several underwater caves, beaches and backwater creeks. Stopped at Smitty's restaurant (i.e. filling station) upon recommendation of friends from Decatur-what a surprise-great meal-never would have stopped-- as they say looks are not everything.

Tax Day April 15th the weather man says it is okay to cross. Our destination is West Palm Beach Fl some 90 miles away. We always look for a weather forecast of seas 2' or less. Off we go but we didn't get 4 miles from port when we found out the weatherman was giving a Chamber of Commerce forecast. The seas were rolling and five footers were not uncommon so back to our very comfortable boat slip we came. The next day the 16Th we considered leaving at night and making a night crossing but the window was very short and any premature closure or change would have made for uncomfortable conditions. Keep in mind the boat is seaworthy but the occupants may not be. Gail & John have a friend of a friend here. He flies for Air Canada and lives here in the winter. His wife Doris treated us royally as Dave was working. We made several trips to the beach including a trip to Banana Beach where we had a marvelous lunch and walk on the beach. Everyday something new and a new adventure

April 6-13 Lucaya Grand Bahama

2009-05-14T21:21:00.006-04:00

Grand Lucaya Yacht Club Tiki Bar

Turtle frolicking in the Atlantic ocean

The undeveloped Grand Lucayan Waterway

The Grand Lucayan Waterway is a man made channel built in the 70's about 250' wide that cuts through Grand Bahama island and runs from the Sea of Abaco to the Atlantic Ocean. The entire waterway as well as the side channels are lined with a cement retaining wall. Unfortunately some body's dream of development never materialized and it is largely undeveloped with only a few houses built along the waterway-some shacks and some mansions. We arrived after making our tenuous entrance from the Sea of Abaco about dark. Fortunately the cruising guides alerted us to a perfect anchorage off the waterway. Well protected from the wind. It is now Monday April 6th. No phone or Internet service. The next day we hailed a nearby fisherman who called a cab for us. Gail needed to go to the bank. In a story to long to tell, her Bankcard blew overboard. A test revealed that a bankcard doesn't float for long so taking no chances we were off to the bank to cancel it. We also found a Pizza Hut that had Internet service so we caught up on our banking and email and most importantly the weather.

Our plan was to stay here at anchor, wait for a good weather window and cross the big Pond back to the States. As we listen to the weather it looks like it will be a week or more for good crossing weather. The decision was mad to be more in touch with worldly things so we decided to move to Port Lucaya. To get there you exit the Grand Lucayan Waterway, traverse the Atlantic ocean a short ways and enter Lucaya which is not far from Freeport. Our destination is the Grand Lucaya Yacht Club which is elegant but economical due to an arrangement with the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club. Unknowingly this would be our home until April 22nd

April 2-8 On the Waterway to Cross the Pond

2009-05-14T09:16:00.005-04:00

Dinner at Rosie's Pub

Learning Bahamian Dominoes

View out to the Atlantic from Grand Cay

A shop in Grand Cay-all are like this

Main Street in Grand Cay

The hardware store which is no longer much of a hardware store but mostly stocks liquor

The memorabilia tree at Allens Pensocala cay. Used to be 2 cays but a recent hurricane joined them

Bringing the dinghy ashore on Allens-Pensacola Cay. The Atlantic Ocean is in the background

We reluctantly must say good bye to our home for the last several months in Boat Harbour. The day is very windy as we shove off-blowing 35 mph from the south and gusting higher as we leave the dock. Our trip will take us about 35 miles through a dangerous exposed area from the Atlantic Ocean when the wind is blowing from the north or the northeast. But a south wind is somewhat okay. As we approach the "whale", the dangerous area, a boat ahead of us reports the going is a little bit rough so we alter our course to go through the Dont Rock cut. Very shallow (5') but not as exposed to the south winds. The passage turned out well and we set anchor in front of Coopers Town, a very small outpost in the Abacos but it gave us protection from the south wind.

The next day we set out for an anchorage at Allens Pensacola Cay. Abeautiful protected anchorage. The wind died and the dinghy's were lowered to travel to the north side of the cay on the Atlantic ocean side. A very nice sandy beach and the remnants of those who had travelled before us to leave their memorabilia. After returning to the beach we were approached by a fisherman who had just harvested Stone Crab Claws. Biggest ones we had ever seen. He said after we cook them we will sell you some. So sometime later Judy and I dinghied over to their boat and purchased several pounds. Fantastic meal that night. The secret to cooking Stone Crab Claws is not to over cook them. Just warm them up. Stone Crab Claws are taken from the actual Stone Crabs. Their Claws are harvested and the Stone Crabs are thrown back where they regenerate new claws and meat.

Off to Grand Cay-out of the way on our quest to cross the Pond but we hadn't been here before. 200 people live here and it is miles from anywhere. All make their living from the Sea or operating very very small stores or restaurants. We arrived early in the day. No Internet but we stopped in the police station (one policeman)-he happened to be there so he let us use his computer to pull up the weather. After we toured the town on Sunday afternoon we retired to Rosie's Pub where we whiled the afternoon away playing Dominoes and drinking the beer of the Bahamas- Kalik (pronounced Click). Earlier in the day we ordered our evening meal at Rosie's. No menu to order from-but Lobster was $14.95. It would be served sometime between 7 and 7:30 pm depending on when the chef would come to work. Fresh Turtle was also on the menu but we respectfully declined. Grand Cay is really a great stop and one of the highlights of our trek home.

The wind picked up the next day as we made our way some 40 miles to the Lucayan Waterway on Grand Bahama Island. The Lucyan Waterway is a man made canal some 8 miles long that cuts across Grand Bahama Island from the Sea of Abaco to the Atlantic ocean. It is deep (12') but the problem is that the entrance to the Waterway from the Sea of Abaco which we must traverse is very shallow-only 3 1/2' deep at low tide. Our arrival was several hours before high tide so we threw out an anchor near the entrance in the rolling seas and waited about 4 hours which was supposed to be near high tide. High tide never came because the strong winds blew all the tide away. I volunteered to lead the way through the entrance which is about 1000' long. The depth sounder hovered around 5' much of the way but in several places we read 4' and we require 3'10". Our time followed us in. They require 4'6". They heard the the thump of their keel on the ground several times but no damage and no impediment to their forward motion. Tense moments but all turned well

March 18-April 2 Marsh Harbour Bahamas

2009-05-14T08:31:00.002-04:00

Our trip back to the Bahmas from home was uneventful. We were able to bypass Miami and that makes the flights more pleasant. Up next on the Boat Harbour agenda is the Beach Party on the 31st. John & Gail and Judy and myself are the co-chair for the event. We have planned a Limbo contest, "legs" contest, conch blowing, as well as sand skiing. The sand skiing event is pictured. Not quite as simple as it looks -it takes lots of coordination (left-- right and all at the same time). John and I spent several days asking for volunteers for the various duties and contests-not one person turned us down-that is the nature of everyone here. The resort prepared the meal ( hot dogs and hamburgers). The Yacht Club furnished the drinks. Many boaters are preparing for their departure back to the States so we were concerned that we wouldn't have many people at the party. Everybody loves a Beach Party and in the end 120 people came. The local Limbo guy was engaged to put on a show but apparently he doesn't wear a watch either and he was late for his own show -when he did show-he was scratched from the show-- and our own members gave us great entertainment even though they obviously broke some of the rules of limbo.

March 18-24 Home

2009-05-13T22:32:00.002-04:00

We are faced with a dilemna. Easter won't be here for a couple of weeks, when we will be traveling home and Judy need a grandchildren "fix". We had decided some time ago we would have a faux Easter in March and have all of the family home and we would fly home and Judy would host the party as she always does at Easter time. It was a whirlwind trip home. Pictured above Judy and her brother Mike. The other picture is of the grandchildren at the first seating

March 11-17 Marsh Harbour Bahamas

2009-05-13T22:14:00.004-04:00

There are many nice homes surrounding our Marina at Boat Harbour. Ben & Margaret from the next dock rented one of the homes so their family could stay there when they come to visit. They invited everyone to a cocktail party at the house. Very nice. Looks directly over the Sea of Abaco. St. Patrick's Day is here and another chance for a get together. This party isn't quite as grand but everyone cooks something for the occasion and and each furnished their own version of green libations

March 10 Pirates Ball Party

2009-03-13T22:36:00.006-04:00

Judy making sure you are a real pirate to gain entry

Carter Lisa and Duane

Jim & Judy

Past Commodore Robert and Carolyn

The decorations

Gail Madison and Carter

Judy in full regalia

The long awaited Pirates Ball has arrived. Gail has worked all summer to make outfits for everybody including the kids. It would be hard to select the best dressed but without a doubt our group would have won the best dressed prize. Don't know how them pirates got along with an eyepatch but it certainly was a handicap. Judy got a lot of compliments on her long red hair. Dancing ended at the boatly hour of 10pm but some people went to party on the beach and howl at the nearly full moon while others retired to the boat to have coffee.

March 6-9 Tahita Beach Elbow Cay

2009-03-13T22:21:00.005-04:00

Jim & Judy on the beach

Judy watching the dinghy

Picnic in the shade

View of the Atlantic Ocean through Tillo cut

Another view of the beach and the ocean

The sandbar at low tide

Pictures from our day trip to Tahiti Beach. Tahiti Beach is a shallow spit of land that stick out from Elbow Cay. At low tide it is completely exposed and leaves lots of shells, sea glass and sea biscuits. Great place to wade in shallow water and enjoy the sand and the beautiful view. On one side is the Sea of Abaco which is fairly shallow--10' or less in many places and the view through Tilloo cut from Tahiti beach reveals the Atlantic ocean in all its rage, depth and beauty.

March 1-5 Marsh Harbor Abacos Bahamas

2009-03-13T21:56:00.005-04:00

Carter on the saw!

