Wednesday, April 17, 2013
All good things must come to an end.
Southern Vectis is back in Florida now at her home base in Harbortown Marina in Ft. Pierce. We made our Gulf Stream crossing on Sunday 14th April from West End, Grand Bahama Island to Lake Worth. We'll be here for a week or two, taking a holiday from our holiday, enjoying the gorgeous weather, and waiting for Ontario to thaw out!
Since the last blog hit the 'web-waves' we've continued to have lots of adventures and a great deal of fun. But all good things must come to an end, and, by the beginning of April, you could feel that a lot of boats in Hopetown Harbor were getting itchy keels. Whether you were at Capt'n Jack's bar, the Water's Edge', or the lovely 'On da Beach Bar', the conversations had turned from lazy day plans to sail plans and weather forecasts.
On Sunday April 7th we waved a fond farewell to our very good boat and party buddies, Ron and Jane, and set off from Hopetown. We spent a couple of nights anchored at Marsh Harbour to get a pump problem sorted out, and then set off across the dreaded 'Whale' on Tuesday. It was a calm crossing and we anchored for the night at Manjack Cay, just west of Green Turtle. The next two days were long days of motor-sailing - 50 plus miles each day. Our overnight at Great Sale Cay was spent with a group of boats anchored off the northwest side of the cay to shelter from the brisk south easterly wind. From there we were making good time to West End on Grand Bahama Island, our jumping off point for the Gulf Stream crossing, until we passed off the shallow and sheltered Little Bahama Banks into the Atlantic rollers at Memory Rock. From here we had a very rough two hours fighting into the wind and rolling seas until we reached our safe and very welcome haven, 'Old Bahama Bay Marina'. There is a short cut through Indian Rock Channel, which would have avoided this, but unfortunately the tide was too low to take it!
One funny thing happened to us en route to West End which will amuse the yoga enthusiasts reading this blog. We had sailed past a blue-hulled sailboat, and then happened to look back. There was a stiff breeze and a lumpy sea, but there on the foredeck was a woman waving her arms up and down. Now, as this is an international signal for distress, we radioed the boat and asked if they needed assistance. We received a rather terse reply asking us why we would think they needed help. When we explained about the arm waving we were told that the captain's wife was doing her yoga exercises. We left them to it!
There were storms forecast for the next two days, so our hardy group of boats settled down to enjoy the amenities of the Old Bahama Bay resort. But then, of course, the debate started: To go or not to go. Some boats left on Saturday before the storms hit, but quickly came back in. We left with a group of boats on Sunday. The seas were a little lumpy with five foot swells and the winds around 15 - 20 knots, but it was comfortable, and we made it to Lake Worth, motor-sailing at around 7 knots, in 8 1/2 hours.
After checking in at U.S. Immigration the next morning, we motored north on the ICW for a peaceful (we thought) anchorage at Peck Lake, en route to Ft. Pierce. The sky was black by the time we reached Peck Lake, and we were relieved to get our anchor down a good distance from the other five boats in the anchorage. Just as the storm was upon us, a trawler rushed in and threw his anchor down close to us. Then all hell broke loose! The thunder and lightning were nothing compared to the 60 mph sustained winds and the driving curtain of rain that blotted out everything. This lasted almost an hour and, during that time, as the rain curtain occasionally lifted, we could see the trawler had dragged its' anchor and was getting closer and closer to us. A large sailboat was also dragging and ended up right across the other side of the ICW channel. We could have done nothing to help ourselves in the event of a collision as the conditions were impossible. Anyway, we all survived intact and we were so pleased that we were the only boat that hadn't dragged its' anchor. But herein lies a tale. As we were trying to pull up our anchor the next morning, we found it was entangled with another anchor - a huge, barnacled thing that must have been sitting on the bottom for years. No wonder we hadn't dragged, as we had had two anchors holding us! How very lucky!
Arriving at Harbortown Marina yesterday (Tuesday 16th April) was like coming home. Apart from the friendly staff and boating 'live-aboards', the whole of Hopetown Harbour seems to have emptied out into this harbour. Many of the boats are heading north to their summer homes on the U.S. East coast. We are looking forward to meeting up again with our friends, Paul and Marianne from Nova Scotia, who hope to make their crossing on Friday. We are also looking forward to an evening out with our fellow grandparents, Fruji and John, at Capone's Hideway on Thursday. We are also looking forward to spending the next two weeks, before we start our drive north, just enjoying the lovely Florida sunshine and avoiding the occasional storms!
Since the last blog hit the 'web-waves' we've continued to have lots of adventures and a great deal of fun. But all good things must come to an end, and, by the beginning of April, you could feel that a lot of boats in Hopetown Harbor were getting itchy keels. Whether you were at Capt'n Jack's bar, the Water's Edge', or the lovely 'On da Beach Bar', the conversations had turned from lazy day plans to sail plans and weather forecasts.
On Sunday April 7th we waved a fond farewell to our very good boat and party buddies, Ron and Jane, and set off from Hopetown. We spent a couple of nights anchored at Marsh Harbour to get a pump problem sorted out, and then set off across the dreaded 'Whale' on Tuesday. It was a calm crossing and we anchored for the night at Manjack Cay, just west of Green Turtle. The next two days were long days of motor-sailing - 50 plus miles each day. Our overnight at Great Sale Cay was spent with a group of boats anchored off the northwest side of the cay to shelter from the brisk south easterly wind. From there we were making good time to West End on Grand Bahama Island, our jumping off point for the Gulf Stream crossing, until we passed off the shallow and sheltered Little Bahama Banks into the Atlantic rollers at Memory Rock. From here we had a very rough two hours fighting into the wind and rolling seas until we reached our safe and very welcome haven, 'Old Bahama Bay Marina'. There is a short cut through Indian Rock Channel, which would have avoided this, but unfortunately the tide was too low to take it!
