Homeward Bound

We are on the home bound stretch. Left Treasure Island on Nov 28 headed for the Field Club in Sarasota. This is a very elegant old club as the picture shows. The following day we moved on down to Boca Grande on Gasperilla Island. We really enjoyed this stop. It is a neat little town with all homes and buildings in pristine condition and 7 miles of beautiful beach. After 2 nights we moved on to St. Charles Yacht Club for a nights stay then on to the Royal Palm Yacht Club in Ft. Myers. High winds on arrival made for an exciting docking experience. We toured the Edison and Ford winter homes which were right next door to the club (that's me in front of Edison's house). Well worth the time. Windy, rainy weather kept us in Ft. Myers longer than we wanted, but we enjoyed the club and took a cab to a local mall to get some Christmas shopping done. We walked downtown which has been spruced up over the past 2 years. Although it looks nice there does not appear to be much happening there.

We finally left Ft. Myers on Dec 6. We traveled the Caloosahatchee River to Clewiston on Lake Okeechobee passing through 3 locks. The following day we crossed the lake and traveled the St. Lucie Canal to Harbor Ridge Yacht Club in Stuart. The lake was magnificent. It was perfectly calm when we departed, so between the clouds, mist and water you could barely discern the horizon. the birds followed us the entire length of the lake which is about 25 miles.

As I write this we are in Stuart heading to Palm Beach where we will anchor out for the night then go home tomorrow. All-in-all another great trip.

St. Petersburg/Treasure Island

We arrvied at St. Pete YC on Monday Nov 16. This is a great facility. It is a large club with over 2,000 members with a central downtown location next to a park and the central harbor. There is always something going on at the club with entertainment every night in the bar/lounge. The food is good and the prices reasonable compared to our club. We have had the opportunity to get around the area quite a bit and like what we see.

Over the weekend there was a lot going on. Every Saturday there is a farmer's market on the waterfront. This weekend there were 2 art shows going on downtown and a sand sculpture contest on the beach. The pictures above show some of the results. (Pay close attention to the clown face). On Saturday night they held a "Chill Lounge Night" in the waterfront park across from our boat. They bring in wicker lounges with canopies and set up a large bar while the local restaurants set up food stalls. They also set up a large stage and a runway for a fashion show. The models for the fashion show were brought in on chaises borne by four "fireman" types each with gold painted chests. All in all quite a spectacle. The fashion show itself was closer to a strip tease act than fashion show.

Another interesting feature in St. Pete is the floating and powered wedding chapel barge shown in the photo.

We rented a car for the weekend as we were going to a Dixieland Jazz Festival in Clearwater on Friday. Our friends the Williams from LYC had put us on to this 3 day festival and what a hoot it was. It is the first event we have gone to where we brought down the average age of the audience. We only went on Friday, but they had at least 20 bands playing for 3 days in about 5 different venues in 2 hotels. All the ones we saw were great. We plan to come back next year and stay for the whole event.

On Nov 25 Fred Sorensen and I brought the boat from St. Pete to Treasure Island on a rainy foggy day. Debby and Edie went shopping. The four of us drove back to the yacht club for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday which turned out to be very good.

Florida West Coast Trip

I have had to over come a great deal of inertia to get this blog started. We have been gone three weeks already and this is the first entry. Part of the problem I guess is that we have not taken many pictures plus in most cases we are covering ground traveled on past trips.

Our overall plan is to make the circumnavigation of the lower half of Florida by going down thru the Keys then up the West Coast to the St. Petersburg area then south again to Ft. Myers and across Lake Okeechobee to the East Coast and south to Ft. Lauderdale. Total distance traveled will be just short of 1,000 miles.