The Barefoot Man

Grabbers on Guyana Cay

View from Grabbers

Lunch at Grabbers on Barefoot Man day

Judy and Carter

Madison Lisa and Duane

Rib night at the Jib Room featured Carter playing the saw and then another talent night at the Marina on Thursday. The two pictures above show John & Gail's children and grandchildren. Then Friday it was the barefoot man concert on Guyana. We took the 10:30 am ferry over to the island. Lunch at Grabbers before attending the concert. About 2pm the Barefoot Man appeared and started singing his borderline risque songs such as Thong Gone Wrong. A beautiful day. The crowd was a little less than last year by design as the concert was held on a Friday. By 4:30 the enthusiasm was waning so it was back to Marsh Harbor via the ferry

Feb 22-28 Marsh Harbor

2009-03-13T20:39:00.004-04:00

Pete's Pub with its youthful patrons

Talent night

View from Nippers

Nipper's on Sunday

Nippers Bar which sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean is a favorite party place on Sunday Afternoon. When it is sunny and warm as it was on this Sunday afternoon, people come from all the adjacent islands to partake in the party. I must digress a little. On Saturday night we visited all three of the bars on the island--Nippers, Grabbers and the Coconut Beach Bar. There is a house on Marsh Harbor that looks distinctly like a Castle which was built by a Doctor on the Island in the 50's and I am reading the book Castle in the Air which was written by Dr. Cottman and published by his daughter Gayle. Everybody is friendly on the islands and I soon learned that our bar friend at the next table was Gayle Cottman so I got a little further insight into the building of the house.

Communications can sometimes be a problem here in the Bahamas, especially if you are out and about on the boat. Cell phone service for all but the locals is non existent. Anyway Judy heard over the VHF Radio that an emergency message was waiting for Our Time. When John retrieved the emergency message it was for Mike and Janice, his guests on Our Time. After calling home, Mike learned that his brother had died suddenly while shoveling snow. Our day ended on a sad note and Mike and Janice flew home on Monday, a day before their scheduled departure.

On Monday Augustine, the local canvas maker, brought our top back after he made the final adjustments. It fits very nicely but it was long drawn out process. Everything takes time here so you must be patient.

Sherrie from ChipkaFire is temporarily husband less and John from our time is temporarily wifeless so we had them over for dinner on Tuesday night.

Wednesday night, Judy and I went to Mangoes for Italian night and then on Thursday it was off to the resort restaurant for local talent night. Very good- we stayed and closed the place at the ungodly boatly hour of 10pm.

Gail along with their daughter Lisa, husband Duane and children Madison and Carter arrived on Wednesday. On Friday we took a trip about 15 miles south to Little Harbor where Pete's Pub is located. It is just a hut-no floors or doors-just a sand floor-only place I know where you need to make a reservation to eat on a picnic table in the sand. Madison and Carter are pictured with Judy at the bar!

The next day we dinghied back into some backwater to look at a blue hole--A place where the water drops from 4' to unknown depths and ends in a cavern onshore. There is a monument here where several people lost their lives exploring the underground waters.

From here both boats left for Tahiti beach which is not far from our marina but to get there you must pass an area that is exposed to the Ocean waves. For those that are not used to the rolling of the waves it can be a little disconcerting making some people see 'green'. Unfortunately some of the occupants on our companion boat got this disease so they headed back to port. Judy and I anchored at Tahiti Beach and spent the evening sitting on the deck watching the emerald gin clear water and indulging in a beautiful sunset.

Feb 14-21 Marsh Harbor Abacos

2009-03-13T19:59:00.008-04:00

The Limbo Man inches above the ground

Dinner on Monday night on our boat with Tom & Patsy Conrad (True North) and Pat(not shown) & Pat Dwyer from Salty Dawg

Man O War flea market

One of the streets in Man-O-War. The sign says "slippery when wet"

Valentine's day-a busy day. Most everyone in the harbor took a special ferry to Man-O-War Cay which is about 7 miles from Marsh Harbor for their annual Flea market days. Pretty funky but a big deal here. Maybe a thousand extra people on the island where normally maybe 150 people live. Food, junk, as well as some good things sold by vendors set up on the streets (golf cart paths). Several of the girls from the Marina had a special booth and sold some of the jewelry they make. It was a fun morning and then back to the marina for Valentines dinner at Mangoes, a local restaurant with John & Gail and their friends Mike and Janice. On Sunday it was off to church on the local school bus. For those of you who are familiar with the Bishops Fund Drive their quota at St Frances de Sales Church was $3600. To make matters worse only 3% of their parishioners contribute to the fund drive. Anyway Church was lively as always. Tuesday night was Movie night on our boat. We watched Gran Torino. Great movie starring Clint Eastwood. Not out for rental yet so apparently a bootleg copy. John & Gail + Mike and Janice were in the audience. Wed night was rib night at the Jib room. Always a fun evening and finished off by the Limbo man. No Dancing Queen for Judy to dance with this evening. Gail had to fly home the next day as her good friend lost her battle with cancer. On Saturday we took the boats over to Tahiti Beach and lunch at Cracker P's was in order. A beautiful day. You can't take the boat to Cracker P's so we anchor out about a mile from the restaurant and take the dinghy in. After lunch we made our way to Guyana Cay about 15 miles away so we could visit Nippers and Grabbers bar on Sunday. The docks at the newly built Guayna Cay Resort are all new, but unfortunately they didn't make them quite wide enough. Silver Foxes tried to slip in between the pilings but only managed to wedge between the two pilings. Fortunately we backed out and found a dock that more than fit us so we settled in for the night.

February 9-13 Marsh Harbour Abacos

2009-03-13T12:29:00.006-04:00

Everyone is anticipating the Commodore's Ball which will take place on Friday. The theme is Mardi Gras. We shopped for our masks and beads before we left. In the meantime it was dinner on Libations (Mike & Pat) and a trip to Hopetown to anchor overnight. John & Gail (Our Time)had guests on their boat, Mike & Janice, so we traveled together to Hopetown and had lunch at the Hopetown lodge which overlooks the Atlantic. The Commodores ball was everything it was expected to be. Its true purpose is for the changing of the guard at the Yacht club but in reality it is an excuse for everyone on the boats and on land to get dressed up and have a good time. The top picture shows Judy with one of the waitstaff. The next picture is Judy with our friends Tom & Patsy Conrad (True North)from the panhandle of Florida who were visiting some other friends in the Bahamas. The bottom picture is some of the girl's on the dock before the ball. Judy, Janice, Gail and Sherrie from ChiptkaFire.

January 29-Feb 8 2009 Marsh Harbor Bahamas

2009-02-08T22:01:00.004-05:00

The Pirates ball is coming in March. Gail has made a bunch of pirates costumes for her crew as well as being so kind as to make one for Judy and me. Judy has been gently reminding me that I need to try the costume on, so here it is. Judy will have red hair with her costume and she has not let me see it. I have boots and bling to round out the authentic apparel.

Our next trip was to Tahiti Beach on our boat. It is not quite as exotic as it sounds but it is a beautiful strip of sand that extends into the Sea of Abaco from Elbow Cay and not far from Lubbers Quarters, another beautiful island and the home of one of my favorite places Craacker P's bar and restaurant. John & Gail joined us for our leisurely trip of 4 miles over to Tahiti Beach where we anchored. You can follow the anchor chain in the water on the bottom to the anchor. The dinghy ride over to Cracker P's is about a mile away. The water was quite choppy, showing some whitecaps. The girls were so kind as to sit in the front of the dinghy but their kindness resulted in being soaked by arrival time. A great wahoo sandwich freshly caught was worth the wet ride. A spectacular view of the Sea and the great weather was voted a tie with the sandwich. The Sea calmed down on the dinghy ride back to the boat and all were dry. We arrived back at the marina just before sunset.

John and I take a bike ride on our foldies every morning. There are a few steep hills in Marsh Harbour. They challenge our legs and our endurance on our 20" foldies. Most of the places we need to go have no hills but we challenge ourselves with those hills on the side roads. Sometimes even more challenging is finding what we want at the hardware store. There are three rather large hardware stores in town but often they don't have what we need. It is frustrating because at home a one stop shop at the Decatur True Value would procure what we need in very short order.

Jan 25-28 Marsh Harbour

2009-02-08T21:27:00.004-05:00

Wink & Wilma on the trawler John Henry have invited a bunch of us to go fishing out in the ocean on Sunday. John T's and my assignment for the adventure was to catch the baitfish for the trip. The fish are beside our boat. The problem is we didn't have any bait to catch the baitfish. Anyway after some experimenting and a lesson from Wink we used some very tiny hooks, cheese and bread and soon had our supply of 8-10" Key West Grunts. The water is so clear you can see the bait and the fish bite the hook. We soon had our assigned quota. The fishing trip took place in seas about as calm as the Ocean ever gets. No one got sick. Some people didn't even fish as witnessed by the picture of the ladies on the bridge. A total of 18 grouper were caught. The writer of this blog went zip in the catching department but it was great fun. Fresh grouper was fixed on the grill that evening.

The next adventure was a sailing trip on a real sailboat. Not quite a virgin sailboater, as Judy and I have sailed many moons ago on our friends Max and Judy's sailboat. Judy wasn't feeling up to par today so I went without her. We went on Tally Ho owned by Andrew and Vanessa Benjamin. Vanessa fixed lots of great food for lunch. Nice sail towards our luncheon anchorage. A small rain shower calmed the wind and we were wind challenged coming home but we made it at a very leisurely pace of anywhere from 1-4 knots. It was a great afternoon and the leisurely pace coming home made the trip more enjoyable. Vanessa is in the dinghy using a glass bottom viewing bucket. The bucket makes the bottom appear crystal clear. The depth is anywhere from 7-15'

January 21-24 Marsh Harbour

2009-02-08T20:51:00.004-05:00

On Sundays the school bus picks us up to take it St. Frances DeSales Catholic Church. As I described in the blog last year it is a delightful experience. The church is very lively and lots of singing(every verse and refrain) and the greeting at the sign of peace takes at least 10 minutes. Anyway the bus quit a couple of 100 yards from the church and about 3 miles from the Marina(home). Out we piled. A taxi came along and picked up the girls but the fellows along with some of the locals were picked up in a pickup truck by another local. He was on his way to another church service so we piled into his pickup. He dropped us off at the only stoplight in town and we hoofed it the last mile home.

