April 26-30 Passaging to Miami

With clear skies, we left Nassau on Tuesday for the 60 mile run to Chub Cay. It took us about 10 hours. Upon arrival, we started talking to other boats that were also planning the long run to Gun Cay and decided to travel with them, S/V Journey ( a couple headed to Chesapeake), S/V Bye Polar (Billy, a single-hander headed to Miami, along with two dogs and a cat on board) and S/V Carmella.
We had planned to leave Chub Cay at 0500 but the winds had cranked up to 20 knots with gusts, so we hung around until 0800, listening to weather reports in the interim and waiting for the winds to die down a bit. Despite the earlier winds which quickly died once we got underway, the seas were calm and we had an uneventful motor passage. 75 miles, about 13 hours. It was dark upon our arrival and after all the hooks were down, everyone settled in for a good night’s sleep.
We decided to press on to Miami while the weather was good and left Gun Cay, in the company of Bye Polar, at 0800 for the 50 mile trip to Miami. This trip was also calm and uneventful. It was great fun to see Miami Beach and the USA on the horizon and monitor our cell phone for signal strength on local ATT towers. With great cargo ships in the channel and power boats dashing about, Craig and I began our acclimatization back to the United States.


Leaving Nassau Harbour:

After leaving Nassau, it wasn't long until we were on the fish. Our first wahoo, which is a fine eating fish, and then a dolphin. No telling how many gallons of water we burned cleaning up the cockppit after these two beasts.

Chub Cay. Enjoying our last Bahamian sunsets:

And moon rises....

Underway to Gun Cay, on the way out of Chub. S/V Carmella, under sail, quickly dusts the rest of us who have similar hull speeds.

Approaching Gun Cay. The LAST sunset.

The lighthouse leaving Gun Cay:

The government cut and Miami ship channel...Welcome to Miami!!

The wreath on S/V Bye Polar, you ask? Because he really is from the North Pole.

So here we are, in the mooring field of Dinner Key Marina on Biscayne Bay. Getting used to life back in the USA. Many fun things. Having our cell phone ring and receiving calls from friends/family watching the Spot Me and welcoming us back home, the minute we got here, was the best! Wanting to stuff our ears with cotton because everything is so loud. The guy at the marina with a gas-powered leaf-blower. Loud! Get a rake! And my favorite, walking around and trying not to get killed crossing the street because a) the cars here go really fast, and b) they come from a different direction than what we have been used to for the last year.

1200 horses. Huh?? Because I can appreciate that there is no such thing as too much speed...

Ready to cruise????

So, here we are! Heading to Marathon in the AM to see friends and hang out a couple days before moving on to Key West.

April 25 Passage Across the Bank...Not !

We had planned to leave Nassau for Chub Cay on Monday. We expected some squalls across the Bahama Bank but the front arrived, packing far stronger storms than were anticipated. When we woke up, a quick look to the horizon and a double-check of weather had us rethink our decision to leave and we decided to wait a day. We were disappointed to spend a rainy day on the boat. When we got to Chub Cay, though, we had an opportunity to talk on the radio with a south-bound boat that did come across during those storms. Boy-howdy, were we glad we waited!! They got beat up in sixty (that’s 6-0) knot winds and steep twelve foot seas which take on a whole new meaning when the water is only fifteen feet deep to begin with. Once you are on the bank, there is no place to run and no place to hide…you are just in it.
Not us!!

April23-25 Nassau, Bahamas

We pulled into Nassau Harbour Club Marina on Friday after making an appointment with a welder. We were disappointed to find that the pool was drained and under repair but the marina otherwise proved to be a good spot. Nice laundry facility on site and a supermarket right across the street. We took Ken on a dinghy tour of Nassau Harbour on Friday afternoon. It was a little late for us to make it downtown, but as you can see from the cruise ships lined up, we didn't want to run around down there with 10,000 of our close friends.

