0744-1516 10 May 08 Norfolk to Deltaville, VA

We've discovered we have a generator problem. While anchored in Broad Creek, the generator shut itself down. It does this if it is overheating. Ted checked the impeller and sure enough it needed to be replaced. We run the generator in great Bridge and this time it shuts down even sooner. A little more exploration by the Chief Engineer reveals that the heat exchanger needs to be replaced. So we won't be anchoring out on the way home. We've decided to take a slip in Deltaville for the night.

The weather prediction is ok. North winds 10-15, 2-3' seas. The sea state doesn't sound great but... We pass some commercial traffic on the Elizabeth River and head out into the Bay.


All the way to Wolf Trap Light (2 hours from Deltaville) the weatherman has been wrong. The seas have been flat and there's been little to no wind. At 1230 someone flips a switch. I can see the rain coming down the Bay and the visibility along the shoreline slipping away. Ted's napping in his chair while I drive. I decide its time to turn on the radar so I can "see" what is around me. Ted hears all the "chimes" associated with turning the radar on and wants to know immediately what is going on. The sea state starts to change and for the next 2 hours we have a minimum of 3-4' seas on our bow (ugh!) and some bigger sets. M/Y Summer Wind is ahead of us as is M/Y Sea Robbin. Everyone has the same experience.
So we're pitching and then we turn in toward Deltaville and now the boat wants to also roll. Fortunately the stabilizers take care of that. We dock in Deltaville and are greeted by our friends on Summer Wind as well as Craig Dozier (co-owner of the marina). We haven't seen Craig or her husband Jack since New Year's Eve (remember the progressive dinner?). We also learn that the weather will be so crappy on the Bay for the next several days that we won't be going anywhere until Wednesday.

The good news is the marina is putting on a happy hour tonight for the transients and permanent slip holders.

0846-1156 8 May 08 Great Bridge to Norfolk, VA

The bridge openings are coordinated with the Lock schedule in Great Bridge. Here's M/Y Sea Robbin getting ready to pass through the bridge.


We chose the left hand side of the lock to tie on; it is self serve on the left (no help). Leaving the lock takes you into the Elizabeth River and all kinds of commercial and naval activity. There are probably a half dozen bridges that need to open for us on the route. We take on more fuel at Ocean Marina ($3.82/gal includes taxes and a $.10 BoatUS discount) and end the day at Waterside Marina. We plan to visit with Defever friends, Marcie & Gale Mutum.

0746-1436 7 May 08 Broad Creek, N.C. to Great Bridge, VA
The North River takes us through Coinjock, NC an then out across the Currituck Sound. The Sound is shallow but can be nasty. We lucked out and had a nice crossing. From there you cross the NC/VA state line and enter another canal that ends in Great Bridge, VA. Here's one of the commercial barges we passed.



The Great Bridge Lock is to the left in this picture. There is free dockage on either side of the Great Bridge Bascule Bridge. That is where we stayed for the night. Not long after we tied up, M/Y Sea Robbin arrived and tied up behind us.


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0701-1549 6 May 08 Pungo River to Broad Creek, N.C.
When we got up to pull the anchor it was clear and sunny. In the time it took to pull the anchor and get underway we were completely enclosed in fog. We need the radar to navigate in the fog and we turned the fog horn on. Leaving the anchorage we turn into the 20 mile long Alligator-Pungo River Canal.


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I ran down to start the coffee and when I came back up on the deck I see a red trawler on our port side (passing) 10' away. Are these guys nuts? The fog is totally disorienting. You can't even see the sides of the canal and it is pretty narrow. The next thing I hear from the red boat is that they need to turn to starboard. We're right beside them, remember. Not only does he start moving to starboard, Ted has to put our engines in reverse so this clown doesn't hit us. Once he's back in the channel he falls behind us. It took an hour for the fog to lift.

The north end of the canal empties into the Alligator River. Here's the Alligator River (center, left) the Albemarle Sound and North River (top).

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The Sound can be nasty but we had one of the best crossings ever. We anchored off the North River in Broad Creek.


1033-1735 5 May 08 South River to Pungo River, N.C.

Thunderstorms and wind delayed our departure until late morning. As you can see we were wide open to the winds in the Pamlico Sound as we crossed the Pamlico River and headed up toward Belhaven. We hung a right at Belhaven and anchored where it looks like the Pungo River ends in the top of the picture (near 264).


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Here's a better shot of the anchorage. The Pungo River is the wider body of water in the bottom of the photo. Off to the right is a skinny canal that looks like a road - that's the Alligator-Pungo River Canal. And the anchorage is on the top.


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1318-1804 4 May 08 Spooners Creek to South River, N.C.

Beefore we left we had breakfast ashore with Roger & Robbin Seal and Mike and Karen Efford (Mi-T-Mo, a former Army T boat).

