Charleston - Finally

With good weather, we decided to go outside from the St. Marys River to Charleston. We actually made our decision during breakfast, so we quickly calculated the arrival time and got underway as soon as we were cleaned up. We first returned to Fernandina Beach Marina to top off our diesel fuel, and then we were off on an outgoing tide. The day was beautiful as forecast, with winds a little on the light side, so we motored-sailed. There was little traffic, just a few other northbound boats that had also left from St. Marys or St. Augustine, bound for Port Royal or Charleston. At one point, we saw a large object in the water about one boat length off our port side. We were so relieved we had not hit it, and then tried to figure out what it was. It was just at and below the surface. Just at that moment, it raised its head, and we realized we were looking at a very large leatherback sea turtle. Leatherbacks are large turtles, with adults weighing 700 to 2,000 pounds and measuring 4 to 8 feet long. By morning, the wind was even lighter, and the swell increased and was directly on the starboard beam, making for a very uncomfortable ride. There is a long entrance channel into Charleston Harbor that passes Fort Sumter. Right then and there, you know you are in a place of such historical significance. We had called Charleston City Marina on the Ashley River for reservations before we left, so we just needed our slip assignment when we arrived at about noon. We both were exhausted from lack of sleep, but we got the boat cleaned up and the laundry done so we could enjoy the weekend in historic Charleston. The marina provides van service to the downtown areas, so Saturday morning, we were off, beginning with a stop at the Old Market. There is so much to see and do. After spending a little time in the market, we took a horse-drawn tour of the East Battery area. After returning to the Old Market, we spent some more time there before setting out on our own walking tour. We visited the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon and then the Edmonston-Alston Home. This home has 90% of the original furnishings and is still in the family that lives on the third floor. The homes in Charleston have very short front facades, modeled after those in London, which were taxed on frontage. This is very deceiving because they are very deep and the sides usually have beautiful piazzas. At the Edmonston-Alston Home, which is on the East Battery, the owners stood on their piazza as we did while touring, and watched the beginning of the Civil War when Confederate artillery opened fire on the Federal fort in Charleston Harbor at 4:30 am on April 12, 1861. There is so much to take in here that it will take a few more visits.

Haul Out Time

A lot has happened since leaving St. Augustine. We have had a very mild vibration or flutter with our Autoprop, especially in shallow water. Immediately on starting out from St. Augustine, the vibration was more severe than usual and of concern. We stopped at Pine Island, so Norm could dive on the prop to clean it. It was actually already pretty clean, and the effort did not improve the vibration. We had already planned a haul-out this summer to raise the waterline, so we decided to advance the date and do the haul-out at Fernandina Beach. In addition to changing the waterline, we would also change to our standard prop and add the dynaplates for the SSB radio ground. Fernandina Beach had been recommended to us as a great stop. Fernandina Harbor Marina has recently added a mooring field, and we decided to take a mooring for a week. The tidal range is 7', so the currents are swift. The mooring fee included use of the dinghy dock, water, and shower facilities. The marina is right in the heart of downtown. It is a wonderful and friendly town and has quickly become a favorite for us. The only real negative is a nearby pulp mill, which is odorous when the wind is in the wrong direction. We made arrangements with Tiger Point Marina and Boatyard to haul Ariel. They have a small yard on Egan Creek in Fernandina Beach. We ordered bottom paint, and it was waiting for us when we arrived for the haul out. In all of our years dealing with boat yards, this was by far the best experience. They allow DIY and placed us near the restrooms/showers, provided 30 amp electrical service, water, and a ladder. They did a very thorough job of power washing the bottom and getting the boat very level on the stands. When we needed the prop pulled, they responded within 10 minutes. They are really geared toward cruising boats and allowed us to stay aboard in the yard. There were several other cruising boats in the yard with us. We will definitely return to Tiger Point for any future haul outs. We were hauled on a Thursday and launched the following Tuesday. We rented a car to have while doing the boat work, knowing we would have to run out for parts and supplies. We treated ourselves to a night at their dock after launching to give Ariel a good washing before we left. This was our first night in a marina since we left our marina last Labor Day. We are now at Cumberland Island. We are planning an offshore route to South Carolina, and we are looking forward to spending a few days in Charleston.

 

Pulling Ariel, now 30,000 pounds

Ready To Launch

St. Augustine

One of our highly anticipated stops on the way south was St. Augustine. We ended up passing it by trying to get to Titusville for the Space Shuttle launch, which was eventually delayed by months. So, on our return north, we have stopped in St. Augustine and are staying for a week or more. We had been here by car before, and it is a favorite of ours. This is really a very cruiser friendly stop. For a small daily fee, the Municipal Marina provides a dinghy dock, a good laundry, showers, a lounge, and is located right in the heart of downtown. We have a guest on board for a couple of weeks. Flat Stanley joined us just as we were about to leave Daytona. Flat Stanley is from Evelyn's kindergarten class. He is rather quiet, but we enjoy having him along. He enjoyed the ride from Daytona to St. Augustine along the ICW. In St. Augustine, we have shown him some of the sites, including Castillo de San Marcos, the fort. We wish he could stay longer, but he needs to get back soon.

