We're having an early start today. Up at 6:30, and on the road by 7:00. We are heading for Lucaya, near Freeport, Grand Bahamas, today. We left at sunrise (6:40 am).
We had an easy motorsail across to Grand Bahama Island. The swells were on our stern and the wind was on the stern quarter, so we had to motorsail, but it was a pretty uneventful crossing.
It suddenly occurred to me that we haven't had a single spider in our boat the whole time we've been in the Caribbean. Very strange compared to the many who crawl aboard at home. It's nice!
We surfed into the entrance at Lucaya, and then anchored just west of the entrance near the Flying Fish Restaurant.
We were hungry, so Carey rowed us the short distance to the waterside pub. Aussie Pies (chicken with mushrooms; spinach with feta), Happy Hour drinks for $5, a table with a perfect view of our boat, lots of Canadians to chat with, and a Leafs game at Bones Bar. Plus, the Leafs won 4-3!! Woohoo, does life get any better?
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Today, we got to go out for breakfast. What a treat. We rowed to the dock and walked to the Dive In Restaurant.
By 9:00, we had lifted anchor and were on our way to West End, Bahamas. We raised our sails just outside of the Lucaya inlet. We had 10-14 knot winds, but because it's a broad reach we aren't moving that fast. We left the engine running to help us along.
When we arrived at the Old Bahama Bay Marina, we went to the fuel dock to top up our tank. The fuel here is $3.75 per gallon. They have high wooden docks with posts, which is not good for our boat. Our fenders go between the posts, which means our boat is hitting the dock. That's great for a powerboat that has rub rails, but not good for RC Wings, who has no rub rails. We tied up at our dock at 2:30 and the dock here is a bit better for us, thankfully.
This will be the farthest north and the farthest west we'll get in the Bahamas. After this, it's the east coast of the United States. We put the dinghy on deck to reduce the drag when we cross the Gulf Stream tomorrow to get to Florida. It's liable to be swelly, which is not great when towing a dinghy over 80 miles.
We decided to put the full canvas enclosure back on this afternoon. This will help if we run into bad weather (I.e., rain) on our way back north, plus it will keep the waves from splashing into the cockpit if/when they hit us broadside. It's a bit like putting together a puzzle, with all of the panels, but we managed it without too much gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair. (Well, Carey did pull my hair once, but he said it was an accident. Haha.)
I made Turkey Pot Pie for dinner using only canned chicken, Stove Top Dressing, a can of mixed vegetables, and a package of gravy. That's what you resort to when you're out of fresh meat and vegetables! Actually, it tasted pretty good.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Up at 4:30 am, and out of the harbour by 5:23 after much figuring and discussion about how best to get off the dock. The wind was pushing us off the dock, so we had to make sure our bow didn't swing over and hit the stern post as we backed up. Tricky maneuver for sure. Carey did a great job on the helm. Many marinas are lit up at night, but not here. It was pitch black as we made our way out of the marina and through their narrow entrance. Thank goodness we have a good chartplotter. We could follow our own line from when we came into the marina the day before.
Today we are crossing the Gulf Stream and heading for Florida. The Gulf Stream is the fast current that runs up the east coast of the United States. Our trip today is over 80 nautical miles and should take us 14-16 hours. Ugh. To start, the ocean was fairly calm (as much as it ever is). Once we got out of the lee of the Bahamas, the swells were appreciably bigger, but since they were on the stern, it was okay. Just a gentle roller coaster ride.
We saw the sunrise today. Very pretty in pink.
At 7:30, we put up the main and jib, and motorsailed. We have 10-12 knots of wind and we're heading downwind with the swells on our stern. We are moving between 7.5 and 8.3 knots, which is great.
It was a long boring day, so I defrosted the freezer as we went along. Perfect time since it's empty! Carey spent almost all day on watch, fiddling with the sails, watching our route, and watching for other boat traffic.
We arrived in under 12 hours. So nice! The swells were quite big as we approached the inlet entrance to Fort Pierce. We surfed our way through, watching for the rocks on either side as well as the boats in the area. There is less control when surfing waves, so Carey was watching alertly (and offering advice) while I was on the helm. Once in the inlet, it calmed down and we were able to motor right down the channel and into a nice anchorage just off the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway). Our mast is too tall for the ICW, which is why we have to go up the coast. A funny thing about the ICW is that the green markers are on the right going north and red is on the left. (The channel markers indicate the left and right side of the channel, and keep us out of the shallow areas.). In North America, red is supposed to be on the right when entering a harbour, inlet, or marina ("red, right, return"), so when we entered the inlet the reds were on the right. However, when we turned onto the north channel, which is part of the ICW, the green markers were on the right. A bit confusing, but we didn't go aground, so I guess we figured it out.