One funny thing happened to us en route to West End which will amuse the yoga enthusiasts reading this blog. We had sailed past a blue-hulled sailboat, and then happened to look back. There was a stiff breeze and a lumpy sea, but there on the foredeck was a woman waving her arms up and down. Now, as this is an international signal for distress, we radioed the boat and asked if they needed assistance. We received a rather terse reply asking us why we would think they needed help. When we explained about the arm waving we were told that the captain's wife was doing her yoga exercises. We left them to it!
There were storms forecast for the next two days, so our hardy group of boats settled down to enjoy the amenities of the Old Bahama Bay resort. But then, of course, the debate started: To go or not to go. Some boats left on Saturday before the storms hit, but quickly came back in. We left with a group of boats on Sunday. The seas were a little lumpy with five foot swells and the winds around 15 - 20 knots, but it was comfortable, and we made it to Lake Worth, motor-sailing at around 7 knots, in 8 1/2 hours.
After checking in at U.S. Immigration the next morning, we motored north on the ICW for a peaceful (we thought) anchorage at Peck Lake, en route to Ft. Pierce. The sky was black by the time we reached Peck Lake, and we were relieved to get our anchor down a good distance from the other five boats in the anchorage. Just as the storm was upon us, a trawler rushed in and threw his anchor down close to us. Then all hell broke loose! The thunder and lightning were nothing compared to the 60 mph sustained winds and the driving curtain of rain that blotted out everything. This lasted almost an hour and, during that time, as the rain curtain occasionally lifted, we could see the trawler had dragged its' anchor and was getting closer and closer to us. A large sailboat was also dragging and ended up right across the other side of the ICW channel. We could have done nothing to help ourselves in the event of a collision as the conditions were impossible. Anyway, we all survived intact and we were so pleased that we were the only boat that hadn't dragged its' anchor. But herein lies a tale. As we were trying to pull up our anchor the next morning, we found it was entangled with another anchor - a huge, barnacled thing that must have been sitting on the bottom for years. No wonder we hadn't dragged, as we had had two anchors holding us! How very lucky!
Arriving at Harbortown Marina yesterday (Tuesday 16th April) was like coming home. Apart from the friendly staff and boating 'live-aboards', the whole of Hopetown Harbour seems to have emptied out into this harbour. Many of the boats are heading north to their summer homes on the U.S. East coast. We are looking forward to meeting up again with our friends, Paul and Marianne from Nova Scotia, who hope to make their crossing on Friday. We are also looking forward to an evening out with our fellow grandparents, Fruji and John, at Capone's Hideway on Thursday. We are also looking forward to spending the next two weeks, before we start our drive north, just enjoying the lovely Florida sunshine and avoiding the occasional storms!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
We're still here - reporting in from Hopetown.
It's been some time since I wrote last - but that's life "in da Bahamas mon". If the sun shines, or even if it doesn't, it's so easy to put it off until..........? Eventually "until" becomes "today" though!
Today is a day of fragile calm after a storm-tossed night of raging winds tearing at mooring lines and hopeful anchors, and skies lit up by strobes of lurid light. But don't think for a minute that, after last night's sleepless hours, we have changed our opinion of our lovely haven here in Hopetown Harbour. Where to start on our saga of the past two weeks? Well, here goes: I've made a list (and checked it twice), and here is as abbreviated a version as I can manage.
The harbour of Hopetown is an ever-changing community so we are often saying "hello" to new friends - many from Canada - and "au revoir" to old ones.
Ron and Jane on 'Rachel' are from Maine. They have been on the same trajectory as 'Southern Vectis' since we met up at Green Turtle Cay. Now, in Hopetown, we are close mooring neighbours, and have discovered that our partying habits run along similar lines! We continue to share adventures and fun with them. Tomorrow we'll go on a dinghy jaunt with them and others to have lunch at the lovely 'Firefly' resort.
We met Steve and Debbie at Green Turtle also at the beginning of our trip. In Hopetown we were moored beside 'Tosmo', their 50 plus foot, splendid 'floating condo' and spent many good evenings together. They have moved on now, but we hope to meet them again sometime, somewhere.
Also here are friends from Fort Pierce and Toronto, Ross and Valerie with their faithful, and very well-behaved hound, Madison. And then , of course, there are Sigita and Martin, our gulf stream-crossing boat buddies, who are always around and about somewhere in the Sea of Abaco on their
boat 'Jumasi'.
Yesterday we hitched a ride to Marsh Harbour with Benoir and Margaret from Kingston, Ontario on their handsome Hunter, 'Diva'. Old friends from four years' back are also in the harbour - Glen and Louise on Gray North, and David and Jill on 'Jilly Q'.
Events of the past two weeks began with the arrival of a boat with RCYC (Royal Canadian Yacht Club) emblazoned on the stern and a young Quebec man, Guy, at the helm. The boat, Solera - a C&C 29- seemed familiar to us from our days docked at the RCYC. Guy caused quite a stir in the harbour by first anchoring in the middle of the mooring field, and secondly arriving with several bikinis flapping from the life lines! He provided good entertainment value for a few days.
Other notable events have been our visit to the brand new Hopetown Inn and Marina. It's all pink and splendid and seems always to be full. Then, one night, the Hopetown Lodge invited the whole town to an open house to introduce its' five new owners. Great fun, especially as the drinks and appetizers were on the house.
The Abaco Inn, further south on Elbow Cay held an Art Show last Saturday - a beautiful day. We had lunch there and met up with Pat and Peter, friends from our trip four years ago. They kindly invited us to a 'Bloody Mary Party' on their boat the next day. There we met a whole group of 'almost locals'. In fact there are many 'almost locals' here, either in boats or cottages. They've been enjoying winters in Hopetown for many years. How very sensible! That same day we joined a 'dinghy drift' around the harbour. It was miraculous to see 28 dinghies floating around the jam-packed mooring field without careening into even one boat!
The high point of the past two weeks has been the 'Barefoot Man' concert held at Guana Cay. A group of enthusiastic party-goers boarded the Albury Ferry on a beautiful day for the half-hour trip to Guana Cay. Once there, we climbed the hill to Nipper's Bar, perched on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. It was an entirely perfect day, though many felt a little the worse for wear (or rum) at the end of the day. Some even missed the ferry home!
