2011 - 7/24 - 7/28 - Chub to Harbour Island

   7/24 - 7/25 Same nice weather & intermittent showers but a bit more breeze - great for sleeping. Just waiting for a weather window. 7/26 As Mel Fisher said, “Today’s the Day”. Anchor up at 7:00 am and as soon as we turned the point, we got slammed with 3-6 foot waves & a stiff easterly wind. Wayne was tempted to go back but we knew from checking “wind predict” on the web, that the wind & seas would calm a bit by late morning. So we toughed it out & was well worth it. I was able to cut vegetables & add it to my little crock pot along with chicken. About 6:00 pm, we carefully navigated the inlet called Harbor Mouth & picked our way into the anchorage. The books suggest you hire an experienced local captain to take you through - I have an experienced captain. Dinner was great if I say so myself. 7/27 - 8/4 A bit about Dunmore Town on Harbor Island taken from the Yachtsman’s Guide to the Bahamas: “ One of the oldest established settlements in the Bahamas, Dunmore Town is a pretty little town of brightly painted homes, graceful picket fences wound with wildflowers and narrow streets bordered by stone walls. The town is named after Governor Lord Dunmore”. And from Insight Guides-Bahamas: “With its fine natural harbor, Harbour Island is thought by some historians to have been the intended destination of the Eleutherian Adventurers. Located just off the northeast coast of the island of Eleuthera, it is well protected from rough weather by the treacherous reefs that destroyed the Eleutherian Adventurers’ ship…From the 18^th Century until WW II, ships built on Harbour Island plied the seas of the world. By the 19^th Century, the island’s main settlement, Dunmore Town, was the Bahamas’ second city, exceeded only by Nassau in population & wealth. Islanders built everything from dinghies to swift three-masted schooners. In 1922 they built the largest ship ever constructed in the Bahamas, the four-masted Marie J. Thompson”. Lots more history - just Google it. Wayne made a good deal to stay a week at Romora Resort - only $1.25/ft which is half their regular price. We settled in at a dock facing east & furthest from shore so it would simulate being on anchor. With electric costing 65¢ per kwh, we wanted to be stingy. Water charge was $20/day but the water was terrible & only good to wash down our salt-encrusted boat. They didn't charge us. The water-maker was now working since Wayne changed the elements…I was able to do laundry.Only 2 years old, this is the newest marina on the island, cozy, comfortable but chic. We visited their sunset bar & grille on many occasions meeting some really interesting people, locals, tourists & other boaters. The pool was a great relief after walking all over the island & a social gathering place late in the afternoon - we each brought our own adult beverages as non-happy hour drinks at the bar are $10.  This is Janine & Gaetano from NY city



Pool area, sunset bar & grille & dining area.

A local band, Bilanders, played on Thursday evening-they were very good. In addition, a large group of locals, some just arriving from the states, filled the bar & dining area to celebrate an upcoming local's wedding. It was a fun night; I got to dance & have my favorite dish-cracked Conch.

Wayne, with the bride & her mom

We got the local tourist map of the island & simply wandered. We both agreed this is probably the cleanest, most squared-away island we’ve been to in the Bahamas.

Alvin, Alkie & Antoine- our favorite bartenders

Sweet kids - part of the wedding guests

GOLDIE

The people are friendly & helpful, beautiful homes & small hotels, restaurants & resorts abound, but it doesn’t feel cluttered or crowded. Lazy dayz…Wayne worked more on the water maker thinking he hooked something up back-wards ? We’ll see. We haven’t used the a/c at all thanks to steady easterly breezes, the air flows straight thru the boat & into our cabin. But the fly-bridge is the place to be. Wayne relaxes & sleeps in his lounge chair every night.

