3/6/10
George Town, Bahamas
George Stateham

Lynn has done laundry, I have filled fuel cans, and we both have shopped and provisioned,

We plan to get out of here tomorrow and go back to our mooring but it is just much easier to do this from the dock and not have to lug everything across the harbor in the dinghy.

We will start looking for a weather window to head out of here for other islands. We are signed up for beach golf on Tuesday and Trivial Pursuit Wednesday night. Of course, there is another front due on Thursday so no telling when we will get away. Soon we hope.

3/3/10
George Town, Bahamas
Lynn Stateham

This weather front is related to a southern jet stream low, and apparently they are forecasting gale force winds in the Abacos.  Not as bad here, but we are happy to be in our hidey hole, because Chris says we will probably have some strong squalls.

2/24/10
George Town, Bahamas
George Stateham

During the day, we took the dinghy to look at the bridge that has blocked dinghy traffic for the last two seasons. It is actually very attractive and has plenty of room for boats to pass.

Monday early we were at the haul out slip. What used to be George Town Marine is now Masters Harbor Marine and while they are not officially open (target March 1) they did haul us.

George replaced the missing boot on the starboard sail drive and Lynn did a little hull cleaning. While we were out of the water, George took the opportunity to replace the joker valve in the toilet which would occasionally allow a little back flow. Mostly we waited for the adhesive to cure.

We rode out the frontal passage while on the hard and wondered if the winds were going to blow us off the blocks. Good news, no problem. We got lots of rain that gave the top side a good rinse.

Tuesday we launched very close to our 3:00 target time and were back in our hole at Stocking Island in the late afternoon.

Wednesday we did our volunteer bit selling T Shirts for the Cruisers Regatta. It is always a good time, we get to meet and chat with so many other boats. Then lunch at the Town Cafe. George filled water and gas cans while Lynn topped up our provisions at the market.

We are now hunkered down for the next blow, due late tonight or early tomorrow.

2/20/10
George Town, Bahamas
George Stateham

On Valentine’s Day we had a dinner to die for, Lobster, fresh vegetables, and champagne. No way we could have gone to a restaurant and had anything better.

The next morning, we took it easy, doing coffee and tea at the marina office, walking the dog, taking showers, etc. George filled some fuel cans and Lynn topped off a couple of water jugs. About 11:00 we cast off the lines and motored southeast back to George Town. We picked up the mooring in hole number two where we spent several weeks last year. It is much more protected in here and after the day with boats dragging anchor around us, we preferred this spot and traded moorings.

After arriving, we hit the beach, shared a burger and walked through all the activities saying hi.

Tuesday, George started a project to remove old clips left over from some previous owner’s canvas enclosure. He is to fill the screw holes and then apply new gel coat to match the boat. Shortly after removing them we had rain and it rained softly, off and on, most of the rest of the day. In the evening, we played trivial pursuit and tied for first place. However, we lost the tie breaker and came home empty handed.

Wednesday we took a wet dinghy ride to Hamburger Beach for the HAM luncheon. Met old and new friends and enjoyed the program, “Radio Etiquette or, How to Irritate Your Neighbors While Using Your Radio.” George made a little more progress on the fill and cover project.

Today Lynn spent about 40 minutes polishing stainless and George completed another step in his process. He left to attend a celestial navigation seminar, but went to the wrong beach. By the time he figured out the problem, it was too late. I guess if you can’t find your way to the right beach, you failed the navigation course.

We have a tentative appointment Monday morning to haul the boat and hope to be back in the water Tuesday afternoon 2/23. If the schedule holds, we will move to Red Shanks on Sunday to be near the marina.

While there was free Wi-Fi at Emerald Bay, the response was terrible and they told us that the phone company (BATELCO) was the problem. After getting back to George Town, we are hearing the same thing here and although BATELCO said they should be up and running by the 15^th or 16^th as of the 18^th we still had the problem. We can hardly check email, much less do any work on line check Facebook or get into our favorite forums. Finally today, it seems to be operating at close to normal speed.

If you recall there was big weather forecast for Valentine weekend so the scheduled dance at the Chat n Chill was postponed until the 19^th. That was last night so we sort of celebrated Valentines again by going to the dance. I will post a couple of pics on the Exumas and Out Islands photos page.

Today we are doing chores preparatory to moving to the Redshanks anchorage tomorrow. That will put us close to the haul out slip for our Monday morning appointment.

2/13/10
Emerald Bay, Bahamas
George Stateham

We are now gearing up for the next phase. We have our shipment from the US and the frontal passage that was forecast to make life really exciting has passed.

The shipment exercise was frustrating, especially as compared to last year. Then, we went to the airport, waited for the plane to be unloaded and packages taken to the customs office. The toughest part was finding your package among all the others. Once you had it, you took it to the customs officer who compared the contents to the shipping manifest, calculated the duty, took your money, and you were on your way. Maybe a two hour process.

Well, they have fixed that. Now you go to the airport and still have to wait for packages to arrive at customs, but, you hire a customs broker who can’t do anything until all customs paperwork is done. Thus, with a late afternoon plane on Wednesday, it was Thursday morning before we could get the paperwork. A drive into George Town followed with a trip to the customs office there, where three different people had to handle our documents before I paid a cashier, then wait for a stamp saying “OK to Clear.”

Back at the airport the broker calls a customs agent to come to the area where packages are, we find the package, and now have to open it to assure that contents match the manifest. What bureaucratic drill would be required if they didn’t match? Finally we had the package.

Fortunately we had rented a car. It was expensive but was less than if we had taken taxis to make all those trips. We were also able to use it for other things.

The severe weather dodged us, going to the southwest over Cuba instead of through the Bahamas. We still have the frontal passage and will have winds in the 25 knot range but not 50 knot squalls but nothing as rough as expected.

Wrapped around the package retrieval activity we had a generator issue. Our little Honda 2000 generator starts with a pull cord, kind of like a lawn mower. The cord broke and Lynn found the handle laying on the deck Tuesday morning. There were those words I hate to hear. “George, you need to come take a look at this.” Fixing this is no small feat. To get to the recoil mechanism requires some major disassembly. Screws were rusted in place and had to be drilled and removed with an easy-out. The toughest part was unplugging a connector that clips closed and is virtually impossible to reach. With the tools I have on board I needed to push down on the clip with a screwdriver in one hand and pull back hard with the other hand. There was no way. Fortunately, a boat in the next slip had a tool that looked like a screw driver, but hooked on the end. He could both press the clip and pull with the tool. I have to get one of those.

Finally the unit was disassembled and I used the old cord minus about 4 inches on the end where the fraying occurred. I test started the engine before reassembling and it was fine. That was as far as I got on Tuesday.

We bought new screws in town while doing the running around with the rent car and on Friday, I reassembled completely. The darn thing wouldn’t start! I didn’t seem to have a spark. Of course, my assumption was that something in the reassembly had caused it. Take it all apart again. New screws not rusted and borrowing the neighbors tool made it much easier this time. However, the engine still would not start.

Using a screw driver and a short jumper wire I could see that spark was available but not getting to the spark plug. Cleaned contacts and bang, she started. Starting problem completely unrelated to the disassembly and reassembly. So, another assembly and she runs great.

Without the generator, we charge our batteries by running the engines. Ever since our overhaul, the diesels run a little rich and thus are “fumy.” It there isn’t enough wind to carry it away quickly, it drifts into the boat and here in the marina, into our neighbors boats. Yes they complained as well they should. So we were on needles and pins trying to keep the batteries charged and the neighbors happy at the same time.