Much against my better judgement I went to play Bingo on Thursday afternoon. Several good things happened. I could set at the bar to play, the drinks were half price, and I ended up winning $45 even though I didn't say Bingo when I won. After that was amateur talent night in the restaurant. What talent there is. The gal that tends bar would put any contestant on American Idol to shame. The cook has a terrific voice and our Commodore does an amazing imitation of Elvis. Others contributed equally well to the evening's entertainment. Afterwards dancing took place. It was so successful it looks like it will be a weekly event.

We went with John & Gail to ManOWar Cay. After successfully finding a mooring ball we launched the dinghy and had lunch at local restaurant overlooking the anchorage and bay. A short walk through the narrow streets including a visit to the hardware store pictured above.

January 14-20 2009 Marsh Harbour Bahamas

2009-02-08T20:20:00.004-05:00

This week was spent doing odd jobs on the boat and working on the year end financials for the store. Saturday night is steak night at the Jib Room restaurant which is nearby. 1 lb steaks cooked to perfection. About thirty of us from the dock went. It is about a mile away. Some walked, some rode bikes, and some took a taxi. The limbo man, and singing and dancing, takes place after the meal. Judy is shown dancing with the Dancing "Queen".

Many things around are named Curly Tails. They get their name from the curly tail lizards that are abundant on the island. Coconuts are also abundant here. The resort has gone on a palm tree and coconut trimming expedition . Coconuts can be a hazard when they ripen and fall. Hence hundreds of coconuts were being thrown away. The locals drain the coconut of its watery milky substance (they like it, I don't). Anyway John T found some that he could put to good use as a drink container. He filled them with a special rum concoction called coco loco. Be careful you may go loco!

January 6-13 Marsh Harbour Bahamas

2009-01-14T19:54:00.008-05:00

After arriving back at the boat it didn't take us long to appreciate the warm weather. All systems were fine on the boat. The next night, Tuesday, we were invited to a party at one of the Yacht Club member's winter home. Doug has a beautiful home that sits on a peninsula of Marsh Harbour and both sides of his home overlooks the Sea of Abaco. Drinks, food, music and a great time were enjoyed by all. Most of us attending the party were carless, so some rode their bikes, some got rides with those with cars and some including myself hoofed it home or as brother Mike would call it the Nike express. Judy got a ride with a local who dropped her off at the marina.

On Friday Judy and I decided to take the boat over to Hopetown, a very small town, but with no end to its beauty and charm including a working lighthouse. We reserved a mooring ball in the Harbor and stayed 2 nights at anchor. It is only 4 miles away so the boat ride is very short. The town is very quaint. Even though it is a repeat visit it is always delightful. The top picture above shows the streets of Hopetown where golf carts are not even allowed (as well as horses). The next picture is of the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the Hopetown Lodge seaside bar. The rest of the pictures show the harbor, the Lighthouse and views from the Lighthouse.

Gail from Our Time and Judy welcoming Pat(center) from Salty Dawg at the Chili cook off

The 28 chef contestants gathered for the chili cook off

After returning from Hopetown-Sunday was designated as football Sunday-but the cable was off so the first game between the Giants and Eagles was a satellite radio only event but apparently the Cableguy came through so we could watch the Steelers manhandle the Ravens. The next big event is the chili cook off-any male participant in the yacht club could enter-Just use your award winning recipe to fix a gallon of chili. The author was not one of the contestants. John from Our Time however is hopeful of a red ribbon but they will not return until late Monday so Judy procured all of his secret ingredients at the grocery so they would be ready when he returned. 200 people participated in the event and at the end of the night not much chili was left in any one's pot and the rum at the bar was well depleted. Unfortunately John's award winning recipe went red ribbon less tonight

December 18-Jan 5 Home Decatur IN

2009-01-14T19:22:00.007-05:00

Daughter Janna and her husband Matt

Brad reading his Christmas Present-The Adventures of Jim and Judy Cruising the Great Loop

Son Brian and grandma getting her fix with Elizabeth & Emily

Part of the family gathering at our house on Christmas day

Judy's brother Mike, his wife Roxy, Judy's sister Jane & Judy

Grandchildren Connor, Elizabeth, Allison and Emily

The trip home from Marsh Harbor went well until we got to Chicago when they cancelled our flight to Ft. Wayne due to snow in Chicago and ice in Ft. Wayne--not only cancelled but they rescheduled the flight 2 days later!--so off to the el we went where we rode the subway to downtown Chicago and then picked up the South Shore railway (electric) to South Bend. Our son Brian and granddaughter Elizabeth picked us up in South Bend and delivered us home. Our power was on but many in the area were without power for five days. A whirlwind at home with Christmas and going somewhere every night or having guests and besides we had some brutally cold weather, snow and more ice. On the way to the neighbors house, Judy went zooming on the ice and luckily did not break anything but has a sore tailbone and rear end to show for it. The days went by quickly and soon we were on our way back to the Bahamas. The trip went smoothly

December 13-18 Marsh Harbour Abacos Bahama

2008-12-17T19:42:00.004-05:00

The weather has been windy and a little on the cool side. High in the upper sixties. On Saturday the big event in the area is the Marsh Harbour Christmas Festival . It was a little far to walk to the festival so the four of us (John & Gail and Judy and I ) took a taxi. It didn't take too long to view the craft booths and there were lots of food tents but that wasn't too appealing as we were not far from lunch. A light jacket felt good and it reminded us a little more of Christmas. The music was good and the Defense force band performed on the street. The Prime Minister of the Bahamas also spoke albeit on Bahama time, just a little under an hour late. Judy is shown in the above picture in front of the Rotary food booth. People are starting to leave their boats to go home for the Holidays although there are lots of people staying. John and Gail left Tuesday. Last night we had Pat and Mike from Libations over for dinner. They are fellow loopers from Long Island NY that we met last year. Tuesday and Wednesday the weather has been great. High in the seventies and the breeze is gentle. Today, Wednesday, we announced the winner of the name the snowman contest. Marsh Harbor has a new patron snowman and his name is Marshy. The picture shows us presenting the prize (a bottle of rum) to Ed & Shirley Zellers of Tally Ho. More importantly we raised $75 dollars for Vincent the boat worker on our dock and his Haitian family. Tomorrow, Thursday we head home for the cold Indiana weather. Judy is anxious to see the children and grandchildren. We will return to the boat on January 6th

December 6-12 Marsh Harbour Great Abaco Island Bahama

2008-12-13T13:07:00.006-05:00

Everybody is in the Christmas spirit here at Boat Harbor. No cold weather to help that feeling. The temperature is in the seventies. Many of the boats are decorated with lights. We have nothing of holiday note on board but John and Gail do. After decorating their bow rail with lights they find they also have an 8' blow up Snowman on board. No room for this John said so why don't you put it on the flybridge of Silver Foxes. So up Frosty went on the flybridge. You can see it from all over the Marina. John also came up with the idea that we should rename Frosty so we are holding a contest to name the snowman. It costs you a dollar to enter. The prize is a bottle of rum. All entry fees will be donated to a Haitian family our dock is helping.

Augustine Williams is the canvas man here. He came to the boat and after looking at the damaged top, I agreed to have it replaced. He took some measurements and will get back with me. On Tuesday the Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club held it's Christmas Dinner. It was a great meal. Kind of fancy. The girls got all dressed up and I even put on long pants and a long sleeve shirt. 2 drinks and dinner for $10. Yacht club subsidized! the weather has turned windy again. On Friday the resort had a beach party dinner on the beach. Lots of people there and a local band with good music. A little cool and most people were in long pants and a jacket or sweatshirt. The weather here with the exception of a couple of days when we arrived has been unusually cool. Not any different here than at home but sixtyish here versus nasty at home. Coconuts are plentiful here. It is a chore to open one but the coconut is very tasty after getting it open

December 3-5 West End to Marsh Harbour

2008-12-13T13:00:00.004-05:00

The weather looks good to travel to Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco island for the next 3 days. We make the trip to Great Sale Cay under bright skies and and a light wind. The water is so clear you can see the bottom at 20'. The white sand bottom reminds us of why we came here. There are four boats travelling about the same speed-besides our self and Our Time there is Puffin and Lo Que Se A both 37' great Harbor Trawlers. The anchorage at Great Sale is miles from nowhere. The next morning all four boats are off early and we all travel about the same speed and we are headed for Manjack Cay and in particular a neat little anchorage near Rat Cay. It is still isolated but near the town of Coopers. Some kind cottage owner provides wifi service for the boats anchored here. It is a beautiful anchorage. last year we launched our dinghies and went ashore. You can walk through a path to the Atlantic Ocean and view the magnificent shoreline and waves breaking onshore. On Saturday we anxiously arise to travel some 30 miles to our destination where we will have our boat based until next April. The major obstacle to this passage is the 'whale'. It is an area where you pass through that is totally exposed to the whims of the Atlantic Ocean--in particular a wind from the North to East. The wind was supposed to be from the south but instead it was blowing lightly from the east producing slight rollers as we passed through the whale. Arrival time at Boat Harbor at the Abaco beach Resort was just before noon. It took awhile to get all four boats tied up but there is never a shortage of willing hands to help you dock. I did not stop at Man O War Cay to have my canvas looked at as I have found someone in Marsh harbour that will take a look at it. The rest of the day was spent getting Silver Foxes washed down and adjusting the lines. The tide is about 3' here. It was good to see lots of familiar faces as we docked. The picture of the boat is Lo Que Se A as she traveled with us. The other two pictures were taken at the Old Bahama Bay Resort by Dan on Freedom who was docked next to us

Nov25-Dec 3 Florida to West End Bahamas

2008-12-03T09:26:00.009-05:00

November 25 Rock Point Anchorage mm 925 We pull off the ICW a short distance to anchor in 7' of water behind a very small island. No wind so not much wind protection needed.