We anchored in the South River. You can see the Neuse above the South River and where the Neuse empties into the Pamlico Sound. Wind can make for an unpleasant passage on the Neuse and in the Sound.


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0639-1642 3 May 08 Wrightsville Beach to Spooners Creek, N.C.

We left Wrightsville Beach early and enjoyed a fair current a good bit of the way. Camp Lejeune is in our path and we saw another kind of wildlife there - the Osprey - also known as the V-22.




As we passed through Swansboro we saw the historic tug, T.B. McClintic, aground. We gave him a wake but with an 8' draft he had to wait for the tide to come in.

Here's Spooners Creek. You see see the very narrow channel into the creek. It is in the middle of a residential area. We stop here a lot.


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When we pulled into Spooners Creek Roger Seal, M/Y Sea Robbin, was there with his boat in a friend's slip. He hailed us and we later joined he and Robbin with their hosts for cocktails and dinner. We have an invitation to return and put our boat in the slip the next time we're passing though.

0851-1255 2 May 08 Pipeline Canal to Wrightsville Beach, N.C.
We had the current on our nose all the way up the Cape Fear River. You can see Southport and the Cape Fear River in this shot. Snows Cut is right below Sea Breeze. Wrightsville Beach is in the top right corner.


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There was a huge dredging operation underway as we exited Snows Cut. Shoaling is always a problem at the Carolina Beach Inlet. This area had already been dredged so when we passed through at low tide we had lots of water.

Dick Lassman and Elle Osborne anchored close by; we dinghied in together for lunch and walked over to the beach afterward. Wrightsville Beach is a university town (UNC Wilmington) and the beaches were full of coeds sunbathing. You'd have thought it was July. I'm walking around in jeans and a long sleeved shirt and windbreaker. All the kids were in bikinis.

We anchor on the south side of Causeway Drive. You can see the Intracoastal Waterway over on the left hand side.

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0755-1651 1 May 08 South Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Pipeline Canal, N.C.

Fuel was less expensive here (relatively speaking) so we took on 200 gallons at $3.889/gal. Ouch!

We timed our departure to have a fair current all the way up to the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge in N.C. We passed through the Rockpile at low tide. You can see all the rock ledges that are just outside the narrow channel. Amazingly enough a Sea Ray style fast boat came up behind us on a plane, hailed Ted to ask permission to pass us. This is not a good idea in the Rockpile. Nonetheless this boat increased speed and had just gotten up on a plane when I heard a crunching sound. He was on a ledge. Fortunately he was able to back up. He slowed down significantly after that and did not pass us.

A couple miles before the Sunset Beach Pontoon bridge we saw another critter crossing the river. When we looked at it with binoculars it looked like a cat of some kind. We slowed down to watch it get out of the water and decided it was a bobcat. Unfortunately I did not get any good pictures of it.

Here's a shot of the Pipeline Canal (far left) and Southport, NC (on the right).

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0734-1434 30 April 08 Minim Creek to South Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Almost everyone else was gone when we got underway.

Passing through the Waccamaw River we saw tons of turtles on tree stumps in the Cypress Swamp. When we slowed down and pulled over to take pictures, all but one jumped off the stump.


We decided to stop at Osprey marina tonight - it is a great marina and the price is significantly less than most. Dick Lassman and Elle Osborne were also there aboard M/Y Summer Wind. We joined them for drinks after dinner.


0814-1519 29 April 08 Charleston to Minim Creek, S.C.

We had a great time in Charleston (as usual). Got together with Ted's cousin, Ben, and friends, Heinz & Sharon Maurer. We also had the opportunity to go out to Rabbit Lockwood's plantation for "Jazz & BBQ".

Passing under the Ben Sawyer Bridge alongside the Isle of Palms, I took this neat shot of all the sailboats ahead of us.


North of McClellanville on the North Santee River, we saw 2 alligators crossing the river. You may have to click on the picture to see them. The one on the left is easier to see than the one on the right.



We anchored in Minim Creek with a bunch of other boats and crab traps.

1106-1146 25 April 2008 Wappoo Creek to Charleston, SC

So, here we are. You can see the marina and Lockwood Drive. Follow Lockwood Drive to Broad Street. All of the pricey homes are located "South of Broad". If you look below Broad Street, you can see Tradd Street. South Battery runs off of Tradd; that's where Ted lived until he was 13 years old.

We're here primarily to attend "Jazz & BBQ" at Rabbit Lockwood's plantation here. Rabbit is the senior harbor pilot here in Charleston and Lockwood Drive is named after his family.


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1137-1522 24 April 2008 Steamboat Creek to Wappoo Creek, South Carolina

Wappoo Creek runs along the bottom of the picture into the Ashley River in Charleston, South Carolina. You can see a little island in the creek and some boats on one side of it. This is where we anchored. You can also see the Charleston City marina over on the right hand side. We're positioned to go into the marina during slack water tomorrow.