Dolphins! We saw dolphins in the anchorage tonight. Not nearly close enough for me, but at least we saw some of these fascinating creatures.
Early to bed tonight. We're exhausted from our early rise and long day.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Well, I had a work out this morning. After a good night sleep, we motored out of the Fort Pierce inlet toward the ocean. We put the main sail up while inside the inlet channel, because we knew it would be difficult to do once we were out in the open ocean. Boy, were we right. As we approached the rock bordered entrance to the ocean, the swells got really big and really steep. We were launched off a couple of them and I had to fight the wheel to keep us from slamming down into the troughs. I wasn't always successful, so we slammed a few times. If you can turn at exactly the right angle, you can just slide down the side of the swell. Feels great when you do it right. Also, it helps to slow down the boat just enough to still keep control.
It certainly got our blood pumping. By 10:00, we were able to turn more north, so didn't have to work against the swells as much. At the new angle the swells were more off our beam. We unfurled the jib, but kept the engine going at low idle to help us get 7 knots of speed. The more north we went, the calmer the swells.
We are doing an overnight passage to go the 188 nautical miles to St. Augustine. If we can keep a 7-knot average, we can get there by tomorrow morning. Once we get there, we can finally relax for a couple of days while enjoying the atmosphere of the town.
Dolphins! Two dolphins appeared at 11:00 and were playing in our bow wave. They never stay long enough for me. Carey also saw a large turtle duck under. Love seeing nature.
We are getting around 10 knots of wind this morning. Carey is on watch today, just like yesterday. Perfect. As the day progressed, the winds lightened and the swells smoothed out a bit.
At 3:00, the wind had reduced to 8-10 knots and we had slowed, so we furled the jib and flew the Code Zero. Wow, this sail is great in light winds. We immediately increased our speed to over 7 knots, with 8s a few times. Woohoo!
By 7:00, the wind had freshened, so we switched back to the jib. By then, we were sailing by Port Canaveral. No shuttles lifting off today, I guess. Once around the Port Canaveral point, we were supposed to turn a bit more west to go toward St. Augustine. However, we slowed down so much by changing our heading that we decided to keep going due north and then turn toward land in the morning.
At 9:30, Carey tried to lie down for a snooze. However, that coincided with the wind dying down and the sails flogging. Grrrrrr. We furled both the main and the jib and motored. Time for Carey to take a nap.
We rotated watches throughout the night and trying to sleep, which was very difficult due to the noise of the engine and the rolling of the boat over the swells. They weren't huge swells, but just enough to make you brace yourself on every roll. Not very relaxing or restful!
We didn't see hardly any boat traffic overnight, so that made it an easy passage, although a bit boring.
Friday, April 21, 2017
We ate breakfast around 9:00 and then just put in time until we were close. At 11:00, we were about 40 minutes from the inlet to St. Augustine. We'll be going to the St. Augustine Municipal Marina, and we have to go through a bascule bridge, the Bridge of Lions, to get there. The only problem is that the Lions Bridge, as it's called, only opens on the hour and half hour, but not at noon! Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! That's exactly when we would arrive at the bridge--noon. We can hail the bridge on VHF channel 9 to get them to open it at 12:30, and then call the marina, which is immediately after the bridge, on 71 to let them know we are here.
We slowed our speed and dawdled in. Once we got inside the inlet, we pulled over and idled in a little bay area until the bridge opened.
We went through and immediately came to the St. Augustine Municipal Marina. There, we were literally blown onto the fuel dock. Wow, the winds are blowing 14 knots with gusts higher. It just whistles through here.
When we were filling up, a small motorboat tried to dock ahead of us, but they were being blown into our boat. They just barely missed us! Apparently, they were new to boating so I'm sure this was a little nerve wracking for them.
We filled up with fuel and water and then had to get off the dock. No small feat in these winds. The attendant threw off all of our lines, except the stern line. Then, I powered backwards until the bow finally swung out. Then I could motor straight out. Very nerve wracking, because there was a small boat on the dock just ahead of us and it looked like we would hit them before we got away. Phew, nothing hit.