2011 - 7/19 - 7/23 - Chub Cay, Berry Islands

  

7/19 con’t… About 4:30 we decided to wander around on shore to see how much has changed   &amp,maybe, have a glass of wine at the bar. Everything has changed - the harbor has expanded greatly with really nice floating docks; the quaint, little restaurant didn't change which is a good thing. There's a huge, new pool with swim up bar but closed; New Key West style homes abound, many for sale; The big structure on the right is the unfinished club house; the last house on the right of all the houses belongs to Wayne Huisinga,JR- dad sold it to him cuz he didn't like it here....a rain shower started & flooded all walk ways. We met some interesting people at the bar &amp stayed longer than anticipated…got home too late for dinner - popcorn night. 7/20 No change in weather. Storm

Members only dining room

BLUE MAX seen from the beach

Jacqulyn, Sarah, Jen, Olivia

Wayne & the 'LICK IT' girl

 Clouds surround us every day with threatening thunder boomers. Living aboard is the same as being at home but in a smaller space - you get into a routine &, sometimes, a rut. But we sure enjoy the feel of a gently rocking boat ;seeing water all around us than another house & to see the sky filled with stars most nights. In this weather, we mostly wear swim suits if anything at all. Today? Play day. Trolled around Mamma Rhoda Rocks & picked up 5 yellow tail (on a McDonald's straw & hook) for Wayne’s dinner-I’m having Lobster tail. I got a few significant hits that I doubted I’d be able to boat the darn things but they all broke loose. Never did see what it was. After cleaning the fish my work is done for the day (except to cook & clean up of course). Back in the water with Molly & Scupper to cool them off. We planned to head for Nassau tomorrow, but it was so pleasant & comforting here, we decided to stay a few more days. 7/21 We got an unexpected visit from a couple on a kayak, Jennifer & Joe. They have a home on the island but not part of the ‘resort’ debacle (now bankrupt & Scotia Bank owns the resort). They’ve been here for the past 2 weeks. Their teen-aged daughter, Sarah & her girl friends, Jacquelyn & Olivia, opened & operated the pool bar since being here-no one stopped them nor did they get permission-they just did it. The girls were in Nassau for 2 days so that’s why it wasn’t open yesterday. At 5:00 we took the dinghy to the beach & joined everyone at the bar. All drinks, $5 & they were hefty drinks. Part of the adventure of cruising is you never know who you’ll meet. People from all over the world travel to the islands. Tonight was no different. There was a rather nerdy guy, sits on the Chicago Stock Exchange & incredibly wealthy (who woulda guessed). He was on a large Sea Ray named LICK IT. (I can hear him now calling out on the VHF-"Chub Cay Marina this is LICK IT) He's traveling with his captain, Mario, & 2 women he picked up somewhere (?). Wayne especially liked the one in the white swim suit... I call her the 'Lick-it' girl. I was getting into the dinghy, it moved a bit, lost my balance & flipped over backwards into the water - The kids must have slipped me some 151 rum-the devil's brew! 7/22-23 The winds picked up from the east. We re-anchored closer to shore to avoid the surge from the waves coming around the point of the island. We visited with Jen & Joe at their lovely house overlooking the ocean. Today is their last day on the island then back to NJ! On Saturday, we took the dinghy to circle & explore the entire island. We were gone for hours but stopped at beaches along the way to stretch our legs & swim. We entered a large lake-like area in the middle of the island. We thought it a perfect spot for fish to breed & the little ones to grow big. Surprisingly, to us at least, there were many turtles & it was fun to watch them swim like crazy then pop up for a quick breath of air. Scupper spotted them too.

 





2011 - 7-15 - 7/19 - Bimini to Gun Cay

 

Before I continue, a bit about Bimini taken from Yachtsman’s Guide to the Bahamas. “like many islands set between civilization & remoteness, has for centuries attracted opportunists & eccentrics. The famous & infamous have escaped to Bimini where, they think, no one will be watching. Ernest Hemingway pursued gin & shark-shooting here in the 1930’s & in the late 1960’s Adam Clayton Powell lived in Bimini with his mistress. A fountain of youth, of sorts, is alleged to exist in the woods of S. Bimini …Ponce de Leon did stop at Bimini in his quest for everlasting youth…sampled the waters but they didn’t do the job. The island of N. Bimini is about 7 miles long & is extremely narrow & flat. Most of the island is less than 700 feet in width, & nowhere does it have an elevation greater than 15-20 feet above sea level. The main settlement & sport fishing center is Alice Town”.