November 26 Ft. Pierce Fl Municipal Marina mm 977-Here is our plan. Rent a car in Ft. Pierce and buy groceries and provision for the Bahamas on Wednesday. Have a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner aboard our boat on Thursday. Leave for lake Worth on Friday and cross over to the Bahamas on Saturday. As we listen and look at the Bahamas crossing weather it looks more and more like Friday will be the day to cross over. So with Judy's blessing we put off Thanksgiving dinner until a later date and we will travel to Lake Worth (North Palm Beach) on Thanksgiving day. Okay back to provisioning. Enterprise rents us a SUV. Lots to accomplish at Ft. Pierce-drugstore, grocery store, office supply, Radio Shack, fishing supply, liquor store and one afternoon to get it accomplished. John and I load up the SUV with 28 cases of water and 20 cases of pop-it is full-another couple of trips back to the boat with the groceries the girls bought. In between we squeeze in a trip to the fishing store to get some advice so we can throw out a lure in hopes of catching the big one on our trip across the water. It all gets accomplished by about 8pm in time for fried chicken from the grocery deli. I even managed to stow the pop & water -the boat is still floating and on an even keel after topping off the tanks with fuel ($2.63 for diesel). On Thursday morning I get up early, throw the foldie in the car and go to Enterprise, drop off the car and ride my bike back to the Marina-Along the way I spot another fishing store and pick up one more 'hot' lure.

November 27 Lake Worth mm1018-Our way down the ICW from Ft. Pierce to to an anchorage not far from the Lake Worth inlet to the Atlantic Ocean is sceanic. Very impressive homes. We arrive at the anchorage around 4pm and agree that tomorrow looks like a crossing day. Very light north winds shifting to the east with waves 2' or less. The anchorage is exposed to north and south winds but we have neither so we settle in for a short nights sleep

November 28 Atlantic crossing to West End Grand Bahama Island. John and I arise about 5am. John calls another boat that left earlier and he reports great conditions and 1-2' rollers. So off we go at 6am-it is still dark but we find our way out into the ocean and the sun comes up on the horizon very shortly. it is a glorious day. The rollers soon go away and we have nothing but calm seas. It is so calm John & Gail turn the autopilot on and sit on the front of the boat as in the picture above and watch the sea go by. I throw my lure out. At the speed we are traveling (7.5 smph) it dives and pulls on the rod so hard, I knew that if I caught a fish I could not pull it in so I have Judy slow the boat down so I can retrieve the lure. On goes a more subtle lure with smaller hooks but by the time we reached West End all of my lures were well washed and nothing to show-I was disappointed. By the way the water depth is in excess of 2000' as we cross over. Arrival time was 3pm at Old Bahama Bay on West End.

November 29-December 3 West End Grand Bahamas Today the 29th is supposed to be a good day weatherwise. However then a front is going to move in bringing gale force winds. It is three days to Marsh harbour with no place to hide on the second day so we decide to stay put and wait out the front. It is a good thing we did. On Sunday the wind started to blow and by Sunday evening we had steady winds of 45mph and gusts to 60 mph. Before we crossed over I expected to have some time to have my flybridge canvas repaired. Some of the stitching was beginning to unravel. However the sudden crossing opportunity prevented that. While the wind was howling I tried making some emergency repairs using dental floss and a needle. In the process a big gust of wind came along and ripped the stitching out on one side of the top so I had to remove the side curtains and move some of the things I stored up top down below so they wouldn't get wet.

Thanksgiving dinner was prepared by Gail and Judy. Judy prepared her famous Oyster dressing for Gail & John. Gail baked a pumpkin pie. It was a great meal even though the wind was howling and rainy outside. Temp was still 70 degrees.

I have found someone on Man O War Cay (pronounced Key) to repair my canvas. On our way to Marsh Harbour, I will stop in and see him.

The local lobsterman came by yesterday selling fresh lobsters. 4 for $20. We bought 8 so he threw in 2 extra. Last night we boiled them and had a great feast as well as freezing a couple of them for later.

The wind has died down but it is still blowing so we will stay here and leave on Thursday (4th) for Marsh Harbour. It takes 3 days to get to Marsh Harbour and we must cross "the Whale" which is exposed to North winds and it can get wicked and unsafe if you are not careful. It looks like Saturday will be a great day to cross the Whale

November 18-24 Georgia -Northern Florida

2008-11-24T21:00:00.016-05:00

November 18 Walburg Creek Ga anchorage mm624 . Leaving the Charleston marina for our next stopover at Walburg Creek at mm624 was accomplished in a light breeze and very little current. The day was sunny but cool. Walburg Creek is wide and exposed to northerly winds. Silver Foxes and Our Time try to raft up (tie up to each other at anchor). The effort proved futile as John on Our Time tried to land next to us with the wind blowing 25-30 knots. That did not work. You can imagine the scenario. Our boat blowing back and forth and the current also influencing its course and John trying to land the boat also with the wind and current trying to do its thing but certainly not in unison. Like a plane landing on a moving aircraft carrier. So we anchored separately. A very windy evening on the hook. As always the wind and current have a dog fight and as usual the current wins and the boat always points into the current.

November 19 Frederica Creek Ga mm 672. Fredrica Creek is 48 miles away. The trip is uneventful except for the constant stream of boats southbound. Sailboats are numerous. A few trawlers like us and then there are the big sport fishing (go fast) and occasionally a mega yacht (very big boat). Every one tries to be courteous and when passing they slow so they don't rock you with their wake. Most of the time it works. Fredrica Creek is an offshoot of the ICW. Very peaceful night at anchorage compared to last night. Light winds. We are anchored very close to the remains of Fort Fredrica (Google it if you want to know more)

November 20 Cumberland Island GA mm 711. I promised John of Our Time that he would see a submarine in Kings Bay on our way to the Cumberland Island anchorage. Not a sub to be seen. They weren't evening working on one at the Naval sub base. A peaceful night on the hook. Both boats nestled together. The next morning we saw one of the wild horses on Cumberland Island near the shore

November 21 Pine Island Anchorage (Florida) mm765. After leaving our anchorage we quickly cross into Florida at Fernandina Beach. After travelling 54 miles Silver Foxes tied up next to Our Time. A lovely evening that later turned into the evening from hell. As we retired the wind was dead calm and we expected to get a good nights sleep on the hook. As usual, I set the anchor alarm on the GPS before retiring. The anchor alarm goes off if your anchor is pulled out and your boat is adrift. About 2:30 am I awake to the sound of the anchor alarm and the wind howling. Bolting to the GPS I get the signal indication that we have violated our anchor radius and we also have set off the shallow water alarm. The depth sounder reads 3.3'. The draft of the boat is 3'10". With a little tolerance built in to the depth sounder I knew, after surveying the situation I find the tide is now rising-that is the good news-but the bad news is we are being blown farther into the shoreline. We may or may not be close to being on ground. Since we are tied to Our Time, a knock on the outside of the boat brings John quickly to his feet. It is very dark and the wind is howling. We decide the best course of action is to try and pull us off with the anchor. We believe the anchor is now set so we pull both boats forward with the anchor take up mechanism on Our Time. The anchor windlass groans and moans but it eventually pulls both boats into deeper water. After the shallow water frees us from its grips, John moves both boats with his engines fired up to deeper water avoiding several anchored sailboats in our path.. The rest of the night both Captain's Jim and John stayed up watching for further anchor drifting. Judy and Gail didn't sleep too much either. By morning the wind calmed somewhat and we pulled anchor at 7 am. Another day in this adventure!

November 22-23 St Augustine FL. mm 778 It was a short 12 mile trip from our anchorage to the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. The Marina is right downtown St. Augustine which is the oldest city in the U.S. John and I walked to the Sailors exchange store which was a good hike away but after being at anchor and no exercise it was a brisk walk on a very blustery day-high in the low fifties. The City was having their Holiday lighting ceremony that evening which included song and festivities. After turning the switch the City was awash with Holiday lights. A very fine meal at Harry's Seafood restaurant finished off the evening. On Sunday Judy and i went to the 9am mass at St. Augustine's basilica. The church was founded in 1565 and burnt down several times but the current church was built in 1797. Later on a tour of the city was taken on the trolley. Judy and I did that when we were here in the Spring but John and Gail had not been here so we went on the tour again. A slightly warmer day but still chilly

November 24 Mosquito Lagoon Anchorage mm 860-Finally a warm day-For a little while I could have worn my shorts but as the day wore on it got cool again. To give you some idea where we are we travel through Daytona Beach. Thankfully not many mosquitoes in Mosquito Lagoon. It is very calm and peaceful night on the hook where we anchor just off of the ICW in 7.5' of water. The Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly building is within view of our anchorage. A long day today as we travel nearly 85 miles in ten hours.

November 25 Rock Point Anchorage mm925. A sixty mile day today traveling in the Indian River. We pass Titusville and Cocoa. Sunny part of the day and very light sprinkle. Very little wind. Our goal is Ft. Pierce FL by Wednesday afternoon.

Pictures--Top photo-sunset at Mosquito lagoon. Judy Jim & John on the streets in St. Augustine then Christmas lights in St. Augustine. The Brunswick Ga River bridge and the bottom photo is the commercial waterfront in Brunswick nearby the commercial fuel dock.

November 13-17 Charleston SC-Savannah Ga

2008-11-17T20:55:00.009-05:00

November 13-15 Charleston SC. John's autopilot is toast so into Charleston we go for repairs. The docking here at the Ashley Marina is challenging as the river current is quite fierce. Luckily we got a dock that allowed us to bow into the current. The trick was to get turned around and go against the current before the current & wind carry you into another boat. While waiting for John's parts to arrive we tour the city via horse (actually a mule) and carriage. A little excitement on the tour. The mule slipped out of its bridle and got it tangled around its feet which spooked the mule so we were on a runaway carriage for just a bit. A former carriage driver happened to be in the right place and he stepped out and halted the mule team. On Saturday we rented a car from our friends at Enterprise and visited the Boone Plantation. The picture of the home, the slave quarters and an old Oak tree are pictured above. After a good meal at the Charleston Crab House, we toured the Holiday Wonderland of Lights on nearby James Island. It is quite a spectacle. Over 2 million lights on all kinds of displays strung over a 3 mile drive. It certainly has to be one of the largest Holiday displays of its kind. 3 people full time year around work on the project. Many of the displays take several weeks to assemble. 208,000 people visited the Festival last year. John's autopilot is again working but the wind will keep us here until Sunday

November 16 Bass Creek Anchorage On down the ICW we go. Our goal is Lake Worth (North Palm Beach Fl or Fort Lauderdale by Dec 1.) The day is chilly but sunny-- temp in the high 50's. The anchorage is up a Creek which is probably 200' wide. Again a high tide, which results in lots of current flow. Remember the tide goes from low to high twice a day so overnight, even with no wind the boat changes directions due to the current. Very cool at night.