Spring Vacation

After so much looking forward to our week with our son Daniel and his family in Daytona, it went by way too fast. We made it to Daytona late Sunday, a day later than we had hoped for. As soon as we were settled, we met Daniel, Lesli, and Thomas for dinner at the Aquarium Restaurant, which was close by and a convenient spot to meet and land our dinghy.

On Monday, they were off to Disney, so we had a day to recover and get the boat spruced up, as we had invited them to spend some time aboard Ariel on Tuesday. After fitting Thomas out with a new life jacket, we were off for a dinghy ride to Ariel. Everyone did well, and Thomas sat still and enjoyed the ride. We had a great day aboard, just enjoying each other's company. Of course, Grandpa started some early lessons on boat handling with Thomas. On Wednesday, we took advantage of having a car available and started replenishing our depleted food stores, and filled both propane tanks. We visited the Daytona Speedway. It was really enjoyable, with a Tram ride around the complex and along the racetrack.  They also have an IMAX theater, along with displays, including this year's winning car. On Friday, our last day with them, we all visited Steve and Dale in Palatka. We had a nice cookout (Steve's specialty) followed by a ride on their pontoon boat. It ended too soon, but it was a wonderful week for us.

Return

We left Green Turtle Cay on Easter Sunday, planning to anchor at Great Sale Cay on Monday afternoon before the next front arrived with strong northeast winds. It was a light drizzle all day, but we were well protected in our enclosure. We spent Sunday night at Allan-Pensacola Cay and continued on at first light Monday morning. Monday was cloudy, but a mostly dry day, and we were in our anchorage well before the winds began to build. Some boats were already there, and more arrived after that, so by nightfall, there were about 20 boats at this unpopulated cay. It was dead calm at dinner time, but shortly after dark, the winds built quickly to a sustained 25 knots, gusting to 35 knots. Two boats dragged anchor, one of which hit the anchor chain from a boat downwind. That boat let its anchor and chain go, averting potential disaster. It was a very bouncy night, but we managed well and held firm. It remained quite windy all day Tuesday, finally settling down on Wednesday. With calmer conditions on Wednesday, they were able to retrieve the anchor and chain that had been let go. A gale in the Atlantic northwest of us had generated a very large northeast swell. Throughout Wednesday, additional boats arrived to stage for the crossing. By the time we left on Wednesday night, we counted at least 45. Three of us decided to leave on Wednesday; the rest waited one more day for the swell to diminish somewhat. Tarwathie left at about 4:00 pm. Wind Chaser and Ariel left together at 9:00 pm as we had planned. We sailed about ½ mile off and parallel with Wind Chaser throughout the night. It was comforting to see their running lights in an otherwise empty Little Bahama Bank. We could still see the lights from our anchorage a few miles out. It looked like a small village had settled on Great Sale Cay. We cleared the bank at about 6:30 am, and then we each set our separate course, each setting up the best conditions for each particular boat. The swell was still quite substantial, but with a 10-second interval, very manageable. We steered a constant heading of 274 degrees, which is almost due west. We counted on the current to carry us 20 miles to the north. Our plan worked perfectly with only a minor correction at the end. Our arrival time could not have been worse. We faced a 2 ½ knot ebb current at the Fort Pierce inlet, which was met with the remainder of the northeast swell and pretty good northeast winds. The water in the inlet was boiling, but luckily, only for a short stretch. After getting the anchor down, we called Customs and Immigration to clear in with our Local Boater Option card. We were cleared very quickly. Wind Chaser arrived at Fort Pierce about one hour behind us. They continued on to Vero Beach, which is about another 15 miles north on the ICW. They did not have the Local Boater Option cards, so they were directed to appear in person at either Fort Pierce and Cape Canaveral. They rented a car to return to Fort Pierce and clear in at the airport. The next day, we proceeded to Cocoa. On Saturday, before leaving Cocoa, we went to the grocery store. We then were quickly on our way to Titusville, where we did laundry as soon as we arrived. Sunday, we were on our way for the home stretch after topping off the diesel fuel. It was a nice weekend day, so the waterway was packed with local boaters. We arrived at Daytona at 4:30 pm, having battled winds on the nose all afternoon. The whole point of this fast-paced return was to meet up with our son Daniel, his wife Lesli, and their three-year-old son Thomas. They are vacationing in the area this coming week. We made arrangements to meet Daniel, Lesli, and Thomas for dinner. As we were getting ready to head in, we saw Wind Chaser going by. We hailed them on the radio, and they had just spotted us and were making a U-turn to come into our anchorage. Today, Monday, we are just trying to catch our breath. Daniel and family are at Disney World. Wind Chaser stayed here today waiting on the wind to ease or change direction. We are looking forward to a great week with Daniel and Lesli and to the chance to spoil Thomas.