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0634-1830 23 April 2008 Herb River, Georgia to Steamboat Creek, South Carolina

We set a record today; we traveled 87 miles! This will give us 2 easy days Thursday and Friday. Steamboat Creek is north of Edisto Island. The Edisto River flows out to the ocean.


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You can see where the Intracostal Waterway crosses the Savannah River from Georgia into South Carolina. We're almost to Charleston!


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0758-1649 22 April 2008 Duplin River to Herb River, Georgia

The Herb River is very close to Savannah; probably 20 minutes by car. Look for the Herb River in the picture below Thunderbolt. We anchor in the bend.


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0754-1659 21 April 2008 Fernandina, FL to Duplin River, Georgia

Took on 500 gallons of fuel at $4.13/gallon. Another pretty day for an outside run.
We left the St Mary's River, headed out the inlet and turned north. The beaches along Cumberland Island are beautiful and unspoiled. Let's hope they keep it that way. We miss all the S'ing through the marshes taking this route. We passed by Jekyll Island and St Simon's Island. Two other MTOA cruisers decided to go this way as well; it leaves the shallower areas of Georgia behind us. Doboy Sound is well marked and has plenty of water. The shrimp boats use it. You can see the Sound right below Sapelo Island. The winds picked up later in the day and the ride got a little bumpy. Once we turned into the sound, things smoothed out. We've anchored in the Duplin River before - its a nice spot.


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0916-1634 20 April 2008 Ortega Landing Marina, St John's River, Jacksonville, FL to Fernandina Beach, FL

Here's where we came back into the intracoastal waterway. Georgia is north of the inlet, Florida is south. We'll take on fuel tomorrow morning.


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Weather looks good enough for a short run outside to Fernandina Beach today. You can see where we exited the St John's River at Mayport into the ocean. Not much to look at along the way. There are some beautiful, long, undeveloped stretches of beach along the coast until you get to Amelia Island. Lots of small boats out fishing. A shrimper cruised with us all the way to Fernandina. He didn't put out his nets until he was in that area.

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Rendezvous is over. Good time met lots of nice people. You can see where we were relative to downtown Jacksonville.


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0851-1540 14 April 2008 Pine Island to Ortega Landing, St Johns River, FL
The alternator isn't putting out any voltage now. The winds will be 20-25 mph out of the north tomorrow. So, rather than anchor tonight, we'll just head into the marina early. The MTOA Rendezvous starts Wed for us.

We drove from the lower helm - since the front came through the other day it has been pretty cool on the bridge. The St Johns River runs north. Not much commercial traffic on the river today. Not much to look at until you get to downtown Jacksonville.














0823-1701 13 April 2008 Daytona to Pine Island, FL
We decided to go a little farther than originally planned. Ted has noticed that the port alternator isn't putting out the voltage it should to charge the house batteries (that the inverter uses to provide 110 power) over the last couple days.

The anchorage filled up by dark - the most boats I've seen in this spot.


0725-1621 12 April 2008 Cocoa to Daytona, FL
Great boating day as evidenced by the number of boats on sand bars in Rockhouse Creek.
You probably have to click on the photo to see the smaller boats back in there.


The stretch between both ends of Ponce Inlet is being dredged. The operation spans a 2 mile area with pumps on 2 separate barges dumping the reclaimed sand on to the beach. All of you boaters should be able to look at the signals on the dredge itself and figure out which side to pass on.


The guys on the dredge were real hams.







11 April 2008 Moored as Before Cocoa Village Marina, Cocoa, FL
Hit the commissary, exchange and barber shop at Patrick AFB today to do some re-provisioning. Had lunch with the Berry's in a very good mexican restaurant called "Tijuana Flats".


0836-1240 10 April 2008 Palm Bay to Cocoa, FL
We cruised back into Cocoa today with plans to stay 2 nights to re-provision. Ted also desperately needs a haircut. Here's BEFORE
Here's AFTER.



Chuck & Pat Berry (M/V Got the Fever) were already moored at the marina and greeted us upon arrival. We met them on the mooring ball at Great Guana Cay.

0915-1614 9 April 2008 Jensen Beach to Palm Bay, FL
As we got underway this morning John & Janet Ferguson (M/V Arcadian) passed us. We wound up anchoring together behind some spoil islands in Palm Bay. They joined us for happy hour. It was fun catching up.

0851-1626 8 April 2008 Lake Worth to Jensen Beach, FL
We stopped by Admiral's Cove marina enroute to have lunch with Marian & Joel Busse. Passing through the intersection of Jupiter Inlet and the ICW, there was dredging underway. Freddie Olverson (M/V Freddie Bear) overtook us there and headed for Hutchison Island. We anchored out just north of Hutchison Island.