For the first 5 days of the trip we traveled with our friends the Hajaars on their 44' power cat Dream Away. Leaving on Oct 31 our first stop was the north end of Elliott Key where we anchored out. The next day we moved on to Pumpkin Key so that we could spend Sunday afternoon enjoying the food and band at Alabama Jacks, one of our favorite Keys watering holes. We than moved on to anchor off another favorite bar in Islamorada, Lorelei's. There we met other friends, the Gillens and joined them for dinner. The following day we moved on down to Lower Matrecumbe Key to anchor off the Gillen's great Key's house. They had graciously invited all of us for dinner. ( In the small world department the Gillen's house guests were people we had met on our trip up to North Carolina in '08. They are from California, but keep their 49' Grand Banks in Oriental, NC which is where we first met them. As it turns out they live just a few blocks from our nephew Mike in the marina area of San Francisco.)

We had planned to spend more time at the Gillen's, but the forecast was for increasing winds so we moved on the next day to Little Shark River while the Hajaars started back home. Little Shark River is about as isolated as you can get on the coastal waters of Florida. It is just north of Cape Sable in Everglades National Park, 30-40 miles from any civilization. We anchored then put the dinghy in the water and explored the river. Very tranquil and full of birds.

The next day was the worst of the trip as we had a 57nm open water run to Marco Island into a strong north wind. Debby spent the whole day in bed as that is the area of the boat with the least motion. The Gulf waters can get nasty in a hurry.

We arrived in Marco Island on November 6. It continued to blow in excess of 20 knots for the next 5 days so we just stayed put at Marco Island Yacht Club. Fortunately, the Coulsons were in town. Tony and I worked together both at National Airlines and at AeroThrust. They have had property on Marco for over 30 years, so we got a good tour of the island and had several nice meals together. Since we were going to miss going to Naples by boat we rented a car one day and toured Naples as well. We were pleasantly suprised by Naples, and wished we could have enjoyed the club there.

The wind subsided a bit by the 11th so we moved on to Sanibel Island for an overnight stop then on to our next destination which was the Isles Yacht Club in Punt Gorda in Charlotte Harbor. This turned out to be a great, hospitable club and a neat little waterfront town. There were 4 boats from St Pete YC there having a rendezvous and they included us in some of their parties. The Isles club had a lecture on the sinking of the Titanic by an individual who traveled to it on a Russian submersible in 2000 which was also very interesting.

We have finally arrived at St. Petersburg Yacht Club after an overnight stop at Venice Yacht Club. (For those of you unaware we stay at yacht clubs when we can because we get reciprocal privileges meaning the first nights dockage is free and subsequent nights are usually inexpensive.)

Our friends the Sorensens have recently moved nearby at Treasure Island, and other friends , the Hansons live at a high rise overlooking the club, so we have a built in social scene. The Sorensens are trying hard to get us to consider moving here. The area certainly has a lot to offer boaters.

The pictures show from top to bottom: Moon rise at Sunset off Pumpkin Key, Underway in the Keys in tranquil water (note the almost indistinguishable horizon), Sunset in Lower Matecumbe with Hajaars boat, Gillen's house, Sunrise at Little Shark River.

Long Road Home

On Aug 8 we moved on to Fisher's Bay off Guana Cay. We missed going to the famous bar, Nippers, on our previous visit. Nippers is on a hill overlooking a beautiful beach and reef and is famous for its Sunday barbeque. (see picture with multicolored umbrellas). We met some folks at the bar at Pirates Cove on the way back from Nippers. From there we moved on to Bakers Bay again to do some snorkeling on the ocean side. Weather was perfect.

On the 10th we moved on up to Powell Cay. We were the only boat anchored off this deserted island where we did some dinghy exploring. Then on the 11th we returned to Allans Pensacola Cay and dinghied up to the same small beach on Umbrella Cay where we started this adventure some 5+ weeks ago. We have named this beach Vein-Allez Beach. We had some spectacular sunsets this week.