New Friend

We found a new friend sleeping under our boat. He seems content and has no immediate plans to move.

Waiting On Weather

It seems we are in for an extended wait for acceptable weather. The forecast had looked good for this coming weekend, but now it has deteriorated. The seas in the Gulf Stream are running very high, so we will wait it out at Great Turtle Cay. There are really no good, all-around protected anchorages after leaving here. There is the West End, but it is a marina that could get expensive if you're caught there for several days. We met Brian and Jan on Wind Chaser. They are from Lorain, Ohio, which is an area we know well from when we lived in the area. They have a condominium on the Black River in a complex we have toured by dinghy with friends. They also retired last summer. We have compared our plans, and they match up well, so we will cross the Gulf Stream together. Meanwhile, we are enjoying their company here at Green Turtle Cay. They have a son in the Navy stationed at Fernandina Beach, Florida, and we are destined for Daytona Beach. They plan to leave the boat there and fly to Atlanta to visit their daughter and babysit their grandchildren. We both would very much like to reach our destinations by the end of March.

Departing

Ted and Alice treated us and Jocks Lodge to dinner for our last night as a group. Also with us was Alice's friend Diane, who had just arrived from Philadelphia to spend a week with them. We went to a small restaurant frequented by locals. The place was packed, and we were the only cruisers there. Our meals were all very good, and most of us had sides of 'peas and rice' and 'baked macaroni and cheese', both of which are staples here and which we all enjoy. After dinner, we went out for 'Rake and Scrape'. On our first visit to Marsh Harbor, Norm met Browntips and learned he has a 'Rake and Scrape' band, so it has been a priority to see what this was all about. The rake and scrape sound comes from running a knife blade over the teeth of a bent carpenter's saw. The audience is free to jump in and play with the band. Linda was the first to give it a try, and she was quite good. She soon moved on to dancing (and learning some new moves) with one of the band members while Norm picked up the maracas and joined the band for a few songs. Believe it or not, Linda and Norm provided most of the audience participation. Our camera batteries failed, so we cannot share. I guess we were ready for fun during our last night out with the gang for a while. The next morning, we said our goodbyes again. We miss our good friends and look forward to seeing them back in Annapolis if not sooner. After leaving Marsh Harbor, we made another attempt to see Man-O-War. We entered at high tide and checked both mooring fields, but gave up, frustrated, as they were marked private, reserved, or not to be trusted. We anchored behind Garden Cay until the wind settled and then went back to our old anchorage at the north end. The next day, we took our dinghy in and walked to town. It is so amazing how each cay is so individualistic. This cay is very residential, with just golf cart paths and very few shops.  They do not really support tourism, so it is very quiet. We spent another night at our anchorage and then returned through the Whale Passage to Green Turtle Cay. They rate the passages on a scale of 1 - 5 for conditions, with 5 being the best. Our trip this time was a flat 5, which is as good as it gets, while our first time through was a doable 3. We are watching the weather in the safe harbor at Green Turtle Cay, and when we get the next window, we will cross back to Florida.

Pete's Pub

We have been waiting for a few days of settled weather to go to Little Harbor, which would be our furthest point south. The area between Elbow Cay and Little Harbor has several large openings to the Atlantic, so the swell makes it into the Sea of Abaco, and there is usually a strong surge around Little Harbor. We left Hopetown on a high tide, which was needed to exit the harbor. We arrived at Little Harbor about four hours later, but could not enter the protected harbor, as high tide is required to enter there as well. We anchored outside the harbor, but the wind was from the south and the surge from the east, so the boat had a tremendous roll.

Pete's Pub

We decided we did not want to wait a few more hours for high tide in those conditions, so we backtracked to Black Point Cat, the most protected area we could find to anchor. We anchored for the night, and then the next day returned to Little Harbor, again anchoring out but taking the dinghies into the harbor area. The main and only attraction in Little Harbor is Pete's Pub and Gallery. Pete Johnston is a Bronze Sculptor and the son of the late Professor and Sculptor Randolph Johnston, who founded this unique art foundry in this remote and beautiful area. After touring the gallery, we sought out the foundry, and they were so nice to give us a tour and fully explain the 'Lost Wax' process for creating bronze sculpture. After our foundry tour, we then stopped at Pete's Pub, which has a limited lunch menu that changes daily. The food was excellent and the atmosphere great, with sand at our feet. Quite a few spring breakers were there, so it was a fun time. While there, we met Ed and Dee off Sea Fox 10 and friends of Jocks Lodge. They had just arrived, coming north from the Exumas. However, we had to cut our visit short to allow time to snorkel at Sandy Cay. This is reported to be the best snorkeling in the Abacos. We anchored behind the cay, and Norm picked up Alice and Jan, and the three of us went snorkeling. We tied the dinghy to a mooring used by the commercial dive boats. While we could only stay about 1/2 hour, it was fantastic. There was wonderful coral, and many species of fish. The surge was strong, and the incoming tide was a problem. We had just decided to leave when Norm spotted two very large barracuda directly below us. This hastened our return to the dinghy and exit from the water. We wish we had more time, but we had to get back to the anchorage and the following day back to Marsh Harbor in advance of the next strong cold front.