0816-1554 7 April 2008 West End, Bahamas to Lake Worth, Florida
Today is the best day for us to go or else we are stuck here until Thursday.
We had an uneventful trip across. We are anchored in Lake Worth presently;
Ted been on hold with Customs & Border Protection using 2 cell phones and 2
800 number for almost an hour now.

Conditions when we crossed..

As we left West End we had swells in the 4' range, confused seas. Although
the predominant direction the swells came from was southwest, they came from
other directions also. Winds were very light.

The conditions improved progressively the farther west we went.

At about the 3 hr mark, the swells were gone.

We had about a 1' chop on the water; winds had picked up a bit.

The winds were from the SW until we were an hour or so outside of Lake
Worth; then they were from the west.

Since this is only my second crossing I asked the delivery captain on the
Mainship we were traveling with was he'd give the trip on a scale of 1 to 10
- 10 being the best.

He said when we left West End he'd have given it a 5 but by the halfway mark
he'd raised it to a 7. He said he's seen a lot worse!

Singer Island was a welcome sight as we entered Lake Worth Inlet.



4-6 April 2008 Moored as before Old Bahama Bay Marina, GBI
Waiting for the right weather window to cross over! Met some more nice folks during our stay here. After 31 March dockage rates increased from $1.50/ft to $2.60/ft. We are now in peak season. The Henne family on M/V Sweet William came in ahead of us. We met them at Great Turtle Cay and have been lagging behind them by a day or so during our time in the Bahamas. They have 3 girls (triplets) who are 9 or 10 yers old and one boy (Sweet William) who is 6 yrs old. Nice family. We joined them on a run into Freeport/Lucaya on the other end of Grand Bahama Island. We figured we may never get back here again so why not. The public taxi was a van, $14.00 round trip for adults. We met some interesting locals going in and coming back. Lucaya is where all the tourists from the cruise ships end up. We really weren't too keen on that. We headed to a locals restaurant called "Simply Native" after multiple recommendations from sales folks we solicited. We took another public taxi ($1.00 fare) and that driver called Arnold (our driver from West End) to let him know where to pick us up. Dinner was great and much less expensive than anywhere else we've eaten. We even tried a local dessert, "Guava Duff". Sort of like a jelly roll with a cream sauce - short on the guava though. One of the triplets rode in the backseat with Ted on the way back - she had her way with him.

Here's a rare sight - Ted brushing Bonnie.


Late Sunday night a sailboat went aground on the Atlantic side of GBI. After a long day single handing this sailboat was so close to the marina entrance but unfortunately went aground.



1000-1727 3 April 2008 Great Sale Cay to West End, Grand Bahama Island
When we pulled the anchor up this morning, it was really stuck. Probably the best anchorage we've been in since we've been here.

It was a little windier during the run to West End. We timed our passage through Indian Key Channel to coincide with a mid-tide. Never saw less than 6'. When we left the bank there were some swells on our nose (east). Turning southeast we experienced a little mild pitching until we were in the marina basin. One more leg to go!


1317-1843 2 April 2008 Spanish Cay, Abacos to Great Sale Cay, Bahamas
Nice run over to Great Sale. Made a reservation at Old Bahama Bay marina before we left Spanish Cay using Skype. By the time we got over to Great Sale, the winds had shifted so we anchored on the northwest side of Great Sale.

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Two sailboats were anchored when we arrived but got underway at sunset to head across the Little Bahama Bank to cross the Gulf Stream. This is out last night on the Bank!

1005-1238 1 April 2008 Manjack Cay to Spanish Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
Underway again. The only way to see Spanish Cay is to stay in the marina. It is a privately owned island. A squall passed through just as we planned to enter the marina basin so we held off until it passed. As it was fairly windy we pulled into the slip bow-first. Internet access is available here for $10.00/day. We had lunch ashore - 2 choices; grouper or conch. We biked down the other end of the island. There's a 5,000' runway for private aircraft. We walked along the beach and reef; in places it looked like a conch graveyard. I found a nice conch that wasn't too beat up. The wind has shifted to the SE and our part of the marina is not sheltered from a SE wind. It almost feels (the motion of the boat) like we're anchored vice in a marina.

Don't think I've mentioned it before but I've used Skype (when I have internet access) to call my siblings. Its cheap ($.02/minute) and the connection has generally been excellent.

29-31 March 2008 Anchored as before Manjack Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
Been doing lots of reading. Couldn't even get enthused enough to put the dinghy in the water the first day - after that it was choppy.

The holding here is good; we aren't moving and everyone else seems to be holding their position as well.

Ted discovered that our trip log (on the chartplotter) has stopped at 10,000 nm.