The next day we went to Double Breasted Cay. We had heard much about this place and the guide books rave about its beauty. We, however, were a little disappointed. The anchorage was tight and the tidal current fierce. Not having 2 anchors to deploy after some dinghy exploration, we decided to move on to Great Sale Cay to spend the night. On the 13th we moved on to Old Bahama Bay in West End, Grand Bahama. This is a nice, but expensive resort. We enjoyed their beach in the afternoon then had an early night in anticipation of a long trip home.

We departed at 0600 on the 14th. It is 70 nm against the Gulf Stream, so we were expecting a long crossing. Wind and seas were higher than anticipated and it was uncomfortable the whole way. Debby is susceptable to sea sickness in such conditions so she stayed in a prone position in the master stateroom where the motion is least noticable. About 6 miles from home we hit the end of a squall and twice the refrigerator door escaped its latch and dumped all the contents on the floor. One wine bottle broke (white fortunaltely) as well as some glass ware. Everything that wasn't already on the floor in the main salon ended up on the floor. The picture does not begin to show the mess that ensued.

Despite the difficult return crossing we had a great trip. In late October we expect to depart for the west coast of Florida so stay tuned.

Cracker P's Full Moon Party

We returned to Man-O-War Cay on Aug 4 just to spend another day there and do some minor resupply of groceries. Then on the 5th we went back south to anchor off Tahaiti Beach on the west side of Elbow Cay. Less than a mile from this location is Lubbers Quarter Cay and a bar/restaurant called Cracker P's. Aug 5 was full moon night and Cracker P's has a Bahamian buffet and party on the full moon. We thought we would give it a try and were not disappointed. The food was good (although something did not agree with Debby's stomach) and the large crowd was lively.

The next day we journied to Treasure Cay. We debated about stopping there as we envisioned it being too "resorty". We were pleasantly suprised. The marina rates declined Aug 1 and were very reasonable and the facilities first rate. Their 3 mile crescent beach claims to be one of the 10 best in the world. The sand is as fine as sifted flour and nearly as white. We spent 2 days under a Tiki Hut at the beach enjoying Debby's Pina Coladas. Thursday night was Pizza Night at the local bar the "Tipsy Seagull" featuring a good local band and a suprisingly large crowd. The eye candy included some of the Hooters Girls from the previous week.

We are going to return to Fishers Bay off Guana Cay today. This will probably be our last day to have access to the internet until we reach West End, Grand Bahama. So this will be the last post for about 5 or 6 days. We will anchor out at Powell Cay, Allans Pensacola Cay, and hopefully Double Breasted Cays with a last stop at Old Bahama Bay in West End before making the Gulf Stream crossing some where around the 14th to 16th.

Long Run

While in Little Harbor on Saturday August 1 we received a radio call from our friends Dave and Kathy Gillen on Long Run. They were anchored about 1 mile north of us as they draw too much water to enter Little Harbor. Long Run is a 65', 80 ton steel hulled trawler. They came into Pete's Pub for a drink then on to our boat for more cocktails. They invited us out to their boat for dinner. They had with them Kathy's daughter, Tim a professional photographer, and Dave's old friend Don, a former NSA operative; a great mix of people. It was quite an evening with a delicious pork roast prepared by Kathy, a beautiful sunset followed by a nearly full moon reflecting off the water. They have a collection of over 4000 songs and a fabulous sound system to go with it. It was a sporty ride back to our boat in their a tender, a 26' Mako after way too many cocktails.

Long Run is not so elegant to look at from the water, (see picture of their departure), but it certainly is very nice inside. The Gillens live aboard full time. It has been in the Abacos for over 6 months and they are now moving it back to Ft. Lauderdale. Dave still works and has been commuting on his own plane.

While in Little Harbor a small sail boat pulled in crewed by 2 women. They are the 2 on the right in the picture at Pete's Pub. The woman on the far right has been here for a month and will stay till mid August. She is alone but has friends fly in and join her for a week or so at a time. No generator, no TV, no A/C. She must like to rough it.