 7/15 con’t…We wondered when Junkanoo would begin. There was a band playing in the afternoon with a few vendors, but no one else was there ?? We had dinner at the Angler which sits atop the hill overlooking the ocean. And if paradise wasn‘t already perfect, there was a full moon. After dinner, I heard loud music - Wayne was already in bed, so I followed the beat. The street was filled with people, locals & tourists & a local band…mostly homemade drums.

They played for well over an hour. No songs we know, but just the beat of the drums, trumpets & cow bells. I loved it, Wayne would have hated it.

     

Saturday, 7/16 Work day - Replace parts on the Water maker. But then it rained for hours. After it stopped, I walked around ‘town’ but it was so hot & humid & the mosquitoes were carrying me away, I returned to the boat & into the a/c. It was a real ho-hum day but did go to the pool. 7/17 We left the dock @ 10:30am heading south to Gun Cay. Another perfect day. I caught a nice sized Mackerel on the way down & I didn‘t even have anything out for dinner. We arrived @ 12:30 & there were already a bunch of small boats anchored in Honeymoon Harbor. We all went to the beach - the water was amazing & a perfect temperature-now this is what I’m talkin about! One by one the Rays swam over to check us out & to see if we had any food for them. We all rinsed the sand off, took a small break then back in the water again - I can’t get enough! I tried a new recipe for the fish using butter, soy, lime & Rum - YUM! Wayne didn’t like it as much as when I lightly bread it with crushed up French fried onion rings.

After having an incredible day with a luscious dinner, we adjourned to the fly bridge with our wine to watch a few storms in the distance. Much to my surprise, I still had TV. Pretty soon the storms sorta joined forces & headed towards us. A mad dash around the boat to secure items, close hatches, put the awnings up & reset the anchor - we had 75 feet of chain out. Thunder, lightening, rain & wind about 20 knots. (felt more like 50) It lasted several hours & finally died down about 11:00pm but Wayne was up & down all night checking our holding because the anchor alarm kept ringing. 7/18 He was up at 6:00am listening to NOAA, checking the weather on the Single Side Band (SSB), the charts & making coffee, of course. (You see, I don’t get up till the coffee’s done) Seemed like a good day to cross the shallow Bahamas Banks - there are 2 legs of the crossing to get to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands; the 1st is 63 miles @ 96 degrees; the 2^nd is 13 miles @ 10.7 degrees. We travel between 7 & 8 knots-you do the math - - it’s a long boring day. We left Gun @ 8:00am. It’s actually calm enough that I’m able to write my log down in the forward cabin. The Berry Islands, again quoted from the Yachtsman’s Guide to the Bahamas, “The Berry Islands are a stirrup-shaped chain of cays & islets that lie on the northeastern edge of the Great Bahamas Bank…They are bounded on the north & east by the Northwest Providence Channel & on the south by the Tongue of the Ocean. There are roughly 30 large cays & numerous small ones, among which are several good harbors & anchorages”. Great Stirrup Cay, owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines & Little Stirrup Cay, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines are located at the north end of the Berries. In 2007, we anchored between the 2 on our way to the Abacos.

As we approach Chub, there was a huge trough with significant lightening. Thankfully, it was well East of Chub. Once the anchor was set, about 6ish, we both went into the water - Wayne dove to set the anchor. Again, I had TV &amp internet; got to see yet another episode of the Bachorlette. 7/19 The air was cooler this morning but the sun already intense. A local fishermen came by & I bought 4 Lobster tails for $10. I know what I’m having for dinner. Sort of a work day; Wayne set out in an attempt to

         

find the reason the bait well gets full of water when we don’t want it full (too much weight); then onward to clean the bottom of the boat. Scupper goes absolutely bonkers when Wayne is on the swim platform donning his gear…These beautiful star fish are everywhere.