Another issue that was hanging over our head was our 60 day visa that ran only until the end of February. We went to the immigration office in George Town, and after groveling and begging got an extension until the 28^th of May. That should get us out of the Bahamas in good order.

We drove to the boat yard, under new management, where we intend to haul Sunspot Baby for a quick repair. There is a barge in the lift, and if they can get that barge in and out, they certainly can handle us. Once back in George Town, we will begin working a schedule to be hauled.

While we had the car, we went to lunch a Big D’s Conch Shack. It is possible to walk there, and we have done that before, but really convenient by car. We both had cracked conch and enjoyed a meal out.

The marina has free laundry, a HUGE benefit in the Bahamas, but with all the boats coming in to avoid the forecast squalls it has been packed. Lynn has been making multiple trips but there is a lot of tension and some bickering about machine availability, who is next, and how many machines one boat is using. Another cruiser said to Lynn today “it’s a bit bitchy in here this morning, isn’t it?”
 

We have lobster tails on board and plan a nice candle light dinner on board tomorrow night for our Valentine celebration.

We will probably stay here another couple of days waiting for winds favorable to move back south to George Town.

2/09/10
Emerald Bay, Bahamas
Lynn Stateham

Our "stuff" has arrived at Reggie Express in Florida, and should arrive here on the plane tomorrow.  We have rented a car for the day, and have a long list of errands.

We started the morning by spotting the pull handle for our Honda 2000 generator laying on the deck, with a frayed end sticking out of the handle.  See pictures posted by George.  He spent the better part of the day taking the generator apart, dealing with seized screws, and a very intricate and complex repair procedure.  It's still not complete, but tomorrow we will pick up a couple of things at the local marine hardware place "Top 2 Bottom", so he can finish it up.  In the meantime we are charging our batteries with the engines.

The Fairfield Harbour flotilla left here yesterday, and were back today, having departed George Town in a hurry when they heard the weather forecast.  In addition to the usual cast of characters, we met the boat across the dock from us, handed them our boat card, and he said, "We live in New Bern too."  I said, "Where", and you know the answer - Fairfield Harbour.  They don't have their boat in Northwest Creek Marina, because their house is on the water and they have a dock.  But they are members of our yacht club - MacGuffin, with Dennis and Gail aboard.  Now they are introduced to everyone, so we can add another boat to the fleet list.

2/06/10
George Town, Bahamas
Lynn Stateham

2/03/10
George Town, Bahamas
Lynn Stateham

2/02/10
Childrens Bay  Cay, Bahamas
George Stateham

On Saturday 1/30 winds were clocking to the south and swells were coming into the anchorage at Sampson Cay and we decided to give up our Wi-Fi connection for a more comfortable situation. We motored between the Majors but the wind was blowing right up the channel and we opted for the west side of Big Majors Spot. Wind and swells were from different directions so the boat wanted to lay sideways to the swell. George adjusted our anchor bridle to make the angle more comfortable.

We nearly always meet friends from previous voyages when we go into a busy anchorage and were especially glad to reconnect with Randy aboard Mariah who we hadn’t seen in a couple of years. We had drinks on his boat and he came to dinner on ours the next night.

Sunday we made a dinghy run into Staniel to drop off some garbage which was becoming more than a little aromatic. We had burgers for lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club while we were there.

Monday we started heading south but had a little trouble with the single sideband radio; couldn’t get through to our weather guru for some reason. A boat nearby relayed our request but we were later than normal getting away and George didn’t report on the BASRA weather net as he usually does.

Our route took us to new waters. We have always gone out into the sound at Black Point or Staniel and did a one day sail south to George Town or once into Lee Stocking Island. This year we opted for the inside route and spent Monday night at Rudder Cut Cay which is just south of Musha Cay, an island owned by  David Copperfield and frequently leased to ultra wealth types for vacations.

On Tuesday we did weather as normal; George figured out what was wrong with the radio. Then we took a circuitous route through The Pimlico Cays, with extreme shallows finally making it to deeper waters near Lee Stocking and down to Rat Cay. We anchored there last year before going into the sound to finish our voyage to George Town. This year the anchorage at Rat Cay, while doable, had more swell than we like so we back tracked about a mile to Childrens Bay Cay where we are now comfortably hooked up.  We recalled that this anchorage comes highly recommended by Wayne and Jill on Born to Cruise.

The trip was only 17 miles but the steering through the shallows was difficult. We were on a rising tide, which we wanted for deeper water and if we ran aground the rising tide would help us off.  For this we sacrificed visibility.  It would have been nice to go later in the day with the sun higher, but the tide wouldn’t wait.  We did find a sand bar briefly but had no problem getting back into deeper water. Funny thing the place where we touched bottom was right on the route line suggested on our charts. The sand bars move around and the morning light was glaring on our path. We could read the water well to both sides and behind but into the sun, even with polarized glasses we could only make educated guesses where the good water was.

Thus, we were in here about 1:00 pm but felt like we had had a much longer day.

1/28/10
Sampson Cay, Bahamas
Lynn Stateham

1/28/10
Sampson Cay, Bahamas
George Stateham

We had a little less excitement than the last report but were busy none the less.

Until this year we had not been into Sampson Cay, but their fueling situation is so much better than Staniel, no ripping currents, protected from prevailing winds, less congested, etc. that if we continue to travel this way, I am sure we will stop here more often.

Lynn did a little laundry today and we are cramming in the the internet and email time, trying to get caught up.

We caught a break on the missing sail drive boot. Instead of having to order one, Grateful Attitudes had a spare to give us. I have ordered some adhesive sent to Bret & Lori to install it. I might be able to get something suitable in George Town, but I have used this stuff before and have had good luck with it.

We are considering going down the old mail boat route along the inside and on the banks rather than to sail down Exuma Sound to George Town. We have never been that way and new experiences are always interesting.

1/24/10
Cambridge Cay, Bahamas
George Stateham

We are a little over half way through our planned volunteer stint at Cambridge Cay and this report will be posted after we are back in Wi-Fi range but it seems a good time to catch up on things.

On the Tuesday 12^th when we planned to sail to Staniel Cay and fill with fuel and water, we heard on the VHF that their fuel dock was down for repairs and should be back in operation by noon the next day. We decided to spend an extra day so spent the night at Big Majors Spot and at about slack tide on Wednesday went into the dock. When we reserved the dock, we told them we wanted to fuel and they were to put us on the inside of the face dock so they could reach us with the hose without us moving around onto the regular place.

As we approached, they directed us to a different location spot. Lynn told them we were supposed to be on the inside of the face dock. They shouted back that the fueling system was not working yet. It seems the part they needed was due on the mail boat but the boat didn’t come in.

“Don’t worry Mon, soon come. Be on da boat in da morning. Only take 15 minutes to fix when it come.”

We had planned to spend the night any way and made reservations for dinner at the Yacht Club. Lynn doesn’t get many meals she doesn’t cook, so it is nice to do that occasionally. During the day we went to the Batelco (Bahamas Telephone Company) office to get a borrowed phone to work. Then we hit the Blue Store and bought a few needed items. They gave us a deal on a chunk of cheese with mold on it that we could skim off.

The next morning, we could see the mail boat on the horizon, coming in as promised. The dock master, Chubby, made several trips to the government dock to get the part without success. He started trying to call the supplier to assure it was really on the boat. “Da man in Honduras; he will call me back in 20 minutes.”

By 11:30 on Thursday 1/14 we decided that the part was not “soon come,” so we settled our bill and headed for the nearest fuel supply at Sampson Cay. All was not lost because we had never been there and really wanted to see it this year. After standing off about ½ hour waiting for another boat, we filled with fuel, bought a few more supplies and headed for our volunteer assignment at Cambridge. There are not many places in the Exumas where two fueling facilites are close to each other so luck was on our side. We were on station late in the day and had no work to do because the park boat had already collected from everyone for the day.

