Monday, April 27, 2009
Return to the tropics of Toronto
Such a lot has happened since I last wrote....our epic voyage has come to an end (until next time, that is!)....and we have returned to a startlingly warm Toronto and Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL). As I write this the temperature in NOTL is a muggy 29C, and Bill and I are wearing the shorts and T-shirts we thought we would wash and put away for at least a few weeks!
Back to our trip....We had a wonderful time with Fruji and John at Harbour Ridge Golf and Country Club. We celebrated John's birthday in style, did not disgrace ourselves on the golf course, and enjoyed two nights in a real, static, windproof bed!!
After two relaxing days, we set off to travel up the ICW to our final destination - Fort Pierce. We knew that Carole and Bob on 'Sea Change' had returned from their trip home the previous day, and that they would probably be moving north from Lake Worth soon, but we were surprised to hear them requesting a bridge opening not too far south. They had also heard us requesting a bridge opening and we spoke on the VHF radio. Little did we know how close we were! As we left the St. Lucie River to join the ICW once more, the first boat we saw coming up behind us was 'Sea Change'!
So we journeyed together on to Fort Pierce where we took a slip at the Harbortown Marina, and 'Sea Change' anchored off because they were anxious to leave early the next day. We also met up with Mike, on 'Norma Fay'. We had last seen him at the 'Orchid Bay Marina' at Great Guana Cay in the Abacos. That night we all had an Italian dinner at a great nearby restaurant recommended by Bob and Carole.
For the next four days we organized the haul-out and any repairs that needed to be done to 'Southern Vectis' over the summer. We changed our mind about hauling her out at Fort Pierce's 'Riverside Marina' and decided to haul her out at Harbortown as the boats are strapped down (hurricane-proofed!?), and all the marine services are on site in this well-organized boatyard. 'Southern Vectis' came out on Tuesday - we spent a couple of nights in a nearby hotel and then, after dropping in on Fraser and Edi, Southern Vectis' babysitters of last summer, we returned via US Air to Buffalo to be met late at night by our dear Louisa. We got lost in Buffalo....we always do! It's lovely to be home and to see Louisa, Steve, Leo, Orson and Simon.....not to mention Brandy our cat! But we haven't forgotten 'Southern Vectis' and our many promises made along the way to all those friendly cruising mates....."same time next year!" Watch this space!
Back to our trip....We had a wonderful time with Fruji and John at Harbour Ridge Golf and Country Club. We celebrated John's birthday in style, did not disgrace ourselves on the golf course, and enjoyed two nights in a real, static, windproof bed!!
After two relaxing days, we set off to travel up the ICW to our final destination - Fort Pierce. We knew that Carole and Bob on 'Sea Change' had returned from their trip home the previous day, and that they would probably be moving north from Lake Worth soon, but we were surprised to hear them requesting a bridge opening not too far south. They had also heard us requesting a bridge opening and we spoke on the VHF radio. Little did we know how close we were! As we left the St. Lucie River to join the ICW once more, the first boat we saw coming up behind us was 'Sea Change'!
So we journeyed together on to Fort Pierce where we took a slip at the Harbortown Marina, and 'Sea Change' anchored off because they were anxious to leave early the next day. We also met up with Mike, on 'Norma Fay'. We had last seen him at the 'Orchid Bay Marina' at Great Guana Cay in the Abacos. That night we all had an Italian dinner at a great nearby restaurant recommended by Bob and Carole.
For the next four days we organized the haul-out and any repairs that needed to be done to 'Southern Vectis' over the summer. We changed our mind about hauling her out at Fort Pierce's 'Riverside Marina' and decided to haul her out at Harbortown as the boats are strapped down (hurricane-proofed!?), and all the marine services are on site in this well-organized boatyard. 'Southern Vectis' came out on Tuesday - we spent a couple of nights in a nearby hotel and then, after dropping in on Fraser and Edi, Southern Vectis' babysitters of last summer, we returned via US Air to Buffalo to be met late at night by our dear Louisa. We got lost in Buffalo....we always do! It's lovely to be home and to see Louisa, Steve, Leo, Orson and Simon.....not to mention Brandy our cat! But we haven't forgotten 'Southern Vectis' and our many promises made along the way to all those friendly cruising mates....."same time next year!" Watch this space!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The weathermen lied!!!