2011 - 7/15 - BIMINI

Thursday, 7/14 OMG !!! We really did it! We crossed. Let the real adventure begin! Left Key Biscayne @ 6:00am, gorgeous morning, light breeze, calm seas with beautiful sunrise at 7:00 but really hot, even at that hour. I trolled the whole way but got skunked...not one fish...no fresh fish for dinner tonight. That’s cuz I didn’t take anything out of the freezer for dinner. “Fins to the left, Fins to the right“ (As Jimmy’s song goes) At one point Flipper was all around us & hung out at our bow so they could rub their

Looks like I'm swimming with him, doesn't it? water's so clear

bodies against the bulbous bow. The girls went bonkers! Bimini now has a new entrance channel with red & green markers an all (it's gettin way too civilized) but much easier than 10 yrs ago. We tied up @ Bimini Blue Water marina @ 1:00 - JR, the dock hand, was fabulous & incredibly helpful. We filled out the immigration paperwork. The Bahamas require that a vet attest to the dog’s good health within 48 hrs of arrival & Rabies vaccine given not less than 30 days prior to arrival. I had to alter the vets papers when he signed them in May to July 12th (just a teeny white lie). We were only going to stay overnight, but told Junkanoo was on Friday & Saturday - signed up till Sunday. If you read my blog from our Bahamas trip in 2001, you might remember the guys I met at this marina especially Billy who owned CONCH PEARL, a 49’ Grand Banks. We were docked across from a boat with the same name but different boat. The owner emerged & sure enough, it was Billy. After hugs, we reminisced & caught up with our lives since that time so long ago. After lounging around a bit we took a short walk down the King’s Highway. Much has changed; it's cleaner; the Complete Angler (bar/restaurant) burned down several years ago leaving the stone walls & fireplace - real shame as it contained hundreds of old photos & memorabilia of the great one, Ernest Hemmingway; CJ’s, small snack shop, also burned to the ground leaving nothing but a concrete slab but they rebuilt on the high road. We wandered down to The End of the World bar/restaurant. Their 'crack concher' guy

arrived - think his name was Dig. There's a box in the water at

 their dock which holds live conch. He retrieves a few, 

Dinner - YUM!

opens them, cleans them & voila! dinner. After a few Kalicks,  a vodka/tonic & lively conversation with a couple on a Sea Ray, we returned to the boat for leftovers. (I wanted cracked conch)Friday, 7/15 Gorgeous day-blistering sun & hot. We went exploring in the dinghy with the girls. We checked out the north end of the island that was decimated in 2001 in preparation to build Bimini Bay. They dredged a 14’ channel from Alice Town 5 miles north to the resort. What a shocker! Very well built floating docks, nice homes, condo & hotel room - we didn’t go ashore though. Went thru S. Bimini where the air port is located, traveleda few canals but not much to see. Molly had the best seat-snuggled in my beach bag. Returned the girls to the boat then went trolling using a straw for a lure -something I learned about in 2001. I got several hits, a small Jack & something bigger but something got half of it before I could get it into the dinghy. Shame, we wanted fresh fish for dinner. Stopped at an incredibly pristine beach on South Bimini with white, soft sand. Now this is what I’m talkin’ about! The water is crystalclear.Passed Octypussy - the boat used in the Bond movie of the same name (at least that’s what we were told) Jumped into the fresh water pool the minute we got back. Off to the Angler for dinner. Great old building up on the high road, overlooking the Ocean with a full moon that night - doesn’t get much better than this - but I guess we’ll see won’t we…


 

2011 - 7/5 - 7/13 - Lauderdale - Beer Can Island - Coconut Grove - Key Biscayne

July 5 We knew we wanted to leave today, but needed 2 things: slack tide in the river & to get fuel somewhere. Wayne called around for a fuel truck delivery - they were all booked up. Hey, I thought we were in a recession?? The Peterson fuel barge