Treasure Cay

We spent a few days at Treasure Cay before returning to Hopetown. Treasure Cay had been recommended to us by several cruisers. It is quite different. The inner harbor, which is irregular in shape, is surrounded by a sea wall and lined with condominiums and houses, all with dock space. It looks very much like some areas we saw in Florida along the ICW. The key feature of Treasure Cay is the resort and marina, which has an unbelievably beautiful beach. We paid a modest fee to anchor, which included use of the resort's facilities. We found the prices here to be about the best we have seen.

Treasure Cay

Hopetown

Ariel on Mooring

Back in Hopetown, the lighthouse is always prominent. This is sunrise on the sea outside of Hopetown and Ariel on a mooring in the harbor.

More Scenes From Hopetown

Elbow Cay Lighthouse

Joe and Sandy from NorthWind advised us to visit the lighthouse at dusk, when the lightkeeper arrives. The lighthouse on Elbow Cay in Hopetown is one of just three remaining that still has a kerosene lamp and is manually powered. We arrived about an hour before sunset to spend time at the top and enjoy the view. We pretty much had the lighthouse to ourselves. We enjoyed a spectacular sunset, and then shortly after, the light keeper arrived. He answered all of our questions and invited us to the upper part of the light around the Fresnel lenses to watch him. This area is not normally open to the public. He has been a light keeper for 36 years. It takes two light keepers, each working a six-hour shift. The lighthouse burns two gallons of kerosene each night. The weights need to be wound back to the top every two hours. First, he removed a heavy canvas curtain that protects the lenses from the sunlight. This is to prevent sunlight from reflecting off the lenses. We then watched him prepare and light the mantel. He then slowly cranked the weight back to the top, and the lenses began their steady rotation. This light is set up with five beams and then a long pause. We asked about working through hurricanes, and yes, he has kept the light on even during them. We both have a great interest in lighthouses, so this was such a special treat. Luckily, here there are not all sorts of regulations and rules preventing an up-close and personal look at the workings of this very special lighthouse.

Junkanoo

A very unique Bahamian tradition is Junkanoo. This is normally held around Christmas and New Year's and again during the summer. To keep this tradition active and growing, the schools, both primary and secondary, compete. As it happens, the parade and judging for the Abacos was this week in Marsh Harbor. This was the main attraction that drew us to Marsh Harbor at this time. Junkanoo is a dance with colorful costumes, musical instruments, and the beat of goat-skin drums. We stayed for three hours, but when we woke at 2:30 am, it was still going, having started at about 7:30 pm.

From Marsh Harbor, we moved on to Hopetown on Elbow Cay. Hopetown is just postcard-perfect and features a working lighthouse, still with the original lenses and hand-wound kerosene mantle. It is just awesome to watch the five beams of light above us as we are very close by on our mooring in the harbor. Hopetown is a charming village of pastel cottages, sandy beaches, and a wonderful harbor.

Marsh Harbor

We are in Marsh Harbor this week. Marsh Harbor is the third-largest city in the Bahamas. It is also Cruisers' Central for the Abacos. The harbor is large and can accommodate many boats, which is the case. This is the largest gathering of boats we have encountered thus far. They have good shopping here and the best chance of getting a repair or finding a part. The prices are higher, but not excessively so, if you are careful. Each morning on the VHF radio, there is a cruisers' net at 8:15 am lasting about 45 minutes to an hour. They cover weather, news, sports, community events, commercial announcements, trivia, anyone flying to the US willing to carry mail, open mike, new arrivals, departures, and more. This is how everyone keeps up and stays tuned to what is going on. It is very well run and really helpful. We did some fishing one afternoon and caught several snappers and grunts. While they were small, there was enough to make a meal for each of the three boats. We cooked ours on the grill the same day, and they were very good.

Great Guana Cay

Through the Whale

We spent a couple of days at Great Guana Cay. On first approaching the beach and while wading the dinghy in the last 20 feet or so to the beach, a couple of rays were swimming around our feet. We explored the settlement and then went over to Nippers to view the ocean side to see if it was possible to snorkel. It was still too rough, so we put off snorkeling for another day. Along the way, Norm picked up a coconut, which we have now grated and put in the refrigerator. We stopped at Milo's fruit and vegetable stand and picked up some homegrown tomatoes. We had originally planned to go to Nippers for their Sunday pig roast, but changed our plans to go to Grabbers to watch the Daytona 500 on a wide-screen TV. We had great snorkeling on Sunday morning on some reefs. The reefs drop off quite sharply and offer plenty of very colorful and varied fish, plants, and coral. Sunday afternoon, we went to Grabbers for a late lunch, but as it turns out, the TV was only easily visible from about 8 stools in the outdoor bar. Sunday night, the winds increased to a steady 25 knots and veered around, so we lost our protection. It was a bouncy night, but we are not complaining as it is only our second rough night in almost 6 months at anchor.