November 17 Herb River Anchorage. Up & away at 7am this morning. A long day on the water. You travel with the current gods. Sometimes they are with you and sometimes they are agan you. The gps indicates 6mph when bucking the current and on a fast ride we get all the way up to 10mph (statute). 66 miles traveled today. Herb River is wide and deep. There are probably 8 sailbotes here plus us two trawlers. Again a sunny but chilly day. Our enclosed flybridge serves as a hothouse so we keep very warm when driving from "up top". No wind tonight. Very quiet on the hook! This anchorage is very near Savannah GA. By the way we installed one of those digital TV converters on the boat for our over the air TV signals and it has significantly increased our TV viewing enjoyment.

November 9-12 2008 Southport NC to Charleston SC

2008-11-12T20:48:00.004-05:00

November 9 Pulling anchor at first light we left Mile Hammock Bay. The water was was calm and placid compared to last night when we pulled in and set anchor. The days are getting quite short. First light comes around 6:30 am but darkness sets in by shortly after 5pm so we plan to be off the water long before then. Southport NC at mm295 is our destination. There is a free dock at a restaurant called the Provision Co. If you eat there dockage is free. It is a pretty loose operation-get the beer yourself-tell the bartender-he puts a chit beside your name-tell them we will be back to eat later after a bike ride-do you want us to pay? no-pay when you come back. Neat town. Gail and Judy visited a Christmas store. Even I was impressed with the amount of inventory and selection

November 10. Myrtle Beach Yacht Club in Coquina bay at mm346 was our next destination. We are now in South Carolina. First we had to navigate through a pontoon bridge that moves out of the way on the hour so the boats can pass through. It looks like the bridge tender will be out of a job soon (a year or so) as they are building a new high rise bridge over the waterway. While pulling into the Myrtle Beach Yacht Club Marina, I heard someone holler at me. Turns out it was John & Pat from Gypsy Time-they had traveled with us last spring. The day was warm-almost warm enough for shorts-but tonight it will get down to forty

November 11 After filling our fresh water tank and emptying our holding tank, we trek on down the waterway to an anchorage near Butler Island mm395-not really close to anything as now the waterway winds through some desolate countryside. There is a steady stream of boats heading south. Mostly sailboats but powerboats and trawlers like ours also. At one point Judy counted 10 sailboats and four powerboats waiting to go through a bridge opening.

November 12 Our next stop is an anchorage at Dewees Creek- mm454 which is a short distance-10 miles from Charleston. (We have traveled almost 500 miles since leaving Deltaville VA). This called Low Country. As we sit here in our anchorage it is like looking across the flatlands of Indiana's cornfields except in this case you see a few trees but mostly sawgrass. The tides are starting to get high. There is a 6' tide here. That is a lot of water that moves in and out of this creek twice a day. Dewees Creek is probably 300' wide where we are anchored, so in Indiana we would call it a River. We are anchored and you would think we were in a raging river. A lot of water flows by us. Soon we will be sitting 6' higher and we will have a spectacular view over this Low Country. John's autopilot went out on his boat, so I spent a little bit of time troubleshooting it today. It appears the hydraulic pump motor failed which in turn burnt out the main processor board. Tomorrow may be a repair day in Charleston. The autopilot spoils you pretty quick, even when traveling the ICW. There a lots of straight stretches of water and right now lots of currents that move you sideways rather easily so the autopilot keeps the boat on track.

November 8 Mile Hammock Bay Anchorage mm 245

2008-11-08T22:21:00.004-05:00

The damaged strut is shown to the right of the propeller. Allan the mechanic was on the scene at 8 am this morning to make the final on board engine alignment adjustments with the propeller shaft. After that task was accomplished we set off on a sea trial to make sure all was okay. Silver Foxes and the Yanmars and the running gear purred like a kitten. So Our Time and Silver Foxes were ready to move on down the ICW after nearly a weeks delay. The trip through Camp Le June on the ICW left us with no bullets being fired over the bow!--no military exercises today. Very windy today. Wind blowing 25-30 knots as we arrived at the anchorage. Our initial try at setting the anchor saw us drifting very fast past all the other boats at anchor-the third try in another location at the anchorage was successful. Tuna on the Jenn Air tonight was very tasty. This is a large anchorage and there is probably 15 sailboats here and 4 trawlers like us. Lots of Canadian sailboats.

Nov 2-7 Town Creek Marina Beaufort NC

2008-11-08T21:52:00.006-05:00

After our underwater collision I made some telephone calls to Marina's that would be able to haul us out of the water and repair our damage. One of the calls was to Town Creek Marina-the young lady said they they were closed on Monday and said could I have it repaired on Tuesday?-I said no it couldn't wait and I thanked her and said I would find someone else-she said oh no don't hang up let me have the owner call you in a few minutes and he did- I knew then I found the right place. So the boat was pulled on Monday and the damage was visible and also not so apparent. The boat yard is small but the workerbee's are experts, although just a little hard to understand with their North Carolina drawl. It turned out the starboard prop was damaged beyond repair. Also the strut (hangs from the bottom of the boat and the propeller shaft runs through it) was bent, as well as the 2" stainless steel shaft. Steve the owner at Town Creek staged the repair process in admirable fashion bringing all the pieces together and assigning his workers when necessary to bring the repair together. As always there will be problems and not everyone works with the same urgency that we would like. As for the weather it has been very nasty and not conducive to travel, so we didn't feel so bad. Anyway with Steve, the owner of Town Creek marina, pushing the repair project along we finally got in the water on Friday(7th). Tomorrow the 8th, the final adjustments will take place and a sea trial will be performed to make sure there are no vibrations and all systems are go. The Marina has a courtesy car so we know the town well and the cupboard is well stocked.

October 30 Nov 1 2008 Alligator River-Oriental NC

2008-11-08T21:09:00.005-05:00

The Rose Buddies monument in Elizabeth City. Our next stop is Alligator River Marina mile marker 84. The trip was uneventful. We successfully navigated a spot where the Albemarle sound meets the Alligator River where many mariners run aground and keep Tow Boat US in business. On Friday October 31 we are off to head on down the ICW which is now the Alligator River (don't know where it got its name but no alligators have appeared) but another alligator of sorts reared its head to bite us real good. At the end of the Alligator River you enter a long man made cut called the Alligator Pungo Canal. The canal is very narrow at this point. A big log appeared in the middle of the stream and we turned to the right to miss the log and then dead ahead was one of those crab pot markers and when we turned back to the left to miss the crab pot the stern of the boat swung out and struck a submerged unknown object. It must have been pretty solid as the boat raised out of the water. The first thing we checked after the collision was to make sure we were not taking on water-and we weren't, so we were able to proceed slowly on one engine. We knew both props were damaged but the starboard prop produced so much vibration that we couldn't put that engine in gear but the port prop had a little vibration so that engine would give us our lift to the repair facility. Of course things always break on Friday and being in the middle of nowhere it was decided to proceed on to Beaufort NC where there are lots of repair facilities but Beaufort is approximately 100 miles away. Our first stop was Slade Creek anchorage where we had anchored before on our way north. Then on to Oriental NC the next night (Saturday). Very neat little town. Anchored right in the middle of a small bay and rafted up next to Our Time. We dinghied into town a short distance-toured the town-beautiful 70 degree afternoon-had shrimp and beer at the Oriental Inn overlooking the Harbor. The top picture is Gail John & Judy in Oriental

October 26-29 Dismal Swamp & Elizabeth City NC

2008-11-08T20:38:00.005-05:00

The trip from Portsmouth through the Dismal Swamp canal needed to be timed so we could make the 8:30 am lock opening at the north end of the canal which meant leaving our Marina before first light. The trip through the Canal which is a very narrow and straight man made ditch was uneventful and serene. We arrived in Elizabeth City NC about 4pm and the free docks were full so we went to the overflow dock and Our Time rafted up beside us. The Mayor stopped by to see us as he did the last time we were here. This town relly likes boaters and they are famous for handing out Roses to the ladies as they stop here in this delightful town. The man who started that tradition recently died and in his honor they placed a monument at the waterfront. John (Our Time) has been troubled by a waterleak when his engine was running. He found the source of the leak-his water cooled exhaust elbow had rusted through. On Monday morning we walked over to a real working boat yard (you can just tell by the look of the equipment) to see if we could find someone to weld his exhaust elbow and my cast aluminum dinghy davit. We found the right guy, but the prognosis was the same. He could weld it but no guarantees. So we both ordered parts. His was critical to the continuation of the journey and mine was not. His part came the next day. Mine was sent to the store to be shipped at a later date. After the part arrived the weather turned sour again. We must cross the Albemarle Sound which is a large body of water and isn't very pleasant when the wind blows. So in port we stayed and the girls went to the grocery again.

October 23-25 Deltaville Va to Portsmouth Va

2008-11-08T20:06:00.006-05:00

Too gloomy for pictures so a summertime picture. Judy with grandchildren Elizabeth and Emily-Brian & Amy's children. Today Thursday was very windy on The Chesapeake so we stayed in port waiting a better day to make the 45 mile trek down the Bay to Portsmouth Va. Friday we arose to a predicted 10-15 knot wind from the east. Although not ideal it was time to move on. The east wind gave us a beam sea on the Chesapeake and a rolly ride. About 10 miles into the journey I checked on the dinghy and the arm holding the dinghy had snapped. It was flailing about as we moved to and fro with the waves. I donned my life jacket, Judy slowed the boat to idle and I tied the arm and raised the dinghy a little to keep it from becoming submerged as we moved forward. We arrived in Portsmouth in late afternoon. Took on 125 gals of diesel at $2.80 a gallon- have not seen that price in a long time. Very high winds predicted for Friday so we took the Ferry across the River to Norfolk and went to the mall. Ecerthing about Norfolk is Navy and shipping. Everywhere you look a Warship is being worked on. Right across the River from our Marina they are reapairing a navy ship and they work 24/7.