We have had easy days, a couple when we were the only boat here, and some very busy days. A megayacht came in that had caused trouble here before. We had been warned by Park personnel. On the earlier trip a recording star (I won’t mention names) was on board and the crew had little influence on the guests. They ran jet skis through the mooring field, buzzed boats with an ultralight airplane, fished in the Park and caught the resident bull shark, etc.

We, however, had no problem with them; the owner was on board and attended a little happy hour on the beach with the “regular” boats and was very nice. One of the crew pulled me aside and promised there would be no problems. That was when he told me about the recording artist and posse.

Amazingly we now have five boats here from our home marina, Scandia, Kumbaya, Leprechaun, and Grateful Attitudes are here with us. At one of the get togethers, we took photos to send to the Marina Staff. Hi Bud, Dawn, and Clancy. One of the boats is also a member of our yacht club so we held our club burgees for a picture. Maybe we can get it in the club newsletter.

For excitement we have done some snorkeling and Lynn has proved very adept at using our “sled” and at using the dinghy to tow me along. The sled is a flat plane with two vertical handles and is attached by rope to the dinghy. By changing the angle of the sled, you can go left or right and to a limited degree up or down. If you tow too fast, it pulls the swim suit bottom right down, a good reason to wear a wet suit. We snorkeled the “Sea Aquarium,” “Airplane Reef,” and some soft coral south of the boat. There are a couple of other spots we want to see before leaving, weather permitting.

On Friday a boat lost engine power just outside the cut coming in and George took our dinghy out to help them. Soon two other dinghies joined the effort. It took a couple of hours but they are in, safe, and on a mooring.

Saturday a boat anchored just outside the southern boundary of the park, not far from us, lost a snorkeler and made an emergency call to the Park. Near the cuts, the tidal current can be very strong and we were afraid he had been swept away. Fortunately, the tide was rising so he would be swept onto the banks and not out to sea. By saying the banks, we don’t mean on shore, but over the calmer water of the Great Bahama Bank. About the time we got there, he came back into view of the boat and was OK. It was good, however, that his wife was concerned and placed the call for help.

Twice we have organized happy hours on a small island just to the south. Cambridge Cay itself is privately owned and the Park asks that social events be held on Park property, not private islands.

One task of the volunteers is to check the condition of the moorings. One ball had a pennant that was severely frayed and we reported it to the Park. They said they would fix it, but the patrol boats have been very busy and they dropped off a new one at our boat yesterday. George said he would fix it. It was a bigger job than he thought, but it is done and other than some very slimy clothes, he is no worse for wear.

Our relief, Dave and Beth on Grateful Attitudes are now here. They need to make a provision run to Staniel Cay before taking over and the wind is high (read seas rough) for the next couple of days, so the timing should be good for when they get back. We might be out a day or two early or late but very close to our planned term here.

A couple of times while motoring on the way here, we had a noise on the starboard side that was apparently caused by the prop or something in it. If I put the engine in neutral for a minute and then reengaged it the noise seemed to go away. I told Lynn I would take a look next time I was in the water. Yesterday I cleaned the water line on the inside of the hulls and while there took a look at the prop. Our sail drives have rubber a boot that fits over the housing where it enters the hull to give a smooth, hydrodynamic surface. The thing is glued on and we have heard tons of lip service from our mechanic about how careful he is installing them and how his never come loose. Well, not so on this one. It came completely unglued from the hull, slipped down the shaft and was chewed up by the prop. It was still around the shaft and I had to cut it off. We plan to haul the boat in George Town and fix it. As soon as we have Wi-Fi again, I will order the part and adhesive. This boot has nothing to do with keeping the boat water tight, so it is not a real problem, but is not one I want to ignore until our next usual haul out.

01/11/10
Warderick Wells, Bahamas
George Stateham

Thursday we plan to go back north the the Cambridge Cay mooring field in the Land and Sea Park where we will be volunteer mooring field hosts for two weeks. There is no Wi-Fi there so we will be out of touch for a while. We promise to file reports and photos as soon thereafter as we can.

01/09/10
Warderick Wells, Bahamas
George Stateham

Yesterday we took our annual trek up Boo Boo Hill to plant our sign for this year. It seems the signs just don’t last long up there. We have seen signs that have obliviously have some preplanning but like most people we usually just find a piece of drift wood and use whatever supplies are on board to make it. This year, we did preplan and brought a plank from home with our boat name routed into the surface. We even screwed it to a larger piece of wood already on the hill so maybe it won’t blow away.

We took along the camera and got some nice shots. That’s pretty easy here, the place is so photogenic.

We are going to be volunteer mooring field hosts at Cambridge Cay, near the south end of the park, for a couple of weeks starting mid week next week. We are waiting for a weather system to move through before we go. We also need to go to Staniel Cay first to fill with fuel and buy a few perishable provisions.

Because we haven’t been to Cambridge before, George rode in the park ranger boat on their patrol yesterday to get a lay of the land (water?). We don’t spend much time on go fast boats so it was nice to cover so much territory so quickly.

Once we leave park headquarters we won’t have internet access so there will be a big gap in report and photo posting. To those of you who check regularly, our apologies.

01/07/10
Warderick Wells, Bahamas
Lynn Stateham

01/04/10
Highborne Cay, Bahamas
George Stateham

It is nice that we are getting some northerly winds so that moving south is easier. The pattern seems to be, get a couple of nice days to move, then ride out the frontal passage. It means that about once a week, you can move a couple of days. Having said that, if you were desperate, the blustery winds are nearly all less than gale force and it would be uncomfortable but not unsafe to go. It is good to be in the Bahamas and have the Gulf Stream behind us. That is one place you don't want to be caught in unfavorable conditions.

We hope to move again on Wednesday, and if there is space available we will go into Warderick Wells, the Exumas Land and Sea Park. There is another frontal passage due over the weekend so we will probably be there about a week.

One advantage of our change of plans is that we have internet access here. Thus, this updated report.

01/01/10
Nassau, Bahamas
Lynn Stateham

Lynn

12/29/09
Nassau, Bahamas
George Stateham

It looked for a while like there might be a weather window late Christmas Day; that we could leave in the early evening to cross the Gulf Stream at night. It would have meant a real re-think of our entry process since we would then have arrived in Nassau at night. Not what we wanted to do.

We could have run over night to Bimini and entered there. We could have sailed to the Berrys and either entered there or spent a night on the hook and sailed to Nassau arriving in the afternoon. All options were probably OK.

The weather window was to wait until some squalls had subsided, and then get across before the wind turned north. We have been caught in gale force squalls and have been in north winds in the Stream and while we are here to tell the tales, they were some uncomfortable times. We opted to give it a miss.

We have been told “you can have a nice sail” across the Stream with a light north wind. There is also conventional wisdom that says, “don’t go in any wind with a north component.” We tend to believe the latter. It’s not the wind we fear, it is the sea state. Wind against current in the Stream builds some very unforgiving seas.

The weather guru Chris Parker indicated, however, that although the winds would be north on Sunday, there were 10 knots or less and the seas would be mild. The National Weather Service (NWS), other sources on line, and our Skymate weather all seemed to agree. On Saturday, we started getting ready. Then in the afternoon, the NWS forecast had winds of 13 knots. Often, when the forecast starts moving in an unfavorable direction, it just keeps getting worse. If winds are forecast 13, you are likely to see 17 to 20. We went to bed only partially prepared to go, thinking we would wait for better weather. After all, Chris thought there would be a Thursday window (there is always a window a week outJ).