Valentines Day

A cold front passed through the Abacos earlier this week, the best-developed and strongest of the season. It has since settled down, and Valentine's Day was very nice. We had dinner and later danced at the Green Turtle Club. It was a great time spent with all of the cruisers we have met over the past week. The dinner procedure is to place your order at the time of reservation. They had two scheduled seatings and had a nice area to gather and socialize beforehand. Before going in for dinner, we visited Patrick and Christine Moulique' on Frog Kiss, a Nordhaven 46 from our old marina in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Today we went through the Whale and are now settled in Fishers Bay at Great Guana Cay. To get here, we had to go into the open waters of the Atlantic around Whale Cay. This can only be traveled in good conditions, and even then, it is not really comfortable. Our ride was a little lumpy but not really bad.

Linda, Norm, Jan, Iain, Alice, and Ted

Medical Update

After conferring with Ted and Alice's son, they concluded they would need to clean the area around the original bite, which was badly infected. Luckily, Jocks Lodge and Windsong each have well-stocked medical supplies. This is hard to do as you really need connections to get some of the supplies and pharmaceuticals. Between the two boats, they had everything needed to clean out and pack the area. The operation went well, and Iain's improvement is very evident. Today, Monday, he visited the nurse at the clinic. She was shocked they had done this. She was able to replenish most of the medical supplies used for the operation. They will need to replace the knife blades. The doctor is only on the island on Thursdays, and by then we should be on our way. We met Iain and Jan for lunch after their clinic visit in New Plymouth. The forecast is for rather high winds tomorrow and Wednesday. We went over the anchor this morning in the dinghy, and I used my face mask to check that it was, in fact, buried in the sand. It was well buried, so we will ride out the winds where we are.

Iain's Medical Problem

Back at our beach gathering on Allans-Pensacola, Iain got a bite, maybe from a spider. He was gathering wood for a possible fire on the beach the following night if we were to stay. He complained right away, and over the next couple of days, his hand and arms swelled quite badly. The bite was about midway on his forearm, but the swelling extended from his hand to nearly his shoulder. A couple of days ago, he visited the clinic in New Plymouth. The nurse (no doctor) prescribed an antibiotic,  which he bought at the clinic. His arm is warm or burning, and he has had a fever at times. Ted and Alice's son is a doctor, so they have linked Iain and Jan up via Skype telephone and sent pictures via e-mail for a long-distance consultation. Tomorrow, he may need to get a ferry to an island with better medical services. We will be in Green Turtle Cay longer than planned to give Iain a chance to get better and to wait on the weather (less winds). Last night we went to the Jolly Roger Bar and Bistro at the Bluff House Yacht Club. The night before, we could hear the band playing and wanted to see them in person. They are a local Abacos group and are quite good. The crowd was a strange mix of wedding reception guests, locals, and a few cruisers. The music was good, and we had a good time. While we had planned to attend church in New Plymouth, the wind picked up, so it would be a wet ride in the dinghy, so we decided to stay aboard.

New Plymouth

The village of New Plymouth, located on the southern tip of Green Turtle Cay, is home to just over 400 people, most of whom can trace their ancestry back to the Loyalists of the American Revolutionary War. The first Loyalists to come to the Abacos were refugees from New York. We toured the Captain Roland Roberts house, now home to the Environmental Center, which focuses on saving the reefs. The Roberts were in that first group of Loyalists that settled on Green Turtle Cay.

Washers and dryers are available at the Green Turtle Club, which is close by where we are anchored. We did two loads, which cost $4.00 per load for the washer and $4.00 per cycle for the dryer. One washer did not properly spin dry the clothes, so after spending $24.00 to wash and dry two loads, we ended up hanging half the items in the boat to finish drying.

Cleared In At Green Turtle Cay

We decided to go to Green Turtle Cay and secure an anchorage in White Sound, as the winds are now forecast to build tonight and tomorrow. Clearing in was very easy. We will probably stay here for several days. We have internet access again via the free Coconut Telegraph WiFi. We can use Skype to call out.