0900-1304 29 March 2009 Man O War Cay to Manjack Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
The weather forecast predicts E 20-25 kt winds for several days so we've decided to head to Manjack Cay. Today was our second best weather day on the water since we've been in the Bahamas. The water was almost flat. Once again we could follow the chain down from the bow - it went under the boat and the anchor was astern of us. Huge starfish could be seen everywhere we looked. A lone fish hung around the shady side of the boat. We listened to the Cruiser's Net for Whale Cay passage reports and got underway.

Once we were anchored Ted decided to get into the water and follow the anchor rode to see how well the anchor was set. Upon examination he picked up the anchor and set it himself. The he signaled me to start the engines and back down on it. We're ready for the wind now! A total of 18 boats had anchored at Manjack by sunset.

Stars, stars, stars. The night sky is breath taking. I wish I could take a picture.

28 March 2008 Moored as before Man O War Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
We rented a golf cart to drive around Man O War. First stop was Lola's Bakery for cinnamon rolls. Lola works out of her kitchen. The smell of cinnamon rolls greeted us as we headed for Lola's kitchen door. At 10am she already had a dozen cinnamon rolls plates and half a dozen loaves of bread ready to go - there were more in the oven and more waiting to go into the oven! We walked out with a plateful and headed for the beach. After that we headed north on the main road which is just wide enough for 2 golf carts. The road parallels the ocean side of the Cay. At "The Narrows" you are looking at the Atlantic Ocean and the Sea of Abaco separated only by 100' of reef. I think we went down every road on the island and into every shop that was open before we called it a day. I found a local fabric that is actually made on Andros Island for sale. Very expensive. 2 placemats were $50.000 - a little too rich for my wallet these days. The material is either a batik cotton or canvas with either turtles, hibiscus or the like on the material. Very pretty. By 3pm we were done and headed back to the boat.

We are hoping to transit The Whale on Saturday and make our way back to West End with hopes of crossing the Gulf Stream back to Florida next weekend.


1534-1649 27 March 2008 Elbow Cay to Man O War Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
Seeing all we were going to see in Hopetown and realizing that we are starting to run out of time, we headed over to Man O War Cay. We entered the narrow channel to check out the harbor for anchoring. Once again it is so congested with mooring balls there is just no room for anchoring. You don't want to meet another big boat in that narrow channel. We anchored outside Man O War Cay with half a dozen other boats. We took a quick ride into town to check things out but everything was closed. This is a "dry" Cay - you cannot purchase alcohol in the stores.

27 March 2008 Anchored as before Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
We dinghied in to town to take a self guided tour of the Elbow Cay Reed Lighthouse. The light is still operational. It was put into service back in 1863 as part of the British Imperial Lighthouse Services. It still uses a small kerosene fueled mantle to project light through the huge fresnel lens that can be seen for 20 miles. Once inside the lighthouse you can see the mechanism that pressurizes the kerosene to fuel the mantle for the light. The views were spectacular from the top.

We joined Trish & Jim touring around a bit and had lunch on the beach.



0954-1215 26 March 2008 Great Guana Cay to Elbow Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
We got underway a couple hours before high tide in anticipation of passing through some shallow areas. M/V Let's Went called to ask for a report when we passed by two cuts to the ocean. We found a sandy spot to drop the anchor and after we felt confident it was set Ted and I explored a little bit of Hopetown by dinghy. A candy striped lighthouse is a familiar landmark on Elbow Cay. Hopetown has 2 streets, Front St and Back St! The town is very picturesque and is probably the nicest place we've been to, after Green Turtle Cay. The harbor is full of mooring balls but it looks pretty full. There's no room for anchoring in here. We watched M/V Great Expectations, Trish Smith & Jim Riordan, grab a mooring ball, as we ate lunch at Cap'n Jacks. We met them in Ft Lauderdale earlier and then at West End upon our arrival in the Bahamas.

Three of us, including the catamaran "Anything's Pawsible" anchored outside Hopetown and got together for pizza on M/V Let's Went that evening.

25 March 2008 Moored as before Great Guana Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
At 0700 Ted decides it time to go back to the boat. The engine starts on the first pull and the choke is intact. In re-constructing the events from the night before we concluded that Ted probably never put the key into the ignition. He also thought he lost 2 pairs of glasses but I had one pair and the other was in the bilge in the dingy.

Later that day we walked back into town for some exercise. We ran into Bill and Elaine Berthiaume, M/V Let's Went, MTOA members. Looks like we will all head to Hopetown (Elbow Cay) tomorrow as the winds are favorable for anchoring in that area.