October 21-23 Healey Creek Anchorage & Deltaville Marina

2008-10-24T20:09:00.007-04:00

On to another anchorage. Just a short distance away is Healy Creek off of the Piankatank River. A beautiful creek and well protected. The water so calm the shoreline was replicated in the mirror like water. A little warmer today. High of 60. On Tuesday we left our peaceful anchorage and returned to Deltaville Marina. Our plan was to stay overnight at Deltaville marina on Tuesday-Gail (John T's) wife would arrive on Wednesday and we would be headed south. As always Mother Nature dictates when you travel. Wednesday the wind blew from the north producing 4-5' waves on the Bay, so again as on Lake Michigan if the wind is from the north you don't go forth and so we stayed put. The same northerly winds will hang around Thursday. Our Looper flag which we fly from the bow makes a lot of racket when the wind is blowing and you are trying to sleep, so I rode the bike to the local canvas shop and had them make a little sleeve to slip over it to quiet it down at night.

October 18-19 Piankatank River Dock

2008-10-22T23:03:00.005-04:00

John & Carolyn Wake invited us to go to the famous historical cities of Jamestown, Williamsburg & Yorktown on Sunday. Their neighbor has a dock which we pulled into after pulling anchor in Fishing Bay. A very windy day but the dock was well protected from the blustery north winds. John was there to greet us and invited us over to the their house for soup. Dinner conversation turned to hurricanes. The last major hurricane was 5 years ago and the power was out for 12 days but never since they said--no sooner were the words out of their mouth and the power went out. We made our way back to the boat by flashlight. Fired up the generator on the boat and turned on the heat pump. Sunday was a bright sunny cold and blustery day. What an enjoyable trip to the historic cities. Enjoyed Jamestown most. First English settlement. The Queen was here last year for the 200th anniversary of the Settlement.

October 16-17 Fishing Bay Anchorage

2008-10-22T22:44:00.003-04:00

One of the neat things about the Chesepeake bay area is all of the neat river, creeks and coves that allow some great protected water anchorages. One of those great coves is Fishing Bay, a stone's throw away from Deltaville marina but several miles by boat. Silver Foxes shoved away from the dock on a bright sunny day with temperatures in the 70's headed for Fishing Bay. We snuggled up next to the shoreline protected from the expected strong north winds that will be arriving tomorrow. Judy and I spent the next couple of days catching up on store business and personal business that had been neglected for a few days. We will be gunkholing (anchoring out) until Our Time's boat is launched after Gail arrives.

October 14-15 Deltaville VA

2008-10-22T22:08:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday John and Judy went to a 7am Rotary club meeting. I had breakfast with Carolyn and then I took her to the soup kitchen at their church and then used their car again. If by now you are confused with all the John's, I will add one more to the picture. John Thomassen, our friends from the boat, Our Time, is also at the Deltaville Boatyard. John came several weeks ago and is working on his boat. His wife Gail was to join him and we were to head south today but Gail had to have some medical tests so she won't be joining us until the 22nd. In any event with the help of John Wake Sr's car John T and I were off to the nearby town of Glouchester for some boat parts. Later in the day Silver Foxes was splashed. Everything appears to be working and the Yanmar diesel engines were like horses champing at the bit-a touch of the starter button and they were purring away. Our first night on the water again. On Wednesday all systems were checked and we are ready to rock and roll. Judy fixed a great supper on the boat and our guests were John & Carolyn and John T. Pictured above L to R is unknown lady, Carolyn Wake, John Sr., John Jr., and Sharon Wake. Below Silver Foxes ready to be launched

October 11-13 2008 Deltaville Va

2008-10-22T21:25:00.006-04:00

The summer went by very quickly. After attending niece Emma Casper's wedding (Mike & Roxyann's daughter) on Friday evening in Indianapolis we flew to Richmond VA on Saturday. We were met by longtime friend and fellow hardware store owner, John Wake and his wife Sharon. Quickly we were whisked away to Deltaville Va where John's parents, John & Carolyn, have a home that overlooks a small bay and the Piankatank River just off of the Chesapeake Bay. After taking a short ride around the river and scouting some possible anchorages we were off to a party hosted by the YMCA to thank supporters of the Y. The highlight of the evening was the bushels of oysters that were cooked on the spot and poured on the table for all that wanted to partake and devour. What a feast! The oyster table, John & Carolyn's beautiful home, and John & Sharon are pictured above.

On Sunday a leisurely breakfast was enjoyed then it was off to the boatyard to visit Silver Foxes. All was in order but some of the work that was to be done on the boat by the time we returned this fall was still in progress. John Wake warned us we are now operating on Deltaville time and things normally get done when they get done. John & Sharon returned to Richmond Sunday evening but we were invited to stay at John's parents house until our boat was launched. What a delightful couple they are. Very active and delightful to be with. On Monday we borrowed John & Carolyn's other car, made the local grocer's day as we started provisioning the boat again. True to the Deltaville time schedule our boat was not ready to be launched as promised on Monday so it was back to the Wake house for another over night stay.

June 23-26 Deltaville Marina Deltaville VA

2008-06-26T21:19:00.004-04:00

We move from Broad Creek to Jackson Creek both near Deltaville. We probably could walk it in 10 minutes but by boat it is over an hour. Judy and said to each other it is kind of sad that this will be our last boat trip for awhile. Then Judy remembers she is going home, and she is ready! Lots to do to pack up and clean up. We will be shipping a lot of stuff home UPS. Some things we have not used so home they go. I also work on a pesky water leak that has been plaguing me for sometime near the seawater pump on the generator. A NAPA store is a short bike ride away to get the necessary heater type water hose. After some persistence the leak is fixed. Then onto changing the secondary fuel filters on the Yanmars. Port engine goes okay. Starboard engine not so well, as I didn't get the air bled properly. So I have to loosen the fittings going to the injectors and again with some persistence the engine fires up. On Tuesday evening we go to Kocomo's restaurant with Gail & John. They leave Wednesday early to go home. Today Thursday they are to pull our boat. This is a very busy yard and it didn't get pulled until 4pm. Probably just as well as the temperature hit 95 this afternoon and once the boat is pulled the AC is useless. No air this evening and it is still very hot. We are sleeping on the boat on the hard. Our ride to Richmond Airport leaves at 4 am tomorrow. The pictures are just some recent pictures and have nothing to do with Deltaville. This is my last post on the blog. I hope you have enjoyed it. Sometimes it has been hard to get in the mood to write, but your words of encouragement motivated me. It has been a blast and memories will last a lifetime!

June 21-22 Doziers Yachting Center Deltaville Va

2008-06-26T21:00:00.003-04:00

The weather is somewhat unsettled with thunderstorms being predicted for late afternoon today. Our plan was to travel a short distance to anchor in another nearby cove, staying on the east side of the Chesapeake. After listening to the weather forecast, where the wind is supposed to pick up and make for crossing the Bay that can get gnarly at times, we decide to make the crossing today and a long run of some fifty miles to anchor in Broad Creek near Deltaville VA. As we get closer to Broad Creek that threat of thunderstorms and high winds seems to again alter our plans so we decide to go into Dozier's marina. Very nice facility with a swimming pool and great veranda on their clubhouse. A wine tasting party was held by the local Yacht Club and we were invited. 2 nights we are here. It is oil changing time again so I take advantage of the time. 750 engine hours since leaving Port Clinton

June 20 Duns Cove near Knapps Narrows CB

2008-06-19T16:24:00.003-04:00

The trip almost directly across the bay from Herrington Harbor was very pleasant on this cloudless day. No wind to speak of so the journey was pleasant. Our location is not far from Cambridge and Oxford MD. In order to get to this part of the Bay world we passed through Knapp's Narrows drawbridge pictured above. Nice pleasant anchorage. A few homes and 8' of water

June 18-Herrington Harbor North Traceys Landing Chesapeake Bay

2008-06-19T15:52:00.005-04:00

No fancy glasses for the champagne toast- but the memories we hope will continue for a long time. Last April, Judy and I picked up Silver Foxes in Oxford Md which is on the Eastern shore of the Chesepeake Bay. Our first stop, with our new to us boat, as we journeyed home to Port Clinton on Lake Erie with our friends Judy & Max Pasko onboard was Herrington Harbor. Excitedly we left the dock this morning at Solomon's and at 12:41 pm we crossed that faint wake that was still lingering in our minds from our presence in this same spot approximately 13 months ago. Silver Foxes has closed the "Loop". Including the trip home last year, we have travelled 6852 statute miles. Stayed in many marinas and anchored out many times. The highlights are many. We have met some fantastic people in our travels. Have made many new friends, and traveled with and visited many friends in various ports of calls along the way.

Right now, this is as far north as we plan to travel on the Chesapeake. For the next week we will "gunkhole"(visit various places and anchor out) on the Chesepeake. Then we will have our boat pulled in Deltaville Va, have its bottom painted, along with some other minor work. On the 27th we will fly home from Richmond VA, enjoy the summer with our family, and then in October head for the boat again and probably head south. So you see our plans keep changing and will probably continue to change. The blog will continue until we get to Deltaville. At some point in time, if Silver Foxes makes its way back to Port Clinton, I will chronicle the journey from Herrington Harbor to Port Clinton but until that time it will remain a portion of the trip that has been enjoyed but not documented. In a later post I will leave you with some statistics of the trip. Pictured above are our good friends John & Gail, and Judy celebrating with us our loop closure

June 16-17 Solomons Island Chesapeake Bay

2008-06-19T14:59:00.007-04:00

Our next stop is Solomons Island, one of the Chesapeake's Bays most famous gathering spots for boats. The trip starts at 6:30 am as we pull anchor. Thunderstorms are predicted for the afternoon and it is our intent to beat their arrival and be tied to the dock by the time they arrive. We accomplish that at 12 noon, 45 sm later. We weave our way up the Creek at Solomons and pass many many marinas and restaurants to our destination, Spring Cove marina. Our slip is right next to Tom-Kat. We learn that Lamb Chop (Tim & Jan) and Gypsy Time are docked at the Marina next door. John & Pat of Gypsy Time had a pretty scary experience. Their canvas was ripped off of the top of their boat in a recent storm as they were tied to a mooring ball. The wind laid the boat on its side briefly and blew the top off. They have gone home to Canada while the boat is being repaired. It is pictured above

On Tuesday, John from Our Time, wanted to do some work on his boat and neither one of us had a jig saw onboard. So the conversation to my dockmate on the other side went something like this-"is there a hardware store in town?--yes but it is too far too walk-can I ride my bike-yes but it is a long way-here take the keys to my truck-the True Value store is down the road a couple of miles on the left" So off John and I went in a pretty expensive Expedition not even knowing the owner and it was the first time he had met us--but that's the way it is in the boating community. He had just arrived from North Carolina to stay on his boat because come to find out ZZ TOP was having a concert nearby the Marina tonight. (We could hear it from the boat-glad I didn't pay any money to go). Anyway mission accomplished with the the purchase of the jig saw, groceries were procured, and a trip to West marine all made easy by Mr. anonymous. This evening, Bob & Sue(Tom-Kat) and their daughter Katy, Tim & Jan (Lamb Chop), Gail & John and Judy and I had a very enjoyable evening at a nearby restaurant. Tomorrow will be a special day for Judy and I. We will complete our Great Loop closure as we approach Herring Bay, our next stop!