Sunday morning, we rose at 5:00 am, George pulled Skymate weather and Lynn listened to and wrote down the NWS forecast. Both had winds 7 to 10 and seas 2’ or less; winds at the Fowey Rocks buoy were 9 knots. Head in hands, deeply conflicted, George spouted platitudes like, the bird in the hand . . ., The devil we know . . . etc. He said “let’s try it, we can turn around if we don’t like it.” Then, hand on heart, he said , “I promise.” We spent a frantic hour and a half finishing preparations to cross.

By 6:45 we were raising the anchor. Well, trying to raise it anyway. It was well and truly buried and we were closely packed with other boats and couldn’t use the engines to pull it free so, it took a while. Still, by 7:00 we were out of the harbor and headed for Cape Florida with the rising sun.

We are not great “buddy boaters” but we did check in often with five other boats making the crossing at the same time. See Lynn’s report for that information.

The early part of the crossing was pretty much as advertised, mild winds and a 2’ swell with a long period so pretty smooth. The Captain offered to turn around if the Admiral wanted. She said, a bit shakily, “no, this is OK.” But, as we approached the axis of the Stream the winds picked up to 13 and the swell increased to 4’ to 5’. Many of the waves were starting to break. Not a good omen. George started thinking of different ways to beg forgiveness. At this point, turning around is not a great option because you are just about as close to the Bahamas and protected waters as you are from Florida. Then only a couple of miles beyond the axis, the wind moderated, shifted about 30 degrees to the east and the seas were back to a comfortable 2’. The crew breathed sighs of relief. Lynn because she truly hates rough, uncomfortable conditions, and George because he could stop thinking of apologies and avoid a couple of days of icy stares.

So, I guess it is true; you can have a nice sail across the stream in light north winds. This is a theory we will not test too often. I think we were fortunate. In the end after six eastbound crossings we are batting 50/50. Three that were good crossings, and three that were not so much fun. This was one of the good ones. It was not the smoothest of conditions, but it was by far the best sailing.

Because we had favorable winds, Sunspot Baby could zip along and we were above 7 knots for virtually the whole crossing. By 1:40 we had crossed the Nixon’s Harbor waypoint and were on the banks. This is about two hours faster than we planned. Our plan had us arriving in Nassau at 10:00 and if we kept up at this pace we would be coming in the dark and before fuel docks, marinas, and customs and immigration were open.

On the banks, conditions were even better and Sunspot Baby was feeling her oats. Unfortunately, just when we get great conditions, we don’t want them. We slowed everything down and George said to keep her below 6.5 knots. Good news, bad news, a little after dark, the wind shifted more on the nose and then died almost completely. We furled the Genoa and from then on, we were a motor boat. Winds were forecast to kick up in the Tongue of the Ocean later on Monday but we were into Nassau Harbor about 8:30, almost perfect timing.

We are fueled and checked in. There is decent weather to go further south today, but we have a few things we want to do in Nassau and will wait until after the next frontal passage to move on.

SOUTHBOUND SUMMARY

Now that we are in the Bahamas and the southbound East Coast is behind us I feel compelled to summarize our trip south along the U.S. East Coast, because, in my opinion it is the best we have had. Why do I think it was so good?

We left a week earlier than last year, our previous earliest departure. Whether it was the earlier departure, the El Nino effect, or happenstance, it was our warmest trip yet. We had some cool days but we never had ice on the deck in the morning. We didn’t fire up our little propane gas heater to break the chill, and never had to go into a marina to ride out a cold spell hooked into shore power to run our small electric heater. I didn’t have to wear my foul weather pants over jeans to stay warm, wear my heavy ski gloves, sail with a muffler around my face, or wear 5 layers on top.

It was the wettest year. We took off into the remains of Hurricane Ida and spent our first two days on the anchor waiting for that. There was a lot of other wet weather, but I will take wet over cold anytime. We didn’t try to make miles on days with a lot of rain, didn’t need to hurry, and thus the rainy days were days to take it easy.

We frittered away our early departure extra time in Vero Beach waiting for parts and repairs but we used the bus system to do some shopping, and took the time to smell the roses instead of fretting to get going.

There were two nice offshore or at least outside legs. We ran overnight from Thunderbolt, GA to St. Augustine, FL. This was at the suggestion of the Admiral. Wow, atta-girl Lynn. Then we had a nice day sail from Lake Worth to Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Our new folding bikes were put to great use in Ft. Lauderdale and Key Biscayne. They made life easier and more fun. We even found reasonable places to stow them, not too difficult to stow or retrieve and not in the way when stowed.

The anchor was used a lot more than the dock lines. This improves the experience and saves some $$.

Special recognition goes to the four legged member of the crew, Toby. Last year, near the end of the cruise, he was beginning to use the deck instead of the shore for his necessaries. This year, right from the start he accepted the need so while riding out weather on the hook, we didn’t have to launch the dinghy and take him to some muddy bank. We didn’t lose a half hour morning and night to shore patrol and we didn’t feel guilty about it. In fact we didn’t launch the dinghy until we were on a mooring in Vero Beach. He even used the deck while on the tether during offshore passages. GOOD DOG TOBY! I can’t fully express how much easier this makes the trip.

Our layovers were all pleasant. The first two nights riding out Ida we were able to just decompress after the hectic period getting ready to go; the similar period in Thunderbolt was also stress free but with the addition of Krispy Kreme doughnuts brought to the boat each day. Like we need doughnuts in our diets

Vero Beach had a lot of other boats from New Bern so we got to socialize a bit. Lynn was able to take care of a chipped tooth and we found everything we needed while shopping.  We ate out a few times and even went to a movie. George finally worked through the software issues on our Radio Labs wi-fi antenna and it works great.

Tying up in downtown Ft. Lauderdale is pleasant. We enjoyed the River Walk, spent time at the library, ate at favorite spots and even took the city bus to West Marine a couple of times. Good time, no hassle.

No Name Harbor brought more socializing and great Cuban coffee at the Boaters Grill. Biking around the park and into town was very pleasant.

With the extra time due to not doing shore trips, the days seemed much easier. We made our targeted anchorage every day and occasionally made many more miles than planned, like the day we caught the currents just perfect near Georgetown, SC.

We were able to sail, or at least motor sail in the ICW some saving both time and fuel. Usually it seems the wind is always unfavorable. We delayed departure a couple of days to let the fog lift, but were never caught in heavy fog with little or no visibility as in some past trips.

Bridge tenders were courteous (yes really) and with the engines in good shape, we could make the speed needed to catch convenient openings. The difficult gap between Surf City and Wrightsville bridges we made 9 knots and caught the opening in ½ hour. That made a one hour difference on when we got to Carolina Beach giving us the sweet spot in the anchorage.

There are just too many bright spots to mention them all. On previous trips the good always far outweighed the bad, but this year there has been little if any bad to consider. What a great trip!

12/28/09
Nassau Bahamas
Lynn  Stateham

Saturday, December 26, 2009 – On the Fence.

The cruising experts say not to cross the Gulf Stream with any north wind.  This is because the Gulf Stream is just a big river in the ocean, moving north at about 3 knots.  With any opposing wind, the waves stand up and create conditions anywhere from uncomfortable to downright nasty.

We subscribe to Chris Parker, the cruisers’ weather guru, who forecasts on single sideband radio on an almost daily basis.  Subscribing patrons call in for a targeted forecast.  There was a marginal opportunity to get across the Gulf Stream, and after speaking with Chris, who did say it was an opportunity, and pulling our own weather the night before, we decided we probably would not to go.  We went to bed undecided, and not quite ready to leave.