24 March 2008 Moored as before Great Guana Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
We'd watched a 37' Great Harbor attempt to snag a mooring in the wind. It was going to be challenging and I voted that the boat hook would win and it wold be over the side soon. Ted jumped in the dinghy to give these folks a hand. That afternoon we met them at Grabbers (another beach bar & grill) in Fisher Bay. Rum drinks are the "specials" over here and Ted started out with a "Grabber". I stuck with the white wine. We headed back to Nipper's to buy tee-shirts. Over the course of several hours, Ted had 2 Nipper's "specials" and later led the crowd appropriately when shots of "Fire in the Hole" were poured for all who were imbibing. Ted even danced .... he hates to dance.... so I knew he was feeling no pain. Time to head back to the dinghy and hit the sack. Its about a 1/4 mles from Nippers to Grabbers (where the dinghy was tied up). Somewhere along the line all those "specials" and shots caught up with Ted - unbeknowst to me at this point. Its dark and there are no lights on the dock. we get into the dinghy and Ted can't get the engine started. After multiple tries Ted concludes that he's pulled the choke off. I can't see anything but I'm thinking we'll just ask one of the folks who's still here to give us a tow when they head back to their boat. The next thing I know Ted is talking about getting a room here! I climb up the laddar into the dock; somehow Ted ends up in the water but its shallow enough to stand up. In hindsight I don't know how he ever made it back down the dock....
$235.36 later we have a room and Ted hits the sack.

23 March 2008 Moored as before Great Guana Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
Nipper's hosts an easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday that we decided to check out. Lots of folks were there coming either by ferry from Marsh Harbor or staying locally. The easter egg hunt was fun to watch. Kids of all ages participated. Eggs (plastic) in the water had rocks in them and were inside a baggie sitting on the bottom. The "Pig Roast" is also a Sunday occurrence - one of the things you try at Nippers.

When we dinghied back to the boat, a 49' Defever, M/V Got the Fever, was moored next to us. Chuck & Pat Barry invited us aboard for cocktails.

1057-1313 22 Mar 2008 Green Turtle Cay to Great Guana Cay, Abacos, Bahamas
6 boats traveled from GTC to Great Guana Cay and Marsh Harbor today. The big event was the passage around Whale Cay. It is too shallow for us to travel behind the Whale so we have to go outside into the ocean to pass around. The Cruiser's Net this morning indicated that there was a 6'-8' swell and confused seas. We decided to wait a couple hours and see it it settled down and/or we heard any boats report on the conditions.
Then we all decided to have a look. As we got closer I did speak to a sport fish who had passed around and he said they had a 3'-4' beam sea with no problems. Off we all go - it was an uneventful passage.

We picked up a mooring ball in Fisher Bay. Using the headsets made a difference - its much easier to hear and understand each other. It took me 2 tries to get the pennant up with the boat hook. Winds are lighter today but we'll only get a short reprieve. By Monday it'll be NNE 15-20 knots again. The mooring balls are large concrete blocks.

Guana Cay is 5 1/2 miles long and home of famous Nipper's Beach Bar & Grill. I'm told that the beach is rated as one of the world's 10 best.

17-21 March 2008 Moored as before Green Turtle Cay Club & Marina
We biked into the settlement of New Plymouth. This town is the complete opposite of the town in Grand Cay. Very clean and picturesque. There are 3-4 grocery stores, a library, museum, multiple small restaurants etc. About 400 people live in New Plymouth.

The second time we biked into town we had lunch at Pineapples. You can see its not a big place. Picked up some romaine and margarine at the grocery store ($6.43). We also went to the library. They have a great book exchange. We were curious about the reverse osmosis water plant on the island so I stopped a man coming out of the Post Office to ask some questions. The Green Turtle Cay Club (where we are) has its own R-O plant. The locals all use cisterns to collect water off their roofs. Next question I asked was about septic fields. The homes here have "cesspits". Given the limestone composition of the under lying substrate, it does provide great drainage.

Ted has figured out that one of the duck bill valves for the overboard black water pump is not working. One of the boaters we met in West End is here and he had a spare to loan us. We won't get to test this out again until we leave the marina.

We've been waiting for the wind to lay down so we can head over toward Great Guana Cay and Marsh Harbor. Tomorrow is the day. We have to go out into the ocean a bit to go around Whale Cay; its too shallow for us to transit behind it. Weather and wave conditions are important for a safe passage.

xxxx-xxxx 16 March 2008 Crab Cay to Green Turtle Cay
With a front on the way we opted to head into a marina on Green Turtle Cay. Ted wanted to tow the dinghy so we tried that out for the first time. We used our headsets during the mooring process. The slips have no finger piers but they all have a laddar against the dock. We normally back into a slip so in this case we'd get off the swim platform, use the laddar if necessary to get on the dock. There are 4 pilings to tie onto. Two near the bow and 2 against the dock. That's 2 less than we'd see at home. Normally there would be 2 more pilings amidships. Anyway Ted wanted the 2 lines (bow line and amidships line) on the forward piling. The dockhand here really knows his stuff. Backing as close to the pier as we did he was able to grab the stern lines while I worked the other 4 lines with a boat hook. Headsets are like baby monitors - the boat next door or across the way may share the same frequency and can "listen" in. We later learned at Happy Hour that the Nordhaven across the way had listened to the entire exchange between Ted & I.