June 15 Herring Creek Anchorage Potomac River

2008-06-15T21:56:00.004-04:00

At the crew meeting this morning, we decided to make a long day and travel to a different anchorage than when we travelled upriver, and determined that Herring Creek would be a good place to put down the anchor tonight. What a great choice. 60 miles downriver, but aided by a nice current push. This Creek with a narrow entrance from the Potomac enters into a really nice protected lake. Good water depth of 8'. Father's day meal was celebrated with steaks on each boat, but Gail baked a cake on the trip today, so we finished with dessert and Irish Coffee together. Another beautiful sunset. Brisk winds today but they were from the north, so Silver Foxes and Our Time had a nice following sea, but there were plenty of whitecaps on the Potomac. The Potomac is a really wide River so it doesn't take much to kick it up

June 14 Mattawoman Anchorage Potomac River

2008-06-15T21:43:00.005-04:00

Sadly it is time to let loose of the dock lines, leave our most convenient DC home, and head back down the River. Not enough time to see everything, but we must press on. This stop has been one of the highlights of our trip. We anchored at Mattawoman Creek on way to Washington and it is a convenient stop some 30 miles down the Potomac. On the way we tried to stop at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington but there was no dock space available. Docking for pleasure boats is very limited. To our chagrin we had to pass up this stop and it was one that Judy really wanted to see. Storms are predicted but only light rain, some wind, and lightning, kept the evening watchful but thankfully uneventful. Some of the many pictures from DC above

June 12-13 Washington DC

2008-06-15T21:19:00.003-04:00

John & Gail took a lay day to recover from the heat. Judy and I pressed on and travelled to the Art & Portrait Museum. Pictured above (middle) is an appropriate picture from the museum but don't ask me to interpret. Tonight (Thursday) Sharon Jackson our neighbor from Decatur who lives in Indianapolis and is on special assignment for the Justice Department in DC came over to the boat. After cocktails with John and Gail and Sharon we had an enjoyable dinner on the boat with Sharon (pictured above). The evening was late and I walked Sharon to her car after 11pm. Another warm day

Today, Friday, our plans were to go to the Zoo and Union Station, but time got away from us so we only made it to Union Station, a very grand train station, and then across the street to the Postal Museum. After this, I got out the foldie and John and I traveled to the grocery store which is only a short distance away. After the grocery, us bikers, went to the fish market to get some shrimp and tuna in preparation for our guests tonight Mike and Cathy Cahill from Xplorer. They live nearby and have just completed the loop and thus have earned their gold looper flag. All six of us had a great evening on our boat

June 7-11 Washington DC

2008-06-11T21:53:00.005-04:00

The dense fog delayed our departure from the anchorage at Mattawoman Creek. It also delayed the start of the Bass Fishing tournament. But when those Bass boats took off it was a constant zooming of the boats for almost 30 minutes--racing off to that elusive hot fishing spot. About 10:30 a.m. the fog lifted and we were on our way to Washington DC about 30 miles away. Soon the Washington Monument and the Capitol building came into view as we cruised up the Potomac on this very warm day. Gangplank Marina will be our home for the next week. It is old, but very functional, and the price to stay here is very reasonable. We will stay here for a whole week for what one night in a not so nice hotel downtown would cost. It is very convenient to everything DC. A little noisy in a nice way as Regan Airport is pretty close and all the dignitaries and Coast guard security helicopters fly overhead as they arrive, depart, or fly over the City. Dave and I travel to the liquor store via taxi to stock up. The taxi dropped Dave at the grocery and as I am unloading the goodies from the trunk of the Taxi I forget a sack with the wine inside. It is amazing, as the night progressed the stories told was that the sack contained $10 bottles of wine which eventually morphed into $50 bottles of Scotch. Taxi driver is probably having a good party. Actually after the truth was known it was some cheap wine. Tonight we have dinner at the nearby Channel Inn Hotel with Gail, John, Dave and Pam. Watched Big Brown as a no show in the Belmont Race.

Sunday all of us walk to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. It is 99 degrees outside. Spent the day touring this exhibit. I am in awe of all the buildings and the Smithsonian buildings and exhibits and they are all free. Tonight John, Dave, and I walk a couple of blocks to Seafood City pictured above. Any kind of fresh fish you can imagine. We buy Shrimp, Tuna and crab cakes. I cook the Tuna steaks on our grill and we all retire to our boat for dinner. It is 85 degrees in the boat but it feels great compared to the outside. Everything for dinner was graded an A+ and it turned out to be a late evening for everyone.

Monday, the next day, John and Gail rented a car to take their friends, Pam & Dave back to their Cessna 170 in Portsmouth so they could fly home. Judy and I took a taxi to the Capitol Building to get a ticket for a tour of the building. Our scheduled time was 2:30 pm so we went across the street to tour the Botanical guardians and it so happened we got a private tour of the Gardens. After touring the Botanical Gardens we went across the street to the Sam Rayburn Building for lunch. This is one of the buildings that house the office of the House Members. We ate amongst the "suits". Not too many tourists in this building but we certainly stood out. I needed a haircut so I got one at the Rayburn Barber Shop. I didn't see any dignitaries at the barber shop, but there were lots of pictures on the wall of those that had been trimmed before me. Later Judy and I toured the Capitol. Security was tight. The tour was good but we were disappointed we didn't get to see the House in session. For that matter we were not able to even go to the House chamber . Apparently you must go to your House or Senate member to see if you can get a pass to view the proceedings. The picture above was taken from the Capitol Building looking towards the Washington Monument. Still very very hot but the AC on the boat is pleasant after a day of walking the City.

Today, Tuesday, the four of us toured the City via the Tourmobile bus. It was not air conditioned but as long as we kept moving it was bearable. The bus took us to Arlington Cemetery. As all know that have been here, it is a very sobering experience. We visited the Vietnam Memorial. I found the name of my first cousin, Dick Scheiber, that was a casualty of the war. A stop at the White House grounds and the White House Visitors Center concluded the day. The heat does you in very quickly. We retired to the boat for a quick meal of hotdogs and Judy's award winning baked beans

Wednesday, saw the four of us heading off to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. We are getting savvy. 1$ to ride the bus there. Thousands of kids here today. The most visited museum in the City but nevertheless very interesting. A storm came through last night and cooled things down to 85 but a little more pleasant.

June 6 Mattawoman Creek MD Anchorage

2008-06-06T20:28:00.004-04:00

The Potomac narrows as we head to Washington. It is probably 4 0r 5 miles wide at the entrance to one or two miles wide as we proceed upriver. The day is very hazy and there is very little wind. Temp about 75. Our destination is Mattawoman Creek, an anchorage off of the Potomac. Very few houses along the River. One thing stands out along the shoreline and that is the Quantico Marine Military base & FBI academy. As we go buy we wave to Matt's (Son-In-Law) instructors at the Academy. Just a short year ago he was attending a special FBI school at the Academy. After arriving at Mattawoman Creek we proceed up the Creek to the suggested anchorage. The path is fraught with weeds, and our depth sounder alarm sounds continuously, probably because it is reading the weeds on the bottom. Our Time is following some distance behind and I radio him and tell him I am turning around so we can find a deeper spot to anchor. We do find a nice spot, not so deep into the Creek, but there are a lot of bass boats whizzing around. Must be practicing for a weekend fishing tournament. Very quiet evening. No wind. The tide here is only about 2', so there is not much current. Judy fixes stir fry on the grill after cocktails on Our Time.

June 5 Colonial Beach VA Anchorage

2008-06-06T17:30:00.003-04:00

Our next stop after leaving Smith Creek Anchorage, a mere 35 miles away is Colonial Beach Va. A narrow entrance channel lead us to a narrower place to anchor. This must be the bay that claims the honor of the most crab traps per square meter. No place to anchor off of the channel because of all the crab traps, so we set down the anchor right in the main channel and hope we are out of the way. Nobody gets on the radio and asks us to not anchor here so it must be okay. Our Time snuggles up to us and very little wind, so I only put out 60' of chain in 7' deep water. An off the boat seafood dinner sounds good, so we lower our dinghies and head for Docksiders Restaurant. Very good meal. About the time we land the dinghies the wind and the current picks up. Later that night, the crew next door aboard Our Time had a wild game of euchre going and after some mumbling from the girls about table talk, Dave looks out the window and notices we are in a very different place than when we set anchor. A glance off the stern suggests that we are indeed amongst the crabtraps and the anchor has let us down and we have drifted several 100 yds across the channel. Rather than try to remove ourselves at night from the crab traps, I let out another 40' of chain and Our Time lowers his anchor and we keep a watchful eye on the GPS and determine we are holding good and we will worry about extricating ourselves from the crab traps in the morning. We all turn in about midnight. I sleep lightly.

June 3-4 Potomac River Smith Creek Anchorage

2008-06-06T16:47:00.005-04:00

Silver Foxes approaching the dock as seen through the camera lens of Sue on Tom Kat. We are not docked tonight but anchored in Smith Creek which is some 10 miles up the Potomac River and not far from St. Mary's MD. 40 miles north of Deltaville we turn left to go up the Potomac River to Washington DC. Washington DC is approximately 110 miles up the Potomac so it will take us 3 days to get there. We are snuggled into a nice cove. Several Marinas and Yacht clubs nearby but it is very peaceful. Our Time is rafted alongside. In Portsmouth, John and Gail's friends, Dave & Pam joined them for the trip to DC. They flew to Portsmouth from Canada in their Cessna 170. Today was a beautiful trip on the Bay and up the River. However the weather does not look good for tomorrow. Thunderstorms, tornado warnings, and high winds are predicted. Judy fixed a great chicken casserole for all six of us and we entertained on our boat.