I've saved the following event to last as it took place over such a short interval of time, but could have meant the end of this blog and its' writer. Bill and I were beach walking one day of high seas and crashing waves, and were caught up by a rogue wave which came from nowhere. If Bill hadn't grabbed me the force of the wave would have washed me across the vicious coral into the ocean. He did grab me luckily, and I limped back through the town soaking wet and dripping with blood from a graze on my leg. Long story short - my leg is healing slowly but my camera is not. My course of anti-biotics means I can't drink alcohol for ten days! On the whole, not a bad thing! But no pictures for the blog at the moment.
Today is a day of fragile calm after a storm-tossed night of raging winds tearing at mooring lines and hopeful anchors, and skies lit up by strobes of lurid light. But don't think for a minute that, after last night's sleepless hours, we have changed our opinion of our lovely haven here in Hopetown Harbour. Where to start on our saga of the past two weeks? Well, here goes: I've made a list (and checked it twice), and here is as abbreviated a version as I can manage.
The harbour of Hopetown is an ever-changing community so we are often saying "hello" to new friends - many from Canada - and "au revoir" to old ones.
Ron and Jane on 'Rachel' are from Maine. They have been on the same trajectory as 'Southern Vectis' since we met up at Green Turtle Cay. Now, in Hopetown, we are close mooring neighbours, and have discovered that our partying habits run along similar lines! We continue to share adventures and fun with them. Tomorrow we'll go on a dinghy jaunt with them and others to have lunch at the lovely 'Firefly' resort.
We met Steve and Debbie at Green Turtle also at the beginning of our trip. In Hopetown we were moored beside 'Tosmo', their 50 plus foot, splendid 'floating condo' and spent many good evenings together. They have moved on now, but we hope to meet them again sometime, somewhere.
Also here are friends from Fort Pierce and Toronto, Ross and Valerie with their faithful, and very well-behaved hound, Madison. And then , of course, there are Sigita and Martin, our gulf stream-crossing boat buddies, who are always around and about somewhere in the Sea of Abaco on their
boat 'Jumasi'.
Yesterday we hitched a ride to Marsh Harbour with Benoir and Margaret from Kingston, Ontario on their handsome Hunter, 'Diva'. Old friends from four years' back are also in the harbour - Glen and Louise on Gray North, and David and Jill on 'Jilly Q'.
Events of the past two weeks began with the arrival of a boat with RCYC (Royal Canadian Yacht Club) emblazoned on the stern and a young Quebec man, Guy, at the helm. The boat, Solera - a C&C 29- seemed familiar to us from our days docked at the RCYC. Guy caused quite a stir in the harbour by first anchoring in the middle of the mooring field, and secondly arriving with several bikinis flapping from the life lines! He provided good entertainment value for a few days.
Other notable events have been our visit to the brand new Hopetown Inn and Marina. It's all pink and splendid and seems always to be full. Then, one night, the Hopetown Lodge invited the whole town to an open house to introduce its' five new owners. Great fun, especially as the drinks and appetizers were on the house.
The Abaco Inn, further south on Elbow Cay held an Art Show last Saturday - a beautiful day. We had lunch there and met up with Pat and Peter, friends from our trip four years ago. They kindly invited us to a 'Bloody Mary Party' on their boat the next day. There we met a whole group of 'almost locals'. In fact there are many 'almost locals' here, either in boats or cottages. They've been enjoying winters in Hopetown for many years. How very sensible! That same day we joined a 'dinghy drift' around the harbour. It was miraculous to see 28 dinghies floating around the jam-packed mooring field without careening into even one boat!
The high point of the past two weeks has been the 'Barefoot Man' concert held at Guana Cay. A group of enthusiastic party-goers boarded the Albury Ferry on a beautiful day for the half-hour trip to Guana Cay. Once there, we climbed the hill to Nipper's Bar, perched on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. It was an entirely perfect day, though many felt a little the worse for wear (or rum) at the end of the day. Some even missed the ferry home!
I've saved the following event to last as it took place over such a short interval of time, but could have meant the end of this blog and its' writer. Bill and I were beach walking one day of high seas and crashing waves, and were caught up by a rogue wave which came from nowhere. If Bill hadn't grabbed me the force of the wave would have washed me across the vicious coral into the ocean. He did grab me luckily, and I limped back through the town soaking wet and dripping with blood from a graze on my leg. Long story short - my leg is healing slowly but my camera is not. My course of anti-biotics means I can't drink alcohol for ten days! On the whole, not a bad thing! But no pictures for the blog at the moment.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Blown Away in Hope Town
Since we crossed from Marsh Harbour to Hope Town a week ago two cold fronts have charged across the Abaco Islands bringing overcast skies, blustery squalls and cool temperatures. At nights some sailors have even resorted to wearing socks in bed! As I write, the second cold front is upon us, but 30 knot gusts don't seem so bad under today's clear blue skies.
Our trip over to Hope Town was short and sweet, until we discovered that all the mooring balls in the harbour were taken, and there was not even any room left in the newly renovated and very splendid Hope Town Marina. The only other option, apart from a retreat to Marsh Harbour, was to find a dock at tiny Lighthouse Marina. We were lucky, and managed to squeeze Southern Vectis into a spot beside the gas and ferry dock. Not the most peaceful dockage, but nevertheless a foot in the door. The marina is right under Hope Town's famous candy-striped lighthouse, built in 1863, and one of three hand-cranked, kerosene burning lighthouses in the world. It's worth a climb to the top for the spectacular view over Elbow Cay, the Sea of Abaco and the breakers of the Atlantic.
The next morning a few boats left their moorings and we slid into a good spot close to the town dock.
Since we've been here the harbour has become filled up once again with boats seeking shelter from the next weather front.