First impressions indicate that this is the prettiest place we have visited to date.


Until the end of March, the marina allows you to use your daily dockage rate toward food and beverage credit at the Green Turtle Club. Quite a concept....
In the Bahamas you are normally charged separated for water and electricity. Here water is .25/gallon. Electricity is .45 per KWH.

To take advantage of the good deal offered, we'll eat dinner and lunch ashore often enough to break even!

15 March 2008 Anchored as before Crab Cay

Did some maintenance on the boat today before we set off exploring in the dinghy.
We found the causeway between Little Abaco and Great Abaco and stepped ashore to check things out. Not much to see. The "2 lane" highway does not have a dividing line on it and in 20 minutes time only 4 cars zoomed by.

Ted also noticed that the "midway full" indicator light on our black water tank came on today. Not a good sign since we thought we emptied the tank on the way down to Crab Cay.

Explored among the little cays between our boat and Little Abaco Island.

1014-1159 14 March 2008 Allans Pensacola Cay to Crab Cay
The water was like glass this morning. Without any ripples I can clearly see the bottom. We're in 6.6' of water. The metal plate on the bridle is sitting on the bottom. The anchor is about 15' off the port side of the boat. I can read the "Made in U.K." on the side of the anchor. Only one fluke is buried in the sand. It must have been the sheer weight of the chain that keeps us from dragging.

A sea ray circles the boat.



This is probably the best weather day we've had since we arrived in the Bahamas.

We got underway for the short run to Crab Cay.

Pumpouts are non-existent in the Bahamas. The "bank" gets "flushed" 4x a day which accounts for the clarity of the water. It was time to dump the black water tank so Ted flipped the valves and started the pump. Everything appeared to work fine....

Once anchored we put the dinghy into the water to see exactly how the anchor was set. I drove a line perpendicular to the bow; Ted hung over the dinghy with his mask on pointing one way or the other following the chain. Once he found the anchor he seemed satisfied that we were ok. Off we went to explore the beach combing for shells. We're anchored next to Great Abaco Island and Little Abaco Island.

13 March 2008 Anchored as before Allans Pensacola Cay
I've been able to pick up the NOAA weather forecast for the area 60 miles out from Jupiter, FL. That forecast gives us a good idea of what we can expect.

We dinghied into shore to explore. There's a path through the mangrove to the Atlantic ocean side. It was really blowing over there. People have left all kinds of things hanging on trees marking the year they were there.


Guineamans Cay sits adjacent to Allans; there's an inlet running out to the ocean.


0914-1456 12 March 2008 Grand Cays to Allans Pensacola Cay
We're headed east now toward the Abacos. Along the way we passed M/V Iffin, Barbara & Barry Kipnis boat. They've been in the Bahamas about 6 weeks and were headed back to Florida. They'd had it with the wind and constant fronts.

The holding at Allans Pensacola is reported to be poor but it offers protection from the north winds we expect. It took as a couple tries to get the anchor set. Fortunately the wind lay down and we got a good night's rest. Three of the couples we anchored with in Great Sale were here also. Little Abaco Island is about 5 miles across from us. We can actually see lights over there at night.



0920-1503 11 March 2008 Great Sale Cay to Grand Cays
It was a really quiet night at anchor last night. Everyone started splitting up today headed for different destinations. We headed north to Grand Cays - a small settlement is there.

Abeam of Double Brested Cays 2 dolphins joined us briefly. What with the super clear water, you can see the whole dolphin (vice the top fin only) heading toward you. I got a great movie of this pair and another pair that joined us. Unfortunately when I try to upload it, it just won't successfully upload.

We anchored outside of Grand Cay and dinghied into the settlement. The harbor is well protected. While we were looking for a place to tie the dinghy we noticed some fisherman had captured a very large sea turtle and had already popped the shell. The entrails remained.

We later learned that only the Hawksbill turtle is protected while the season for Loggerheads and Green turtles is August through March. The people on Grand Cay subsist on seafood. We walked through the town; there's a real problem with trash disposal in the more remote areas. It was depressing. The "road" is wide enough for a car but in reality golf carts are the vehicle of choice. We walked over to where the dead sea turtle was. Ted spoke to the adult men; I spoke to the 2 children. They proceeded to show me about 30 more turtle shells (for sale, I assume) and another baby turtle destined to become soup. The locals here also catch lobster and of course, conch. A generator provides power to Grand Cay.