(Just a brief news update while sitting in a 'Panera Coffee Shop' in Stuart, Florida.)
Every weather forecast we consulted before our Saturday Gulf Stream crossing promised seas of a mere 2'-4', and winds of 10-15 knots dying down to 5 knots or less!! They were all wrong! 'Barometer Bob', Chris Parker, 'NOAA', even computerized 'Passage Weather' spoke with forked tongue! We travelled across in company with a 32' sailboat, as Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' who were originally to be our 'buddy boat' waited an extra day to meet up with some friends. By the time we had fought the 30 knot winds and 8'-10' waves, not to mention the strong Gulf Stream current and reached the sunny shores of Lake Worth 12 1/2 hours later, the sun had just about set. It was dark when our 'buddy boat' appeared! We anchored thankfully for the first night, and then took the boat into the 'Old Port Cove Marina', which had been recommended by Carole and Bob. We tied up just behind their boat, 'Sea Change'. They had gone home to Canada for Easter. We had to go out to the airport to check in, and then rented a car from there so that we could do some much needed food shopping etc. Going in to a 'Publix' supermarket after three months of local Bahamian stores was like going into Aladdin's cave! So many choices, so much food, and such succulent, fresh vegetables! I went crazy for tomatoes! That day we went to a little restaurant beside the Intra-Coastal waterway called 'The Raw Bar' for a late lunch. Later that day Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' arrived from the Bahamas and the next day we were invited to dinner on board and met up with a whole group of Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club members. Great fun, and we all pledged to meet up next year in the Bahamas. Most of the group have been wintering in the Bahamas for many years and most have graduated to trawler-type power boats from sailboats!
Yesterday (Tuesday) we set off up the Intra-Coastal (ICW) to Stuart to visit John and Fruji Bull at their lovely golf resort, 'Harbour Ridge'. Unfortunately when we were about 10 minutes from the dock a huge storm with 40 knot gusts of wind broke over us. We had to stay out in the river until the winds went down to a mere 20 plus knots before we could try for the dock. Bill did a fantastic job of getting us in safely, aided by John and the dockmaster. It was John's birthday, so he and Fruji and a couple of their friends from Ottawa came on board for champagne before we all went out to a lovely birthday dinner. Last night it was wonderful to spend a night in a real bed...one that didn't rock and roll! Today we shall go up to Fort Pierce by car to check out the marina where 'Southern Vectis' will spend the summer, and then we will play a game of golf! Hope we're not too rusty! We expect to be back in Canada by the end of next week.
Every weather forecast we consulted before our Saturday Gulf Stream crossing promised seas of a mere 2'-4', and winds of 10-15 knots dying down to 5 knots or less!! They were all wrong! 'Barometer Bob', Chris Parker, 'NOAA', even computerized 'Passage Weather' spoke with forked tongue! We travelled across in company with a 32' sailboat, as Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' who were originally to be our 'buddy boat' waited an extra day to meet up with some friends. By the time we had fought the 30 knot winds and 8'-10' waves, not to mention the strong Gulf Stream current and reached the sunny shores of Lake Worth 12 1/2 hours later, the sun had just about set. It was dark when our 'buddy boat' appeared! We anchored thankfully for the first night, and then took the boat into the 'Old Port Cove Marina', which had been recommended by Carole and Bob. We tied up just behind their boat, 'Sea Change'. They had gone home to Canada for Easter. We had to go out to the airport to check in, and then rented a car from there so that we could do some much needed food shopping etc. Going in to a 'Publix' supermarket after three months of local Bahamian stores was like going into Aladdin's cave! So many choices, so much food, and such succulent, fresh vegetables! I went crazy for tomatoes! That day we went to a little restaurant beside the Intra-Coastal waterway called 'The Raw Bar' for a late lunch. Later that day Robert and Carolyn on 'Sea Island Girl' arrived from the Bahamas and the next day we were invited to dinner on board and met up with a whole group of Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club members. Great fun, and we all pledged to meet up next year in the Bahamas. Most of the group have been wintering in the Bahamas for many years and most have graduated to trawler-type power boats from sailboats!