Gulf Stream Crossing

Visitor on board

Happy Hour at Allans-Pensacola Cay

The anchor chain is lying on the bottom

Cleared in

Super Bowl

On Super Bowl Sunday, we continued on, moving from Great Sale Cay to Allans-Pensacola Cay. The wind was very light and on the nose, so we motored all the way. The depth was around 15 feet, and with glassy seas, we could watch the bottom pass by. We saw several sea cucumbers, some sponges, some sea turtles, and a few fish. Our group included Kalina, Miss Pearl, Munteyn Top, Tuesday Child, along with Jocks Lodge and Windsong. We arrived at 2:00 pm and planned Happy Hour on the beach at 3:30 pm. There were already a few boats in the anchorage when we arrived, so we had about a dozen boats at Happy Hour. We figured our chances of seeing the Super Bowl at such a remote location were extremely slim. To our surprise, we were able to pick up a TV signal, which ranged from fairly good to all-snow. We could get a picture but no sound, so we found an FM radio station that broadcast it. The radio broadcast lagged behind the picture by 10 or more seconds, so that took some getting used to. We invited Dennis and Judy from Munteyn Top over to watch the game. They are from New Hampshire and had no way to listen to the game. Dennis built Munteyn Top, a wooden schooner, over a period of 8 1/2 years. It was built in their front yard, which is on a hill.  Interestingly, Judy has climbed 48 mountains in New Hampshire that rise above 4000 feet. We are writing about Munteyn Top as we have nothing to say about the game. On Monday, we went snorkeling and followed a path to the ocean side to see the sign trees and place our boat name and date there as well.

Bahamas Bound

On Thursday, January 31, we moved to just south of the Lake Worth inlet to stage for our departure. We went early so we could visit Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to register for the Friendly Boater Program. This is available in Florida: by presenting our passports and ship's documentation, we are issued a card with a number that we report on our return to the U.S. When we return, we can clear in by calling an 800 number and should avoid a visit to CBP offices. The radio was busy all evening as we made plans for the crossing. We all finally agreed on a 5:00 am departure, and about 8 or 9 boats would be in the group. We decided on 5:00 am based on the latest weather report from Chris Parker of the Caribbean Weather Network. The winds picked up substantially during the evening and night as predicted, and when we got up at 4:00 am, they were still blowing hard, so we delayed departure. After receiving a new weather update at 6:30 am, with the winds finally easing and allowing time for the seas to settle, we set a new departure time of 9:00 am. We counted 9 boats leaving the inlet at 9:00 am. The day was just wonderful with good sailing and a very tame Gulf Stream. One exciting new experience as we approached the Little Bahama Bank was to see flying fish. Norm never realized how well they can control their flight and how far they can travel, staying in the air for several seconds. Since we were delayed by 4 hours on our departure, we could not reach our originally planned destination in daylight, so at 5:30 pm, we dropped anchor where we were. We were the lead boat, so all trailing boats sighted on us either visually or by the anchor light. The last boat arrived at 8:00 pm, bringing the total to seven anchored in our little cluster. It was a new experience anchoring without any land in sight. Although the depth was 15 feet, the water was crystal clear, making every detail of the bottom visible. We watched our anchor descend, and then the chain pay out across the bottom. On Saturday, all of the boats in our group left at 9:00 am bound for Great Sale Cay, about 40 miles across the bank. The wind was light and on the nose, so it was a motoring day. We had a small, very tired bird join us for a while. He checked out the entire boat and spent time in the cockpit with us, and perched briefly on Norm’s knee. Great Sale Cay is just some sand and brush, but in a great location for a stop. Several of us will continue on to Allans-Pensacola Cay tomorrow. We have not cleared in yet, so we are flying our Q (Quarantine) flag. We will be clear when we arrive at Green Turtle Cay sometime next week.

Waiting To Cross

We now expect to cross the Gulf Stream this Friday. While the winds are cooperating, there is a strong northeast swell running, which would make for a very unfavorable ride. We took advantage of the continued stay here in North Palm Beach to install our solar panels. We were immediately thrilled with the results. On the first full day with solar panels, we ended the day with our batteries fully charged. The biggest energy consumer for us is refrigeration, and at least on sunny days, the solar power will replace all of the electricity used by the refrigeration for 24 hours. We have been passing the time playing cards and dominoes, sharing meals on each other's boats, and spending time ashore together. Star Shadow went on down to Fort Lauderdale and will cross to Bimini and then on to Andros. They expect to be in the Abacos in April and May.