DELIVERANCE is the name of the barge

was going to be stationed at the Dania cut until 12 noon good news, that’s on our way South…It was 9:30 & as luck remained - we had a slack tide. In keeping with our usual last minute departures we both ran around the boat like crazy people getting ready to depart. We got 270 gal. of diesel fuel @$3.71/gal. but with tax it came to $3.93/gal. We really took  

our time cruising down the ICW. We anchored fairly close to Beer Can island, (as the locals named it & near where Stephanie & Bob live) launched the dinghy & took the girls to the beach. Wayne proclaimed, with a Sprite & rum in hand (huh?), "It's the 1st day of our vacation & the 1st day of the rest of our lives". AMEN to that! We had a tough time keeping the dogs from eating the rib & chicken bones that the July 4th partiers left behind.Wayne gave the girls a much needed bath on the swim platform & we settled in for the 1st day without A/C in over 3 weeks. As long as the wind & current were from the same direction, we enjoyed a brisk breeze right thru the boat, However, in the middle of the night that changed & we woke up in a sweat. ...out came the fan. Wednesday & Thursday 7/6 & 7/7 Rain, Rain & more rain - more rain than we've seen in 7 months! but S. FL needs it badly. At least we were comfortable-did odds & ends going out only between the rain drops.There must have

Beer Can Island - Fire vessel on the right

been 100 kids who paddled & played on the island, probably some summer program. They had a great time & wished I could have been one of them. The Miami/Dade fire boat went ashore & the guys showed the kids around too. Friday, 7/8 The final shuttle launch was scheduled for today - It was doubtful it would be “a go” because of the weather. However, in the final few moments of the count down, the weather cleared and off she went. It was a exciting time even though we only heard it on the radio. We pulled anchor @ 12:00 & headed slowly south on the ICW. We took a dock @ Dinner Key’s huge marina in Coconut Grove - why were we

Dinner Key Marina - Coconut Grove

here? Because Wayne wants to go to Home Depot to get a new hose & florescent light bulbs! We had dinner @ Scotty's, a close-by, water-front, out door restaurant. Saturday, 7/9 We walked miles & miles to Home Depot and West Marine - we could have (should have) taken the bus for $.25 but NO, I wanted to walk. (somebody slap some sense into me next time) On our return, we took a much needed break at Flanagan’s, split a Philly cheese steak, beer & wine. 7/10 After verifying that we were actually going to leave today, I quickly changed & went to the New Market, a short walk from the marina. Fabulous store with tiny isles & chock full of unusual items, some I’ve never seen or knew about. I then hiked it many blocks to Flanagan’s liquor store only to find out they didn’t have box wine. We left the dock about 2pm & crossed over to the sand bar @ Key Biscayne where there was a ‘happening’ going on. Someone should tell the people of Miami about the recession going on in this country. We gravitated to the action - hundreds of people & amazing boats lined up around the sand bar, most with multiple outboard

Boat with the DJ on the upper level

You can see the famous 'Stiltsville' in the background

engines on them, some had 8-10 boats rafted together…one boat even had a DJ on board (1st picture of the boats above)! Reminded us of the Columbus Day Regatta we attended in 2008 at Elliot Key (except no one here was naked). Everyone trying to play their music the loudest  - My wish was that they’d all play the same music, now that would have been neat. We sat on the swim platform to keep cool & take it all in. here was a significant chop & the water would hit the stern & be forced up the slats in the platform - sure kept us cool but freaked the pups out. Just before dark, we anchored in Hurricane Harbor, a pleasant, protected are surrounded by amazingly huge homes. 7/11 Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot - upper 90’s. We returned to the sand bar - sans the partiers…Lovely, relaxing day in the water. Key Biscayne is the home to some of the most famous & infamous characters of our time & was also the Winter home of President Nixon - the first of 3 water-front properties he purchased. We anchored in front of his property that night. Actually, his property was bought by Edgard Defortuna & the home was razed in 2004 but they kept the helipad built by 'we, the taxpayers'. I was interested in the history & they filmed part

Nixon's property & helipad on the right on Key Biscayne

of 1983' Scarface here & was the home of the character, Frank Lopez (played by Robert Loggia- no I’m not smart but I do have Google) they also filmed several episodes of Miami Vice using the helipad. The helipad, on the right, houses a large yacht. 7/12 HOT, HOT, HOT! The parts arrived for the Navigation system that links all systems together such as the radar, auto pilot, GPS, depth sounder, weather radio, collision avoidance. Hooked it up & with assistance from the company, think it's working - FINALLY! Plan to leave for Bimini in the morning so tying up loose ends today. HUGE storm on the mainland during rush hour. We go some much appreciated wind but according to the news, traffic was a mess...here's a picture of Miami's skyline during the storm - it was awesome.