Yesterday (Tuesday) we set off up the Intra-Coastal (ICW) to Stuart to visit John and Fruji Bull at their lovely golf resort, 'Harbour Ridge'. Unfortunately when we were about 10 minutes from the dock a huge storm with 40 knot gusts of wind broke over us. We had to stay out in the river until the winds went down to a mere 20 plus knots before we could try for the dock. Bill did a fantastic job of getting us in safely, aided by John and the dockmaster. It was John's birthday, so he and Fruji and a couple of their friends from Ottawa came on board for champagne before we all went out to a lovely birthday dinner. Last night it was wonderful to spend a night in a real bed...one that didn't rock and roll! Today we shall go up to Fort Pierce by car to check out the marina where 'Southern Vectis' will spend the summer, and then we will play a game of golf! Hope we're not too rusty! We expect to be back in Canada by the end of next week.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Backwards and forwards!
‘Backtracking for repairs’ and ‘Florida here we come!’
(This blog was written in two stages as we haven’t been able to get near an internet connection for a few days.)
Tuesday 7 April, 2009
Last time I wrote we were still in Orchid Bay on Great Guana Cay waiting to go north through ‘the Whale’ the following day with some of the other boats that had been sheltering from the strong winds. We had really enjoyed our time there because even though the winds were howling, a warm sun still shone in a clear blue sky, the marina was lovely and there was lots to do and see around the little ‘settlement’ and its beautiful beaches.
On the day before our departure Bill had discovered an important repair which needed doing – getting a new ‘zinc’ fitted. We had hoped to get it done on the north side of the ‘Whale’ crossing – at Green Turtle Cay. But, when we phoned around on the morning of our scheduled departure, the only place where we could find our type of ‘zinc’ was at Edwin’s Boat Yard in Man O’ War Cay. So we had to decide whether to go on with the others and risk it, or backtrack to get it fixed. We decided to be cautious and backtrack to Man O’ War. We also decided that we should get our dinghy outboard motor fixed as it’s our lifeline to shore when we are at anchor or moored. The only place that could do this was in Marsh Harbour. This was really backtracking!
So on that beautiful Monday morning we waved farewell to everyone as they sailed north and we sailed in the opposite direction. It was a lovely day with much lighter winds and we went in to Man O’ War marina for two nights (this time we didn’t run aground!), and then sailed over to Marsh Harbour to spend three nights at Mangoes Marina while we waited for our outboard to be fixed. Everything went smoothly. We met up with Michel and Maryse on ‘Maduro’ once again and had a nice ‘cocktail evening’ on board ‘Southern Vectis’.
On Friday we said yet another ‘farewell’ to Marsh Harbour and had a good sail over to Fisher Bay, Great Guana to take a mooring for a night before crossing through the ‘Whale’ the next morning. It should have been a peaceful and lovely evening. There were about eight other boats either moored or anchored nearby and the sunset promised to be spectacular. Suddenly, from around the corner of the bay, two huge ‘Moorings’ chartered catamarans appeared. Usually when this happens everyone holds their breath and prays that they’ll move on. This was not to be! They moored right next to our boat – each tying on to the same mooring ball – and proceeded to party and play loud music into the early hours of the morning! And we had thought that the music from the restaurants around the marinas in Marsh Harbour was loud!!! What can we say except that our unwelcome neighbours were not young party animals, but three or four ENGLISH families complete with middle aged parents and teenagers! We left very early the next morning!