Sunday, December 27, 2009 – Under Way.

At 5:00 am we listened to the morning weather and George pulled our Skymate virtual buoy weather.  While there was still a north component, the seas and winds were light. At the last minute, we committed. Morning found us stowing the dinghy and generator, finalizing passage food, and raising the main while at anchor.  By 7:00 am we were heading out toward Stiltsville to the south and the Cape Florida lighthouse to the north of the channel.

Stiltsville is an historical collection of modest homes on (you guessed it – stilts) sitting in shallow water, some fishing shacks, some actual residences, which have survived numerous hurricanes and are now fighting their county and state of Florida to remain.  Out of about 26 Stiltsville buildings, many have been condemned, destroyed or lost the political fight, and less than ten survive.

The Cape Florida lighthouse was an important feature in the underground railroad for slaves escaping to the Bahamas.  In this instance, it did more harm than good, because it cast a light on the small boats making their escape.

Sticking our nose out, conditions looked ok.  Four other boats – Sea Dancer, Shenandoah, Joda, and Southern Estate, left just before us, and Sea Dancer conducted an every- our check in radio net for all of us.  Even though out of sight, it’s nice to stay in touch. 

I was pretty jittery.  We had made one other crossing with a light north wind, from Fort Lauderdale to West End, Grand Bahama, and we banged all 70+ miles. 

The Gulf Stream is about 35 miles wide, and we started seeing large numbers of  Portuguese Man-O-War jellyfish, which look like inflated plastic bags floating on the surface.  The swells increased, and George saw a dolphin in the face of a wave.  Near the axis of the Gulf Stream the swells were larger still, and winds continued to rise.  At this point I think both of us were hoping conditions would not deteriorate, and instead they improved as we approached Bimini.  The wind turned more easterly in direction and stayed light.  I don’t think we banged once on this voyage, which is when Sunspot Baby launches herself off a wave and slams into the trough – which George likens to being dropped onto a parking lot.

There are two options for heading to Nassau – the North Rock waypoint north of Bimini is a deeper draft route over the Great Bahama Bank, and the Nixon’s Harbor waypoint south of Bimini begins a shallower route.  The other boats drifted with the stream to North Rock, but we had a better angle on the wind, and could keep our sails filled, by sticking with North Rock.  Along the way, we talked with Beans, whom we haven’t met, but are friends of Born to Cruise.  They were on the shallow banks route with us, and we checked in on a two hour basis, while still checking in every hour with Sea Dancer and their flotilla.   Ron and Karen on Sea Dancer are an integral part of the George Town cruising community and the annual Cruisers’ Regatta.  We were entertained with rock and roll trivia questions on the hourly check-ins.

December 28, 2009 – Bahamas Again.

George and I stand three hour watches.  Me from 6-9pm, and from 12-3am, and he from 9-12pm and 3-6am. We have learned to actually get some sleep this way, and tonight was clear with a beautiful moon all the way until about 3:30 in the morning.  We had supper just before starting watches, cold baked chicken (made at home in New Bern and vacuum packed), thick wedges of brie cheese, and bread and butter.  Easy, comfortable food to sustain us through the night.  We had a good supply of coffee, cookies, passage sandwiches, and fruit.  If it’s sloshy, it’s good to eat a little every now and then so your stomach doesn’t turn over.

Our watches went well, and we saw very little ship traffic.  The shallow banks route is good for this, but even in the deeper water, we were ship-less.  At midnight we passed Northwest Channel Light and came out into the Tongue of the Ocean, a deep water channel that can be very rough in fairly ordinary conditions.  Sea Dancer had a bad trip through here last year, and I think they were dreading this part.  However, the forecast remained light and variable, and winds even became more southerly, a good direction for us as we headed east southeast toward the Nassau waypoint.

It was a good trip, probably our fastest ever (25.5 hours) and it could have been faster had we not slowed down so we wouldn’t arrive in Nassau in the dark.  Crossing the Gulf Stream, we usually don’t get onto the Great Bahama Bank until close to dusk, and this trip we were there by 1:40 in the afternoon. 

Of course, we couldn’t have a passage without one ship encounter.  Approaching Nassau, the Disney Wonder called for a pilot, and our entry into the harbor was very close to their time of approach.  George called Nassau Harbor Control for permission to enter, and he was told to “Make it Snappy” and he did.  We took down the main sail in the container port turning basin, filled with diesel at the Texaco Starport, and found Sidney, one of our favorite dock masters, waiting for us at the “birdpoop” dock, which we like because even though it sometimes has seagull guano on it, it’s the one spot where we can get off on our own in a strong wind or current. 

We have cleared customs and immigration, which only had one glitch.  We only got 60 days on our visas.  The immigration agent said she couldn’t give us more, because we plan to go to the Exumas, which were out of her jurisdiction.  This has never happened before, and will entail a visit to immigration somewhere down island, Staniel Cay or George Town probably.

So here we are again in Nassau.  We like it here.  Except for having to pay dockage, that is.  The weather isn’t conducive for heading to the Exumas in the next few days, and at our birdpoop dock we will have a great view of Atlantis Resort’s New Year’s fireworks display if we are still here.

I always tell George at the end of a trip, “You did a good job getting us here.”  He always does, but for this passage, even more so.

Lynn Stateham

12/23/09
Key Biscayne, FL
George  Stateham

We departed Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, 12/19 and had an easy run down the ICW, through Hollywood and Miami to Key Biscayne’s No Name Harbor located in the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Anchoring fees have gone up to $20 per night but it is such a good jumping off spot to cross the Gulf Stream that we feel it’s a good value.

We tied up along the wall to walk Toby and unload the bikes. The rules say no docking at the wall between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am but I’m unaware of them ever chasing anybody off and we have just stuck to it. We may move over to the hook, but no rush.

Monday we biked into town, wnet to the library to read email and hit a hardware store for contact cleaner. Tuesday we biked around the park and took a few pictures. Like North Carolina, the mostly level ground here means we can use the bikes pretty well, great for old folks and very young kids. Serious riders would find it boring.

There may be a weather window on Christmas for us to cross to the Bahamas but even if it holds, we wouldn’t have time to make our usual 28 or so hour hop all the way to Nassau. So, if we go we will probably do the immigration entry in either Bimini or Chub Cay and we would hole up until we had a chance to move on.

This is an El Nino year and the weather gurus feel the southern arm of the Jet Stream will hang around for several weeks and we may just quit focusing on the Bahamas and explore some of the Florida Keys by boat. We would start with some of the more northern so that we could come back up here to cross if a window opened but having no set plan gives us some flexibility. We might spend two to four weeks in the keys and then cross. We would still have plenty of time to do the Exumas and/or the far islands of the Bahamas.

Basically, we feel our southbound east coast leg is over and we have started a new phase of the cruise, either the Bahamas or the Florida Keys leg. Thus, in the photos section we have entered a new Florida Keys section. If it happens that we get that Christmas window and go sooner than we think, I will recombine them with the southbound section.

Cruising means we are separated from family and during the Holidays we miss them even more. Lynn has a duck in the freezer on which we will feast either on Christmas Eve or the day itself, again, all dependent on weather. This is almost certainly our last post before then so let us wish you Merry Christmas.

12/16/09
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
George  Stateham

We began to really like Ft. Lauderdale while we were in the market for a boat in the 1999 to 2001 time frame. Many of the catamarans on the market were here. When we found Sunspot Baby she too was here. After the purchase, George spent a couple of weeks getting her ready for the trip north and became familiar with a lot of great places. In a way, it almost feels like coming home when we bring Sunspot Baby into town.