Once back aboard the boat the wind started to lay down and it looked like it would be a nice evening. Such was not the case. At midnight the wind and seas picked up. Ted let some more scope out on the bridle as well as the chain rode. We moved the dinghy astern of the boat and then we tried to sleep. It was not a restful night.

0830-1424 10 March 2008 Old Bahama Bay Marina, West End to Great Sale Cay

Six boats left the marina this morning; three of us are traveling together. Wind is predicted to be NE at 17 mph with a 1' chop on the bank. There are no navigation aids
over here. All the navigation is done using waypoints from the chart books. We timed our departure from West End to pass through Indian Cay Channel on a rising tide. Two hours later the winds have picked up and the wind is on our nose. One of the couples we're traveling with has made multiple trips to the Bahamas - its like having a security blanket with you.

Twenty miles later we pass Mangrove Cay.
The wind has fallen off a bit so the ride is more to my liking. 25 miles to go.

We anchored in about 9' of water at Great Sale Cay. There's nothing here; just an overnight spot protected from all but south winds. We put the dingy into the water to explore the shoreline; there's no beach on this side. There were 2 spots to get off the dinghy - the rest of the shoreline is a limestone ledge 1'-2' above the waterline. Pretty rugged here - the mangroves are dense.

We hosted cocktails on our boat. Tim & Jan (M/V Lambchop); Pat & John (M/V Gypsy Time); Steve & Jean (M/V Sun Cat); Jim & Trish (M/V Great Expectations) and Myke & Bill (M/V Footprints) joined us.

Blowing the conch shell is a boating thing at sunset in the Bahamas and Key West. I need a lot more practise!

The stars were gorgeous - bright, close with no distraction from any city lights.

8 March 2008 Moored as before Old Bahama May Marina, West End, Grand Bahama Island
Shells I collected on the beach here.....



The Bahamian flag flies next to our US Navy flag....

7 March 2008 Moored as before Old Bahama Bay Marina, West End, Grand Bahama Island
It looks like we will be here until at least Monday sitting out weather (lots of wind from the wrong direction).

6 of us decided to bike in to the Village of West End. That's Trish Smith and Jim Riordan (M/V Great Expectations), Bill & Myke Oppold (M/V Footprints) and Ted. There was not a lot to see. As we rode along the coastline we noticed several large piles of conch shells.
Conch is a staple here in the Bahamas and it is a very popular dish in restaurants. Conch soup, conch fritters, conch sandwiches - you get the idea. We are 25 miles from Freeport and while we are in a nice resort its not Paradise Island and Atlantis! We suspect that the local population is wholly dependent on the resort for employment. We stopped at a grocery store to check things out and what we found were "basics" on the shelves. The local liquor store front door was locked. We rang the doorbell but no one answered. We stopped at the Bahamas Telecommunication Company (BATELCO) to buy phone cards but no one was home. WELCOME TO THE BAHAMAS, MON!

We also rode through a new residential area adjacent to the resort. What's wrong with this picture?


Back at the ranch I walked around a bit and took a few more shots. Here's Customs & Immigration.

I also noticed a lot of these lizards on the edge of the sidewalk sunning themselves. Some of the tails looked like curly-q's.



Gasoline here at the marina is $4.67 and diesel fule is $4.48. OUCH!

6 March 0549-1505 Ft Lauderdale, FL to West End, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas
The weather forecast was extremely favorable so we got underway early. As we passed through Port Everglades, 3 cruise ships had just come in. We passed a 4th coming in the channel as we were going out.


An hour out I notice two things; the depth sounder is showing over 300 ft and the wind is blowing from the north. Hmmmm.....not the prediction I saw. Its supposed to be 5kts out of the SE. After 400 ft the depth sounder is just showing dashes or 3-5 ft.

Two hours out I can still hear requests for bridge openings on the VHF radio.

Three hours out the cell service drops off, the Ft Lauderdale skyline is gone, the Verizon aircard is off-the-air, but we can still hear the weather forecast on the VHF radio. As I look into the sea chest (in the engine room), the water is clear with an indigo hue.

Four hours out we are halfway; 35 miles are behind us. We've been in the Gulf Stream for a couple hours. We still have light north winds. The water temperature has increased 1 degree per hour. It will be 80 degrees by the time we get to West End.

Five hours out, we get a rainstorm with 3-4' swells amidships. The winds have shifted to SE. Thank heavens for stabilizers!

Eight hours later we enter the channel for the Old Bahama Bay resort.

We tie up right next to a 49' Defever, M/V Footprints, belonging to Bill & Myke Oppold. Behind us is M/V Great Expectations; Trish Smith & Jim Riordan (originally our cruising buddies but they came a day earlier)


We end the day with champagne on M/V Footprints celebrating three firsts for us.

First time crossing an ocean,
First time in a foreign port,
First time in the Bahamas