Our trip through the dreaded ‘Whale’ was perfectly peaceful – just a little one foot swell – and a beautiful blue day. We anchored off Green Turtle Cay until mid-afternoon as we had to wait for mid-tide to get in the channel to ‘Black Sound’ where we had booked a mooring buoy through Donny’s Boat rentals. On our way into the harbour we noticed ‘Gray North’ out of the water at ‘Abaco Yachts’ boatyard, and Glen hard at work on the topsides. So once we’d moored we dinghied back and brought Glen and Louise for drinks on board. ‘Gray North’ is spending the summer here, as are a lot of other ‘northern’ boats. Glen and Louise flew out to Florida yesterday and will drive back to Ottawa.
‘Black Sound’ is a lovely harbour and is within an easy walk of the town of New Plymouth. Yesterday the harbour filled up as the wind filled in to 25 knots yet again. Another fierce cold front was in the forecast and everyone was making for shelter.
Last night the cold front arrived and dropped the temperature from a humid 83F to a cool 71F with raging winds of 25 – 32 knots! We are spending today listening to the weather forecasts and planning our route back to Florida as, unbelievable as it seems now, a weather window is supposed to open up tomorrow or the next day and may last for more than one day! We need at least three days for our passage back to Lake Worth/Palm Beach from here. Our first day will take us to an overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay, the next day we’ll sail on and spend the night at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ marina at ‘West End’, and the following day, if the wave heights look reasonable and the winds favourable, we’ll make the Gulf Stream crossing. We think there will be quite a few boats doing the same as us, so we shan’t be going it alone! Wish us luck!
April 10, 2009
Florida Here We Come!
It’s ‘Good Friday’ – April 10 – and we arrived at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ Marina yesterday evening after two beautifully calm days of travelling. At Great Sale Island we came across our lovely friends, Rob and Laurie from Jacksonville, on board ‘Arita’. We were going in opposite directions so only had time to shout between boats. They are off to Antigua and then, eventually, to Australia. Brave souls! We were sad that we didn’t have a chance for a proper get-together. Bon Voyage ‘Arita’ and ‘Svea’, their buddy boat.
We plan to cross the Gulf Stream tomorrow – Saturday 11 April. We will either cross to Lake Worth/Palm Beach (55 miles) or Fort Pierce (82 miles). I vote for the former and Bill the latter. We shall see who wins! ‘Southern Vectis’ will be stored out of the water at ‘Riverside Marina’ in Fort Pierce for the summer. We will make our crossing travelling together with Robert and Carolyn on their motor cruiser, ‘Sea Island Girl’. Robert is past Commodore of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club, a club we shall join for next year. We’ve heard from many people that the club holds great parties and that membership also gets you discounts at various marinas!
Fingers and toes crossed for the crossing tomorrow!
(This blog was written in two stages as we haven’t been able to get near an internet connection for a few days.)
Tuesday 7 April, 2009
Last time I wrote we were still in Orchid Bay on Great Guana Cay waiting to go north through ‘the Whale’ the following day with some of the other boats that had been sheltering from the strong winds. We had really enjoyed our time there because even though the winds were howling, a warm sun still shone in a clear blue sky, the marina was lovely and there was lots to do and see around the little ‘settlement’ and its beautiful beaches.
On the day before our departure Bill had discovered an important repair which needed doing – getting a new ‘zinc’ fitted. We had hoped to get it done on the north side of the ‘Whale’ crossing – at Green Turtle Cay. But, when we phoned around on the morning of our scheduled departure, the only place where we could find our type of ‘zinc’ was at Edwin’s Boat Yard in Man O’ War Cay. So we had to decide whether to go on with the others and risk it, or backtrack to get it fixed. We decided to be cautious and backtrack to Man O’ War. We also decided that we should get our dinghy outboard motor fixed as it’s our lifeline to shore when we are at anchor or moored. The only place that could do this was in Marsh Harbour. This was really backtracking!