This time is no different. We are tied up at the wall along the New River right down town just east of the 3^rd Ave. Bridge. So, how did we get here?

We slipped the mooring at Vero on Friday, Dec 11, destination, Peck Lake. There was only one opening bridge along the way and we were back on the hook by early afternoon. There was a small dredge at the entry to the ICW from the St. Lucie River but other than that we had few navigational challenges. Toby cooperated by doing deck duty so the dinghy remained in the davits; no shore trip.

Unless we are pressed we generally avoid the ICW on weekends but on Saturday we had a short run to Lake Worth, seven bridges along the way. Lake Worth (Palm Beach) is a popular stop for cruisers, but never before have we seen so many that the anchorage was crowded. We did find a good spot near where we normally hook up and settled in. Even though we moved Saturday morning, we planned to sit out Sunday at anchor.

We did lots of boat chores. Sunspot Baby has a few nicks of an aesthetic nature, not structural, which we have been intending to work on. George picked one near the main hatch to experiment with the process. In Vero Beach we had purchased some pre-mixed beige gel coat. It is not a perfect color match, but is pretty good.

Monday the weather was forecast for east winds 6 to 11 knots with 2 foot seas; perfect for a sail down the coast. We went out the Lake Worth inlet and turned south. The wind was more light and variable than east at 6 but we had raised the main sail at anchor and decided to leave it up. There was a line of rain squalls that we were dodging. Only one hit us and it was more of a good rinse than a storm. The forecast said to expect 20 knots in the showers, but we saw little change.

Finally shortly after noon, the wind filled and we unfurled the Genoa and had a good sail to the Port Everglades (Ft, Lauderdale) inlet. We had trouble maintaining 6 knots in the morning even running the engines a little harder than normal but by 1:00 we were motor sailing at close to 8 knots.

So here we are tied among the high rises along the river walk with palm trees and buildings decorated for Christmas. We have ridden our bikes to The Floridian a classic Ft. Lauderdale eatery, spent some time at the library catching up on email, and this morning we took the #1 bus to the large West Marine store here and got everything on our list. The store in Vero Beach is small and has limited inventory.

Wi-Fi availability along the river is spotty. I used to always be able to find an unprotected signal to use but people are learning to protect their systems so there is less opportunity. A little further up the river we used to get the library system, but it is not a straight enough shot to this slip. Thus we hike about 3 blocks to the library to get a reliable connection.  After a Publix run this afternoon George will make the trip and post this report.

Normally we would depart tomorrow and move to Key Biscayne and No Name Harbor but there is no weather window this week and we might just hang out here until the weekend. We have lots of things we could do while here and it is so convenient.

12/15/09
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Lynn  Stateham

12/10/09
Vero Beach, FL
George  Stateham

On Monday, Pearl Harbor Day, while cleaning up after dinner, Lynn flipped a light switch and every light on the starboard side circuit went out.

Tuesday, George pulled out the multimeter and tools and started searching for the gremlin that caused the problem.  All day he was checking connections, voltages, jumping circuits to isolate the cause and could only work it down to something in the breaker panel and/or its connections. The marina recommended service people and in the late afternoon, we made an appointment with them the the next morning.

Wednesday they were on the boat about 9:00 and started doing the things George had done already. Accepting his word that he thought the problem was behind the breaker panel, they started wiggling connections and looking for the obvious. Suddenly the lights were back on. They don't know what they wiggled or did to cause it. George hates it when things self cure because it means the root cause has not been found or fixed. Oh well, why complain? The lights work now.

After the electricians left, George reinstalled the head liner and hanging rod in the locker that has been repaired. Now we are ready to put thing back in. Frustration has been high with Captain and Crew and they decided to say to heck with it and go to the beach for lunch. Nice. Then they rode the bus to Publix which has a small clinic in the front of the store. They had H1N1 flu shots available and we are now innoculated.

Lynn's message mentioned that it was cool and we were wearing long pants. It has warmed up and we are back in shorts. It has been very damp and we are hoping the warmer weather will dry things out in the boat.

We hope for an easier day today but will do some rearranging and boat cleaning. Our plan is to depart Friday morning and to to Peck Lake, an anchorage just south of Stuart, FL. On Saturday we should have a short day moving to Lake Worth. The ICW on weekends is crazy but maybe with the short day, it won't be too bad and we will sit it out on Sunday. Monday we should start moving south again, taking a couple of days to get to Ft. Lauderdale where we will spend a couple of more days before moving on.

Beyond Ft. Lauderdale we plan to stage up near the south end of Key Biscayne and  wait for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas. Of course, should a good window open sooner, we could abort all these plans and just turn left, cross the Gulf Stream and enter at whatever port of entry is convenient.

12/06/09
Vero Beach, FL
Lynn Stateham

We have had lots of rain on Cruise 6, starting with the remnants of Ida on the first few days of our trip while we were still close to home, and again in Thunderbolt, Georgia, where it poured for a couple of days.  We arrived here in Vero Beach, Florida a week ago Friday on a sunny and beautiful day, wearing shorts For the past three days we are back to clouds with rain, and lots of it, and we’re back to wearing jeans.  Could it be we are carrying this weather along with us?

However, we are making the most of our stay here.  George has been working hard on several repairs which have all come to successful conclusions, including the repair of the hanging locker in our guest cabin (which was dislodged when we hit a piling in New Smyrna Beach, but we don’t want to talk about that event which we both had a part in), coaxing the dinghy motor to start running again after it ingested bad gas (that took about 1,000 pulls on the motor after new fuel was made available), and installing a replacement regulator on our on-demand water heater.  He has ordered parts for other projects that he’ll undertake in the future.  Vero is a good place to regroup and receive mail before we head for the Bahamas.

I have caught up the laundry and finalized the provisioning.  We rented a car and ran errands, errands and more errands.  Tomorrow the car goes back and we are rather happy to be done with it. 

We moved to a dock to have the fiberglass work done on the hanging locker, and tomorrow we will move back to a mooring ball here at the municipal marina.  Then in a day or so, we will start moving further south.  There doesn’t seem to be a good crossing-to-the-Bahamas weather window in the foreseeable future, but we can start moving down the ICW or outside along the coast as conditions permit, so we are better positioned.

Meanwhile, we are enjoying the social camaraderie of new friends and old.  We participated in a happy hour last Saturday on shore which was attended by lots of cruisers, and joined several couples on Scandia for drinks a few nights later.  We also got together several times with our rafting mates before we moved to a dock, John and Norma on the catamaran Happy Times, who have a big “flame” ragdoll cat named Bailey.  We have a grandcat who is a ragdoll, named Pumpkin, a new member of the Ramona Stateham family.  We haven’t seen Pumpkin yet, but Bailey is a charming young gentleman cat, and he caused us to remember and miss our Oreo, who is enjoying life with the McKnights on the Trent River.

So that’s what’s going on with us – we think of you often and hope you are thinking of us.

12/04/09
Vero Beach, FL
George Stateham

Later that day another problem. It is illegal to dump sewage in inland waters and our boat is set up with a holding tank which must be pumped. We can also discharge overboard where allowed. Lynn had cleaned the head and rather than fill our tank she just did a good flush overboard. Then when she tried to move the Y valve back to the tank position, the handle broke and we could not switch it. Another project.

Thursday we ordered a new Y valve. The handle is not available as a separate part. Another expedited shipping fee. Then a bit of good luck, we were able to get the displaced locker to move a bit and finally George felt we could get it into position and secured with screws if he had a ratcheting cargo strap. A quick trip to Wal-Mart and we were back and IT WORKED. Now the fiberglass guy is scheduled for Saturday morning to finish the project.

