Ahoy there!

Well we finally managed to leave Vero Beach marina (locally known as Velcro Beach - once you're there you stick!) and are writing this from beautiful Munjack Cay.

We had no intention of staying a month but we must have brought island time across with us! Our main problem was the sequence of events didn't seem to run as smoothly as we would have liked. While back in the U.S. we wanted to order stores & spares for our next few months but couldn't do this until we had the go ahead from our insurance company. We're pleased to say that they agreed and even better that the premium was the same as last year plus (or minus?) they've given us a 5% no claims discount! Our cruising area takes us from Maine all the way down to Venezuela . For hurricane coverage we have to be in Tobago by 1 st July and stay there or below until 30 th November.

 

Once we knew we could go we started ordering charts (paper and computer), pilot & tourist guides plus spares that we thought we might need. Unfortunately the U.S post system can be slow and some things took about 10 days. The last part to arrive was a new membrane for the water maker. These need to be replaced every 3 years or so and one of ours was beginning to struggle. Andrew fitted it as soon as it was in and tested the water being produced – it was worse than the old one! There's a boat owners saying that the difference between an old part & a new part is that you know what's wrong with the old one! Typically we found the problem out late Friday and the company didn't open again until Monday. But they were very good and flew a replacement down from Seattle which arrived on the Wednesday. And it worked perfectly although we had now missed a weather window and couldn't leave until the following Saturday.

 

Being back in civilisation showed us how scruffy we had become. Apart from some much needed clothes shopping we also had haircuts, Andrew's more drastic than normal, or indeed planned. He asked the barber for a short cut. The barber pointed to a chap paying and said “Like that?” Andrew agreed and only realised they were talking about two different people when the first swipe with the clippers was made. Sharon was speechless when she saw it, commenting that his eyebrows were longer! Still it is practical and much cooler. The photo shows it after a week and it's already grown twice its original length!

 

Saturday 11 th March we left Vero Beach and all it's luxuries for a short trip to Fort Pierce . Sunday saw a long day to Lake Worth , West Palm Beach . It was a beautiful warm day, about 85F and everyone was out on the water. The first couple of hours were okay but as lunchtime drew on the I.C.W became a liquid Grand Prix track. Everything from sport fishers to jet skis, cigarette boats to kayaks. We stubbornly stayed on track and let everyone go round us. As the tide withdrew and the sandbanks became exposed people used them as extra recreation areas, fishing and swimming from them as well as walking the dogs. If you squint you can see three in the photo!

After lunch it got worse as the heat demanded more drink and the drink of choice was beer! Things got particularly difficult for us as we came to a section with five bascule bridges to get through within three miles, and nine bridges in total. The first bridge master was charming, timing our arrival perfectly. The next was a timed opening and we were early, it was difficult to hold position with all the traffic whizzing past creating huge wakes and Sharon didn't need to be told by the bridge master it would be her responsibility if she hit the bridge! The next couple weren't overly courteous and by the ninth bridge at the end of the day we were exhausted! As we approached Lake Worth partying was in full swing with dozens of boats rafted – swimming, barbecuing and drinking. We were so pleased to finally drop the anchor in the relative peace of West Palm Beach !

We set off early on Monday morning to make the Gulf crossing. Last time we crossed from here we did a ten hour crossing and checked in at West End . This time we decided to cross during the day and then night sail across the Little Bahama Bank to Great Sale Cay. We did well on our managing of the three and a half knot Gulf current and made the bank without any course corrections. It was also a better sail. On our previous two journeys we had had to squeeze in a weather window and the sea had not had time to flatten after days of northerlies. This time we had several days of southerlies and the sea was much calmer. We had a lovely full moon and arrived at our anchorage at 1.30 a.m. – ahead of predictions. The light from the moon was most welcome as some of the boats anchored had no lights on.

We stayed at Great Sale on Tuesday and enjoyed our first swim for a month, it was bliss. By Thursday we had checked in at Green Turtle Cay and then found a lovely anchorage at Munjack Cay.    We hadn't been here before and not only is it fairly sheltered it has some beautiful small beaches and some snorkelling opportunities over the coral. We have been out a couple of times with the camera and Andrew has tried to capture the large rays that swim over the rocks. Success hasn't been great so we will try with the underwater camera next time! But he did manage an even rarer photograph of Sharon !

 

We plan to cruise some of the areas of The Abacos we haven't yet seen until Carole, Rachael and Lucy join us for a week at the beginning of April. We will then start heading south. Although our insurance has said the 1 st July for the hurricane season we would like to reach Trinidad & Tobago (T & T) earlier if we can. Depending on the trade winds, and we're hoping that they will be gentle with us, our next stops after The Bahamas will be The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and then the Virgin Islands. At this stage we will make the decision either to jump down to Grenada and then T & T or if conditions are good we will sail down the Leeward & Windward Islands to our destination. As always we welcome guests but suggest that the summer months are avoided as although the temperature will be okay at about 30- 32C the humidity will be high and could make things very sticky! But do let us know if you want to visit.

 

We hope that you all have a good Easter break (there's a distinct lack of chocolate eggs over here!) and as always we look forward to your news. We should be able to pick up e-mails a little quicker and will let you all know when our Bahamas phone is up & running. Emergency e-mails can be made on cruisers@oii.net .

 

Warm regards

 

Sharon & Andrew