SSB Radio

                     Radio (bottom) Modem (top)

Control Head

Lower Backstay Insulator

Upper Backstay Insulator

Antenna Tuner (to adjust antenna length for selected frequency)

Ready To Go

This was a very productive week for us. We are expecting Windsong to arrive next week, and then we will cross to the Bahamas at the first weather window, so we need to conclude our projects and provisioning. We finished the cockpit enclosure and, as reported in our last post, also finished the SSB radio installation. On Thursday, we rented a car for two days. Our solar panels, which had been on back order since October, finally came in. The manufacturer, Kyocera, had a huge contract, so they diverted production to fulfill it, creating a backlog of orders for the panel size we needed. The panels were in Fort Lauderdale, so we saved the shipping cost by picking them up there. This also had an unexpected benefit of earning us a Florida solar energy credit. These two refunds were about twice the cost of the car rental. We also picked up our life raft, which is now good for another three years. We made a major provisioning trip to a Super Walmart and also had a propane tank filled. We are now ready to go, or at least we think we are. Friday afternoon, with our work done, we went to visit Jupiter Lighthouse. We had passed the lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet, but hardly took notice, as it is a tricky area. The Gulf Stream is only four miles offshore in this area, so the waters are a brilliant blue, having been carried north from the Gulf of Mexico. The lighthouse is on Coast Guard property, so all the tours are guided, which is great since they provide a lot of history and point out other items of interest. We had a very unexpected surprise while at the light. Just at that moment, Jocks Lodge was passing by. We had not seen them since before Christmas. We got some good pictures of their boat from high atop the lighthouse. By evening, Star Shadow and Jocks Lodge were again anchored with us. We had decided to pass on the Exumas this year and visit the Abacos (northern Bahamas), and Windsong had agreed and will join us. As it turns out, Jocks Lodge is doing the same, so the old gang will be back together again. Star Shadow will be moving on down to Fort Lauderdale later in the week. Larry and his daughter Claire are aboard. Janet and son Graham are back in Canada for surgery on Graham's ear. They will return in another week or so and fly into Fort Lauderdale.

Jupiter Light

Long Distance Communication

We have finished our Marine Single Sideband (SSB) radio installation. We had everything in place except for the antenna. The antenna in our installation is one of our back stays. After the rigger inserted insulators, the middle part of the back stay, now isolated from the rest of the boat, is a long wire antenna. It took a few days of experimenting and tweaking, but we are up and running. This radio is designed for long-distance communications. Our VHF marine radio is only good for about 25 miles. The SSB radio is good for communications for hundreds and thousands of miles. Once we leave coastal waters, we will depend more on this radio for weather reports and to talk with other boats. We are also set up to send emails over this radio. This blog update was made using the SSB radio. We have had good success connecting to a radio near Dallas, Texas. We normally update the blog directly on the internet, but we expect to lose internet access in some areas. We also transmit our position with each connection. We cannot attach files or pictures to our email, so the next post will include pictures of the radio installation.

General Delivery

We had our mail sent, the first since early December. Only main post offices will accept 'General Delivery,' and in this area, the only main post office is West Palm Beach, near the airport and not particularly close to our location. To make sure it was at the post office and not to waste a trip, we paid for tracking and were notified when it was delivered. We decided to drop our back stay at the riggers and then go on to the post office, plotting out our bus routes, which would require three buses and two transfers in each direction. The closest bus route to the rigger was on the wrong side of I-95, so we had to get off either before or after the street and find a way under or over I-95. We got off before and began what we thought would be about a one-mile walk. After going under I-95, we turned and started working our way toward our destination, but soon found nothing but dead ends in a residential neighborhood. We asked a resident who was coming out to her car how to get through, and she informed us that there is a canal between here and there, and we would have to go back around, which would be probably three or four miles. The good news is that she offered and we accepted a ride right to the riggers’ front door. By the way, the whole time on buses, while walking, and in car rides, we were carrying the back stay with us. After we dropped the back stay off, we were back on another bus and off to the post office. All was going well until they went looking for our package, with the postal worker reporting back that it was not there. We told her that the tracking number indicates that it is. They entered it into their system, decided to look again, and returned with our package. We will always pay for the tracking after this experience. Three more bus rides and we were home in time for dinner, having started our journey right after breakfast. We are seeing a lot of the area and becoming somewhat familiar with it through these excursions. In our package were all of our Christmas cards and letters, so we had a very enjoyable evening.

Happy New Year

We have been spending a lot of time aboard, so on New Year's Eve, we decided to get off the boat for most of the day. We walked to an area with several malls in close proximity and wandered through them, went out to lunch, and took in a movie. We stayed in for the evening, but had a great location to watch the fireworks at midnight in West Palm Beach. To us, it felt more like Independence Day than New Year's. The temperatures here have been running a little above normal, so for us on the water, the evenings are still quite mild in the low 70s. The sounds of the parties carried across the water, and of course, at midnight, there was the blare of boat horns. Our dinghy landing here is a very small sandy beach next to the roadway. No matter how careful we are, we wind up with sand everywhere. We are still busy, but very near the end of building our cockpit enclosure. We had to order more material, which should arrive next week.

Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas Day aboard Ariel. Linda prepared a traditional turkey dinner finished off with apple pie and ice cream. We telephoned our families and got to talk to each of our older grandchildren (older than Camryn): Thomas, Michael, and Evelyn.

This is a departure point for the Abacos, and many, if not most, of the boats here are waiting for a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. A window opened on Christmas Day, so there was quite a large exodus on Christmas morning.  The day after Christmas, we had a taxi take us and our life raft to the shop to be repacked. This gave us a chance to see a little more of the area. We used the bus system to return. The system is extensive, so we should be able to get to most places.