Today while taking Toby for his morning shore patrol, the outboard motor conked out and George rowed us back to the boat. He thinks the problem is gas we brought with us that was getting old. He just put it in the night before so that is the first thing he will attack when it starts working on it.

This was not the day for that however. We moved to the dock so the fiberglass guy can work on the boat tomorrow, so George just stowed the dinghy. Then we got an Enterprise rent-a-car and ran errands the rest of the morning and afternoon.

It is much less expensive to be on a mooring but it is nice to be plugged into 110v and Toby can jump onto the deck for an easy shore duty.

Rain has come and gone through the day and the winds are up a bit. Going off shore is not in the cards but early next week we should start to move again.

All our parts and Lynn's prescriptions arrived today and the Y valve is working (for now anyway). Lynn is addressing Christmas letters and we have appropriate music on the stereo. We are getting in the mood for the season.

12/01/09
Vero Beach, FL
George Stateham

The Admiral had a chipped tooth and wonder of wonders, was able to walk into a dentist office yesterday and get it restored. She spent a fair amount of time in the waiting room, but was then and out of the dentist chair fairly quickly.

Vero Beach has a free bus/shuttle system that services the marina. Although Sunspot Baby has been here many times, the crew has never used the bus. Yesterday was a first and things worked fairly well except when we were in town and the fiberglass guy called to say he would be at the boat earlier than planned. The bus runs once per hour and had recently passed so fidget as he might, the captain was late getting back to the boat. He was able to hook up with the glass guy and the result has been discussed above.

George spent several hours trouble shooting our fancy new wifi antenna over the last few weeks. It seems to be working well now, but the boat rafted up to us has similar problems and he has been helping them with theirs. Finally, it looks like they will have to ship the unit in for service.

We will probably go onto a dock for a couple of days so that we can load supplies without ferrying them back to the boat in the dinghy a little at a time.

FWIW, Lynn went three weeks without hitting a grocery store so we are certainly well provisioned. We will restock with fresh stuff and a few items missed or forgotten.

George has a list of things for various boat projects to be undertaken along the way. The West Marine store here is one of their "Express" versions which carries fewer items. We have ordered some to arrive this week and will probably hit some larger stores farther south.

11/28/09
Vero Beach, FL
George Stateham

The plan for Wednesday the 25^th was a short one, so it was almost 8:00 before Sunspot Baby departed Palm Coast. The crew was in shorts and it was a beautiful day. For some reason, currents have been far more favorable than unfavorable this year and the average speed has been easily a half to one knot faster than the norm. Thus, on an average day, we are on the hook or at the dock in the early afternoon. Sometimes, it allows us to reach little farther to a more convenient stopover. Today, however, the currents got even. Not by slowing us down but by giving an unwanted boost while docking.

There is a free dock at New Smyrna, FL. There are signs that say “No Overnight Docking” but it is not often enforced. The location is along the edge of a nice park and it gives Toby a chance to do shore patrol without paying for dockage or launching the dinghy. There is not always space available but on this afternoon, the dock was empty so we headed in. The waterway curves and there is a sea wall from which the dock extends in an arc. The wind was piping along at 15 kts as we approached. George, who is always cautious approaching docks, underestimated the forces at work. He brought the boat in on a curve and stalled her about five feet from the dock, planning to let the wind carry us in and oppose the current by reversing the engines. Well, the current was not flowing more or less parallel to the dock as he thought, but rushing under it toward the sea wall. Now both wind and current were pushing Sunspot Baby broadside into the dock. Engaging the engines would only have changed the point of impact. George announced that we were going to “hit hard” but there was little else we could do at that point. Lynn had fenders out and one cushioned the impact on one piling but we contacted two, the unprotected one made a serious crunching sound. Wood pilings can absorb a lot of shock and we saw no apparent damage. Captain and crew breathed a deep sigh of relief, prematurely I might add.

On Thanksgiving Day, the 26^th, currents were mild at the dock and we had an easy time departing at 6:50. It has all the makings of a very pleasant day on the water. Lynn brought that to a halt by stepping into the cockpit and announcing “You need to go below.” She had noticed that the door to the hanging locker in the guest cabin was open. When she looked inside she saw what appeared to be a crack in the fiberglass. After clearing out many of the items in the locker and several close examinations, we don’t think there is structural damage but we hit hard enough to dislodge the hanging locker which had fiberglass bonding it to the hull. What appeared to be a crack is where it pulled free of the hull.

The rest of the day was easy enough despite our frequent trips below to assure there was no damage we weren’t seeing, or worse yet, water coming into the boat. No new problems presented themselves and by the time we anchored at Cocoa, our minds were at rest, well nearly so.

Winds were forecast to increase and temperatures drop. By late afternoon there was a definite chill in the air but we were still in shorts. Soon we heard the sounds of bagpipes across the water. We poured ourselves a glass of wine and retired to the cockpit to enjoy our free concert. A boater anchored nearby was at his bow playing the pipes. He continued for quite a while and it was lovely. A nice little extra to our Thanksgiving.

Later Lynn fixed roast pork loin with cranberry and orange dressing and acorn squash for our Holiday feast. We do truly have a lot for which to be thankful.

On Friday, the 27^th the anchor was up first light and the crew was in full snuggies. Wind was blowing into the cockpit at 17 kts. The low for the night was in the 40s and it wasn’t much warmer this morning. ICW waters were choppy and with following wind and seas the Autohelm was “hunting” swinging farther left and right with each attempt to hold our heading. This called for a lot of manual steering. Lynn fixed hot oatmeal for breakfast and we took turns going into the cabin to warm up a bit.

By 10:00 conditions were moderating and by noon, it was downright pleasant. At 2:00 pm we were on a mooring at Vero Beach Municipal Marina with two other catamarans.

Along the way, we contacted a boat yard, and got references for fiberglass and cabinetry craftsman to take a look and recommend repairs. We are hopeful fiberglass guy will come over the weekend and we may not need the carpenter.  Thanks to Born to Cruise for the boat yard referral.  It is possible, though we think not likely that we might have to haul the boat for repairs and if that happens we will move down the ICW to Ft. Pierce.

We have Wi-Fi here and will update as we go along. We planned to be here several days anyway and this may extend the stay a bit.

11/24/09
Palm Coast, FL
George Stateham

On the 19^th another easy run to Beaufort, SC. Waters have been unusually high with quite a bit of coastal flooding and we had to anchor in 25’. We let out all our chain and we able to stay put for the night.

On the 20^th we moved to Thunderbolt, GA and went into a marina. The forecast for Sunday was lots of rain and wind and we didn't want to be in the unprotected anchorages of the marshes, so decided to hang out here until Monday. We did consider a new place but on Saturday, when we would have moved, there was a heavy fog until 11:00 am and by then it was too late to make the 40 miles or so we had planned.

The Internet connection at Thunderbolt has been OK in the past but is really bad now. We did manage to be on line long enough to do some needed banking, but it was sheer luck. We could never stay connected long enough to email, much less post an update.

We laid over here a couple of extra nights to let some rainy weather blow through. They bring us a paper and 6 Krispy Kreme doughnuts each morning which makes it a favorite spot and some of the most expensive paper and doughnuts around.