Hope Town is on Elbow Cay. Its' pastel coloured homes, narrow streets and friendly inhabitants, many of whom are second home owners from the U.S. and Canada, make it a favourite destination for cruising boaters. It's rare to have a night in around here, although the bad weather has sometimes put a damper on the festivities. There are some interesting eating spots at the harbour's edge - Capt'n Jack's is a favourite. Further south on the cay the Abaco Inn sits perched on a bluff overlooking both the Atlantic and the Sea of Abaco. We had a very good Sunday brunch there with Sigita and Martin, and had to walk the two miles back to atone for our eating habits! Yesterday we rented bikes and cycled to the south end of the cay, stopping at the new 'Firefly' resort for a delicious lunch overlooking the water.
We plan to stay on our mooring for at least another couple of weeks. Our weather guru, Chris Parker, has promised that the current cold front will be the last of the big winter blows. We'll see!
(A housekeeping note: Weekly rents for a Hope Town home start at $2,000 a week, moorings in the harbour start at $20 a night and move down the longer you stay!)
Our trip over to Hope Town was short and sweet, until we discovered that all the mooring balls in the harbour were taken, and there was not even any room left in the newly renovated and very splendid Hope Town Marina. The only other option, apart from a retreat to Marsh Harbour, was to find a dock at tiny Lighthouse Marina. We were lucky, and managed to squeeze Southern Vectis into a spot beside the gas and ferry dock. Not the most peaceful dockage, but nevertheless a foot in the door. The marina is right under Hope Town's famous candy-striped lighthouse, built in 1863, and one of three hand-cranked, kerosene burning lighthouses in the world. It's worth a climb to the top for the spectacular view over Elbow Cay, the Sea of Abaco and the breakers of the Atlantic.
The next morning a few boats left their moorings and we slid into a good spot close to the town dock.
Since we've been here the harbour has become filled up once again with boats seeking shelter from the next weather front.
Hope Town is on Elbow Cay. Its' pastel coloured homes, narrow streets and friendly inhabitants, many of whom are second home owners from the U.S. and Canada, make it a favourite destination for cruising boaters. It's rare to have a night in around here, although the bad weather has sometimes put a damper on the festivities. There are some interesting eating spots at the harbour's edge - Capt'n Jack's is a favourite. Further south on the cay the Abaco Inn sits perched on a bluff overlooking both the Atlantic and the Sea of Abaco. We had a very good Sunday brunch there with Sigita and Martin, and had to walk the two miles back to atone for our eating habits! Yesterday we rented bikes and cycled to the south end of the cay, stopping at the new 'Firefly' resort for a delicious lunch overlooking the water.
We plan to stay on our mooring for at least another couple of weeks. Our weather guru, Chris Parker, has promised that the current cold front will be the last of the big winter blows. We'll see!
(A housekeeping note: Weekly rents for a Hope Town home start at $2,000 a week, moorings in the harbour start at $20 a night and move down the longer you stay!)
Monday, February 25, 2013
Just another day in Paradise...but which day?
There's a full moon tonight, the tide will be high at 8:40 a.m. tomorrow, and the winds will be from the southeast at 10 to 15 knots. A small cold front may arrive in a few days, but that's some time in the future and we can put off thinking about it at the moment! And so our days here in paradise go. The days of the week are noted by whether it's 'Rib Night' at the 'Jib Room', 'Browntip' is entertaining at 'Snappa's Bar', or there's a pot-luck supper beside the pool. Maybe we'll rent some bikes tomorrow, or go snorkelling at Mermaid Reef, and, in the evening we can go to the book- reading by a local author and sip some wine and nibble some cheese. This is winter Abaco-style and we are enjoying every minute of it.
The promised 'weather bomb' arrived on schedule while we were docked at Treasure Cay. We were sheltered from the worst of the winds, but as we watched the barometer drop 'like a bomb' over the space of an hour, we checked our lines and changed from shorts to jeans and sweaters, and then into our 'foul weather' gear! Daytime temperatures were a 'freezing' 16C, and dropped one night to an unheard of 10C. Brrr! But we survived! We walked the beaches, cycled to a beautiful new restaurant called 'Treasure Sands' and had our best meal so far in the Bahamas there, and did a return trip to 'Burner's Bar' with Ellen & Siegmar. We also got to know our fellow boaters, Jane & Ron on 'Rachel', and Jean & Brian and their dog, Zephyr, on 'Clairvoyant'. We had first met up with them at the Green Turtle Club.
The sun is never absent for too long in the Bahamas, and once it returned it was time for us to set off for Marsh Harbour, the big 'metropolis' of the Abacos. Marsh Harbour is only about 14 miles from Treasure Cay, so, before leaving, we lingered and spent a last morning on the lovely beach, now returned to its' pristine condition and no longer lapped by fearsome white caps.
We arrived in Marsh Harbour just as the sun set. The anchorage was very busy, but we dropped our 'hook' and prepared to spend a peaceful night rocked by the gently lapping waves. Unfortunately we were close to the main loading dock for the small freighters that service the islands and our peaceful night was interrupted by much clanging and banging of cranes and loaders! We were also close to a channel for boats of all sorts entering or leaving the harbour! The next morning we made the easy decision to move in to 'Harbour View Marina' where we had spent some time on our previous trip. It's a well run marina and full of very friendly boaters. Our first night, after drinks on Ron and Jane's boat, we all dinghied over to the Marsh Harbour Marina's 'Jib Room' for a delicious dinner of ribs, followed by a uniquely Bahamian form of musical entertainment called 'Rake and Scrape' in which a saw is scraped by a metal bar to make a rythmic buzzing accompaniment! It's very effective and sounds surprisingly good! We also enjoyed watching 'flaming limbo dancing', and some of us even closed the evening joining in with the line-dancers! Since then we've taken advantage of the restaurants and bars that line this part of town, and have spent very little time slaving over a hot stove! Lunches, 'Happy Hours' and dinners at 'Snappa's', 'Mangoes' and the 'Conch Inn' are too enticing. Yesterday we joined a group from the dock and played 'Bocce Ball', a kind of bowls and a good way to while away a warm afternoon while watching boats come and go on the harbour.