Getting Settled For Christmas

We are now anchored in North Palm Beach. This is where we plan to spend Christmas and probably New Year's. We said goodbye to our friends from Jocks Lodge and Star Shadow at a little get-together on Star Shadow on Wednesday night. Both Jocks Lodge and Star Shadow plan to spend Christmas at Vero Beach, but we wanted to be in the Lake Worth area to have some work done. It was hard leaving, but we also know we will meet up again just as we have before. As we left Melbourne on Thursday morning, a pod of dolphins swam in our bow wave for at least 45 minutes. The water is getting clearer the further south we go, so we could also watch them below the surface, swimming parallel to and about 1-2 feet off Ariel. Our anchorage is surrounded by beautiful homes and high-rise condominium complexes. While here, we need to have our life raft repacked. It needs to be inflated every three years to check for damage and then repacked, replacing any food or water items that have or will expire. We also need to have insulators added to one of our backstays. This is so we can make the backstay an antenna for our new SSB radio. Both businesses have shortened workweeks for the holidays, so it will be January before we can complete the work.

Cocoa

We arrived in Cocoa on Monday morning but just missed Ted and Alice from Windsong. The twins were born the day before, and they left to fly to Seattle just before we arrived. Both Jocks Lodge and Star Shadow were already in Cocoa, so we anchored near them. Once again, we have plenty of space. Our consolation prize was to watch an Atlas rocket launch later that day. It was really awesome, and we were able to follow it downrange for a very long time. After dark, while checking something on deck, we noticed the phosphorescence in the water is very intense here. By making noise to cause the fish to dart, they would then cause bright streaks of light. The next night, we had our dinghy out, and it was as if we had installed lights under the hull. On Tuesday, we joined the crews from Jocks Lodge and Star Shadow to visit Cocoa Beach. It is just a 60-cent bus ride. They currently have a red tide there, so we did not plan to swim. A red tide is an algae bloom that is harmful to marine wildlife. No one was aware of the impact on air quality. As a group, we began coughing as soon as we stepped off the bus. Needless to say, we did not spend much time on the beach and took shelter inside a restaurant for lunch. We decided an afternoon at the mall was a better alternative. It was a nice day to catch up with everyone, ending with Happy Hour on Jocks Lodge. Both Jocks Lodge and Star Shadow are planning Christmas at Vero Beach, so we will be separating again for a while. We sent an email to Ted and Alice to arrange a place to meet up again after they return.

Scrubbed Again

Each day, we get a new Space Shuttle launch date and time, and each new launch is then scrubbed, repeating the process. We are not surprised, and while we would like to see the launch, we will move on tomorrow. This is a very relaxing location. While there are many cruising boats, the anchorage is so large that there is no crowding. It is really nice to have plenty of space. Titusville is nice but small and doesn't have much close by. We are moving on to Cocoa, where we will meet up with Ted and Alice from Windsong before they fly to Seattle for the birth of their twin grandchildren. We will probably stay in Cocoa for a week, then go further south before Christmas. Cocoa is still close to Cape Canaveral. We are both reading again and getting in some walking ashore. We were not able to do these activities while traveling every day. We, of course, are doing boat projects, but at a leisurely pace. Norm is installing our SSB radio, and Linda is sewing the cockpit enclosure. As long as we get both projects done by the end of December, we will be happy. We heard a deep breath and then, alerted, we watched a manatee swim along the side and then under Ariel.

Ready For Atlantis

We left Green Cove Springs Sunday morning after saying our goodbyes to Steve and Dale the night before. We would not normally travel on Sunday because of all the weekend boating traffic, but we wanted to allow enough time to get to Cape Canaveral for the scheduled shuttle launch of Atlantis on Thursday. Our first day was unusual, with virtually no traffic on the St. Johns. Then we encountered heavy weekend boating traffic on the ICW, but no cruising boats. That all changed when we reached our planned anchorage and rejoined the pack. The next day, we were back in the rhythm of traveling on the ICW, falling in line with other boats headed south. As we passed through St. Augustine, we hailed Windsong to learn they had changed their plans and would move on down to Cocoa before leaving the boat for the birth of their twin grandchildren and the holidays. Ted has a cousin in Cocoa, so that should make it more convenient. We also learned that Jocks Lodge and Star Shadow were also in St. Augustine, and all three would travel offshore to Cape Canaveral for the launch. We made plans to meet up again once we were all there. We arrived in Daytona for our next night at anchor. This was very special for us, as we have a timeshare in Ormond Beach, just north of Daytona Beach. We have had it since 1982, so we know the area well. We are now in Titusville, anchored just south of the Titusville bridge with an unobstructed view of the launch pad. The weather looks good for the next few days, so the launch may go off on schedule.