We decided on a mooring ball instead of a slip, so we motored over there and picked up a ball. Once again, a little tricky in this wind, but we managed it after one aborted attempt.
We called for the 2:00 shuttle to pick us up and he came right on time. The free shuttle runs every other hour, starting at 10:00 and will pick us up right at our boat. The only catch is that the last shuttle back to the boat is at 6:00 pm. No nice dinners out for us, if we're going to rely on the shuttle. Oh, well, it's a great service anyway.
As soon as I got to the marina office, I asked to use a land line to call Customs. I waited on hold from 2:05 to 2:40 before giving up. Grrrrrrr, why can't Customs make things a little easier?
Since we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, we headed into town to look for a good dinner. St. Augustine is billed as "the oldest continuously inhabited city in the nation". The "Old Town" is a quaint and pretty town with tons of museums, art stores, good restaurants and historic architecture. Just down the street from the marina, we found a restaurant called O.C Whytes. We both ordered Surf and Turf (lobster tail and filet mignon), because we haven't had a steak in ages! Delicious. Afterward, we walked to a small marketplace to buy a few small items, then stopped for a coffee and fudge at Whetstone Chocolates. Yum. We caught the 6:00 shuttle back to our boat and settled in for an early night. We're very tired from our overnight sail here, so we need to catch up on some sleep.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Today, we needed to buy groceries, do laundry, get our propane tank refilled, and empty the trash.
First, we dinghied in with the laundry and propane tank. We were going to take the shuttle, but the first ride wasn't until 10:00 and we were up and ready to go by 8:00. We stuffed the laundry into the washing machines, then Ubered it to Ace Hardware for a propane tank fill up. Then, we returned to the marina, switched the laundry to the dryers, and walked to St. George St., a pedestrian only walkway of shops and restaurants, and near a park. We were looking for a new Canadian flag, but the House of Flags wasn't open yet. We got a panini and ate it in the park. Checked the House of Flags again. No go, so we walked back to the marina, folded the clothes, and dinghied the laundry and propane back to the boat. Then, we jumped back in the dinghy and Ubered it to Winn Dixie for groceries. In Winn-Dixie, a man offered his assistance and asked where we were from. When I replied "Canada," he said, "I lived up there for a while in a city called Sarnia." When I told him we were from Sarnia, he said, "Then you've probably heard of Camlachie. That's where I rented a house in 1982." Wow, small world.
At Winn Dixie, I was like a kid in a candy store. I had to rein myself in not to buy everything in sight, because we still had to get everything back to the boat. It was wonderful to see fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, dairy products, and good bread, not to mention every canned product you could want. I was in heaven. Better yet, the cashier gave me the Winn Dixie card credits, without me having to sign up, which saved $60! Woohoo, can't beat that.
We caught an Uber cab back, packing everything in his trunk, then grabbed a dock cart to get the booty to our dinghy. Luckily, all of this stuff didn't sink the dinghy on the way back. I started putting everything away, while Carey made the bed with our nice freshly washed sheets.
Then, we decided to get the 4:00 shuttle back to land. We went to the House of Flags Store on St. George Street again, and they were finally open, but they didn't have the size of Canadian flag we needed. Our poor flag is shredding, but we can't find a replacement! (Hmmmm, maybe I could order one online and have it shipped to the Charleston City Marina.) We wandered around the shops, bought a delicious scoop of ice cream, and then sauntered back to the marina in time to catch the 6:00 shuttle back to the boat.
While I made supper, Carey started to put away the dinghy motor. We weren't able to put the dinghy up on deck, because it was blowing like crazy. We decided to wait until morning in the hopes that the wind would be a little calmer.
We got everything checked off our list today (except for finding a new Canadian flag), so we are happy campers! We love it when everything is filled up (or emptied, in the case of the trash and the laundry bag).
Overall, St. Augustine, and this marina, get two thumbs up. Great place to visit, pleasant people, and good food.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
We were up at 6:30 and lifted the dinghy on deck in calm winds. The bridge opened at 7:00 when we were ALMOST ready, but not quite, so we finished and then took the extra time to have breakfast. We caught the 7:30 bridge opening and exited the inlet by 7:45 and through the entrance buoys by 8:00. We have two options today: the St Johns River inlet (approx 28 miles) or the St Marys River inlet at Fernandina Beach (approx. 48 miles), which is on the border with Georgia. At 9:10, we put out the main and the Code Zero in 7-9 knot winds. We were hoping that that would give us a knot or two of extra speed. If we can go faster, then we can go further today. The swells are so small it's fabulous!