We have now returned to Elbow Cay at Sea Spray Marina on White Sound. The picture of Debby was taken at the Abaco Inn. You can see from the surf why we did not head down to the Exumas. We will slowly work our way back home from here.

Little Harbor

First a brief history of Little Harbor. In the early 50's an art professor from the states sailed his family into this pristine little harbor, and decided to stay. They stayed in the cave shown in the photo while he built housing and a foundry to do his sculpting. His name was Pete Johnson and he soon became famous throughout the Bahamas and the world for his art work. The old man has died but his son keeps up the tradition and has an active art gallery and studio as well as a great sand bar named Pete's Pub. This is our favorite spot in the Abacos.

Every year on July 31st Pete hosts an "End of Season" party. Historically, we are told it has been pretty wild and raunchy. This year they made an effort to tone it down. In addition to having a pig roast they have several competitions. The tug of war is what you would expect except it takes place in the water. The greased watermelon race is a little different. Each team is given a greased watermelon and a childs inner tube. The woman sits in the tube holding the watermelon while the man paddles her out to a large inflatable trampoline. The man has to climb on to the trampline while the woman hands him the watermelon then the first team back at the dock with the watermelon wins. Pretty hilarious to watch.

In another event a man and a woman are covered with clothspins. Their team mate of the opposite sex is than blinfolded and told to remove all the pins. The first team to get them all off wins.

A final event which I did not get pictures of is a beer chugging contest. The twist with this one is that contestants must chug their beer with 4 tampons in their mouth!

One dinghy arrived with a pirate on board, and one boat arrived named Hooters Patrol. I will let you decide which of the pictures show the crew from that boat.

Debby is shown with a friend, Lainey, who we met on our first trip here 5 or 6 years ago. She is Bahamian and runs a beauty parlor in Marsh Harbor. Debby had her hair done by Lainey while we were there.

We also met a couple with a story book tale. She lives in Daytona and belongs to Halifax Yacht Club which Debby and I have visited on several occasions. He is an old boat captain now retired and living in the Abacos for the past 9 years on an old 60' trawler. Last year they each attended their 50th high school reunion and have been together ever since. Like ourselves they are sitting here in Little Harbor waiting for the seas to subside before heading for the Exumas.

Seas are 4-6' today and predicted to go to 5-7' tomorrow. I think we will skip the Exumas and return home the way we came.

Slow Time in the Bahamas

The weather has not been kind to us. We sat for a week in Marsh Harbor due to frequent thunder storms, although in retrospect we could have moved on on several occasions. We missed going over to Nippers on Guana Cay to see the Barefoot Man concert which is a highlight of this time of year. We did however have a good time renewing our friendship with the Gillen's on their boat Long Run, and getting to know the Farrells on First Light. We enjoyed several good meals in Marsh at Mangoes and Curlytails.

Finally on the 27th we moved to Hope Town on Elbow Cay where we picked up a mooring. this is one of the most picturesque harbors in the islands with its candy stripe light house built in the early 1800s. We toured the town. Vernon's Grocery store is famous for its philosophical sayings posted all over the store. A few are shown in the picture. My favorite was "If at first you don't succeed, you probably shouldn't take up skydiving." The next day we took the dinghy over to Man-O-War Cay. This Cay is inhabited mostly by white Bahamians and is famous for boat building. It is very clean and neat, but dry in the sense that no alcohol is served. With the wind and seas up it was a sporty dinghy ride over and Debby threatened to take the Ferry back, but in the end she rode back with me without incident. I had The Best hamburger at Dock and Dine.

On the 28th we came down to Little Harbor and Pete's Pub. We were caught off guard as we made the passage between some islands exposed to the ocean. Liquor bottles ended up on the floor as did lamps, books, magazines and a blender. Debby was not a happy camper. However, this is our favorite spot in the Abacos. Pete is having an end of season party today which is supposedly one of the best events of the summer, so we are looking forward to it.

I will have pictures and more on Little Harbor after the party is over and I sober up.