Today we met Glen and Louise, friends from our last visit to the Abacos four years ago. They have bought a plot of land in Hope Town, and are preparing to build on it. We'll look forward to seeing more of them when we get to Hope Town later this week.
The promised 'weather bomb' arrived on schedule while we were docked at Treasure Cay. We were sheltered from the worst of the winds, but as we watched the barometer drop 'like a bomb' over the space of an hour, we checked our lines and changed from shorts to jeans and sweaters, and then into our 'foul weather' gear! Daytime temperatures were a 'freezing' 16C, and dropped one night to an unheard of 10C. Brrr! But we survived! We walked the beaches, cycled to a beautiful new restaurant called 'Treasure Sands' and had our best meal so far in the Bahamas there, and did a return trip to 'Burner's Bar' with Ellen & Siegmar. We also got to know our fellow boaters, Jane & Ron on 'Rachel', and Jean & Brian and their dog, Zephyr, on 'Clairvoyant'. We had first met up with them at the Green Turtle Club.
The sun is never absent for too long in the Bahamas, and once it returned it was time for us to set off for Marsh Harbour, the big 'metropolis' of the Abacos. Marsh Harbour is only about 14 miles from Treasure Cay, so, before leaving, we lingered and spent a last morning on the lovely beach, now returned to its' pristine condition and no longer lapped by fearsome white caps.
We arrived in Marsh Harbour just as the sun set. The anchorage was very busy, but we dropped our 'hook' and prepared to spend a peaceful night rocked by the gently lapping waves. Unfortunately we were close to the main loading dock for the small freighters that service the islands and our peaceful night was interrupted by much clanging and banging of cranes and loaders! We were also close to a channel for boats of all sorts entering or leaving the harbour! The next morning we made the easy decision to move in to 'Harbour View Marina' where we had spent some time on our previous trip. It's a well run marina and full of very friendly boaters. Our first night, after drinks on Ron and Jane's boat, we all dinghied over to the Marsh Harbour Marina's 'Jib Room' for a delicious dinner of ribs, followed by a uniquely Bahamian form of musical entertainment called 'Rake and Scrape' in which a saw is scraped by a metal bar to make a rythmic buzzing accompaniment! It's very effective and sounds surprisingly good! We also enjoyed watching 'flaming limbo dancing', and some of us even closed the evening joining in with the line-dancers! Since then we've taken advantage of the restaurants and bars that line this part of town, and have spent very little time slaving over a hot stove! Lunches, 'Happy Hours' and dinners at 'Snappa's', 'Mangoes' and the 'Conch Inn' are too enticing. Yesterday we joined a group from the dock and played 'Bocce Ball', a kind of bowls and a good way to while away a warm afternoon while watching boats come and go on the harbour.
Today we met Glen and Louise, friends from our last visit to the Abacos four years ago. They have bought a plot of land in Hope Town, and are preparing to build on it. We'll look forward to seeing more of them when we get to Hope Town later this week.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
"We went to a marvellous party"
The lyrics of one of Noel Coward's famous songs came to mind as we sat at 'Burner's Bar and Restaurant' on Valentine's night and took in our surroundings. "I went to a marvellous party" describes, in Coward's inimitable and witty fashion, the scene at a society party in the south of France between the wars. Though we didn't know any of the characters at our 'party', the elegant and "you can never be too slim" women, and the patrician, 'Tommy Bahama'- clad gentlemen, lent a totally unexpected glamour to this out of the way corner of the island of Abaco.
We were guests of Siegmar and Ellen, a lovely German couple we had met the previous evening at the pizza and dance party put on by the 'Tipsy Seagull', one of the Treasure Cay Marina's restaurants.
They invited us to try a very different style of eating place which had become a favourite of theirs - 'Burner's Bar'. Chris, the owner, entertains with great gusto as singer, order taker and mine host with the most!
A fantasy of Christmas lights and gaudy 'Junkanoo-style' glitter welcomed us as we made our way to our reserved table in this out-of the-way corner of the Island of Abaco. The restaurant was packed and definitely 'in the pink', as most of the decorations were of a rosy hue in honour of St.Valentine. The menu was small, but our lobster tails were mouth-wateringly delicious. The rum-based drinks (no boring wine here) seemed at first to be harmless, but quickly built up a 'punch' as the evening progressed and they kept coming!
We ate, drank and danced and left with a determination to return before too long. After further drinks at Siegmar and Ellen's beach house, we managed to find our way back to 'Southern Vectis' to sleep and dream of our "marvellous party".
Now, two days later, we are in the middle of what our weather-forecasting guru, Chris Parker, calls a weather 'bomb'. This means gale force winds and lots of rain caused by cold fronts and troughs and other weather-forecastly, and quite ghastly disturbances all meeting up and causing the pressure to 'drop like a bomb'! We are tied firmly to our dock and plan a beach walk this afternoon before the bomb drops! We will stay put until Tuesday before heading over to the delights of Marsh Harbour.
We were guests of Siegmar and Ellen, a lovely German couple we had met the previous evening at the pizza and dance party put on by the 'Tipsy Seagull', one of the Treasure Cay Marina's restaurants.
They invited us to try a very different style of eating place which had become a favourite of theirs - 'Burner's Bar'. Chris, the owner, entertains with great gusto as singer, order taker and mine host with the most!
A fantasy of Christmas lights and gaudy 'Junkanoo-style' glitter welcomed us as we made our way to our reserved table in this out-of the-way corner of the Island of Abaco. The restaurant was packed and definitely 'in the pink', as most of the decorations were of a rosy hue in honour of St.Valentine. The menu was small, but our lobster tails were mouth-wateringly delicious. The rum-based drinks (no boring wine here) seemed at first to be harmless, but quickly built up a 'punch' as the evening progressed and they kept coming!