By 10:30, we were near the Northern Right Whale Critical Habitat. It is illegal to approach any right whale closer than 500 yards, but I would love to see one, even from a distance. Right whales are odd looking mammals. In winter and spring, pregnant females and young adults can be found off the coasts of Florida and Georgia--right where we are!
They got their name because whalers called them the "right whale to kill." They are slow (up to ten miles per hour) and they float when dead. This made it easier for the whalers to pull them up on deck. When they dive, they put their tail flukes up in the air and their spout is V-shaped. That's what I'm looking for--black flukes or water spout.
After lunch, the wind freshened. We kept the motor going, though, because we wanted to take advantage of the good travel day with small swells and get as far as possible today.
For hours, I worked on possible itineraries for the trip home. It's complicated, because we need ocean inlets that don't have shoaling issues, plus we need destinations that have decent anchorages and that we can get to before dark. I have about four chart books, anchorage books, and guidebooks open in front of me, plus the chartplotter as I'm planning. Not to mention my weather apps. Of course, I always have to have a Plan B destination just in case the weather deteriorates throughout the day and we have to hole up somewhere. Thankfully, Carey was working the sails, watching the water and the sky, and making adjustments to our line, while I had my head in the charts.
At around 3:30, a little bird decided to take a rest on our lifelines. Then, he flew right into the cockpit! He hopped around, pecked at Carey's shorts (Carey sits so still), rested for awhile, and then finally flew off.
As the day progressed, the wind went up to 14 knots and the swells built. By 4:00, we had to make a decision--Jekyll Island and be there by 5:30, or St. Simon Island and be there after 6:30--both in Georgia. Woohoo!. We were leaning toward Jekkyl, until we took a closer look at the entry. Breakers on both sides of the narrow inlet, and a shallow section that we'd have to traverse before getting to the anchorage. We would be entering at low tide. Sunset wouldn't be until just after 8 o'clock, so that gave us a bit more daylight time. We opted for the safer and deeper (we hoped) entry at St. Simon Island.
Unfortunately, it was an extra ten miles to get to the St. Simon inlet channel plus another extra ten miles to get to the anchorage from the inlet channel markers, and we were exhausted, cranky, and hungry by the time we got there. It was 7:10 by the time we got the hook down. After we had eaten dinner, we got hit with a thunderstorm. The winds howled and the waves increased in the anchorage. Unfortunately, the tide had turned so our bow was pointed to the north which left our stern open to the waves. They were slamming against the stern so we had to sleep in the vee berth all night. Nice to have options. By 2:45 am, everything was calmer--the storm had passed and we were, once again, facing into the wind and swells. Finally, some peace and quiet.
On a brighter note, we have now travelled over 5000 nautical miles on this trip--5057, to be exact (which is over 5800 statute miles). Woohoo!
Monday, April 24, 2017
After a good night's rest, we woke up to a grey and overcast day. We were leaving the anchorage by 8:15, but didn't get out of the channel until closer to 9:30. These long inlets really add miles and hours onto our travel day.
After breakfast on the road, we put up reefed sails. We were getting 16 knot winds with gusts over 20 knots, and the swells were very manageable this morning. By about 10:30, Carey shook out the reefs and we went with full sails.
I was really hoping to see a Right Whale yesterday, but I was disappointed. We are still on the lookout for them today.
Throughout the day, the swells have reduced and the winds have fluctuated between 11 and 20 knots. It has turned out to be a bright and sunny day after that gloomy start.
Today we are headed for Wassaw Sound, which is very near Savannah, Georgia. We aren't stopping in Savannah, though. We will keep heading north, and then stop for a few days when we get to Charleston later this week.
More route planning and blogging for me today and more sailing for Carey.
By 2:00, the wind had strengthened and we were getting up to 23 knots of wind. We reefed both the jib and the main to try to level the boat a bit. We have confused seas today. The swells are from the southeast, but the waves created by the wind are from the west, so sometimes we slalom a big sweep to the right and then a big sweep to the left before we straighten up again.
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