The morning thunderstorms did not materialize, but there were still warnings out and storms were predicted again for the evening. Both boats made the decision to stay put. The day was warm but storms were predicted to begin about 5pm. Later that evening the rain started and the sky looked very threatening. The commodore from the nearby yacht club yelled at us to turn on our VHF radio. Over the radio he suggested we come to their docks as there were tornado warnings out and 80 mph winds were predicted. We hurriedly took up his offer. It rained and stormed most of the night but the high winds did not raise their heads. However just north of us they did have winds of 80-100 mph and many people are without power. Luckily we escaped the brunt of the storm and should have headed to a dock earlier. We all slept well knowing we were securely fastened to the dock

June 2 Deltaville MD Chesepeake Bay

2008-06-06T16:26:00.004-04:00

As we found our way from Portsmouth to the mouth of the Chesapeake we passed by many Naval Warships. They all have a number and not a name so they identify themselves by number. The Chesapeake Bay was not too kind to us today. The wind was out of the north at only 10-15 knots but since the Bay essentially runs north and south, the north wind built up 2-3' waves and a 5'er every now and then to wash off the anchor. All in all not a pleasant ride. We did pass in front of Naval Warship 87 out on the bay. Our Time was traveling behind us and Captain Gail was advised by Warship 87 to hold back and not get too close. Deltaville is a small town and marina inside of a very protected harbor on the western shore approximately 45 miles up the Chesapeake. TomKat greeted us as we docked

June 1 Portsmouth VA mm0

2008-06-01T22:51:00.003-04:00

The untangling of the boats took place at 8am this morning. Everyone had placed extra lines on their boats as tornado warnings were out last night. Five of us departed for the 11am opening of the north end lock at the Dismal Swamp. As we departed, I complimented Jacob (10) on his singing last night and he said thank you and stuck out his hand and said "it certainly was a pleasure to meet you". I am sure these kids have learned more in the last year on a boat than they would have if they were in a formal school. A beautiful peaceful trip was enjoyed as the boat slipped through the tea colored water and the only sounds were the boat parting the water, the multitude of birds, and an occasional sound of cars on the nearby highway. Soon we are at the lock and several sail boats were also waiting for the lock. The lockmaster artfully gave orders to all the boats to enter the lock and we descended 11 ft with a full load of boats. Soon we arrived at Portsmouth--what a change in scenery-aircraft carriers, working vessels and definitely a working river. Norfolk Va is on the east side of the River and as you know the navy has quite a military presence here. Judy and I walked uptown for dinner tonight. Really wide sidewalks, streets and a very pretty historic district.

May30-31 Dismal Swamp Visiors Center NC mm28

2008-06-01T21:54:00.004-04:00

The Dismal Swamp sounds like a pretty pathetic place. Actually we hope it to be one of the highlights of our trip. George Washington was part owner of the Swamp at one time and thought it might be profitable to build a canal through the swamp. He soon gave up that idea but others carried out the project. The Swamp is all fresh water and the water level is maintained with a lock at each end. The lock only opens at certain times so we (Silver Foxes and Our Time) time our departure for the 11am lock opening. The sign above is at the lock. The picture of the Canal is very typical of the passage. Narrow waterway, vivid green overhanging trees, and the sounds of lots of unseen birds making known their presence. Idle speed is very appropriate here as it is shallow and sometimes logs pop up in the middle of the canal as well as any faster creates a wake that washes away the canal banks. We arrive at the Canal visitors center which has a dock to stay overnight. There is a nice bike trail here as well as a new building that tells all about the Canal.

By the end of the day there is a total of nine boats here, rafted off of each other. We are on the inside and two other sailboats are rafted off of us. The first boat to pull up is Saniti-a young couple that took off from Maine last summer with their kids ages 5, 10 and 12. The next day severe storms are predicted. Everyone stays put. That night we hold a cocktail party at the picnic table on the banks. The only boats that knew each other were us and Our Time. It wasn't long until Mike (a Limey from Liverpool) from the sailboat rafted off of Our Time, broke out his guitar and then Andy from Saniti uncased his saxaphone. It was a real song fest. Rachel & Jacob the young lads from Saniti soon were serenading us with their songs. It turned out to be one of those impromptu evenings that lasted well beyond dark and everyone had a memorable time. We snacked so much during the day and afternoon, dinner was not needed this evening

May 29 Elizabeth City NC

2008-06-01T21:29:00.002-04:00

As we arose today at 6:15 am all of the boats were departing from the Elizabeth City docks to head for the Dismal Swamp Canal South Mills Lock that marks the beginning of the Canal. We plan to stay here to as our friends from Our Time are scheduled to arrive today. We move the boat over to the City docks picking out a slip width (15') that will accommodate Silver Foxes. Soon after settling in the mayor made his rounds to welcome the boaters but since we were the only boat here he visited with us at length. Elizabeth City is normally the city of wine and roses. Usually the ladies are given a rose upon their arrival and a wine and cheese party for all the boaters is given in the evening. The mayor apoligized and said the people that normally do this wouldn't be available today. Told him no problem we just appreciated the hospitality of the city. Later the local grocery store sent one of their workerbees to pick us up so we could reprovision.Our Time arrived as we returned from the grocery. After they got settled in we had drinks and then hamburgers on the grill on their boat

May 28-Elizabeth City NC mm52

2008-05-28T21:20:00.005-04:00

The weatherman is predicting light rain with winds picking up and switching to the NE later this afternoon. Libations and Silver Foxes depart the Alligator River Marina shortly before 7am. Our trip will take us a short way up the Alligator River and through a marked entrance into Albermarle Sound and then some 7 miles up the Pasquotank River to Elizabeth City. Two boats went aground at this point yesterday but we had no problems-just stayed in the middle of the marked channel where we never saw less than 12' of water. The Albermarle Sound is wide open and shallow just like the Pamlico Sound. The weather looks threatening ahead of us on the Sound and our radar confirms showers ahead. Not long after we start crossing the sound the wind is on our beam from the southwest and we are rolling to and fro in the 1-2' waves. Within the blink of an eye the wind switches to the north and then northeast and picks up in intensity. The good news is the waves are now hitting us on our bow which is much more comfortable but the bad news is that it is starting to rain, the temperature drops about 15 degrees and we again think we are in Lake Erie with 3-5' waves. To add insult to injury, before the day is out we are wearing long pants and donning sweatshirts Every now and then we hit a big one and our Flybridge gets a good splashing. Judy says "this is not fun". The rain showers, wind and waves persist for the entire two hour crossing across the Sound. As we approach the Pasquotank River the rain quits, the waves die down due to the protection of the land but the wind keeps blowing briskly. There are free docks provided by Elizabeth City but they are full, so the Mayor gives us permission to dock in the "no docking area". I must digress a bit. Back when we left the Alligator River we had to make a decision. Turn NE and take the Virginia Cut route to the Chesapeake Bay or go north and go through the Dismal Swamp and end up in the same place. The Dismal Swamp is shallow (6') but very naturistic. Some times it is closed due to low water but this Spring there has been enough rain to allow boats to pass through. Our decision is to take the Dismal Swamp route via Elizabeth City NC, take our time and see what nature has to offer and enlighten us. No pictures today-it is too ugly-the above picture is of the Alligator River swing bridge that opened for us a few days ago.

Alligator River Marina Columbia SC mm84

2008-05-28T20:37:00.006-04:00

5 days at anchor is a record for us. We still have fresh water left in our water tanks but it is time to pull up to a dock. So our next stop is Alligator River Marina. A lot of our travel takes us through a straight as an arrow canal. As is usually the case the wind picks up in the afternoon as we are traversing the Alligator River. The wind is on our stern in the wide (at least a mile wide) Alligator River but the Marina is in a protected little Harbor so docking is easy. The Marina is nice and new but the owners also have a gas station, gift shop and restaurant on site. Located on a busy road that goes to the Outer Banks. With our Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht club discount, dockage is a reasonable $37 per night. No other loopers here. Judy and I eat at restaurant--$9.99 for a hamburger steak dinner including salad and a side.

We are not too far from Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks so yet another call to Enterprise gets us a rental car delivered today. It was the first time we have paid extra for the pick up and delivery but they had to come 35 minutes to pick us up. By 10 am we are at the Wright Brother memorial National Park at Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks where the famous brothers made the first airplane flight. Very interesting displays and historical explanation. It is just amazing their perserverance and their mechanical and aeronautical intuition without any formal training. Later we drove along the Banks and saw mile after mile of stilted vacation homes-some overlooking the ocean-some just staring at each other. This area of the outer Banks is very commercialized and is very different than Ocracoke. Every so often there is a public access to the miles and miles of beaches, so Judy and I made our way to the beach. No snow fences here just sand fences. After returning to the Marina from our day of land exploration, we found Libations (Mike & Pat) and Joy @Sea. We had cocktails with Mike & Pat on our boat. We had not seen them since they left the Bahamas a few days ahead of us.

May 25 Pungo River Anchorage Belhaven NC mm 127

2008-05-28T20:14:00.003-04:00

Today Sunday we watched the Indianapolis 500 at anchor and for being in the middle of nowhere we have an excellent over the air TV signal. At 4:30 pm we pull anchor and mosey up the Pungo River another 13 miles past Belhaven and stop near Leechville (neither may be on the map). This time we are accompanied by about a half dozen sailboats and another trawler. Quiet night at anchor. A small boat approaches and we assume its another fisherman trying to make a few bucks, but as the boat gets closer firearms and official looking uniforms become clear. "may we see your registration papers?"-no problem sir-In a few minutes they (NC Conservation Officers) were on their way and said "have a safe trip". Judy was fixing dinner and invited them to stay but they declined and said they had to work awhile longer! Mile markers along the ICW are rare except in North Carolina where there is Mile Marker in the water every 5 miles