We ate, drank and danced and left with a determination to return before too long. After further drinks at Siegmar and Ellen's beach house, we managed to find our way back to 'Southern Vectis' to sleep and dream of our "marvellous party".
Now, two days later, we are in the middle of what our weather-forecasting guru, Chris Parker, calls a weather 'bomb'. This means gale force winds and lots of rain caused by cold fronts and troughs and other weather-forecastly, and quite ghastly disturbances all meeting up and causing the pressure to 'drop like a bomb'! We are tied firmly to our dock and plan a beach walk this afternoon before the bomb drops! We will stay put until Tuesday before heading over to the delights of Marsh Harbour.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
It IS better in the Bahamas!
We were up and about long before four sunrises, and had watched four red suns sink into mostly calm seas before 'Southern Vectis' and her crew were able to say, "We're here!" As we made our way tentatively up White Sound towards our dock at the Green Turtle Club we knew that we'd made the right decision to return to these beautiful 'islands in the stream' - the Abacos.
All had gone smoothly with our outbound journey from Florida. We met our 'buddy boat', Jumasi, at anchor in Lake Worth, and set off at 3 a.m. on February 6 to cross the Gulf Stream to West End on Grand Bahama Island. Eleven hours later we were tied up to a dock at Old Bahama Bay Marina. There's always a feeling of relief to have made it across the 52 miles and strong northward push of the Gulf Stream, and the camaraderie of boaters with tales to tell soon turns a dock into a friendly village. But we still had two more long days ahead before we could say "We're there!"
The following day we made our way tentatively through the shallow Indian Rock Passage and headed for Great Sale Cay, our overnight anchorage on the Little Bahama Bank. The wind was almost on our nose and the waves were a little choppy, but we managed to turn the motor off and do some sailing for a few hours! We arrived at Great Sale Cay - an uninhabited half moon of sand - just as the sun set. As is always the case when there is an exodus to or from Florida during a 'weather window', there were quite a few boats already at anchor. The wind changed the next day and we made good time to the first of our ports of call, Green Turtle Cay.
We spent three days happily tied to a dock at the Green Turtle Club. Sigita and Martin on 'Jumasi' had docked across the bay at the Bluff House Marina as there were no slips left at the Green Turtle Club when we first arrived. On our arrival into the harbour we were welcomed by Al and Maggie on Tortuga, friends from Ft. Pierce, and they came on board for a champagne welcome party.
We enjoyed out time at this lovely spot. The marina has improved a lot since our last visit four years ago, but there was still one feature that remained the same - you could eat your dockage! So each night we faithfully had dinner in the club's restaurant knowing that now our dockage was 'free'! We dinghied into the quaint little town of New Plymouth with Al and Maggie and, after a bracing walk on a beautiful deserted beach, had a delicious lunch of 'cracked conch' - a Bahamian specialty. We met up with Sigita and Martin and a whole gang of other boaters over at the Bluff House, which has also improved a lot since our last visit - especially the showers!
We had intended to stay longer than three days, but we needed to get over one more hurdle on our journey, and that was to cross 'The Whale'. This is a stretch of water which is an opening into the Atlantic, and is fringed with jagged rocky islands, and prone to what the locals call 'rages'. If you cross through at the wrong time you can get in a lot of trouble. But on Tuesday the weather
forecast predicted a good day for Whale crossing, and so a flotilla of boats left Green Turtle and successfully made it through. Once through, the flotilla broke up as each boat sailed or motored away across the turquoise waters of the Sea of Abaco to one of the many islands - Great Guana Cay, Man-o- War, Elbow Cay or Marsh Harbour, We headed for Treasure Cay, as we had not been there on our previous trip. We arrived to find a small harbour, marina and resort and the most beautiful beach we had ever seen! We'll spend some time here! Also here are fellow boaters we had met at Green Turtle. Last night we were invited onto Steve and Debbie's grand 50 foot motor cruiser for sunset cocktails, and tonight we are all going to a pizza night out! Life is good!
All had gone smoothly with our outbound journey from Florida. We met our 'buddy boat', Jumasi, at anchor in Lake Worth, and set off at 3 a.m. on February 6 to cross the Gulf Stream to West End on Grand Bahama Island. Eleven hours later we were tied up to a dock at Old Bahama Bay Marina. There's always a feeling of relief to have made it across the 52 miles and strong northward push of the Gulf Stream, and the camaraderie of boaters with tales to tell soon turns a dock into a friendly village. But we still had two more long days ahead before we could say "We're there!"
The following day we made our way tentatively through the shallow Indian Rock Passage and headed for Great Sale Cay, our overnight anchorage on the Little Bahama Bank. The wind was almost on our nose and the waves were a little choppy, but we managed to turn the motor off and do some sailing for a few hours! We arrived at Great Sale Cay - an uninhabited half moon of sand - just as the sun set. As is always the case when there is an exodus to or from Florida during a 'weather window', there were quite a few boats already at anchor. The wind changed the next day and we made good time to the first of our ports of call, Green Turtle Cay.
We spent three days happily tied to a dock at the Green Turtle Club. Sigita and Martin on 'Jumasi' had docked across the bay at the Bluff House Marina as there were no slips left at the Green Turtle Club when we first arrived. On our arrival into the harbour we were welcomed by Al and Maggie on Tortuga, friends from Ft. Pierce, and they came on board for a champagne welcome party.
We enjoyed out time at this lovely spot. The marina has improved a lot since our last visit four years ago, but there was still one feature that remained the same - you could eat your dockage! So each night we faithfully had dinner in the club's restaurant knowing that now our dockage was 'free'! We dinghied into the quaint little town of New Plymouth with Al and Maggie and, after a bracing walk on a beautiful deserted beach, had a delicious lunch of 'cracked conch' - a Bahamian specialty. We met up with Sigita and Martin and a whole gang of other boaters over at the Bluff House, which has also improved a lot since our last visit - especially the showers!