A trip through the Atlantis Marina is always interesting with the exterior sculptures and architecture.

The super yachts are jammed in there like sardines. Even with twin screws and cheater bow thrusters, it is amazing that they are able to manuever into such tight quarters. We especially liked M/Y Indiscretion with a car stored on its upper deck.

This is a view of the anchorage from the marina. We stopped at a club during our tour and Ken got to try his first Bahama Mama. We watched the bartender carefully but lost count of how many bottles he used to mix this concoction. He also brough us a few complimentary conch fritters. Although I had cooked some conch while we were at Allens Cay so Ken could try them, I was glad that he got an opportunity to taste some that were professionally prepared. I can do a decent job but have never perfected the art of cooking conch since I can't eat them.

This is the M/Y At Last, secured at the end of our dock and preparing for a charter. The crew cleaned and polished on this boat, its two tenders and four jet skis it seemed 24/7. When they weren't cleaning, they were loading on provisions. Boxes and boxes of food and cases and cases of liquor. Thirty bags of ice which we couldn't figure out because surely it has an industrial ice maker. Then came the fresh flower arrangements which were tropical works of art. Curiosity got me and I finally had to Google it. This boat can take ten guests and charters for $150,000/week.

On Saturday we went out for an early lunch before Ken's flight, only to find that the restaurants were not yet open. We consulted with a security guard who informed us of the best spot for a late breakfast. A short hike later and we were there. I do not even know the name of the place but it was clearly a local hang-out. Breakfast is a choice of fish stew and grits, chicken stew and grits, conch stew and grits, or sheep's tongue stew and grits. Pardon me? Yes. Sheep's tongue. The boys make quick business of ordering the conch. I'm tweaked. I can't have conch and don't want fish or chicken. In a moment of daring boldness, I order the sheep's tongue. Scary to look at but delicious to eat.

We came back to the boat. The welder and crew arrived just about the time Ken was to leave. We got him squared away in a cab to the airport. The welder, hanging on to the stern with one hand and welding with the other, made short work of the job, repairing the broken stanchion base, rewelding the other stanchion base on the opposite side of the gate, and also putting in a stainless bar between the two stanchions to provide extra strength. A superb job at about half the rate we expected to pay.

We were sad to see Ken go. It was great fun having him on board with us as we traveled the Exumas. Thanks for everything!

After a fuel stop, we pulled out of the marina this morning and returned to the anchorage. We will leave bright and early tomorrow morning to head to Chub Cay. We will cross the Bahama Bank, spending a night in the middle of it before proceeding to Gun Cay. Weather permitting, we think Miami by Friday.

April 20-22 Allens Cay, Bahamas

We made the quick trip over to Allen’s Cay on April 20th. This is among our favorite stops on our trip. There is the main anchorage and then a small cove with room for only one boat. Most people do not pull in there because it is only 4 feet on the charts. Fortunately, we had talked to a Morgan that was anchored there last year when we passed though. To our delight, the cove was empty and after a drive-through with a close eye on the depth sounder, we dropped the hook and claimed it for or own. I am with the supreme captain and therefore am the envy of everyone....

We spent two days in Allen’s Cay, exploring the islands, collecting a few conch specimens and visiting the famous iguanas who, as I have told you before, chase red-painted toes. A thrill which never ceased to entertain me.

Sunset in Allens Cay:

From the deck. Views to port, aft and starboard:

Here, lizard, lizard, lizard....

Dinghyng around...Ken with his face in the look bucket (a bucket with clear plastic in the bottom)

Hakuna Matata at anchor. Dinghying around the other side of the island to study the palm tree.

Sunrise at Allens Cay.

This afternoon, we bypassed Rose Island, outside of Nassau, and came into the anchorage in Nassau Harbour. We secured a good anchoring spot and have made initial contact with a stainless steel welder and a marina. We are hoping to repair the cracked stanchion on our stern pulpit whle we are here.