On Monday we cast off lines at about 10:00 for an overnight run, off shore to St. Augustine. We didn’t want to do the entrance in the dark so held our speed down to an average of 6 kts. We sailed most of the daylight hours, but wind was forecast to clock around and we didn’t want Lynn jibing sails in the dark on her watch so we switched to straight motoring. The seas were a little rolly, especially the first several hours, but for once, the actual weather was better than the forecast and we had a nice night, shooting the entry at 8:00 am. Conditions in the entry were rough but not brutal and after we crossed the 12’ shoal things settled down.

We both felt pretty good and decided to run another 25+ miles to Palm Coast for the night. It means another marina bill but positions us well to be in Vero Beach on our target date, the day after Thanksgiving.

11/17/09
Isle of Palms, SC
George Stateham

It was a little foggy departing Myrtle Beach yesterday but it cleared quickly and it was a beautiful day on the water. We planned to stop in Georgetown, SC but we had a great push current and we decided to pick up an extra 15 miles and anchor at Minum Creek. It is in Tom Yawkey Wildlife Heritage Preserve for water fowl. We think it must also be a mosquito preserve and we are probably in trouble for killing so many.

We anchored about an hour before sundown and there was considerable glare on the water. At least that's the excuse George is using for anchoring almost right on top of a crab pot. It went undiscovered until it was tapping on our hull about 7:30 pm. At that point it was a little dark to reanchor and George was on pins and needles through the night about it wrapping in the anchor line or prop. This morning, however, we were free and clear.

Today was a short day and Sunspot Baby is tied up at Isle Of Palms Marina and is full of fuel. We plan another relatively short day tomorrow mileage wise, but we have two bridges to negotiate with restrictive schedules.  Tomorrow night we will probably anchor in Steamboat Creek.

11/15/09
Myrtle Beach, SC
George Stateham

The Tuesday 11/10 departure date was made good. One set of neighbors came by the house early to say goodbye and three other sets came to the boat for a Bon Voyage. We certainly have great neighbors in New Bern.

We left knowing we were sailing into the remnants of Hurricane Ida but couldn’t stand to delay longer. The weather was dry and calm as the lines were cast off, but by the time Sunspot Baby reached our first planned anchorage, weather deteriorated. Cedar Creek is a good anchorage and we were well hooked. We spent two extra nights there to let conditions moderate.

Friday conditions were not perfect but much improved. The only bridge on the route was the Onslow Beach Bridge; we timed the opening well and spent the night with at least a dozen other boats in Mile Hammock Bay located in Camp Lejeune.

An early Saturday departure from Mile Hammock and some amazing luck timing bridges took the boat to Carolina Beach and another good anchorage. The three bridges along the way are spaced and timed to be hard for sail boats. The first is Surf City which opens only on the hour. Then 18 miles further is the Figure Eight, opening each ½ hour. It is too far to make in two hours and one really has to drag along to take three so inevitably we do it in 2 ½ which would be great except the third bridge, Wrightsville beach is 5 miles away and opens only on the hour. So, if you go through Figure Eight on the half hour, you either have to make about 9 knots to get the next opening or spend 1 ½ hour going only 5 miles (a little less than 2 knots).

After passing Figure Eight, I poured the coals to Lavern & Shirley (our Volvo diesels) and we were making good time motor sailing, but were going to be about five minutes late for the opening. The bridge tenders at Wrightsville have been hard to deal with in the past and we expected to be turned away. Miracle of miracles, the tender held the opening a couple of minutes and we made it through. Thank you Mr. Bridge Tender. Lynn manned the sails alone on this stretch, deploying, trimming, and furling the Genoa all alone. Good job Lynn.

It was foggy this morning so departure was delayed about ½ hour, but it seemed to be lifting so we left about 7:00 am. Conditions in the Cape Fear were near perfect, depths in Lockwood’s Folly and Shallotte Inlet were good and we somehow timed the Sunset Beach Bridge perfectly. Sunspot Baby now has full fuel tanks and is tied to the dock in Myrtle Beach. Toby went ashore for the first time since departure. At the risk of giving too much information he has been great at doing is duty on deck and we are very proud of him.

11/09/09
New Bern, NC
George Stateham

Hurricane Ida's remnants are headed up the East Coast and we should have some heavy rain late tomorrow and on Wednesday. We considered staying here to let it blow through but are both so psyched that we aren't considering any further delay.

Computers are moving to the boat today so our email capability is curtailed. When we get where there is decent Wi-Fi, we will update the web site and catch up on messages.

Wish us well.

11/06/09
New Bern, NC
George Stateham

Right now the weather looks perfect for departure but it is still several days away and forecasts have a habit of changing for the worse when we plan to far ahead.

Rewiring the HF radio seems to have fixed the problem of cutting out when the transmit button is pushed. Good.

11/03/09
New Bern, NC
George Stateham

Over the weekend we completely emptied and cleaned out the water tanks so the voyage will begin with completely fresh water.

These are the last of the big "get the boat ready" tasks and loading of provision and gear is already well underway. There are a couple of shipments that must arrive prior to departure but next Tuesday still looks good.

Today, Toby is getting bathed, brushed, and nail trim. At least we won't start with a smelly dog.

10/28/09
New Bern, NC
George Stateham

Don’t you just love it when things just fall into place? If that is happening for you, let us know what it is like. Every task on the to-do list ends in a chain of things that must be done before the other.

Example: One task is to pull the outboard motor off the boat, service it with new zincs, spark plugs and lubrication. That fairly easy task was started last Sunday.

When attempting to unlock the engine so it could be removed, the key would not go into the lock. This has happened before, but a recurrence has been averted by keeping the lock lubricated. A new lock was acquired last year and being new and clean, no lubrication, it froze up with corrosion. It is possible, if not probable that given enough time and penetrating oil, it could have been freed, but time was short so the next step was to cut it off.

The lock is shaped such that it fits tight to the locking bar and the bolt cutters could not get a purchase to cut it.

No problem, just pull out the Dremel. The unit on board is battery powered which is often a big advantage but after several minutes of grinding, it over heated. It reset each time it was turned off but it also worked for a shorter period with every attempt.

No problem, just dash to the house and get the plug-in Dremel. Oops, there is no mandrel to hold the cutting wheel.

No problem, just use the one from the battery unit. Oops, the spring stop that keeps the spindle from turning when the chuck is loosened on the battery unit won’t hold the spindle so the mandrel cannot be removed..

Finally, disassemble the battery unit so the spindle can be held with pliers while the chuck is opened, the mandrel removed and installed in the plug-in unit. After reassembling the battery unit short work was made of cutting off the lock.

Of course, a new lock assembly was required. The local West Marine showed one in stock and would hold it for us. Oops, the computer was wrong and there are none in stock. A wasted trip to town.

No problem, the Oriental store has one in stock and will bring it up the next day.

The new lock assembly is now in hand, the outboard has been serviced and in ready to go back on the boat.

If this were an isolated case, it would be a big “so what?” However, events such as these seem to plague every item on the check list. Perseverance is a must.

A target departure date of November 10, still seems possible but may be adjusted one way or the other depending on check list completion and weather.

10/15/09
New Bern, NC
George Stateham

Lynn has begun the food pre preparation. We have a big batch of chutney, and several frozen containers of red and green chili. This week she intends to make Irish Stew and probably next week, chicken curry.

The storage unit that has held many of Ray's possessions for the last year+ is now the staging area for provisions. Once we have other work complete in the cabin we will start loading the boat.

Tuesday, George changed the oil, filters, and generator belts on both engines and changed the primary fuel filters. Laverne and Shirley (the two engines) are now ready for the trip.

There are a few other important repair/maintenance actions to complete before departing, but we think they are manageable. We are checking the calendar and personal commitments and will try to set a target date soon. We feel confident we can beat last year's 11/17 departure.