We had intended to stay longer than three days, but we needed to get over one more hurdle on our journey, and that was to cross 'The Whale'. This is a stretch of water which is an opening into the Atlantic, and is fringed with jagged rocky islands, and prone to what the locals call 'rages'. If you cross through at the wrong time you can get in a lot of trouble. But on Tuesday the weather
forecast predicted a good day for Whale crossing, and so a flotilla of boats left Green Turtle and successfully made it through. Once through, the flotilla broke up as each boat sailed or motored away across the turquoise waters of the Sea of Abaco to one of the many islands - Great Guana Cay, Man-o- War, Elbow Cay or Marsh Harbour, We headed for Treasure Cay, as we had not been there on our previous trip. We arrived to find a small harbour, marina and resort and the most beautiful beach we had ever seen! We'll spend some time here! Also here are fellow boaters we had met at Green Turtle. Last night we were invited onto Steve and Debbie's grand 50 foot motor cruiser for sunset cocktails, and tonight we are all going to a pizza night out! Life is good!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
February 5, 2013 - Setting off.
(With apologies to 'Leaving on a jet plane'......................
Our boat's all packed, we're ready to go
We're motoring down the ICW
The weather forecasters say we can cross tomorrow
The Gulf stream's beckoning
Tomorrow's the day
We'll meet our friends and sail away
And hope to make safe landfall in the Bahamas
We're leaving the U.S. of A.
Don't know when we'll be back to stay
Although we're nervous we can do it, can't we?
Goodbye to Ft. Pierce and our friendly dock
Goodbye to the surf and the car and the flock
Of seagulls who love to wake us like a clock
We're leaving the U.S. of A
Don't know when we'll be back to stay
We're NOT nervous now....and it's anchors aweigh!
Our boat's all packed, we're ready to go
We're motoring down the ICW
The weather forecasters say we can cross tomorrow
The Gulf stream's beckoning
Tomorrow's the day
We'll meet our friends and sail away
And hope to make safe landfall in the Bahamas
We're leaving the U.S. of A.
Don't know when we'll be back to stay
Although we're nervous we can do it, can't we?
Goodbye to Ft. Pierce and our friendly dock
Goodbye to the surf and the car and the flock
Of seagulls who love to wake us like a clock
We're leaving the U.S. of A
Don't know when we'll be back to stay
We're NOT nervous now....and it's anchors aweigh!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
We're still here....reporting from Ft. Pierce!
Three weeks ago 'Southern Vectis' was launched. Her short trip around to our dock at Harbortown Marina is as far as she, and we, have got on this year's `voyage of adventure`. But we are not complaining as our dock-mates are friendly, the weather has, for the most part, been unseasonably warm, and the list of 'jobs to be done' has started contracting. In fact we are now on the one before the last - we hope!
This year we decided to have the paintwork in the cockpit, which was beginning to peel, stripped off. This has taken longer than we thought, and has meant that, for the past four days, we have had to leave the boat early each morning and stay away most of the day. This hasn't been too much of a hardship. Yesterday, a gorgeous day of warm 84F sunshine and deep blue cloudless skies, we spent at the Hutchinson Island beach. We walked for miles, then tucked ourselves behind grassy sand-dunes to read and watch surfers and kite-boarders skim the Atlantic white caps.
After a day spent watching all this activity one of us decided it was time to join in! Body surfing in the warm rollers as the setting sun turned the white caps to a pale rose, was a perfect end to a perfect day.
We`ve had good evenings out with some of our neighbouring boaters. There`s an interesting line-up of local bars and restaurants to choose from in Ft. Pierce. The tiki bar at the marina is a favourite - so easy to get home from there! But we`ve also had two good evenings at `Capone`s Hideaway`, and a giant pizza party at `A Touch of Brooklyn`, also a short stroll away. A splendid lunch at the `Sailors` Return`at the beautiful `Sunset Bay` Marina in Stuart was also a high point, only slightly marred by the fact that that was the afternoon when Canadian Visa went down for the count! Luckily we had cash to allay the suspicious glances of our waiting staff when both of our visas had been declined! (We have decided to apply for a Mastercard to avoid these little misunderstandings in the future!)
We hope to set off on the first leg of our trip next Monday or Tuesday (February 4 or 5). Sigita and Martin on board `Jumasi`, are already stationed in Lake Worth awaiting that most elusive of occurences.....a `weather window`.....for our crossing to West End, our first port-of-call in the Bahamas.
This year we decided to have the paintwork in the cockpit, which was beginning to peel, stripped off. This has taken longer than we thought, and has meant that, for the past four days, we have had to leave the boat early each morning and stay away most of the day. This hasn't been too much of a hardship. Yesterday, a gorgeous day of warm 84F sunshine and deep blue cloudless skies, we spent at the Hutchinson Island beach. We walked for miles, then tucked ourselves behind grassy sand-dunes to read and watch surfers and kite-boarders skim the Atlantic white caps.
After a day spent watching all this activity one of us decided it was time to join in! Body surfing in the warm rollers as the setting sun turned the white caps to a pale rose, was a perfect end to a perfect day.
We`ve had good evenings out with some of our neighbouring boaters. There`s an interesting line-up of local bars and restaurants to choose from in Ft. Pierce. The tiki bar at the marina is a favourite - so easy to get home from there! But we`ve also had two good evenings at `Capone`s Hideaway`, and a giant pizza party at `A Touch of Brooklyn`, also a short stroll away. A splendid lunch at the `Sailors` Return`at the beautiful `Sunset Bay` Marina in Stuart was also a high point, only slightly marred by the fact that that was the afternoon when Canadian Visa went down for the count! Luckily we had cash to allay the suspicious glances of our waiting staff when both of our visas had been declined! (We have decided to apply for a Mastercard to avoid these little misunderstandings in the future!)
We hope to set off on the first leg of our trip next Monday or Tuesday (February 4 or 5). Sigita and Martin on board `Jumasi`, are already stationed in Lake Worth awaiting that most elusive of occurences.....a `weather window`.....for our crossing to West End, our first port-of-call in the Bahamas.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Our adventures with Alice in 'Wonderland'.