 

2011 - 6/11 - 7/5 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Saturday, 6/11 Ft. Lauderdale in June. It's sunny & hot - in the 90’s. Cruising in Lauderdale & down the New River area is beautiful. Same monster homes & boats. The house above has been there for a long time. They say we're in a recession but up here, they're still building monster homes.

One of my favorite homes on the river

Finally, some adventure, but surely not what I had in mind. We walked several blocks to the bus station. Just trying to find someone to tell us what bus we needed was a miraculous feat as employees don’t give a rat’s ass; took bus #10 to go North on Federal Hwy to Office Depot and returned the dead notebook; picked out a 15” laptop with much more memory/power thinking that the little one was overwhelmed by all the information that was loaded into it; left it there for them to transfer the data. Heaven forbid you can take another bus from there to the next stop - Oh no! you have to catch the same bus back to the bus station then get another bus - we needed bus #1 which took us South on Federal Hwy and to West Marine. We spent countless hours shopping; new sandals; 2 chairs for the fly bridge; paint; backpack; a fold up cart for shopping & I can’t remember everything as I was totally numb at this point. Had to get a cab back to the marina. I was dead meat! We had popcorn for dinner.The 12th turned into a veg day. I’ve been inserting the log and pictures from our 2001 3 months trip to the Exumas & 2007 cruise to the Abacos into this blog. I’m sure I have everyone confused by now.  
I’ll summarize the remainder of our stay in Lauderdale: The A/C guy,Jeff Hawthorn, came to the boat 3 times - he says we have a gremlin on the boat! found & replaced a bad circuit breaker for the forward a/c; he found & replace a bad switch for the aft a/c & I can't remember why he came the 3rd time; the tight steering on the dinghy was evaluated - it wasn't the cable that we hoped it would be - it's still tight; more parts for other things were ordered; installed compass & depth sounder on the dinghy - it didn't work so installed the new transducer; wire in the new portable freezer for a/c & d/c (probably the biggest project); reload all the navigation software into new laptop; shopping for more provisions; replaced elements in water maker, installed a maxi-fan in the forward hatch which will allow the fan to run even if it's raining;
This is INSANITY!  6/13 - 6-30 The remainder of the month was somewhat uneventful for me at least; food shopping, laundry, cleaning, figuring out what to make for dinner - same ole, same ole bullshit. Wayne continued to complete his projects, sometimes with my help. One evening we went to the IMAX theater to see Pirates of the Caribbean- On Stranger Tides. I’m a fan of the series & it was my first time at an IMAX theater- I haven’t been to a theater of any kind since seeing Titanic in 1997!! June 28 Billy Downes, an old friend from MA (also attended our wedding in 2003 & cruised with us afterward), arrived in Lauderdale on business. He wanted to take us out for dinner at a 4 star restaurant at the Hilton where he‘s staying.  No twisting my arm - I’m ready already! It was a Chinese cuisine but like no other I’ve ever been had.  Amazing food & the desserts? To die for! It was great seeing him again. Since he had a car, he took Wayne to pick up 6 gallons of oil for the engine. Mickey & Kathryn went to the cottage for the long weekend & to celebrate his birthday on the 30th.

River walks Sunday Jazz Brunch - Main gazebo with a band

Molly's in her new carry pouch

We decided to stay at the dock till after the weekend to miss the wild boat traffic on the 4th & to attend 1st Sunday, River walk’s Monthly Jazz Brunch (I wish they really had brunch) on July 3rd There are 3 music groups scattered along the walk-way and hundreds of people attend. They set up tents, umbrellas, blankets, chairs, coolers & tables filled with food & drinks & there are lots of dogs of every type. We stopped at the Briny for a yummy Bloody Mary. (actually, Wayne had 2)