So on that beautiful Monday morning we waved farewell to everyone as they sailed north and we sailed in the opposite direction. It was a lovely day with much lighter winds and we went in to Man O’ War marina for two nights (this time we didn’t run aground!), and then sailed over to Marsh Harbour to spend three nights at Mangoes Marina while we waited for our outboard to be fixed. Everything went smoothly. We met up with Michel and Maryse on ‘Maduro’ once again and had a nice ‘cocktail evening’ on board ‘Southern Vectis’.
On Friday we said yet another ‘farewell’ to Marsh Harbour and had a good sail over to Fisher Bay, Great Guana to take a mooring for a night before crossing through the ‘Whale’ the next morning. It should have been a peaceful and lovely evening. There were about eight other boats either moored or anchored nearby and the sunset promised to be spectacular. Suddenly, from around the corner of the bay, two huge ‘Moorings’ chartered catamarans appeared. Usually when this happens everyone holds their breath and prays that they’ll move on. This was not to be! They moored right next to our boat – each tying on to the same mooring ball – and proceeded to party and play loud music into the early hours of the morning! And we had thought that the music from the restaurants around the marinas in Marsh Harbour was loud!!! What can we say except that our unwelcome neighbours were not young party animals, but three or four ENGLISH families complete with middle aged parents and teenagers! We left very early the next morning!
Our trip through the dreaded ‘Whale’ was perfectly peaceful – just a little one foot swell – and a beautiful blue day. We anchored off Green Turtle Cay until mid-afternoon as we had to wait for mid-tide to get in the channel to ‘Black Sound’ where we had booked a mooring buoy through Donny’s Boat rentals. On our way into the harbour we noticed ‘Gray North’ out of the water at ‘Abaco Yachts’ boatyard, and Glen hard at work on the topsides. So once we’d moored we dinghied back and brought Glen and Louise for drinks on board. ‘Gray North’ is spending the summer here, as are a lot of other ‘northern’ boats. Glen and Louise flew out to Florida yesterday and will drive back to Ottawa.
‘Black Sound’ is a lovely harbour and is within an easy walk of the town of New Plymouth. Yesterday the harbour filled up as the wind filled in to 25 knots yet again. Another fierce cold front was in the forecast and everyone was making for shelter.
Last night the cold front arrived and dropped the temperature from a humid 83F to a cool 71F with raging winds of 25 – 32 knots! We are spending today listening to the weather forecasts and planning our route back to Florida as, unbelievable as it seems now, a weather window is supposed to open up tomorrow or the next day and may last for more than one day! We need at least three days for our passage back to Lake Worth/Palm Beach from here. Our first day will take us to an overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay, the next day we’ll sail on and spend the night at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ marina at ‘West End’, and the following day, if the wave heights look reasonable and the winds favourable, we’ll make the Gulf Stream crossing. We think there will be quite a few boats doing the same as us, so we shan’t be going it alone! Wish us luck!
April 10, 2009
Florida Here We Come!
It’s ‘Good Friday’ – April 10 – and we arrived at ‘Old Bahama Bay’ Marina yesterday evening after two beautifully calm days of travelling. At Great Sale Island we came across our lovely friends, Rob and Laurie from Jacksonville, on board ‘Arita’. We were going in opposite directions so only had time to shout between boats. They are off to Antigua and then, eventually, to Australia. Brave souls! We were sad that we didn’t have a chance for a proper get-together. Bon Voyage ‘Arita’ and ‘Svea’, their buddy boat.
We plan to cross the Gulf Stream tomorrow – Saturday 11 April. We will either cross to Lake Worth/Palm Beach (55 miles) or Fort Pierce (82 miles). I vote for the former and Bill the latter. We shall see who wins! ‘Southern Vectis’ will be stored out of the water at ‘Riverside Marina’ in Fort Pierce for the summer. We will make our crossing travelling together with Robert and Carolyn on their motor cruiser, ‘Sea Island Girl’. Robert is past Commodore of the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club, a club we shall join for next year. We’ve heard from many people that the club holds great parties and that membership also gets you discounts at various marinas!
Fingers and toes crossed for the crossing tomorrow!
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