Alice, our lovely niece who we rarely see because she lives in Hamburg, Germany, was visiting a friend in Miami in early January. So, less than three days after launching 'Southern Vectis', we were heading, by car, further south to spend two precious days with her in the 'Wonderland' of Florida - The Keys. It's a long drive from Ft. Pierce to Key West, our ultimate destination, and we had driven almost 4,000 kilometres in just over a week by the time we arrived back at the boat three days later. But it was worth every minute!
The weather was set fair when we picked Alice up and set our course for two days of sightseeing, fun and catching up on family news. Our first stop was the 'Lorelei' waterfront restaurant in Islamorada. It has been a favourite of ours since our first trip to the Keys at least fifteen years ago. From there we headed down the long and winding road, past Marathon, over the Seven Mile Bridge, and eventually arrived, bedazzled by sun and turquoise seas, at the Lighthouse Court Hotel in Key West. We had only booked our hotel the day before, but we weren't disappointed. We wanted a bed and breakfast or small hotel with 'old town' charm and character, that was central to all the 'action'. We weren't disappointed. The rooms were small but there were roosters by the backyard pool, and Ernest Hemingway's house, complete with a Hemingway look-a-like and a yard full of cats, was just across the road.
We headed out to show Alice all the sights we had enjoyed during our two recent trips here with 'Southern Vectis'. We watched the sun set at Mallory Square, walked around to the old Seaport Area and watched the majestic old schooners returning, filled to the gunwhales with tourists after their sunset cruises. We showed Alice where 'Southern Vectis' had tied up at the Town Dock, and then decided against a wharf-side restaurant and opted for 'Pepe's' - just across the road from the wharf. This restaurant opened its' doors in 1905 and has been going strong ever since.The line-ups for brunch are something to behold! But there were no crowds for dinner - and it wasn't fried - so unusual and refreshing in this part of the world.
We walked through our favourite streets of the old town to get back to the delights of Duval Street. Maybe we hadn't been out this late before (8:30 p.m.!!)' but we noticed for the first time all the beautifully dressed 'ladies' decorating the streets and beckoning from the bars and restaurants! Alice drew a lot of envious attention!
The next day we set off back to Miami. We stopped in Marathon and showed Alice all our 'special' places. We had a spectacular seafood lunch at Keys Fisheries (upstairs). The freshest oysters ever tasted, heaps of giant shrimps, sashimi raw tuna and lots more. From there we managed to get ourselves the short distance to Marathon's lovely 'Sombrero Beach' where we swam and sunbathed.
We had decided to spend a night in Miami before driving back to Ft. Pierce, so booked ourselves into the Mutiny Hotel, overlooking Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove. It's an 'all suite' hotel and very comfortable. That night we all had dinner with my school friend and fellow Isle-of-Wighter', Sue, at the 'Peacock Garden', right next to the hotel. Then we had to say our farewells to Alice. We'd enjoyed our time with her so much, but it had been all too short.
Now we are back on 'Southern Vectis' in Ft.Pierce. The weather, which until now, has been perfect, has taken a turn for the worst with a cold front and lots of wind and rain. But it's an opportunity for us to get 'Southern Vectis' ship shape and ready for our Bahamas adventures.
The weather was set fair when we picked Alice up and set our course for two days of sightseeing, fun and catching up on family news. Our first stop was the 'Lorelei' waterfront restaurant in Islamorada. It has been a favourite of ours since our first trip to the Keys at least fifteen years ago. From there we headed down the long and winding road, past Marathon, over the Seven Mile Bridge, and eventually arrived, bedazzled by sun and turquoise seas, at the Lighthouse Court Hotel in Key West. We had only booked our hotel the day before, but we weren't disappointed. We wanted a bed and breakfast or small hotel with 'old town' charm and character, that was central to all the 'action'. We weren't disappointed. The rooms were small but there were roosters by the backyard pool, and Ernest Hemingway's house, complete with a Hemingway look-a-like and a yard full of cats, was just across the road.
We headed out to show Alice all the sights we had enjoyed during our two recent trips here with 'Southern Vectis'. We watched the sun set at Mallory Square, walked around to the old Seaport Area and watched the majestic old schooners returning, filled to the gunwhales with tourists after their sunset cruises. We showed Alice where 'Southern Vectis' had tied up at the Town Dock, and then decided against a wharf-side restaurant and opted for 'Pepe's' - just across the road from the wharf. This restaurant opened its' doors in 1905 and has been going strong ever since.The line-ups for brunch are something to behold! But there were no crowds for dinner - and it wasn't fried - so unusual and refreshing in this part of the world.
We walked through our favourite streets of the old town to get back to the delights of Duval Street. Maybe we hadn't been out this late before (8:30 p.m.!!)' but we noticed for the first time all the beautifully dressed 'ladies' decorating the streets and beckoning from the bars and restaurants! Alice drew a lot of envious attention!
The next day we set off back to Miami. We stopped in Marathon and showed Alice all our 'special' places. We had a spectacular seafood lunch at Keys Fisheries (upstairs). The freshest oysters ever tasted, heaps of giant shrimps, sashimi raw tuna and lots more. From there we managed to get ourselves the short distance to Marathon's lovely 'Sombrero Beach' where we swam and sunbathed.
We had decided to spend a night in Miami before driving back to Ft. Pierce, so booked ourselves into the Mutiny Hotel, overlooking Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove. It's an 'all suite' hotel and very comfortable. That night we all had dinner with my school friend and fellow Isle-of-Wighter', Sue, at the 'Peacock Garden', right next to the hotel. Then we had to say our farewells to Alice. We'd enjoyed our time with her so much, but it had been all too short.
Now we are back on 'Southern Vectis' in Ft.Pierce. The weather, which until now, has been perfect, has taken a turn for the worst with a cold front and lots of wind and rain. But it's an opportunity for us to get 'Southern Vectis' ship shape and ready for our Bahamas adventures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
