Back in the USA

Sunrise behind Megerin as we leave the Bahamas

Ray studying the charts before we leave Bahamas

May 19, 2012

As I prepared to write this blog entry I looked at my last one and realized the date was all wrong - I must have "island brain",  a common affliction among cruisers - we never know what day it is !  Many people think that  means we are doing something right if that happens - I hope so.

Anyway, we left Hopetown and spent about 10 days in the town of Marsh Harbor, generally enjoying company of friends like Pat and Debbie from "Miss Grace"& John from "Sojourn", stocking up at their wonderful supermarket, Sandy getting a "day of beauty" (I wish) at the lovely local salon, and waiting for the weather window again.  When it did pop up it kind of surprised us, and we made a quick decision to leave on May 1st and quickly get into position.  This meant a short day to Green Turtle Cay where we could get last minute wifi to double-check on weather forecast,  then a 12 hour sail to Mangrove Cay, which is uninhabited but we can hear NOAA on our VHF.  This period is kind of lonely, as we just see water and occasionally another boat - we missed our boating buddies Wind Dust.  Friday we got up at 4 AM and motored across the banks of Abaco, and headed across the ocean for Ft. Pierce, FL. But changed our minds as it was easier to direct the boat toward Palm Beach and actually a shorter trip, which was fine with us.  The seas were mild but so was the wind, which meant  we motor-sailed the whole way - never seeing one other boat (except for some big ships).  About 5 miles off the coast of Florida I turned on my iPhone and - WOW - a signal (way to go, AT&T).

Friends Pat and Debbie from "Miss Grace"

To answer some frequently asked questions :

1) Weather window - As a sailboat, we would like to use the wind.  Since we were heading west, we would not want a wind coming from the west - you cannot sail into the wind.  So we were looking for a southeast wind.  North winds are usually not good for crossing the gulf stream, as they create turbulent seas competing with the north-bound current.  We also like winds 12-20 knots.  And no storms, please.
2) Our speed is generally 5-7 knots if not running into wind, waves or current.  A 60 mile trip could take 10 hours or 14 hours and you never know if the conditions are exactly as predicted.  So, to avoid landfall in the dark we frequently leave in the dark to arrive with light.  This year friends of ours with experience  left from Ft. Lauderdale to go the Bahamas, calculating it would take them 10 hrs. but the weather was wrong and it took 18 hours, causing them to arrive at night with no one to help them at he dock, etc.
3)  We have a gas stove with 2 propane tanks which we can refill, water tanks that hold a total of 220 gallons of water.  We treat the water with a marine chlorine product and it lasts us about 3 weeks, although we never just let it run, etc.  Navy showers.  We have 2 sleeping cabins and 2 heads. Our engine is a Perkins and we hold 57 gallons of fuel, and burn 1.03 gallons/hour.

The crew arriving to Megerin in Lake Worth,
 Jane and Charlotte were great dinghy drivers

We had a big surprise waiting for us in the US.  Erin, Mark and two of their children, Charlotte and Jane were headed to Delray, FL, for a tennis tournament the next weekend.  So, we stayed in the area, met up with them and they got to see our boat for the first time.  What a great Mother's Day.
Presently we are in Ft. Pierce and I am flying to Pgh. Monday to be there when my mother has her cardiac cath.  Ray will stay here and when I get back we will go up the ICW to Brunswick, GA, to leave it there until November.

Everyone have a great summer and fall!

Charlotte, 14, relaxing on Megerin.  She played in her first international tennis tournament and was probably the youngest player there. She is one gutsy girl - not to mention beautiful!

Jane ,11, blowing the conch horn - she won the contest!

Charlotte and Jane being "Bow Princesses"

Mark and Erin - she is wearing the headphones we use to communicate when we are anchoring.

A truckload of conch for sale along the road in Marsh Harbor.  They will clean them for you, a hard job.
Conch is actually not our favorite but is fascinating to watch them get the critters out of there.

Before we left Marsh Harbor we attended and an agricultural fair meant to encourage Bahamians to grow or buy local produce, as it is so expensive to ship.  A high school "Junkanoo" band provided great entertainment.

Hopetown, Abacos

Playing bingo at Captain Jack's in Hopetown

We had intended to be in Hopetown for Easter week-end but some nasty weather was predicted to hit the Abaco's, which were north of us, so we elected to stay put in a very safe harbor on a place called Royal Island.  The cruising guide described it as the place to go to hole up for refuge.  However, there is nothing ashore and as Easter week-end was coming up I really wanted to be able to talk to our families.  And when I checked my iPhone I could get a signal so called my mother using "World traveler ATT minutes" and found out she was in the hospital.  She needed a pacemaker, which was done and she feels better than ever.  Jim was home for Easter so that was a lucky thing.   We spent 6 days at Royal Island, but having communications was wonderful.  There were a lot of other boats and we made some friends and took turns having happy hour on each other's boats as there was no beach to go to.  Ray and I  both got some boat chores done and I actually did a lot of cooking.  For Easter brunch I made a new recipe of ham/egg/pesto cups - delicious.  But no chocolate bunnies.

Typical lane in Hopetown - most people use golf carts or bicycles.

View of Hopetown harbor from lighthouse window during our evening tour

When cruising on a boat a favorite pastime is listening to the VHF - everyone eavesdrops on everyone else!
So Ginny and I made up names for each other and had a secret station to go.  However, our cover was easily blown - the other boats recognized our voices and just scanned their radio until they found us.
It is like an old-time party line so you have to be careful what you say!
It was a 10 hour motor sail to the cut into the Bahamas.  "Cuts" are where the ocean and the Sea of Abaco meet and can be dangerous to go through in the wrong conditions, mainly high winds against a high sea.

Walking up to lighthouse - it is 101 steps to the top.

View of famous lighthouse from across the harbor.  We are one of the boats anchored under it
and enjoyed looking at it at night - it flashes 5 times with a 15 sec pause.

Example of creative detail found on many of the cottages in Hopetown.  Every day we would take a walk and saw some we had never noticed before.

Sunset behind the lighthouse.

Taken on top of the lighthouse.  We were taken on a tour by the keeper who has to tend to it every two hours during the night.  We watched him light the kerosene lamp and he explained how the weights then rotate the glass lenses. It is beautiful inside and is the only light house of it's kind remaining.

Gorgeous house in Hopetown.  Many are rentals and pretty pricey.

Entrance to the Hopetown Lodge - we had a sunday brunch here with limitless complimentary mimosas - yum.
Atlantic ocean beach is on other side.

The houses are small and painted wonderful colors - described in the guide books as "sherbet colors"

Love these colors - would they work in Pittsburgh?